Ever been injured by a horse?

Have you ever been injured by a horse (including falls)

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i've had lots of silly accidents which resulted in a few bruises and stuff but i've also had a few more which have been painful, took longer to recover and a long term pain.

got kicked in my leg while riding another horse, smashed my tibia and fibia and caught the nerves. spent 6 months in plaster (many years ago) and now have poor circulation in that leg, hip and foot problems.
broken my left collar bone and ribs after falling off my horse jumping, knocked unconcious.
got kicked in my left elbow by a horse i was leading, chipped the bone now have slight arthritis in it.
got sucked into a whirlpool with my pony as a kid, pony got out and i held his tail, the pull of the current managed to pull my back out quite bad which left me 4 months of virtual bed rest.

the most stupid one though was holding on to a blue nylon rope while a horse was charging through it, i wrapped it around my hand for extra grip but it sliced into my hand so damaged some of the nerves, told i was lucky i didn't lose my hand...........i should add i was a very tired 13yr old and it was freezing cold so didn't feel much until i got to hospital! :D
 
once got bucked off my own horse - ko'd into a tree, broke my pelvis.

Another time - bucked off a riding school pony (oh the shame) broken wrist.

numerous other lesser injuries.... mostly bruising lol.
 
i voted wrong :( oops :p i thought i had never had to have time off from riding because of injury but there has been 2 incidents where i have had to cancel my lesson (dont have my own horse) from riding/being around other horses and getting injured :p

Before any of you say it wasn't the horses fault i knew both well and was just funny incidents that hurt a bit :p
 
Only injury I've had was a broken collar bone when my horse slipped on a road (at walk) and went crashing down. My arm took the brunt of it. I have had numerous falls over the years other than that but I seem to normally bounce pretty well! Lol
 
Where do i start? Though i've not taken any time off after these incidents.

Fallen off back first into a mesh security fence and got two back feet from the horse just above my lady parts, no major damage.

Kicked in the thigh by my horse, just bruising and very sore.

Fallen off and landed heavily on my right hip luckily no major damage.

Fallen off, no gloves on, held onto reins and took a load of skin off my fingers.

Fallen off, got whiplash, bad concussion and my leg got jumped on, luckily nothing broken.

Numerous falls that weren't spectacular, toes jumped on etc etc
 
I've had plenty of the minor cuts & bruises & a few near misses that could have been quite serious. Some of more memorable ones have been falling off a RS horse during a pairs jumping class (he wanted horse I was following to speed up, rider couldn't get it to go any faster and horse I was on expressed his frustration by bucking between every jump, I fell off just before the last fence & he jumped it without me!), for a minute there I thought I'd broke my wrist as it started swelling up but just a bad sprain. Then there was being kicked on the knee when a horse decided to buck at me as I was leading it across a field, also been dragged down the yard when leading another horse (god knows why I didn't just let go!) and got a nasty cut on my leg a few weeks before uncle's wedding (god knows how I didn't get kicked or trodden on). Then there was a horse kicking out in response to her neighbor when I was stood behind her messing with her rug, could feel the draft created by her leg going past and judging by the chunk she took out of the breezeblock wall if I'd been stood there she would definitely have broken something. Then there was the fun time when I fell off when jumping a grid with no stirrups or reins, landed on my head and gave myself whiplash & quite possibly a mild concussion (had a major headache for the rest of the day and was seeing stars for a bit), everyone kept asking if I was alright, rather than taking the pee so guess it didn't look too great to watch either! (I still have neck problems to this day, prob as a result of never getting it looked at...). I've left the best til last though - getting kicked in the eye by my own horse, wasn't intentional, I was cleaning his mud fever scabs and he was telling me to sod off cos it hurt, unf his spacial awareness isn't the best (he walks into walls...) and so he caught me with his warning kick. I ended up in A&E with concussion (apparently looked like I was drunk when I staggered out of his stable!) and again god knows how on earth I didn't break something, end up with brain damage or permanently damage my eye (had some fabulous bruising and took a month or so to be able to see properly out of it and still got a nice scar from where his shoe cut me), think that would have turned out a lot worse had it been any other horse (mine doesn't tend to put a lot of force behind his kicks even with other horses).
 
I was attacked by a horse where I used to work, he came over his stable door as I was going into the stable next door grabbed hold of my back and dragged me to the floor. I was seriously lucky as a cm or so over and he would have broken my back :(
It happened in winter I had several layers on and I have a a hefty scar from it, he would have ripped my back to shreds if it had happened in summer.

I was not allowed to have time off from it, nor was I even allowed to sit and have time out from work that day after it happened :( but certainly needed it! I still struggle with back pain, my physio is working very hard to correct it as he tore through my muscle wall. It was worse because I never saw it coming and because of that I am still rather nervy of horses who even threaten with their teeth.

I have had plenty of falls, bites, kicks, rope burn but that incident I feel has been the worse for me but I am sure not too bad in comparison to some.
 
Lots of injuries veering from broken bones, dislocations and concussions (to the point of when I was concussed I knew I was concussed! Also had all my teeth kicked out.

I also broke my back in three places and was told by the doctors never to ride again however, thank heavens, I ignored that one over 40 years ago.

As for the categories above I think a lot depends on one's attitude towards injury as to what is a minor or major injury and how long it takes to get going again.

When I had my teeth kicked out (my fault entirely as I was in a rush, grabbed a pony's halter standing in front of him to worm him. He was startled, reared up and caught me under my chin with his knee knocking out my teeth, breaking my cheekbone and jaw.) I was back at work the next morning as there was not anyone else to fill in for me.

I broke my leg when a horse I was riding jumped sideways when startled by a Border Collie jumping out and snapping at his front legs, my leg collided with a tree. I finished the ride but knew it was more than a bruise. No displacement but a definite fracture. Leg set in plaster I was riding the next day.

Of all the 'accidents' I have had majority have been because I was either careless, taking things for granted or just being plain ridiculous in trying something I never should have!

My mother would just laugh and tell me that if I couldn't take the pain to stop riding. I learned to take the pain. LOL

Anything to do with horses is a risk sport, realise that and learn not only from your own mistakes but also from others.
 
Never had serious injuries from falling off *touch wood* but recently when plaiting my sisters horse he stepped on the bridge of my foot. Nothing big but was very sore when i was riding that day and had a mahoosive bruise over my whole foot!
 
Pulled my finger off many years ago,lucky to have it stiched back, then another acident resulting in years of ops and various cages on leg these all failed and lost leg, but both of these were acidents,the only way to look at it and just get back on and carry on
 
ebonyallen said:
Pulled my finger off many years ago,lucky to have it stiched back, then another acident resulting in years of ops and various cages on leg these all failed and lost leg, but both of these were acidents,the only way to look at it and just get back on and carry on
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I think you are amazing, just getting back on after that happening to you.
 
I've just spent the evening with an old friend who suffered horrific spinal injuries coming off a horse about 40 years ago.

She was paralized for the first 6 months, then gradually made a partial recovery but has been disabled all her life, at varying levels.

Now she's a wheelchair user but walks a little with sticks. She still works with horses, always has. And still rides.
 
Got bitten in the face by a pony whilst on work experience, was entirely my fault as I knew she was a grumpy so and so but couldn't be bothered tying her up on the yard whilst I mucked her out. Pony was unusually being very well behaved and was enjoying a good stroke from me, I went to scoop up some poo by her when she spun round and bit me extremely close to my eye, she made my face bleed and I was so lucky that she had missed my eye.

I remember when I first started riding and I hadn't even learnt how to canter yet, everyone else in the lesson had had a canter and I was just supposed to have a trot to the back, the pony I was riding got really excited and took off, I fell off into the arena wall but thankfully no harm done. Whilst on work experience I got a huge bite on my arm from a shetland pony, was through 3 layers of clothing and took 3 weeks for the bruise to go. Said pony will bite whilst being tacked up and lead, I had to lead him in a lead rein lesson and he nearly took a chunk out of my leg several times when trotting, he likes to lunge at you with his teeth bared. He's not frightened or anything, he just likes to bite.

At college I was holding another bad tempered shetland that decided to rear, lunge forward and then finally drag me round the field lol.

I have had my feet trodden on more times than I can remember and have been kicked too. No serious injuries yet touch wood but I seem to come close to falling off every week!
 
I was looking after a bad tempered T.B had him tied up to put a rug on and as i put it on, he swung his head round to bite me and the buckle on his headcollar caught me hard on my eyebrow, split it open, bled every where, had to have stitches and an x ray.
 
Yup I have had several including both knees broken requireing casts and surgeries. This happened when a horse went over backwards with me and my feet got stuck in the stirrups :( I was young at the time and was in casts for months, wasnt fun.

My most recent has been the one giving me the most pain and this was 2008, horse got a fright as I was getting off, took off went through and got wrapped in leccy fencing, started bucking, managed to stay on horse went in straight line I went to slip off as reins were round his knees and no stirrups so no hope of stopping him safely, I muist have caught his side as i swung over and he bucked and I fell and tore muscles/ligaments/tendons all around my spine, pelvis and lower back. I have had ops and may still need more in future.
 
A broken leg that I ignored for 2 weeks thinking it was just an impact wound/ bruising from when I go in the way of my mare being protective of her baby on the way to the field I ended up on the floor and her back feet came down on my leg after she double barreled the fence.

I got up took off my ripped tights and went to a meeting (lucky I'd shaved my legs ) I ran about 20 miles and did 3 yoga sessions before I gave in and tottered into minor injuries for an x-ray 2 weeks later !!

Concussion twice - once my hat saved my life

a broken finger - I lead my foal to the field after weaning some very kind soul turned out thier horse in the field I was trying to walk past and shouted sorry couldn't wait late for work as it went bonkers and my lad nearly took my hand off.

2 broken front teeth that I had to have capped and a split lip / zip stuck in my chin from a kick while picking feet out - one very valid reason why I refuse to shoe mine on the backs !!

I've never listed them before now but they all sound horriffic - I have only started breakin things since I turned 25 though - Imagine the list could be a lot bigger if I hadn't learnt to bounce well as a kid
 
I have only had minor injuries from falling off a horse, but my cob managed to fracture my cheekbone last year when he head-butted me! Totally my own fault as I had bent down in front of him to pick up his feed bowl when something distracted him and he brought his head up quickly, catching me in the face. I had several job interviews lined up that week and went to them looking like I had just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson! Didn't get any of the jobs - not sure why????
 
I think it might be easier if I start with a list of bits that haven't been injured.

So... ummm.... no actually I think every bit of me has either been squashed, bitten, kicked, rolled on :eek:, broken, misplaced, removed :eek: :)
 
My knuckles are a bit lumpy from years of bashes & abuse and I get sore ankles from horses jumping on me, but I put never injured on the poll. I've had 40/50 horses in the last 45 years and am very, very careful.
It constantly amazes me the risks people take and the lack of awareness they have about what could potentially go wrong in situations. I guess I'm also lucky (must touch wood) as I have had some near misses - especially when riding.
 
Apart from a fall years ago that has left me with grumbly back pain - but didn't take a day off then! - I've ridden 28 years without any real injuries until my mate's youngster kicked me a month ago and left me without use of my right leg for some time - bruised the femoral nerve, tore some muscles. Just getting back on board, did ten mins walk and trot this morning and now feeling a bit sore. Can't wait for my lovely soft tissue woman to get in there and sort me out!
 
Two occasions.
First my horse slipped and fell on me when I was younger and at the grand old age of 24 I now have arthritis in my right knee and a dodgey hip which loves to pop out of place.

Second was my own fault. Some very bizarre jumping accident which I don't actually know what occurred but trying to be cocky decided to land on me feet. Which went wrong. My ankle bent in such a manner that the left side of my right foot touched my calf. Somehow managed not to actually break said ankle but instead all the ligaments etc etc removed themselves from their rightful places. I was out of work for 4 months. My ankle is really weak and will randomly give (which I'm sure must look hysterical!) I can't walk long distances and have a bulge of cartilage on the side of my foot a medium sized bump which is permanently bruised.
 
I got thrown over a Horses head once, and he tripped over me. Stood on my leg and arm. Kicked me in the back and then clipped me on the ribs. The result was severly winded and bad back ache. I did get back on though. My back still plays up now because of it.

I got bucked off a Horse, fell through the fence. Broke the first 2 panels on and the 3rd bouced back of it and headbutted the floor. The peak of the hat, stopped me completly hitting my head but instead gave me whiplash. I got taken to hospital in an ambulance as my airways started to close off due to my neck muscles swelling up. Had to have a week off work and see a pysio.

The 3rd accident was when an ex racer bolted with me. He ran into a wall and my leg went through a concrete pipe and I broke it in half. I didn't realise at the time what I had done. Wasn't until I looked down and saw the blood leaking through my jods. Still got the scar.
 
Kicked in the forehead by a fellow liveries gelding after it knocked me face first into the mud then cantered over me trying to barge out of the gate.

Came off chin first into a jump wing jumping my friends arab as a kid, resulting in instant skin peel.

Knocked unconcious being landed on x-country when horse fell on top of me.

Kicked in the back by a 2yr old colt at a stud I worked at whilst trying to bring him in during a thunderstorm.

2 bitten off finger nails. 1 by my mare protecting her new foal. I stupidly got in the way of her and a wee welshy who'd come to investigate the baby. The 2nd was a horse belonging to the RS owner where I rode as a kid. Lovely, gormless wb who decided my fingers looked pretty chewable and wouldn't let go. Pulled me over the stable door by my thumb and friend had to come and prise my hand out of his mouth!

And lastly, mare jumped on my foot as spooked by someone dragging a bag of hay past her stable. Toe nail came off and has grown back squint ever since resulting in numerous painful chiropady visits.

Plus the usual kicks, bites and knocks that happen on a frequent basis :)
 
I shattered my elbow whilst still on a horse...saddle slipped as had just got on an girth not fully tightened - cue idiot friend giving pony a hefty whallop on backside and said pony taking off like his life depended on it!

I, whilst hanging on one side like a stunt rider, collided elbow first with the top of a fence post then hit head on next one causing me to be flung off and deposited underneath idiot friends fat cob.

Shuffled out and in my shock went 'yeah, yeah I'm fine look it still moves' waving arm about. That's probably what made it so bad I needed weekly x rays for almost a year, 2 ops and about 4 months in a full arm plaster cast. Maybe idiot friend wasn't the only idiot...
 
Not half as bad as many of these, but out riding about 7 years ago, horse started peeing about, slipped, fell, smooshed my foot into a million tiny pieces. They tried to wire it but couldn't get it back together so just stuck a cast on and hoped for the best. It's a whole size smaller than my other foot now as the bones are all bent. Recently went for another xray when another horse jumped on it and nearly re-did the damage and the xray guy was like 'woaahhh, your foot is crazy, all the bones are bent'. lol

It still hurts, and it was in a cast for quite a long time plus i never got physio (major spinal surgery week after getting cast off) so my tendon never recovered. So doing some short stirrup xc practice a couple of years ago and my tendon just rips. Great. Another several months of hobbling about... (although riding with no stirrups did improve my seat no end)

I'm lucky though, could have been much worse.

This foot does seem to take all of the abuse though.
 
Spring Feather said:
I think when one is brought up in an environment with many horses around you do tend to learn very quickly at a young age to always keep your wits about you. In a lifetime I've had a few minor equine-related injuries but none have been serious.
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True, but then you get the mad "jump on anything" type of people (like me!) who get injured in falls!

In answer to the OP yes I've had several serious injuries including torn ligaments in my left ankle, a fractured collarbone and my back.
 
Interesting,if scary reading.
My worst was more of a tree accident than a riding accident.
There was a stallion in a field next to a narrow,wooded bridleway where I was pottling along on a sec D mare. The stallion squeeled 'drop 'em,Blossom' and the mare decided to bolt. I saw the tree branch coming,too low to duck,too high to jump. My nose took the full force.Was not knocked off the horse. Much blood though. It did not really require time off work,but I am a teacher,and my face would have frightened the children!
 
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