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Comment by Barbara Chapel on May 26, 2009 at 6:07am

Thank-you to everyone for your warm thoughts and your stories of injuries.I tried working yesterday at work, poor idea, could not really do my job well, so now I am off for awhile, plus my vacation. I agree, sometimes, it's an omhen to slow down,so that's what I am going to do. Went to the library, so I have some good books to read, tea and a supportive hubby. I will just rest the shoulder, rest my mind and heal. I will be getting back up in the saddle as soon as I can pull my body back up into that saddle.LOL I will be concentrating on ridding in the arena or in the sand arena only till I get my balance in the saddle. Can't keep a good woman down!
Glad to hear Nuke is on the road to recovery! Yahoooo.

Comment by Shirley on May 25, 2009 at 11:47pm

Barbara, If you can get on and ride somewhere very safe....I'd go for it, NOW! I got bucked off by taking my guy on a camp trip before either of us was really prior and properly prepared. I ended up with very pulled muscles in my thigh in the process of coming off (probably stuck in the stirrup a little. Then when I hit the ground I hit my tailbone & my upper back and then my head and cracked my helmet on the back about 2 inches. As soon as I got my wind & was pretty sure nothng was broke a friend just lead us around in the campground and then when we got back to the stable I rode everyday even though I was very sore. The reason I say NOW is because I felt the fear built up for about a week. I think each time I went over it in my memory or had to tell someone else, it just got worse in my head and added a little drama trauma. Riding some every day it did start getting easier about the 8th or 9th day. The next summer I broke my ankle tripping over the dog in my living room. I had to have surgery and have several screws and a plate put in. Once the repair surgery was done and I had a cast on it my doctor gave me permission to ride. That ended up a good experience. The whole time Cash treated me like precious cargo and was exceptionally good and careful. One day I flipped the mounting block backward and I slid underneat Cash. He STOOD there and never budged. It was actually easier to ride at a walk and trot with my feet out of the stirrups which improved my seat. As I started being physically stronger he knew and went back to doing little things to test me. Sometimes it feels like he KNOWS when I'm ready to improve and can handle more stunts of misbehavin/

Comment by Sharon B on May 25, 2009 at 8:27pm

Barbara, I hope you are feeling better soon. If your shoulder doesn't loosen up in a couple of days, get it looked at sooner rather than later. I have been very fortunate that while I have had many falls (I collect air miles), I have never suffered a serious injury. I do consider a fall as a good excuse to go for a massage.
Most of my falls have been either a result of not paying attention like the time I was talking to someone behind me and had a large spruce bough sweep me right out of the saddle on trail, or my mare being too enthusiastic over jumps. She tended to jump way more that what was required and usually took off far too early. I had to train myself not to 2 point until the very base of the jump, or touch her sides coming into a jump or else she would take off from that spot. Now that I riding school horses I have to learn how to apply leg into a jump again.
By the way Lee, any time you land on your feet it's not a fall, its an unplanned dismount ;)

Comment by Jenny Hiscox on May 25, 2009 at 5:06pm

Oh, Barbara, sending healing thoughts!

It depends on what you mean by "hurt" LOL. My last fall was hurt feelings only, because I never thought my beloved mare would toss me, let alone take off bucking for the barn and leave me on the frozen field in the dusk with the coyote that set her off! The time before that I was bareback on a mountaintop on a green horse who had just had her feet trimmed. What a way to find out her feet were cut too short! I asked her to canter and she made a bee-line at full speed back towards the steep way we had just come up. I decided to bale (bail?) but really flubbed it! Landed on my mouth and one shin, lots of bruising and soreness but no real injuries. I got back on her and rode home, then continued riding every day, but not her until her feet grew in a bit!

The only time I've ever really been injured was when I was 17 or so. My horse balked at a jump and I was tired; went over the jump before him, it was kind of funny, really. Landed on one foot, one knee and one elbow. The knee and elbow were sore, but the ankle of the foot I landed on was broken. We were about a two-hour ride from the barn, so my friends took the boot off me (remember it was tallboots in those days) then once we sat and had our picnic I removed the stirrups from my horse and rode back to the barn without them. Had an ongoing fight with my coach for the next year because she kept yelling at me for not putting weight in my left heel and saying I was making excuses when I told her my ankle was broken.

Comment by Jan Jollymour on May 25, 2009 at 4:51pm

Mostly I haven't been hurt coming off a horse - I'm usually hurt on the ground or while still in the saddle. As some of you know, I shattered my right wrist 2 months ago in a stable accident, I broke ribs falling on a Fortiflex bucket, I broke my hand hitting it on the pommel of the saddle when the horse was bucking, I broke my lower jaw and most of my lower face on a horse which was bucking (I bailed after that), I broke my shoulder longeing, etc...I think the longest I was out of the saddle was when I had a skull fracture/brain injury when my stallion fell with me/on me - that was 6 months.

I think soft tissue injuries put you out of commission for longer, Barbara, and you should take care of the shoulder - if you don't you could have problems with it for the rest of your life. Fortunately for me, I heal very well and quickly, and I don't seem to be affected by fear after the fact (or maybe I'm just dumb!!). I personally find it easier to stay in a dressage or jumping saddle than in a stock saddle, but if you ride in an English saddle you may find it helpful to add a bucking (or grab) strap to the pommel. It runs across the front of the saddle from the D-ring on one side to the D on the other - even Sue Blinks rode with one (and used it!) at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

So far the news on Nuke is good, and if the blood work is still good as of this afternoon Christa and I will drive to Langley tomorrow morning to pick him up and bring him home!

On the brighter side -

Comment by Lee Kelly on May 25, 2009 at 4:41pm

Barbara so sorry to hear of your fall, I hope you are well on the way to a full recovery. As far as falling off...been there done that, fell off of a percheron cross mare 2 years ago, my fault riding way too relaxed not paying attention. I was talking to the person behind me half turned in the saddle (in the outside sand arena) birds flew up towards my horse she decided to leave in a hurry, 360 degree spin and canter in the other direction, held on till I got her almost stopped then fell LOL. Result a broken tail bone, got back on her and walked her around the arena once. Too painful, took 3 weeks out of the saddle and a few on a very quiet smooth aged QH mare. Also fell off of Clyde (18.3 hands) but had time to swing my feet down LOL, landed on my feet (he stumbled over a jump) Hang in there you will be back in the saddle soon.

Comment by Eileen on May 25, 2009 at 4:32pm

"Have I ever been hurt coming off a horse" hmmm well the last bad one was about 10 years ago....horse went over backwards with me on him, the fall itself did not hurt me, it was the horse getting back up and using me and my abdomen and inner thighs for a launching pad....first one back foot stomps on the abdomen, then the other hind leg stomps on my inner thigh...and then of coures the rest of my lower body did not do well either. I was black and blue and green and yellow from my waist to my knees. I couldn't walk frontwards for about a week. Only by walking sideways by twisting my feet to and fro could I get anywhere. Luckily nothing was broken, but everything that you can name had some sort of damage. I am still not back to normal as far as eveness, one side being a little "off" from the other. It took me about a year so that I could walk on a hard surface for more than an hour with out feeling it that night. I did manage to get up on one of my quiet horses about 2 or 3 weeks after the fall, just to prove to myself that I could get up there physically. Because after all, I was in the market for another horse. I did sell that other one. I think if we can get over the fall in our mind the physical stuff will look after itself.

Comment by Dorothy McDonall on May 25, 2009 at 9:39am

Hey, Barbara, that's too bad about your fall. Give yourself time to recover, and get help if you need it. It`s worth it.

I "fell off" while mounting my horse a couple of years ago (it's a long story) -- didn't actually get into the saddle but came off anyway, and badly sprained my right ankle. I didn't ride for almost a month. However, what I did do was get lots of rest, work closely with a chiropractor, read a good book and then check myself into doing physical rehab with a personal trainer. I also got to work with my horse more on the ground which was time well spent. So, there was a silver lining. My suggestion is to take this opportunity, to the degree that it's possible, to pamper yourself and get some rest. I sometimes think these things happen to tell us something about our lives. In my case, I was over exhausted and distracted. This lesson taught me to get some rest and stay focused. By the way, I now have no physical evidence of my ankle having been so badly strained (and it was ... bruising from mid calf to the tips of my toes and swollen and so tender that I couldn't put that leg in a bath of warm water for a month,) and I'm always very careful to make sure my ducks are in a row before putting my foot in the stirrup. ;-)

Get well soon ...

Comment by Barbara Chapel on May 25, 2009 at 8:54am

Thanks Cyndi, Yea, I am sure she knew I was nervous being on the side of the road.And I am wondering, is it easier to stay in an English or western saddle? I was using my new(used) english. I am sure my balance is not great because I am just a beginner.We were going on my first trail ride. Oh, well, I'll learn. Back to lessons......Now I have to go to work...

Comment by Cyndi on May 25, 2009 at 8:45am

Sorry to hear about your fall, Barbara.

I fell off my horse three times in the three months last year. The worst I got was road rash and a slight concussion (thankfully, I was wearing a helmet!). The worst bruises I received was from slipping off and having my "top" boot fall on my leg as I landed. I hope you are feeling better soon.

My horse is in training (the falls last year were totally my fault, and mostly due to my lack of balance...so I've been taking lessons for a while now, and now she is too), and last week was the first time I rode her since she's been at the trainer's. She spooked, but I stayed on. I don't know how, but I did. Whew.

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