Until now, I’ve stayed pretty heavily in the background, unseen and unheard within DTO, but that’s all going to change! I do hope that is ok with all of the wonderful friends around the world who have been members or viewers of our website over the last few years. To all of you…thank you a million times, you have been incredibly supportive and outspoken and so very kind, it has touched my soul from day 1 that others found value in what DTO had to offer. It was my dream to do something worthwhile around something I was totally passionate about…you all made my dream come true! YOU ROCK!!!
Two months ago I had a bad riding accident, shattering my femur (thigh bone) in 3 places and my hip in one. Tore through the main artery and muscle and you can imagine the rest…I had a phenomenal surgeon and it was truly a blessing that he just happened to be at the right place at exactly the right time. He says I have recovered faster than anyone he has ever seen before 
I’ve worked really hard at it, because every day that goes by without my being able to get back on that horse, puts me mentally, secretively, one foot farther into a virtual reality called FEAR.
Have you ever felt like you were all alone in your fear….everyone else gets hurt and doesn’t think twice about getting on. That is what I thought. However, I have found, that is NOT TRUE.
With that said, I’m going to share my journey of getting back in the saddle with all of you. I don’t want one rider to feel the fear and feel alone. Im going to share my thoughts, my horses, my riding, my feelings and the steps I am taking to get stronger, physically and more important mentally so I can not only ride my own horses again, but better understand what went wrong and how to do a way better job of not coming off in the first place:)
You will see new content around these subjects, I hope you find the same value I found. If your reading this it’s because you share the love of our horses, the constant food for thought they offer us by our pondering what is going on in their brains, the thrill of the ride and the absolute joy they so graciously allow us to gleen from them. We share this already…I look forward to sharing more.
I thought I was the only one. I too took a digger about 6 months ago and am STILL dealing with the whole mental anguish portion. That’s whats holding me back. What are you doing to get past that?
Your not alone with the fear. I had a nasty fall at high speeds off a ex race horse that bolted and went into a bucking fit on me. I stayed on for a while but my calf cramped up and I got thrown pretty hard. I was lucky to break my finger and that was it. I did end up in hospital for 8 hours afterwards for a check up. Couldnt get back on a horse for quite a while. Ended up giving that horse back to the owner and she gave me another one. I couldnt even sit on that horse without shaking and bursting into tears. It was awful. Months later I took it easy and eventually I got back on my horse who I know inside out. I’m still weary but I have big aims to get to grand prix one day and I cant let any fears wreck my dreams. Good luck with your journey of getting back on… take your time.
Hi Reisa! Your journaling of recovery can be very helpful. I had a very bad fall 12 years ago-broke my neck in three places and had a head injury with loss of consciousness. The hardest part was getting over the physical fear (which I had never had at all before). As a sport psychologist I experienced first hand what many of my clients had gone through. It’s quite a trip but I am happy to say I still ride and completely recovered physically and while I am more discerning about what horses I ride these days, the fear is minimal. Take your time-small challenges-and as you get physically stronger you will also get stronger mentally!
Timmie
Thank you so much for sharing your own situation. Actually, knowing that others have experienced exactly the same thing and have completely overcome it, has provided the most confidence to keep going myself. I have found that the more I do, the more confident I become. I kind of feel im back to where I was mentally. Next step is to get on the horse I fell off of. That is coming next week. I think once that is done, a huge weight will have been lifted.
In the end I gained alot from the experience. I started from zero again, riding the safe little schoolhorse, focusing on me, my affect, my correctness, total basics. I actually feel more confident in that area than before the accident.
So, all in all, with lots of money sunk in doctors bills later, time has passed and there was definately a silver lining, Im just glad I was in a place in life where I was open to see it
I’ve never been seriously hurt but when I was around 8 I was witness to a girl who was dragged to death when a rental horse spooked while she was out on trail. This made me anxious for other people riding and I responded by riding my horses bareback most of my life.
But now, racing endurance a saddle is probably (and much more comfortable). To this day I do get anxious for other people getting hurt, not for me. For the past 8 years I have been starting and training my own horses and have been dumped once and it took my nerve away.
What I did was start my young horse (the dumper) from ground zero- not for him necessarily, but for me and in order to bring my confidence back up. So, back to the round pen and all the baby (but very important) stages again.
This has helped but I also keep tucked in my back pocket the reason for the spill and remind myself not to put myself in that situation again.