Assessing ground safety knowledge of North Carolina 4-H horse program participants

The objectives of this study were to develop a benchmark of current ground safety skills among North Carolina 4-H horse camp participants and to identify relationships between demographic factors of 4-H horse camp participants and their total ground safety score. 4-H members are lacking in ground safety knowldege and this is important as third to one-fourth of horse injuries occur when the rider is on the ground. Based on low ground safety mean scores, 4-H members did not follow good basic ground safety practices with horses. There was no statistically significant relationship between the participant's age, years of riding experience, the number of years they had been involved in the 4-H horse program and their total ground safety score.