Analyses of injuries to equestrians in a Swedish district over a 16-year period

Journal article, 2019

Horse riding is a popular, yet dangerous, sport, and as such, horse-related injuries contribute considerably to the total number of people hospitalized every year. While some investigations have explored this public health issue, many have focused only on hospital registrations or insurance information, while neglecting the cases where the rider may have not required hospitalization. This study investigated the pattern of equestrian injuries in Sweden and examined factors for predicting hospitalized injuries, using visits to hospital, local medical centers, and public dental services. Data were gathered over a 16-year period at all medical facilities within Skaraborg, Sweden, and retrospectively reviewed. There were 7815 horse-related injury events during the study period. The sample of horse-related injuries were largely represented by females (88%) and those aged between 10 and 20 years old. Injuries commonly took place during private/leisure time (90.8%) and in the afternoon. Logistic regression analysis found that older riders were significantly more likely to be admitted to hospital (OR = 1.013), while female riders were less likely to be admitted than males (OR = 0.739). The numbers of people registering at medical facilities due to horse-related injuries are increasing. Therefore, improved intervention measures must be further investigated.