The desire to “get back in the saddle” after a fall is innately ingrained in equestrians. While we all want to return to riding as quickly as possible after a fall or accident, often taking it slowly is the fastest way to recover to 100%. In addition, following US Equestrian safety guidelines and wearing recommended safety equipment can either reduce the risk, or lessen the severity, of an accident.

It is essential that every equestrian follows their medical provider’s advice after an accident as every injury is individualized. While a sports medicine-trained physician is preferred as they are experienced in treating athletes following an injury, first and foremost, a person needs to see a doctor for appropriate treatment.

Five-time Olympian Laura Kraut, a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. Jumping team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, said there have been times when she “pushed the limits of her doctor’s recommendations” after a broken collarbone or ribs. However, “I also know my limitations, and I wouldn't go back to riding if I felt uncomfortable or unsafe,” Kraut said. “We are so fortunate in our sport that we can do this until we don't want to do it anymore, so time is normally something you can afford.” 

Kraut said that not only was she physically stronger when she has waited until she was fully healed to return to riding, but more importantly, she was mentally stronger. “I'd feel the peace of mind that I had actually given it the time needed and could really get back to it,” she said. “Versus the times when I've maybe pushed it a little ahead of time, then in my in my mind I was thinking ‘Oh, I wonder if I should be doing this.’”

It is also important not to rush back to full performance. Instead of training five or six horses a day upon her return, Kraut would train one or two horses “who are dependable and not so difficult to work.”

“The biggest thing that I have learned over the years is to really take note of how you're feeling — if you're in pain, then you probably shouldn't be starting back,” Kraut said. “If you're feeling very uncomfortable in your mind, you should give it a little bit more time, so you know you're healed.”

While many of us have daily aches and pains especially as we age, when that pain is “debilitating, when it's making you not ride well or make bad decisions, or if your position is out of whack because of it,” then that is a sign that you are not ready to ride, Kraut said.

“Oftentimes you don't know it, but someone around you will see it. I think that's when you've got to make sure you take the time,” Kraut advised.

To ensure long-term recovery, is always important that people follow medical guidelines, and if prescribed by your physician, undergo physical therapy after the initial treatment. 

Kraut suffered a fall in 2020, which resulted in her horse stepping on her head while wearing studs. Fortunately for Kraut, she was wearing a Charles Owen Ayr8 helmet, and the helmet took the brunt of the damage. Kraut was temporarily unconscious following the fall and ended up suffering from a concussion. “I was [knocked] out for a while,” she said, adding that she took some time off before getting back in the saddle. “It was during COVID, so there wasn't a lot happening and there was nothing that I needed to rush back to, which was a helpful factor. I was out for three or four weeks, and then I felt fine.”

For more information on returning to riding after a concussion, please read USEF’s Equestrian-Specific Return to Sport Concussion Strategy. It includes an equestrian-specific, six-step RTS strategy that is recommended for anyone returning to equestrian sport – in the saddle, on the ground or driving – after a concussion. Please also visit the Concussion Recognition page for all the warning signs of a concussion. 

In the case of an apparent concussion, it is important to have people around you who will notice if you act differently than usual. “Hopefully they will be honest with you and say: ‘You're not riding the same’ or ‘you're not acting the same,’” Kraut said. “I'm lucky as I have my sister, Nick [Skelton], and other people around me that will be painfully honest.”

 

What US Equestrian is doing to improve rider safety

US Equestrian is always striving to make equestrian sports as safe as possible for our members and athletes. David O’Connor, decorated Olympian and Chief of Sport at USEF, said that although we can never get the risk of an accident down to zero, the focus is to “set up an environment to reduce the risks as much as possible.”

That process involves education – in both horsemanship and riding – safety equipment, and preparation. “USEF contributed to the program investigating helmets and improving safety conducted by Virginia Tech. We always want to support new technologies that can protect riders in case of an accident,” O’Connor said. There are multiple helmet safety standards around the world — originating from the U.S., Europe, the U.K. and Australia — and increased education in helmet safety “has been a big thing for people,” said O’Connor, who stressed that all riders should replace their helmet after a fall if they hit their head.

“It has been an evolving process in the last 15 years as worldwide sports, not just equestrian sports, have learned more and more about concussions coming out of the research in football, hockey, and soccer,” O’Connor said. “That research and data has helped us to shape policy.”

The USEF has rules in place pertaining to accidents at Federation-licensed events or endorsed competitions regulating when an athlete can return to sport, for which a medical release form is required. This is especially important if an equestrian has suffered a suspected concussion. Please refer to Rule GR848 Return to Competition in the USEF Rulebook for the full details.

Having previously only tracked horse falls, USEF is now tracking all rider falls in every class in an effort to collect uniform and actionable fall data across all levels of competition. US Equestrian requires falls of horse or rider to be reported in the class results at each competition. General Rule 122 defines the fall of a rider as “when they are separated from their horse, that has not fallen, in such a way as to necessitate remounting or vaulting into the saddle.” 

 

Growing use of air vests

“We fully support the use of safety equipment, but it is still a personal decision to wear an air vest or not,” O’Connor said. This is because there is a lack of international safety standards for air vests as there are with helmets. “We [the Federation] are not in a place yet without industry-wide safety standards to make a recommendation of any type of requirement,” he explained. However, “I think the culture is changing,” O’Connor said, and he is personally “a big believer in vests” having worn them himself.

Kraut was one of the few athletes who opted to wear an air vest during the 2024 Paris Olympic Jumping competition. Her experience with vests began three years following a fall in the warmup area at a show in Belgium. Her doctor was “a horse guy” and after doing an MRI scan of her back and neck, he told Kraut that she was “a fool” if she didn’t wear an air vest. “He said because I was older and I've had a lot of wear and tear — not just from falls but from life in general — the fluid around my spinal cord is reduced from what it used to be,” said Kraut, who is 58. “He said the benefit of wearing the vest is if I have a fall, it will decrease the amount of whiplash that I get in my neck. I thought about it and everything he said made sense,” she said.

Kraut’s initial fear that her horses might get scared when the air vest deployed was quickly put to rest. She now regularly wears a Horse Pilot air vest and said she hasn’t regretted getting it: “I've had a few falls with it on and I can assure you, it made a difference.”

“There's a moment when you're going down and you think ‘Oh, this is going to be bad,’ and then you hear the vest go and you land and you're like ‘Oh wow, I actually feel good. It's fine,’” she went on to say.