From Sheep to Sling: Pediatric Injuries Due to Rodeo Mutton Bustin'

Mutton Bustin' was developed as a safer alternative to rough stock rodeo events such as bull riding to allow kids to participate in the rodeo. Children hold on to the bareback of a running sheep until they fall, competing to see who can ride the longest. While reports of injuries due to other rodeo events are well described in the literature, there are no reports of Mutton Bustin'-associated injuries. We present a case series describing the injury patterns in Mutton Busters who presented to our institution.

Pediatric patients presenting to a single tertiary pediatric hospital system from April 2011 to April 2023 with injuries related to participation in Mutton Bustin' were identified for retrospective review. Review of the medical record was performed to identify patients and collect demographic information (sex, age at injury, race, BMI), injury characteristics, mechanism of injury, and treatment patterns.

We identified 20 patients (mean age 5.5±1.2 y, 55% female) presenting to our institution with Mutton Bustin' injuries. The most common injury pattern was upper extremity fracture occurring in 18/20 (90%) cases. Three (15%) of patients required surgical intervention. No patients had complications related to their injuries.

Our series demonstrates upper extremity fractures to be the most common injuries obtained while Mutton Bustin' outlines patient education strategies to prevent future rodeo-related injuries.

Level IV-prognostic case series.