Care to share your injuries sustained pursuing your love of horses?

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zeuscleoharmony

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I wondered if any of you would like to share your experiences of injuries sustained whilst pursuing your love of horses, recovery and how your confidence was affected?

I am recovering after falling and breaking my collar bone in February and finally having surgery to plate it in April. I've had a great deal of pain and emotion the last four months ranging from never wanting to ride again to putting things all into perspective and now I can't wait to get back in the saddle.

Thanks to all you wellwishers, re my previous posts - saw consultant on Tuesday, another 2 months recovery b4 next appt, with physio, and not allowed to contemplate getting back in the saddle before October. Given the pain in my shoulder still, definitely not ready to consider riding for the forseeable future anyway.
 
Never broken anything (Touches wood) But i've nearly lost my leg behind a gate latch (passed out on dismount!) Landed on my head resulting in a verrry long head ache. And being kicked in the head
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Overall, quite lightly i think!
 
I have a few
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Dislocated my hip when I feel off , got back up popped it back in winced a little .. got back on

Fell off at a xc fence and now can't feel the top of my hip (suspected nerve damage!)

And I've been knocked out about 4 times

And I still haven't given up
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Hmmm lots! I tore a muscle in my rib area resulting in me finding it hard to breathe/move without screaming for a few weeks. Greenstick fracture to my right wrist when I fell off a 12.2hh haha. Plus completely ***** my lower back so now my right foot goes numb when I ride for too long.

Lots of trodden on toes and bitten fingers :-)

Horses eh?!
 
I'm very lucky, I've only fallen off twice and both were quite minor, just bruises - although the second time I did get my foot caught in the stirrup so I was dragged a little way, but all I got was a scratched-up back. I have got a weird permanent purple blot on my leg from being kicked - I think maybe it's a burst blood vessel or something - it's a bit gross. Other than that, nothing much.
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But I'm still quite early on in my horse-life - no doubt I will get my fair share of injuries in the future!
 
I dislocated my collar bone which is supposedly hard to do (they normally break), spent 3 months completely bedridden, turns out the hospital should have wired it back in so still suffer bad pain now 12 years on, got knocked unconscious in same accident!! Broke all my ribs down one side. Had a horse rear up and come down on my head. Kicked across the yard when i was 3 months pregnant by a shire horse. Prolapsed disc in my back picking a hoof! Got booted in the knee cap while doing up back leg straps. By the way none of these were by my boy, all of them were either at yards i've worked at or by horses i used to exercise for people. Even after all this i would do anything to not be seling my boy right now, he has good manners!!
 
I once fell of a friends horse that I was warming up at a show for them. Going in to a jump she stopped and then did a huge leap from a standstill, I was totally unprepared and came out the side door catching my finger on the way. Luckily no one saw so I brushed my self off and hopped back on (in considerable pain
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Took horse back to friend, he jumped on and went in to do the course, pony jumped better then ever (no stops which she does with others, not just me!) and won the class - think I scared her half to death when I landed right in front of her, she wasn't going to risk it happening again!
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Anyhows the rest of the day my fingers were agony, they turned a delightful shade of purple but I just got on with grooming, tacking up etc. I still hadn't told anyone I had fallen off!

The next two weeks I was still in a lot of pain, I really struggled with day to day jobs because as soon as I touched anything with my finger I was in soooo much pain. Eventually after a few weeks the pain wore off and I forgot all about the fall.

6 weeks later I happened to have a look at my damaged finger and realised that the tip was bent down at a ninety degree angle from the finger (not nice
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), I had very little movement in the tip and it hurt when I tried to straighten it up.

I finally gave in and went to the doctors who told me that I had snapped a tendon in my finger, it had to be splinted for 3 months and as I had left it for so long they weren't sure if it would repair itself.

Luckily it did (kind of), I still have a slight kink at the end of my finger but I can still use it fine. It does sometime cause me a bit of pain when I catch it or do to much with that hand but nothing that I can't put up with. I guess I should have gone to the doctors sooner!
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Oh and to this day know one knows how I 'really' hurt my finger!
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OOOh where to start lol I really am NOT a good advert for horse riding!
Closed Colles(sp) fracture to left arm
Scaphoid fracture fracture to left twice and right once.
Nearly every finger and one thumb.
Left ankle break and several toes.
Black eyes a plenty, bruises routinely and once cut a V shape flap out of bottom of leg which was successfully treated with purple spray, vet wrap and several shots of voddy!!!!

Ummmm why do I bother with horses???
 
Snapped my leg in half a few years ago when I fell off my horse. It was startled by a phesent ( say no more) It was before the days of mobile phones and I was in the middle of no where. I couldn't move. I had to let my horse go and he actually ran back to the yard which alerted people . 3 hours later I was found but had to be air lifted into an ambulance because they couldn't drive it to where I was.

It took 18 months and 3 operations later before I came off crutches but I,m still riding. The only thing is I can't jump or do too much fast work or ride a horse that jogs!!
 
Oh I so hope my husband doesn't read this post.......
broken sternum,
broken or squashed toes
crushed spine
general battering
 
I have got loads - coming off a horse when i was about 13 and mashing my nose - I got shouted at for letting the pony run off and getting blood inside my brand new thelwell riding hat. Had the blood stains for years. Got dragged through a thicket and had scars on my back for years. Now the good ones.... I once pulled a little to hard on the inside rein, when cantering a circle in a down hill school - horse fell over and broke my ankle - I did get back on and finish the lesson before going to hospital. Recovered after about 3 months, and was scared stiff when I first got back on. Fatel crouch or what, i was so far up her neck i should have been sitting between her ears. Recovered well after that, finally got my confidence back when we moved up north to proper hunting country. Then about 4 years ago, my horse tripped on an exposed membrane in the school of the livery yard i was at. The horse stumbled and i got her back on her feet 3 times, before we finally crashed to the ground. The horse tried to get up by rolling over- unfortunatley i was still "astride" at the time. I was very lucky - I only broke my pelvis and crushed my leg so much that the cartlidge popped out of my knee. I had finished my lesson, turned the horse out and drove to my other halfs place of work, before I went white and virtually collapsed - brill drug adrenalin. It took 3 months for me to be fit enough for an operation on my knee - due to the fractures in the pelvis" and it only took another 5 months to learn to walk again, and another 3 months before I could stand up to walk - I used to look like the creature from the bog. It realistically took 2 and a half years of physio and massage to return to nearly normal, i still struggle some days. The scariest thing was the first time I picked my horses feet out - I was almost hyper ventalating with fear. I still loose my nerve sometimes, but am back at competitions and have just brought a little "run around" to jump and do cross country on. Still have the old un who obviously has a death wish for me LOL
 
OMG where do I start!! lol
1..Ruptured spleen - had to be removed
2..Broken foot - perm lump
3..Broken tail bone "3 times" - thats worse than childbirth
4..Ripped cartilage from knee - operation - crutches for 5 months
5..Snapped calf muscle - boy that was painful! - plaster & crutches for 6 months
6..Numerous whiplash, sprains and windings!
I still LOVE riding..............
 
Oh its not only me then;
Scaphoid bone broken in wrist
3 x broken ribs
Broken elbows (fell in coffin XC)
Fractured ankle
Broken toes
Broken fingers....
 
Touch wood, I havent fallen off a horse. Nor have I been bitten/Kicked.
But can say I have been stood on before. Very minor though touch wood!

Nick.
 
Aside from the usual bruises, scrapes and strains I've had a couple of nasties: first, being whizzed off in an ambulance after 17hh of horrid horse kicked the crap out of me - not a single bit of me wasn't bruised from rib cage down to knees, spent days in bed unable to move whilst the bruising came out. Still thank my lucky stars that I didn't break anything, esp. as the lovely doctor in A&E said that if the horse had got my head I'd be dead.

Second was caused by my own incompetence, having an unnecessary fall bringing my TB back into work - fell awkwardly resulting in a twisted and rotated pelvis, badly sprained sacro-iliiac joint and whiplash. Still having treatment now (fell off May 2007), because whilst the skeletal problems are largely resolved, I'm having a lot of problems with the muscles in my back/neck as a result. On the upside, the x-rays discovered a 'kink' in my spine which goes a long way to explaining the issues I previously had with my position - now I know it wasn't just me being crap
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Hmm, where to start.

Fractured collarbone being bronked off rodeo style (bareback as well - lol). Even got back on again before I realised it was broken. Was ok after about a month but I was a teenager at the time!

Smashed my elbow up landing on a jump wing
Broken ribs after XC fall.
I broke my toe (silly fat mare) about 4 weeks before I was due to run the London Marathon.
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Latest one I smashed my wrist in 3 places & had it pinned. That was the worst because of the hospital stay! Was back on after about 6 weeks but it did affect m confidence a bit with that particular horse (reared & flipped over on me).


The funny thing is I am known on the yard for my ability to bounce! I have fallen off a lot!!! My Ex used to say I must be a really really crap rider...
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I used to ride all the nutters though....
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- torn ACL from a kick in the knee (with front leg!), dislocated the said knee 8 times (once while dismounting
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) so weeks and weeks and weeks in plaster 8 times in total over 4 years, damage to cartilage etc. Seems OK now after plenty of Pilates.
- dislocated shoulder after falling with a horse while galloping on a beach - horse fell in a hole in sand (kids had fun digging some king of canals I presume!).
- lots and lots of bruises, knocks, lost toe nails, split eyebrow and stitches (from kick in head)
Still in one piece though and never broke anything (as yet)
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LOL you'll be sorry you asked
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Broken collarbone (twice)
Broken foot (twice)
Did something complicated to a disc in my back, to this day i can't recall offhand what it actually is, all i know is that it hurts when i sit down on hard floors
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Concussion 4 times..must learn not to fall on my head
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Whiplash once
Have a series of horrible scars on left leg from being barged through a gate on a stupid polo pony..
Ongoing ankle injury.. my own fault entirely, didn't follow through with my physio enough and rode after 2 weeks as opposed to 8 weeks
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Dislocated my finger- doing up a girth!!
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- was doing up a man's girth for polo, pony whipped round, he dropped his leg down and my thumb got caught between the flap and strap as i tried to pull it out
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popped it back in by end of chukka
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Think you may end up wishing you'd never asked reading some of the replies!! It sounds like we are all mad.
I've been kicked twice in the back and hip causing extensive bruising and swelling and pain and am now misshapen on one side - looks good in a bikini?? Not.
in the worst fall I have slipped a disc in my neck, have ulnar nerve damage causing weakness and pain right side of body, am currently waiting for an appointment for surgery on my shoulder for a traumatic capsulitis that wont heal and as a result I cant lift my right arm up. My right ankle has completely seized up and my toes dont work there either - this is all from one fall in 2007 and treatment is still ongoing.

Like you say my confidence was shattered but luckily I have been able to keep riding (in a fashion that is I try my best) and I have lessons and am slowly gaining my confidence back and trying more and more. Just work at it slowly and have someone there like an instructor to help but push you gradually it really helps me. Not sure how I'll get ona fter the surgery cos then I will be out of riding action but on the nhs its looking like it'll be forever til I even get appointment so best not worry about that bit yet!!
 
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Still thank my lucky stars that I didn't break anything, esp. as the lovely doctor in A&E said that if the horse had got my head I'd be dead.

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Or, *very* lucky to be alive, but breaking nearly all the bones in your face, fracturing through to the brain, and ripping parts of your face open through to the bones:

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As I did after being double barreled in the face
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Ouch!!! My worst injury were three shattered metertarsals and torn ligaments in my foot- apparently I was like humpty dumpty and was told I might not be able to walk- I can now walk but cant run (beleive me its wierd trying to and not being able to), jump, do sports or wear heels. But at least im healthy and alive and happy. Im thankful for that.
 
Puppy, your accident still makes me wince! And Be didn't even mean to do anything!

The horse that did it to me intended to hurt though, and I'm so lucky I didn't get it in the head - you have coped far better with your injuries then I could have done if it'd happened to me.
 
Being THE most accident prone person on the face of the earth, I broke my elbow whilst writing! I actually have very few injurie that I have had whilst riding;

Broken collarbone - was sitting on pony about 4 years ago at the end of a lesson, reins on the buckle, pony shook himself and I came off!

Broken Foot - Dropped a wooden jump pole on it whilst in flip flops.

Back - fell onto a xc fence, never been the same since, there is a whacking great long word to describe it but basically I go to the chiro every month or I can barely move

Ankle - Got kicked, went to hospital, torn tendons and ligaments etc but no break, so a week off then 2 ibuprofen, ankle support and I was back on again, swelled so much and I was in so much pain went to physio aabout 3 months later as is still causing pin and whatdayouknow, it was fractured, so I was riding for two months on a fractured ankle. That'll be why it hurts then
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LOL! It still makes me wince at times, but I am quite cheery when I talk about it as I know I am *very* lucky to be alive, and not brain damaged.
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Although, as I am now at the stage of bringing Be back into work where we are hacking out alone, I might stop professing "she didn't mean to...", and accept that in fact, I think my beloved grey pony IS out to kill me...
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concussion, a few times, including waking up the next day in hospital.
fractured humerus, punctured lung, ruptured spleen after being knocked off my horse by another rider.
tore ligaments off ribs at the back being bucked off a youngster - v painful.
fractured base of femur, ruptured cruciate, torn meniscus all in right knee, after being bucked off when mounting.
a nasty kick to quads a few years ago - i've still got a lump. that hurt a lot too and made me quite nervous around the back end of horses for a while, must admit.

none of them have put me off. hope you make a speedy recovery, be patient, it's worth waiting till you feel absolutely right.
 
I think Puppy possibly wins for one of the worst
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I broke my collar bone when my horse fell earlier in the year, and I sympathise with whoever is recovering from it at the moment. Its a horrible, horrible break that is so bloody painful as you just can't stop it moving
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I did get a bag carrier for a week at school though
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And I was lucky that I was back riding in 4wks
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Looking at these posts and watching some of the emergency real ER type shows on TV is starting to make me wonder if horse people are actually devoid of the mental capacity to make conscious decisions about safety!!!!!!
You would have some one 'put away' if they kept on putting their hands into pots of boiling water but horsey folk......'oh, it wasn't the horses fault it threw me into the wall, stood on me and then called all its mates to give me a kicking too'
We really do need out bumps felt-infact next time I come a cropper and am being x-rayed I may just ask for yet another CT-scan or MRI just to make sure my brain is all there!!!
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I have broken my foot and came off last week knocked unconscious still have whiplash and not quite right!
i am a radiographer and xray many ppl in a and e who are involved in horsey accidents, doesnt put me off! i have arguments with my friends over which is worse, motorbikes or horse riding!
 
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