I am still among the living & for that I feel blessed

I had an unfortunate riding accident while attending a natural horsemanship clinic in Virginia on Oct 5th. The clinic hadn't begun as I mounted my horse to warm her up. I was told later that my horse exploded & bucked me off the moment I settled on her back. I sustained a concussion, a compound hand fracture & 8 broken ribs. I was rushed to the hospital & was in the ICU for 3 days. Now at home, I am recovering slowly & I'm feeling stronger & better with each passing day. Last week I had my veterinarian examine my horse to see if there was a physical underlying problem. She was diagnosed with EPM. I will never really know the cause of her explosive behavior & certainly would never have mounted her had I any insight of something not being right.

I am still among the living & for that I feel blessed. My Troxel helmet is dented in two places & the interior styrofoan padding is cracked in 5 places. I know if I had not worn a helmet on that day I would not be alive today.

Please share my story with others to help encourage them to always wear a safety helmet when riding a horse. Even the most reliable horse can have a sudden bad day when you least expect it. Because of the head injury I sustained I still do not have any recollection of that day. On the one hand I would like to know what happened on the other hand I don't want to know. Again many thanks to Troxel for saving my life!