It is hasnāt been mentioned already - Charles Owen and Tipperary have policies about giving a discount for a new helmet if you purchased yours within a certain amount of time (I think itās 3 years from CO and 1 year from Tipperary) - you send the damaged one back for them to study.
To answer your questions:
My coach, a fellow student, and I have all had concussions within the past 12 months. We were all wearing helmets; we were all doing ājumpingā but had our falls on the flat unrelated to any jump. This is my first direct experience with concussions - have been riding for over 20 years.
Coachās horse tripped and rolled - she was almost thrown clear but no idea if she directly hit her head or not. She has had previous concussions. She is still feeling effects (forgetfulness, using the wrong words, more easily distracted) over a year later.
I have not had previous concussions (that were diagnosed, anyway), and have always had a helmet on when falling off in the past. I did not lose consciousness and someone was there with me when I fell (horse slipped at the trot). I took about 7 days off work (concussion on a Wed. and I returned to work 2 weeks later on Monday). I was told to rest, and I did for the first couple of days - I was awake for an hour or two, nap, repeat. I was slowly able to increase the amount of time I was awake, and increase my āthinking tasksā such as conversations, reading, computer/TV. Bright light and noise really bothered me and I spent a lot of time in dark quiet rooms.
My employer was very understanding and let me work as much as I could then go home.
The first week I only worked an hour to two hours. The second week it was 2-3 hours. The third week I could do about 2-3 hours, break at lunch, then another 1-2 hours. By the fourth week I was putting in a full day. However, this entire time, it took all my energy just to do this. I would be exhausted after getting home and would rest for up to 2-3 hours before doing anything else.
I wanted to ride, and waited 2 weeks post-concussion to do so. I was warned not to have a second concussion within 6 months. I chose to ride, deciding that life is short and the odds were that I would be more likely to have another concussion being in a car accident than riding. Who actually knows though. Saying it out loud makes that sound stupid, and Iām sure others would think it was. Anyway, I had someone else ride my horse the first time to make sure he was quiet. I started just doing walk/trot in the indoor, for 10 minutes, and built up from there. I prioritized my employment for my energy/focus. After a month I was riding more regularly, but I had a scare (just a typical horse moment) and decided I didnāt want to do anything āriskyā (jumping, schooling difficult movements which might cause resistance in the horses) unless I was doing it in a lesson.
Sort of luckily for me, by this point it was late September and I didnāt have any showing plans so I was able to just adjust my schedule and get back to riding more seriously in Nov/Dec/Jan.
It is now almost 10 months later and I still have occasional effects - usually things like saying or typing the wrong word. I also find my recall/memory is poorer than it used to be. I have to write things down so I donāt forget them.
The friend who had a concussion fell when her horse slipped at the canter and fell heavily - she was thrown clear but with a it was a hard landing. It was about 2 months ago, she was unconscious for several minutes. She had completely different symptoms. No memory loss, not tired and not bothered by lights/noise. However she ālostā the gains she had made in her riding skills over the couple of months prior to the fall. She more easily gets lost doing jumping courses and is a stride or two behind in her corrections.
