Your experiences of concussion...

It's so interesting reading other people's accounts. It seems to be quite a common injury even if it's usually only minor. I'd previously only had one minor concussion when I came off my own horse on the lunge, he spooked at some sheep that (god forbid) looked at him, and me without and stirrups or reins had little chance of staying on, I remember feeling sore but getting back on and then seeing flashing lights, they quickly passed and I had no further symptoms and was fine.

Obviously I wasn't quite so lucky this time! Thank you to the poster who recommended the Charles Owen jockey skull. I already have (although it needs replacing now) the Charles Owen 4 star which is meant to offer very good protection. And ironically I do have an air jacket, which I had stopped wearing since riding horses other than my own (go figure on that stupid logic) but I think I'll be swallowing my pride and wearing it on all occasions.

And thank you everyone on all the well wishes, I really appreciate it!
 
My horse died under me out on a hack. When I came round I had no idea where I was but I ended up in a friend's house blurting out 'basil is dead', which would have been bad enough but he was only six and she bred him. Apparently I talked absolute gibberish for a couple of hours. I was woolly headed for six weeks, but nothing much else at the time. However I now wear a hearing aid in one ear, which I have been told shows a pattern of hearing loss which is likely to be a result of my head hitting the floor. It was pure chance I decided that it wasn't too hot to wear a hat. I'd have been dead if I'd made the other choice, which I often did and never have since.
 
When I said I saw stars, that is exactly how it was, same as you, flashing lights.

I see people, especially the dressage group, without helmets on all the time and have friends who don't ride with helmets and think well I'm such an experienced rider that could never happen to me. A few years ago a local woman was trail riding, bareback and with no helmet, along with her son on his pony. Something spooked the horse, she came off, her head hit a rock and she died. Poor child had to go get help knowing his mother was probably not going to wake up. Very sad story.

Some people don't realize how important protecting ones head is and even then there are no guarantees. And having a concussion, whether mild. Moderate or severe ca be life changing.
 
I'm so sorry you are experiencing such awful symptoms. I do hope they clear up soon.

I've only ever had concussion once. I came off a young horse that bolted across a field with me. I wasn't knocked out although the impact was very painful. I was shocked by how much it hurt but thought I was fine and got back on the horse.

By the time I got home I was feeling dizzy but put that down to the shock of the accident. By the next day I had some funny sensations such as if I turned my head it felt like the room took a few seconds to catch up with me and when i stood up I felt like I was listing.

Was finally persuaded to go to A&E for a check up and diagnosed with concussion. I was warned that head injuries can make you feel quite weepy and emotional and sure enough the next day I felt dreadful. A bit fluey and tearful and just plain weird. That was the worst day and slowly but surely I felt better each day after that.

At A&E I had apologised to the Triage nurse, convinced that I was wasting their time, but she said they ALWAYS want to see anyone who has fallen off a horse at a gallop even if they don't lose consciousness.
 
cptrayes said:
My horse died under me out on a hack. When I came round I had no idea where I was but I ended up in a friend's house blurting out 'basil is dead', which would have been bad enough but he was only six and she bred him. Apparently I talked absolute gibberish for a couple of hours. I was woolly headed for six weeks, but nothing much else at the time. However I now wear a hearing aid in one ear, which I have been told shows a pattern of hearing loss which is likely to be a result of my head hitting the floor. It was pure chance I decided that it wasn't too hot to wear a hat. I'd have been dead if I'd made the other choice, which I often did and never have since.
Click to expand...

Gosh what an awful thing to happen. :( Thank goodness you had a hat on, I can imagine the experience was incredibly traumatic for you though. x
 
On the most recent occasion I was told not to ride for a month, and I will be honest and say I probably shouldn't have ridden for several months after that, as I still wasn't myself. I have had incidents where I have been sick and dizzy for several months after, with severe headaches on a permanent basis. These days if I had concussion again following a fall I would take it much easier, even if it appeared mild at first as it can become worse simply by overdoing it.
Take it easy and be kind to yourself.
 
I concussed myself aged 11, falling off in a sand school with a new and properly fitted hat. I have no memory of the fall (I never have, not that it's 19 years ago haha!!), just cantering along and then lying on the floor after wards. I was unconscious for about five minutes I'm told and afterwards incredibly drowsy, vomiting constantly, headaches and ended up staying in hospital for the night! No CT scan in those days though! Interestingly the doctors at the time actually thought my hat had caused the concussion by moving and impacting the back of my neck. Who knows. Sadly, my pony had just been broken in and was away being professionally schooled; I had gone to ride him and ended up in hospital - my confidence was in tatters for the best part of the next year but just on him, fine riding anything else. I still have the little rat bag though :-)

I fell off again about 8 months later, and I'm pretty sure I concussed myself again though not so badly. I just remember pony bucking and then a crowd of cricketers around me picking me up, and my friend the other side of the green retrieving pony.... So there was another unaccounted time period!!

Interestingly, I attended a talk a few years ago by an American professor whose expertise was ex military personnel and the effects of brain injury, and he advised that a simple concussion can take as long as two to three years to actually heal, and effects can last even longer.
 
Plaine1956 said:
Wow that is interesting about the hearing loss as I also wear a hearing aid and the doctor could find no reason why my hearing is affected enough to need one
Click to expand...

Apparently my hearing loss is very specific, in one ear only, at the frequencies of a man's voice. My OH says it's my excuse for not listening to him:) My audiologist says it fits either with living next to a runway, which I never have, or blunt force trauma to the opposite side of my head, which was the accident.

southerncomfort said:
Gosh what an awful thing to happen. :( Thank goodness you had a hat on, I can imagine the experience was incredibly traumatic for you though. x
Click to expand...

It wasn't the most fun I've ever had in my life :) Thankfully I can't really remember him falling, but I did also pull all my abs, so presumably I fought to hold him up as he dropped. I do clearly remember how weird it was to be in a place I knew well, and knew I knew well, but simply could not remember why I knew it or where I was. It was even more surreal because I was on top of the world, with a view fifty miles in each direction! I looked at his body, touched his eye, and completely emotionless at that point I thought 'he's dead' and turned and walked down a path just because I couldn't think of anything else to do. It led eventually to my friend's house, the poor friend who bred the horse :( He was my best mate and we buried his passport where he fell with a stone with his dates on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top