Hazard #7

Horse Riding Injuries Horse riding in Australia is a widespread and well established sport, drawing enthusiastic support from every age group and walk of life. Because the sport involves animals which are strong willed and occasionally unpredictable, the risks and dangers associated with both competition and recreational riding tend to be difficult to control and therefore hard to minimize. From January 1st 1988 to January 31st 1991, VISS recorded 216 cases of horse related injuries to children under 15 years. The majority (75%) were engaged in horse-back riding, while in the remaining cases the child was on the ground. Although horse related injuries are not a major part of the VISS collection (under 1%) these children are more likely to be severely injured when compared with the entire VISS database. The seventh edition of Hazard from the Victorian Injury Surveillance System deals with injuries related to horses and the problems of architectural glass injury in the home. It also updates the previous Hazard issues of head injuries to bicyclists and progress towards isolation fencing for all home swimming pools. An outline of recent progress in expansion of the Victorian Injury Surveillance System is also included.