Green horse falls at canter by ShaynaI am 15 and have loved horses since I could walk. I took numerous lessons and was turning into a great rider. I always wore my helmet but longed to be one of the cool girls who didn't. I was asked to excersize a green horse who had little experience at cantering. I was having a good ride and decided to work on his lope. He was doing ok but going a little fast and needed to switch leads. As I rounded the arena corner he fell towards the inside landing on my leg. He simply lost his balance. It was like slow motion as my training took affect. I kicked my feet out of my stirrups and dropped my reins. I can remember lying face down as my horse stood next to me. My friends were in the arena but no one saw me fall. A trainer giving a lesson ran over to help me. My back and ankle hurt horribly but my head was fine. I was back riding again in less than a week. I made myself ride that horse again. I am lucky, I could have gotten my foot caught in the stirrup or gotten kicked in the head. No matter how good a rider you are or how calm your horse is, stuff happens and a helmet just might save your life!