Horseback riding accident at Pousada Rio Claro (Pantanal)

Sorry for your negative experience but

sounds like your hubbie had little to no experience

Deciding to dismount a horse while galloping

almost always turns out badly.

Frequently it is easier to blame others

for poor individual choices.

Hope you had trip indurance glad it was not worse...

Regardless of what choices her husband made, the point she's trying to make is the Pousada seemed to have not cared less as to what happened to her husband, I find that reprehensible.

I would have been outraged by their behaviour, thankfully, the injury was not life threatening, can you even begin to imagine....

Glad to hear you DH is ok, I've gone riding in AR many times, the gauchos have always been caring and have taken great interest in my safety, and the horses have been very easy to ride.

I agree completely with OWLWOMAN's reaction to the Pousada's lack of responsible action, and I am so glad that your husband sustained not more than a repairable, though not insignificant, injury - and not something worse.

Perhaps the parties involved will take heed from this incident and begin to improve their services. Do try to forward this forum to their attention.

~MarnieWDC

I also agree.. I am happy to hear your husband is fine but it could have been worse, they apparently are not prepared for things that often come with horseback riding.
I am glad you posted this here.

Qwovadis- what my husband attempted to do was an emergency dismount--whether or not the outcome would have been better or worse had he not done so is anyone's guess.

I'd be surprised if the accident and the hotel's reaction happened to you or someone you cared deeply about your attitude would be different. I still suspect the horse my husband rode may not have been properly trained but, that aside, I also found the hotel's indifference and callousness disturbing--no one from the hotel did or said anything after the accident until after my husband returned from the hospital when the owner went up to my husband, told him he should be strong, said that she had a friend who sustained a worse injury during a horseback riding incident and asked him if he wanted a drink. When he said yes, she promptly added it to our tab.

My husband was just told by his doctor today that he'll require surgery so, yes, it could have been a lot worse but he did not sustain a minor injury.

I am sorry about your accident and hope he recovers quickly and completely.

I am so sorry. Did you get a second opinion. It never hurts.

Regarding the POusada they showed a lack of common sense and hospitality.
So sorry, hope he gets well.

Hopefully Mr. Urbanp is on the mend. I'll throw out a comment here for future searches by those who are hesitant about the horseback riding trips offered in the Pantanal.

At one of the ranches where I stayed in my 2 visits to the Pantanal, there was a similar wrist injury while riding. The circumstances were: the horse became momentarily frightened and bolted a few steps off the trail before calming down. In the process, it threw off the rider--a teenage girl. She was a novice rider and I think was napping, having been lulled to sleep by the hot sun and the slow constant gait. So that fall probably could have been prevented, but such things can happen. The handling of the situation I witnessed seemed to be appropriate and follow a procedure that the staff had received training in.

I asked one of my guides who had been a Pantaneiro Cowboy previously, so he was very experienced on a horse, what he thought of the riding options. His response was something like, "I don't take my guests on them because you don't really see that much. (He was a keen birder who always carried a scope and that wouldn't work on a horse.) Things can happen where a guest gets hurt and then the trip can be ruined. So I don't like the horse rides."

Thank you for the well wishes--the doctor recommended surgery which my husband underwent on Tuesday. The surgery went well but Mr Urbanp was in a lot of pain afterwards because it took a while for the hospital to figure out the right mixture and doses of painkillers to get the pain down to a manageable level. He goes back to the doctor next week to find out how long he'll need to have the cast for--hopefully not too long because having use of only one hand (and the left hand, no less [he's a rightie]) is a definite disadvantage! It was hard viewing our trip positively after we found out he would need the surgery and certainly on Tuesday but I finally managed to post a review of our trip and finish posting photos and trip entries on my blog.

Thanks for posting your trip report, I can imagine how hard it must have been to put things in a positive light after what you've been through. I hope Mr UrbanP mends quickly. There are so few trip reports from this area of the world, so thanks for posting, especially under the circumstances. I have crossed horsback-riding off my Pantanal to-do list!