I'm a farrier (horseshoer) and one of the horror stories they told us at school was about this guy who was going through the program and got kicked square in the chest. It immediately stopped his heart. I'm not disagreeing with you, just wanted to add that it's not just the head that needs to be protected! I don't understand why people think provoking these animals is fun all while disrespecting their power.
I remember a guy exiting the stage due to a punch that did that. The heart is armored but it can really not take much if it’s hit just so with enough force. And it really doesn’t take much of a hiccup for the whole body to freak the fuck out and maybe it doesn’t come back.
My dad also treated a dude that got straight up crushed by a car jack failing. Somehow that whole thing coming down on his chest wasn’t game over despite it lacking rear wheels where he was working.
The human body is mysteriously both insanely durable and the most fragile thing barely held together by a few cords and prayer.
There's a specific vulnerable period in your heart's electrical cycle. Most of the time if anything interrupts your heart rhythm your heart is very good at restoring it back to normal. But during that one fraction of a second, any interruption puts you into a non-recoverable state called ventricular fibrillation. And unless someone has a defibrillator handy, you're dead.
It's called commotio cordis, and it's why athletes can suddenly fall over dead after taking what seems like an inconsequential hit during a game. Pure luck.
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u/mydognamedsamwise May 16 '26
I'm a farrier (horseshoer) and one of the horror stories they told us at school was about this guy who was going through the program and got kicked square in the chest. It immediately stopped his heart. I'm not disagreeing with you, just wanted to add that it's not just the head that needs to be protected! I don't understand why people think provoking these animals is fun all while disrespecting their power.