I recently had a phone conversation with Mark Perovich who told me about losing their 11 year old daughter in a tragic horse accident 2 years ago. Mark and Melissa Perovich have provided you and I with these statistics below.

Mark and Melissa want everyone to understand the gravity of the danger involved in horse related activities.

"After doing intensive research involving head trauma and horse back riding, (they) were shocked to discover the staggering statistics which were revealed involving horseback riding accidents":

I want to personally thank Mark and Melissa Perovich for sharing this information, so that it may possibly help someone else avoid a tragic horse related accident.

I also want to commend them, for having the courage and dedication, in of lieu their daughters' death to go forward, and try to help anyone that will listen, about the dangers of horse related activities...

Mark and Melissa are proponents of safety education and using riding helmets for everyone riding horses or handling horses...

Approx. 11,500 sustain traumatic brain injuries
In the US there are over 200 deaths per year
Young girls (10 – 14) are 4 to 5 times more likely to end up in the hospital
Riders are usually very experienced – in one study an average of 27 years experience at the time of injury
Usually occur in “wide open spaces” on dry, flat land on sunny summer afternoons.

AND FINALLY...........................................

20 – 30% of injuries are while dismounted – while leading, grooming or playing around the horse – most of those are by being kicked