@mybrokenbones I just attended a Buck Brannaman clinic a couple weeks ago and I was really impressed. I bought videos from the footage when they filmed the documentary on him so I can watch and refresh because there is so much to digest in what he teaches.

The first time I got on a horse after my injury was to get on my old horse just to walk around the arena slowly with my ankle brace on. He would trip a lot, and he'd had a long rest since being ridden, but he did trip so that was that, and he was officially retired. I didn't fear that walk because he was such a trustworthy horse and he taught me a lot. I was more concerned with how my ankle felt with weight on it in the stirrup.

That was when I looked for a new horse and I found one in a couple months, so the next time I was on a horse was in an arena when I bought him. I had the seller ride him and show what he could do and even going up and down hills. I rode him for maybe 15 minutes and tested the stop which he did well, and he turned easily with moving just my pinky finger.

I do pay a lot more attention now to horse body language. I will always get off if there may be a potential unsafe situation and the horse gets nervous and doesn't relax. I always reassure him, and even if he spooks at something, usually he can be relaxed very quickly. Because we have a good bond, I feel safer on him. I have not taken him out alone yet and have owned him 3 years except once when my husband walked the trail beside us. That is for safety. I don't have fear getting on him, but I am alert and stay ready if a situation comes up. The situation that will scare him is a bicycle and he definitely needs more work on that. I won't ride multi use trails that allow bicycles. I know while I'm grooming and tacking if he is relaxed and enjoying it. He really loves attention and comes right to me, so that's how a day with riding starts. I also know that when I am calm, my horse will be calm and I treat him with respect and he trusts me. I wear work boots with composite toe protection. It may not prevent a fracture if my foot gets stepped on, but I have a better chance. They can even spook and step on you when you are on the ground next to them (which has happened) and I pulled my foot away really fast. Fortunately he didn't get all his weight on that hoof.

I also leave his halter on under the bridle, and I have a woven one loop rein that hooks to the bottom of the halter. That is my "emergency brake" because I am not afraid to yank on his head or do a one rein stop with that. I had owned him about 6 months when he tested me when riding. Horses in the pasture next to us started running, so he tried to do that, and I yanked his head down and made him stop. He tried to throw his head up a couple more times, and I yanked it down again. Then I took him to the round pen, unsaddled him and made him work around me. He never did that again. I did pet him at the end of that before I put him back in his pen. They will test you.

I think it comes down to the trust relationship you have with a horse. A lot of that comes from what you do when you're not in the saddle. I knew about a one rein stop when I got hurt on someone else's horse, but didn't remember to do it in the heat of the moment when that horse bolted. I asked Buck about that, and he said you have to do that one rein stop right away before they get momentum going. That also would have been before all control was lost and before fear kept me from doing anything but holding on.