Guest Blog post # 75: "Returning to Riding" by Deanna at blog.iridearacehorse.com

What's it like to return to riding after an injury?

It's tough. My first real experience riding after falling and breaking my wrist was on the lunge line on one of the safest horses in the barn. And I was SCARED. This makes sense to me because I was going to have a lungeing lesson when I fell off in February, but I was surprised because I know the horse I was riding and am usually not nervous when working with her. My realization that things were going to be different actually started before I got in the saddle. I went to put the saddle on the horse and couldn't lift it with my left hand as well as I could usually have. I sat down in the aisle and cried because I wasn't able to do things like I normally could.

I would say that that's normal. When you have a passion for something, you want to be immersed in it all the time. The fact that I had a setback, even one so minor, was so devastating to me because I wanted SO BADLY to get back to riding that I had thought that things would be back to normal sooner than they actually would be. I thought that just because I had worn my splint for three weeks that I could function 85% normally in all aspects of my life. In fact, when I got the splint off permanently, I expected my wrist to be back to normal the next day. In actuality, it's been about a month and it's still only back to 97%, which is amazing by itself anyway.

The funnest part about the lesson (besides finally being back in the saddle, of course) was realizing that I could no longer bend my wrist in order to establish connection with the horse's mouth, something I had gotten into the habit of doing. Even though it hurt, it felt so good to have a lesson and be back to doing what I love. I was able to focus a lot more on the other parts of my body that needed tuning up while riding, especially my heels, legs, and seat. I was really excited to start riding more.

After I graduated from university, I returned to the barn and was able to start riding off the lunge line, "back to normal." I wasn't scared of my horse, but whenever I went to ride one of my boss's horses, I was scared. Again.

It wasn't the fact that I was scared that bothered me. It was the fact that I couldn't figure out WHY I was scared. I spent a few days trying to figure it out and when I couldn't, ended up talking to my boss. It was really insightful to be told that because I hadn't been able to get back on right after my fall, I was scared to get on. She said, "You'll probably be fine once you get on to ride tomorrow," and she was right. I'm no longer scared to ride any of the three horses I exercise on a daily basis.

The moral here? It's okay to be scared. It's good to reach out for help when you need it. And most of all, this too shall pass. Falling off happens, and when you get back on, you're not only getting back in the saddle, you're getting back in the mindset of not letting your fear stop you.