# After bad fall, how to get back on?



## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

About 10 years ago, when I was still pretty much a kid...or super young adult anyway, I used to take care of other peoples horses. I was working on one of them to possibly show. He normally was brilliant and did everything asked but one day he wouldn't pick up his right lead. I kept on him until eventually he did, he then proceeded to take 3 good strides and with one buck sent me flying head first through the wood rail fence. I was NOT wearing a helmet.

About 2 days later his owner called me and told me he was lame in the right front...which turned out to be a very bad abscess. When I think back, maybe his refusal to take that lead was his way of saying "ow, I'm hurting when I do that" because he had an abscess working up. I don't know, maybe I never will. I do know that I was scared to DEATH to get back on that horse. But I eventually did, and it was one of the best rides I ever had on ANY horse.

I rode him for his owner for another year after that and then he was passed down to his 8 year old daughter to use for 4H. I think it took me at least 3 months of riding him to REALLY feel comfortable again, however. All I can say is take time. And I think your spending time on ground work, etc will probably help a lot. You won't be just a human rider anymore, you will be part of his "herd" which puts you at a good standing with him


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## ridesapaintedpony (Apr 14, 2009)

It can be very difficult to climb up again after a major fall like yours. It took me about 6 months and my fall wasn't as serious as yours.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Place your left foot in the stirrup, stand up and swing your leg over. The only way to get back on is to suck it up and do it.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

^^^


The more you waver and the more you wait, the harder it's going to be. If you stand there on the mounting block and think about what you're about to do, you'll never to do it. It's like sky diving. The longer the stand there with your toes hanging off the edge and think about what will happen if your parachute fails, the less and less likely you are to jump off. You have to abandon youself and just ride.


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## stonehorsedesigns (Jul 1, 2010)

As a person who has suffered from some of the same issues, I would ride the quiet horse that you have access to and just ride that one till you get over the nervous feeling and get feeling better. If your horse is like mine, you crawl on feeling nervous and he is feels it and wonders what there is to be scared about and then he gets all nervous and spooky.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i agree with kevin !! but in your case, & i know how you feel because once i wasnt cleared to ride for 6 months, the wait will do you good. you are probably feeling physically weak & comprimised & that is part of whats making you nervous. in two months you will feel as strong as usually & will be dying to get back on !


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## ChristineNJ (Jan 23, 2010)

Sorry to hear you were hurt. I was bucked off a horse that has a reputation for doing a little bucking. I rode him again but never felt safe on him. Since I was taking lessons at that stable when I saw an ad for another stable I switched. I found Sky at the other stable, a beautiful 17HH thorogbred, and was aprehensive at first but now I am leasing him and he never bucks so I finally feel safe! I think that he actually takes care of me! In my opinion I want to ride a horse that I feel safe on since I'm not a teenager anymore! Maybe if I was younger I would work with a horse like that but not anymore!


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I had a horrible accident - not nearly as bad as yours, but still in my head it was horrific.....a few summers ago, or was it last summer? I can't remember - anyways, I was schooling with my last coach over fences the day before a HT I was signed up to do.

We were riding a large circle, going over 1 fence set as an oxer. She started the fence out small, around 2'?" ish, and kept raising it everytime we jumped it. So it went from 2'?", to a higher 2'?" and kept going until we got to 2'11".

Everything was smooth and great, I was feeling confident. Until my Coach shouted "one more time". So we picked up the canter again and came to approach the fence. As I was nearing it, I kept looking at it thinking "man, that looks much bigger than 2'11". I couldn't stop focusing on the height of the fence, I psyched myself out, stopped riding and dropped my horse at the base of the fence, so Nelson stopped.

I flew over him, smashed face first into the oxer and landed on the other side with a heap of poles over me. My Coach came running over and I slowly started to get up when I noticed blood. I thought I broke my nose since I went face first into the fence...but my Coach said "Ah, what's that in your arm?" I looked at my right arm, and there was a metal rusty jump cup embedded into it.

I have 3 nasty scars on my right arm now from that 1 jump and it shook me mentally big time.

So now, due to that, I have a fear of jumping Stadium Fences. I'm smooth as a cucumber going over fences 2'7" and lower, but anything bigger I freeze, freak out, hyperventilate and vomit.

What do I do to get over my fear? I read alot of Sports Psychology boots, and I do positive affermation cards daily. My Coach is a degree'd psychologist and works at a large psyche ward in my area, so she's helped me out greatly with my fears.....seriously, it was to the point of thinking of going to a Hypnotist to get over this nonsense.

I look back at when I was jumping 3'6" with no fear, and hate myself for this rediculousness, but for some reason I just cannot get past this mental block. So I have to do it daily, I have to get myself over those fences on a regular basis to let myself know "This is stupid"

So what I do:

*1) Positive Affermation Cards. *

Buy yourself a bunch of Recepie Cards and write on them, everything positive that you want to come out of your rides. 

Ex: I am a strong, confident rider who can handle any situation that arises. I trust my horse. etc, etc....

Read them daily, that way you can change your negative thoughts into positive. 

*2) Get yourself a Catch Phrase*

My Catch Phrase is "Stop in the name of sexy, stadium jumping is fun" and SHOUT IT OUT real loud anytime you start thinking negatively about riding. Anytime negative thoughts start to fill your head, shout it out real loud and stop the negativity, and change it into positivity. Then start reciting your Positive Affermations "I am a strong and confident rider who can handle any situation that arises"

*3) DO IT! *

Get yourself in the saddle and just GIT ER DONE! 

~~~

You cannot allow anything negative to sink into your daily train of thoughts, keep positive thinking so that you change your subconsience. You trained your subconscience to be negative, you said so, so therefore it is - now re-train it to positive thinking.

Read your Recepie cards daily, everytime you get a chance. When you are eating, drinking, on the toilet, whatever and wherever - read them and believe them - then you can start to change your way of thinking.


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## MaggiStar (Mar 19, 2010)

I know exactly how you feel.
A few years ago i was riding my then pony around cross country at home with two friends. We came up to this jump i had done thousands of times (a bank with log on top) soo i was not worried at all. My pony caught her two front feet on the log sumersaulted over it and landed on me i was knocked unconcious for a while. Ambulance called etc they thought i broke my neck basicaly thankfully i only broke my entire thigh bone. By break i mean shattered it took an 8hour op with plates and pins to put my leg back together!! 
soo i was off riding for a year which gives you a long time to doubt yourseld and other people dont help-your really going to get back up wooow-

so i did as you did lots of ground work etc i also got someone to ride her for 2weeks before i got up to make sure she was not fresh and jumpy. I would tak the opertunity of the other horse and start slowly. there is no need to rush and panic about getting back to the level you were at you must just take time and help


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## knaskedov (Jul 24, 2008)

Thank you all! 

I think the worst part is that I don't know what happenend. If I screwed up and he bucked me off, I would have had something to "fix". If he has an issue, I can get the vet to come out and make him better. As it seems that it was neither, there is nothing I can do different to prevent it from happening again, I'll just have to convince myself the odds are low that freak accidents happen more than once.

Gypsygirl is right, I am weak and in my current state I have no business climbing on any horse. Hopefully my confidence will come back with my strenght.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Your confidence will, if you do what I told ya to do  

Stop playing the vicitm, and empower yourself.


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## arasumi (Jun 7, 2010)

Hi. I am really sorry for your fall and hope you recover soon.
I think you were given great advice and you will soon figure out what works for you. 
I am a novice rider (not so young myself and started riding 7 years ago) about 5 yr ago I had a fall, not nearly as bad as yours, but horrible for me. I got back on the same horse right away, and kept riding, BUT without noticing it, I started taking more precautions each time, so at first it was like I wouldn`t canter if the floor was too wet, or if there was a windy day, and so on... over the years it got to a point were I would not canter at all. Finnally, I decided to start specific therapy for it -I am a psychologist myself-. 
I have progressed a lot, and although I am still not cantering I am not afraid anymore of my mare and I can do a bunch of stuff I wasn`t doing before. My point is that is just normal to loose confidence, and most likely you will regain it as soon as you start riding again, but my advice would be to look out for specific help if you see that time goes by and you don´t progress in that sense -which again, is unlikely-. 
best, 

Mariana


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

that was kind of harsh mie....


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Gypsie, whatever.

~~~~~

To the OP - empower yourself, stop cowering to your fear, and turn it around to anger, turn it against itself. Stop allowing your fear to get the better of you, instead you get the better of it.

Here is a great article I want you to read. It greatly helped me with overcoming my fear of stadium jumps. This is written my Jane Savoie, a phenominal Sports Psychologist and Dressage Rider, trainer, competator.

~~~~
*Fear*​
What an incredibly versatile emotion. It can disguise itself as worry, anxiety, insecurity, timidity, or doubt. And it can invade our lives as fear of failure, fear of physical injury, fear of embarassment, fear of helplessness, and even fear of success just to name a few. It's an uncomfortable sensation and riders at all levels tell me they often go to tremendous lengths to stay in their comfort zones so they can avoid the dry mouthed, sweaty palmed, and rubber-legged symptoms of fear. 
But rather than trying to avoid fear, let's look at it from an entirely different perspective. First, consider the possibility that fear itself really isn't the problem. In fact, you can actually regard it positively as a symptom of growth. Everytime you stretch yourself, aim a little higher, or take a risk, you're going to experience some anxiety. *So fear itself is not the issue. The problem exists only when your fears lead to a state of paralysis, and you become so immobilized that you're unable to do what you want. *

*So rather than interpretting fear as a signal to retreat, start to think of it as a "green light" to move ahead.* If fear goes hand in hand with growth, why would you want to escape it completely? Instead, savor fear as a sign of your development and regard it as a companion that accompanies you on all your exciting adventures. 

As you use that "green light" to signal you to take action, you'll find that your actions actually alleviate your fear. You see, you might think you're safe if you stay in your comfort zone.* But refusing to push through your fears actually leaves you with a greater sense of dread because of the accompanying feeling of helplessness. *

So take a small risk every day. That's not to say that you should take foolish chances. Always make sure you're well prepared for the task at hand. But taking a well-thought out risk will make you feel great. *And even if it doesn't work out, at least you've made an effort. You're not sitting back powerless and immobilized by your fears. *

*  Fear Becomes the Goal *

In my article entitled GOALS: Target For Success (January 1996 _Dressage Today_), I explained how your subconscious mind can function as a goal-striving mechanism. One of the fascinating things about this process is that the subconscious is non-judgmental. It doesn't care if the goal you give it is positive or negative. It just directs your actions to move you relentlessly towards what it thinks you want.

*Since your mind always moves you towards your current dominant thought, for better or worse, you program yourself both with your words and your mental images. If your speech and pictures are negative, your fears become your goal.*

*For example, if you repeatedly say, "My horse isn't ready for this level and my test is probably going to be a disaster." or "I'm a nervous wreck when I compete and can't sleep the night before." or "I'm afraid my horse will have a mental 'meltdown' if I ask for more collection.", the words "disaster", "nervous wreck", and "meltdown" become the goals.*

Or let's say you keep your fears to yourself and don't verbalize them. BUT you're gifted with an extremely vivid imagination. You can picture potential disaster in great detail like the rider who told me she had a very distinct mental image of what would happen when she asked her young horse to canter. She clearly "saw" him launching her into the air where she did a perfect full twisting somersault before landing unceremoniously flat on her back in the dirt!

* Thought Stopping*

Since it's a given that fear will be your companion, what can you do to prevent it from becoming your goal? *First, when you find yourself obsessing about something, do some thought stopping*. There are all kinds of ways to do this so choose a method that's easiest for you. For instance, try saying the word, "Clear" to quiet your mind and erase the negative pictures. Or picture the thing you fear the most, and then see yourself drawing a big, black X through it. 

Or try this. Go out and have a look at a stop sign. I mean really study it. Memorize the details--the size, shape, colors, and style of letters. Then when your mental demons plague you, superimpose that stop sign in your mind's eye over the image of whatever it is that you dread. 

Or perhaps it'll better suit your style to bargain with your fear. For instance, your internal dialogue might sound something like this. "Just leave me alone and give me a few minutes of peace so I can ride this test (warm up this 3 year old, canter this fence) and then I'll pay attention to you again."

Or how about limiting obsessing about your fears to a 20 minute period each day? During that time, worry your head off! Pour your heart and soul into agonizing about your fears. Then, when your twenty minutes are over, times up. If you begin to worry at any other time during the day, tell yourself you'll just have to wait until your designated "worry time" the next day 'before you can pay attention to your fears again.

* Reprogramming*

*Once you've done some thought stopping, begin to reprogram your mental computer through self-talk and imaging. *

Find buzz words that empower you. One of my students froze every time she thought her horse was going to wheel around and take off in the opposite direction. Her catch phrase became, *"Take charge."* and that mobilized her. Another rider who tended to be too conservative in competition used the phrase, *"I'm a risk-taker."*

*Or how about considering the fact that if you truly believed that you could handle anything, you'd have nothing to fear. So, your motto becomes, "I can handle it." Or "Feel the fear and do it anyway."*

As far as imaging goes, I'm a great advocate of visualizing the ideal scenario because I believe that perfect practice makes perfect. However, if you find it difficult to do "perfect practice", do some coping rehearsal instead. 

For instance, let's say it's early spring and you're getting ready for the first competition of the season. You've been preparing diligently all winter and you're psyched. As you tend to all the last minute organizational details, you reflect about how much fun it will be to take your 4 year old, chestnut thoroughbred mare to her first competition. Your sense of anticipation stays with you right up until the time that you go home, listen to the evening weather report, and hear that there's an arctic cold front blasting in overnight. The temperature is going to plummet some 30 degrees and the wind will be gusting to 45 MPH. To top it all off, your ride is at 7:45 A.M. And you think, "I'm gonna DIE!" 

*Rather than visualizing yourself being catapulted into outer space, do some coping rehearsal instead. "Watch" the whole potential disaster unfolding. "See" it in great detail. And then continue your mental videotape until you see a successful resolution to the scenario.*

For example, you take your mare off the trailer. She's dancing around and screaming hysterically to the other horses. It takes two people to hold her steady enough so that you can tack her up. As soon as you mount, you feel a hump in her back and her tail goes straight up like a flag. You piaffe out to the warm-up area (by the way, she doesn't even know how to piaffe). 

As you begin your warm-up, she begins to buck exuberantly. BUT THEN...You realize that during all of her antics, you're never actually unseated. (See...You can handle it.) Your breathing begins to get slower and deeper, and your physical tension dissipates. After those initial exciting moments, your mare settles down to business. You proceed with your usual warm-up, go around the outside of the arena, and come down the centerline to ride the test of your life!

~~~

SO EMPOWER YOURSELF!! Stop allowing your fear to dominate you and get the better of you. Stop playing the victim, and do something about it! It is easy to play the victim isn't it? It is easy to cower out of a situation and run away, but by you doing that - you've lost! 

Stop playing the victim, and empower yourself!​


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## knaskedov (Jul 24, 2008)

MIE, I will take your comments as constructive criticism, but I never have considered myself a victim. I am an adult with responsibilities and cannot blindly throw myself at things without keeping the risks in mind. I love JT and know we both have shortcomings that time and training will fix, but getting on a horse while still having dizzy spells and with a concussion is madness.
What I was hoping for were ideas on how to spend the time I'm not allowed to ride constructively and stories of others who also had to overcome some confidence issues.


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

Just give yourself time. I was riding our 4 yr. old gelding in a lesson and when I asked for a canter, he stumbled and went totally down, rolled over my leg and crushed my foot/ankle. I would ride him around our neighborhood at a walk w/ my cast but getting over my fear of him tripping at the canter took some time, for sure. I put the horse in training while I was recovering to reassure myself there was nothing wrong with him, took lessons on him to help me build confidence and to distract me from thinking negative thoughts. 3 yrs. out I'm doing fine although the thought that the horse might trip does go through my mind. I think as adults we think about stuff like this more. Had a horse fall with me when I was a teenager (didn't seriously get hurt), got right back on and don't recall being paranoid, but boy was I after getting hurt the 2nd time!! Hang in there. I agree it would be good for you to ride a horse you know you can trust once you are cleared. Oh! Remember to get a new helmet


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

I had a real fear of cantering my mare after I fell off her once, not long after I got her, every time my instructor asked me to canter I would just freeze up, so she decided to put me on a lunge line and make me canter that way, this worked great because I knew she wasn't going to act up on me as she is always really well behaved on the lunge. From there I was able to build up the confidence to canter in circles and then canter around the whole arena and then to canter in the paddock and out in the open until now 8 months later and can take her for a big long stretched out canter across a field. It has taken that long to build the confidence up though. Doing the ground work with him until you are fit to ride again will be really good as it will help you maintain (and even improve) the bond you have with your horse. It is an exhilarating feeling once you start getting your confidence back. One of my best ever moments riding my horse was when I overcame my fear enough and trusted my horse enough to canter her on my own (not in a lesson) I was on such a high after that!!!


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

mie...sometimes it just helps to talk things out for yourself. i think its nice that youre trying to help her while shes going through this, but dont act like its your way or the highway. everybody handles things differently & maybe that helped you a lot, but who knows about her. just because youve worked through something similar & now feel 'empowered' doesnt mean she needs it shoved down her throat. just saying, you came across really harsh & rude & condesending imo.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

My only bad injury as an adult rider came when the horse I was riding tripped during a hand gallop. He went down on his knees, and fearing he's come back up bucking and running off in a full bolt, I bailed and ended up with a nice hemotoma in my right leg. Took about a year to get the full use of the leg back. Unlike yourself, I do remember it, so while I'm not sure I'd make the same bailing out choice again, I do know it was not anything malicious on the part of the horse which created no big loss in confidence for me. I'm pretty sure the first thing I asked the ER doctor is when I could ride again. Regardless, once you're clear to ride, you'll know when you're ready to get on. Sounds like starting on the easy going horse first might be a good idea. 

As far as what to do while you're waiting for doctor clearance, when I can't ride due to horse injury or extreme heat, I usually take my horse out for a dog walk and we trim bushes along the trail paths, work on desensitization stuff by longing him or sending him near "scary" objects, or we work on basic ground manners like ground tying or hoof handling. (farriers always appreciate that last one) If he jumps, maybe set up some fun exercises and longe him over them. That's all I've got for now. Glad you didn't get too hurt. It happens to all of us at some point. In the end, it just comes down to gravity!


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

> MIE, I will take your comments as constructive criticism, but I never have considered myself a victim. I am an adult with responsibilities and cannot blindly throw myself at things without keeping the risks in mind. I love JT and know we both have shortcomings that time and training will fix, but getting on a horse while still having dizzy spells and with a concussion is madness.
> What I was hoping for were ideas on how to spend the time I'm not allowed to ride constructively and stories of others who also had to overcome some confidence issues.


I'm a 34 year old woman with many responsibilities myself, a husband, a household, 2 jobs, school, bills to pay, and animals to feed - but if I allowed my fear to get the better of me, I wouldn't be jumping today. 

It is perfectly natural to feel fear and be scared and want to run away, it would be very easy for me to say "well, maybe I should just do flat work today" and not jump, but then by me doing that, I'm playing the victim and allowing my fear to get the best of me. I can't let it win. 

I never jumped for a very long time after my accident. Quite a long time, and it took alot of empowerment to get me over a fence. I remember the first time I was asked to jump an x rail, and I broke down and cried.

I still get scared when I am asked to jump. I look at 2'9" fences and my mind makes them out to be 3'0"+ and I start to cower and I want to go into the fetal position. But by shouting my "catch phrase" outloud and empowering myself, I get over it. Then when I am done, I realize that it wasn't as bad as my mind made it out to be, and then I'm able to move forward and continue.

That is what I mean by empower yourself.

There's lots you can do to help yourself while you aren't riding - the positive affermation cards will help you out. By reading them daily, you learn to get the negative thoughts out of your head from your accident, and replace them with positive thoughts about yourself, your riding abilities and how to handle situations when they arise again. Just by being around the horses as MyBoyPuck stated, doing ground work, getting into Natural Horsemanship even. Handling, walking, lunging, ground driving - what have you, will help you baby step your way forward, to empowering yourself. Gaining your confidence back. Believe in yourself, empower yourself.

I played the victim far too long after my accident, which by doing that, it hindered my riding, it hindered my ability to move forward - and I wasted far too much time. 

Anything can happen to the best of us when we are on horses, they are afterall animals with their own minds, thoughts and abilities - but by empowering your "perspective" on the situation, will enable yourself to be that much more stronger, that much more confident for when you are ready to get back on and ride.

Accidents happen to the best of us, heck, I don't know 1 rider who hasn't had a nasty accident - it happens. But, the important part is, what do you do with it after it has been delt?

I still get scared. It is natural for us all to allow "what if's" to run through our heads, especially at our age - we break easier than those younger than us - but I would rather try, then allow my fear to defeat me.

I hope Jane Savoi can help you out - she has lots of video's out, and she is on Facebook as well. You can send her a PM and ask her for advice, she is a wealth of knowledge where equestrian sports psychology is involved. She has books out as well - maybe go to the library and see if she is available there? 

I am horribly sorry for what you had to go through, if I could take it away, I would or if I could go back into time to prevent it from happening, I would. I hate to hear, see people in pain, that's why I am going to school to be a Nurse - but remember, it isn't what happens to us that matters, it is what we do about it, that does.

I wish you all the best, I look forward to reading threads about your feats and your accomplishments.


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hello there
So sorry for your fall! And...very happy that you and your horse are doing okay! Thank goodness for helmets even tho they dont always do the trick.

About fear.
Fear is amazing. We as humans can really allow "fear" to consume us in every way. 

There were some great things suggested to you here. I like the possitive thoughts and affirmations methods. These work for me in many areas of my life.

While i have not had a terrible fall like this, I can relate to allowing fear to comsume me.
There is two kinds of fear. Healthy and unhealthy.
When fear starts to consume your thoughts and everyday life it has entered into the unhealthy category. 

Right now i will not say that your having an unhealthy amount of fear because it is still a very very fresh accident!

This is something that will take work on a daily basis for you.

Recently a gal at my barn who owns a 17.2 friesian had a freaky thing happen where he spooked in the indoor arena and got his legs a bit discombobulated and fell over. he fell on her and she is about 5 foot 5. Not a real big gal.

This has caused her to have great fear about riding him. He generally is not an excitable or dangerous horse although when she first got the horse about 3-4 years ago he was a bit of a handful.

So there are some things that she has done to deal with this overwhelming fear.
One thing she has done is too work with a sports psychologist. At our barn we are fortunate to have a USDF gold medalist Dressage trainer that also has a Ph. D and she specializes in sports pshchology. In the first days after the incident she had some provate "talk" sessions with the trainer/psychologist and then later on had her do some self hypnosis stuff with her.

She is back on her horse! She did get on her daughters haflinger who is quiet at first to start her off in the saddle again. I know that she uses a number system to help to communicate to the instructor where her fear level is. If she feels the number is creeping to high they stop and walk and take a breather.

No I totally understand that not everyone can do this exact thing. So here is what i might suggest to you. 
First and foremost to help with your feelings of "security" take a buddy with you when you work with your horse. Or make sure someone is around so that your not completley alone.

If you feel your horse has some issues that your unable to deal with at the moment and you can afford to have someone work with him a couple days a week or work with you both this would be the best option.

The trust has to be rebuilt and confidence needs to be put into place again. Your horse will sense that this is missing.

Not everyone can just "get over and get on with it" that works for some and is great but doesn't always work for everyone.

Take your time but please do watch the kind of "Self-talk" that goes on in your head. I say this because if we keep telling ourselves something then we likely will learn to accept this as truth!

You stated that your a fairly good rider so you know already that it is in you! Keeping that mindset will be the key. Just because you had a fall doesnt mean your a bad or poor rider etc etc....sometimess things happen and there is no need to search endlessly for the "reason why" 
It just is....
Accptance of this will also be something that you will have to come too. I suggest surrender to what is....and then possbily it will be easier to move on to the acceptance of what has happend portion of this recovery phase.
Please also remember that your brain has taken a huge blow......Thinking will not be just right for a while so give yourself a bit of a break there. 

I think that an important thing to do is to proceed with moving forward from here....follow the docs orders and when you are cleared do what is with in your comfort zone. Dont set unrealistic goals for yourself. baby steps if you need to. 
you can do this thing....it just may take a bit of time. 
You can always have someone put you on your horse on the lounge line for a while to start to regain your confidence with each other....
Hang in there....It hasn't been that long yet and your body is still healing.

Remember that you have a choice in how much of the fear you will let take over.....it takes time and practice and good self care and self talk to over come fear!
Best of luck!
Halfpass:wink:


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

I had a very bad fall a couple years ago. I had my foot hang up in the stirrup when my horse stepped wrong and fell. I was clipped in the head by a back hoof and went lights out.

I was nervous to get back on, but what I did was have my brother walk my horse on a leadrope with me on his back on the round pen. Once I lost my nervous nellies and relaxed, I had him take the lead off and away we went. The extra stability of knowing my brother was there and could control my horse should I panic was what I needed.


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## knaskedov (Jul 24, 2008)

I wish I could try riding again tomorrow, but neither my husband nor the doctor would be very impressed. These stories really help though and there are some really good ideas I'm definitely going to use. It really helps to know I'm not a big wimp and more people have been nervous about getting back on. I'll never be an eventer or jumper, but dressage shouldn't be something scary.


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Well I am glad to hear that your considering riding again as soon as your doc clears you to do so. I do not think people are whimps for not getting right back on again. Some folks just need a bit of time.

Dont discount being a jumper or eventer just yet! One goal at a time. You just never know what may come your way! 
Keep that chin up and you will get there....
HP


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