I took a tumble this morning while jogging, and am pretty sure I bruised my ribs. It hurts to take a deep breath.
Since it’s a pretty common riding injury (or should I say, unplanned dismount injury), I thought some of you might know if I’ll need any down time.
It hurt to drive my car. 
I bruised my ribs about 3 years ago from being squished in the trailer. Totally my fault and learned from my mistake.
I could not ride for at least 3 weeks and I am only a pleasure rider. Had trouble doing barn chores for months. Even 6 months later, the ribs were sore when pressed.
I searched this forum at that time to see how long they would stay sore. The six months is not unheard of. Take care of yourself!
If just bruised, you’ll probably be mostly ok in 6 weeks. If you broke something, at least 8. Rib injuries suck!
I broke 4 ribs on my left last summer. Never missed any work and was even back riding pretty quickly. The only hard part was dismounting off 16.3 without hitting my ribs on my horse’s neck.
Hope you heal quickly!
I bruised my ribs playing rugby when I was 16. I was at practice 2 days later and played a game the following week. Some of that might be teenage insanity though, so YMMV.
I’d go for an xray.
I broke several ribs reschooling a hunt horse. Yes, it is very painful to breathe deeply, get out of bed, put on one’s clothes and don’t forget laughing or coughing! I took a couple days off and stuck to flatwork for a while, but it’s hard to keep me out of the saddle. When I broke my fibula, I figured riding in a cast was the safest thing I could do! That was probably the safest my leg ever was…sealed in fiberglass!!
I fell off a horse quite a few years ago… got really winded and the pain started… got xrays and 3 cracked ribs… the doctors wanted to make sure they were not displaced and there was no risk to perforating a lung.
Be careful and avoid pepper!!
I got bucked off in mid July and broke my collarbone; when I visited the ER they x-rayed my collarbone and shoulder.
However, where I really, really hurt was toward the bottom of rib cage on my back. Some breaths felt shallow, and if I was lying down, I couldn’t sit up without assistance due to pain in that area. I couldn’t do anything that involved a twisting motion, and I became convinced that I had bruised or broken ribs, or I had badly pulled some upper abdominal muscles.
l had two different doctor visits over the next ten days, and neither doc seemed concerned about knowing the origin of the pain in that area. I even asked one of the docs if there was any value if knowing if any ribs had actually been broken, and she said no. I had pain meds, and they don’t actually do anything about broken ribs so…
Pain wise, I was past the worst of it in about 10 days and probably could have been riding again in about 4 weeks except for, you know, the broken collar bone.
Well, let’s see. Horsey dumped me end of last September. I landed hard. after I saw the doctor it was determined shoulder chip fracture (nothing to be done - in an area where they often take bone when needed for other "repairs’), soft tissue damage to upper arm, huge bruise on hip and badly bruised ribs on same side. Of course, I got on and rode the next day with the help of some drugs. I then realized that horsey had also injured himself when he took off down the road then made a 90 degree at full speed on pavement, and we are now in month 11 of suspensory rehab. So, other than that 1st day after I bruised them, I wasn’t riding because I didn’t have a horse to ride. After a week, I was riding a friend’s horse and while I could still feel the ribs, it wasn’t so bad I couldn’t ride. It took about six weeks for the rib pain to go away, and six months for the arm to get full range of motion.
Went to urgent care and got an X-ray–no fx. I was sent home with a Rx for lidocaine patches and muscle relaxers. I hope I don’t feel too terrible tomorrow because it’s a bad time to miss work.
I was also told to play it by ear and just do what my body allows, so no set time frame for staying away from the barn.
I liked the dr a lot. He told me about his horse-crazy sister who was a CPA. Crashed off her horse into a fence post, and her recovery from all the broken bones in her face inspired her to go back to school and become a doctor. She now has a ranch and rides endurance. Cool story.
Broke 3 ribs a few years ago after hitting a fence post as I fell. Ouch. Rode for the next few weeks (including in a show the day after…) but I only did walk/trot for a while. It took me 4 weeks to feel no pain on an everyday basis and 8 weeks until I felt healed enough to resume normal activity. But I used to be a runner and I found it very hard to pick that up again… Still haven’t gone back.
I had a fall a month or two ago and bruised some ribs then. Only now am I feeling ok. It sucks. Lots of Advil and robaxin helped me.
I had an unplanned dismount a few years ago. It think it was 3 weeks before sitting up in bed, laughing and sneezing were painful. I started riding again after that point, just took it easy for awhile. Arnica Gel is your best friend. Rub that all over the bruised area and it will heal faster.
For sleeping, if you like to sleep on your side, use two pillows spaces apart enough where you can sleep on the bruised side without having any pressure on the bed. Once I figured out the right configuration, it worked great.
Took a tumble with a colt, that fainted under me on a little canter out in the canyons.
He fell on my leg and laid there, like dead, for a bit, then came to and moved off enough to let me slide out from under him.
I thought my leg was broken, but it was not.
Somehow, I still can’t figure how, I broke in that fall two lower ribs.
Those hurt walking, breathing, talking, getting in and out of vehicles and chairs and bed, climbing up and down the tractor, you name it, they hurt.
Best I remember, it was over a month before I could breathe without wincing and two before I could fasten my belt again.
OP, are you sure they are not broken?
After an unplanned dismount, I was in pain from the bruised ribs for about 3 weeks. However, because I’m stupid and crazy, I pushed myself too hard coming back and pulled some supporting chest wall muscles pushing a wheelbarrow. Combined, the two injuries were really painful, not the least because I was on the rebound and now just breathing again was a challenge. Ultimately, between the two injuries, it was somewhere between 10-12 weeks before I was feeling better.
So, don’t be stupid like me. Prioritize what you can do as you’re healing and outsource what you shouldn’t be doing (anything with a wheelbarrow!!)
I got kicked in the chest. No broken ribs, but plenty sore. I tried getting on to ride, and I thought that I was fine–until I tried to trot. Took a few weeks off and was good as new.
Oh I forgot to mention…kinesio tape on the ribs is a lifesaver! Feel free to PM me if you need instructions. I broke a few ribs (3 at best guess, doctor didn’t want to Xray) when a horse I was on fell down at the canter. I had experience taping my shoulder and didn’t think to tape my ribs for at least a week or two. Once I started taping, regular life was so much better. I couldn’t ride horses or my bike without significant pain for 8 weeks. Tried getting on my bike at 6 and…nope! Might depend on which ribs you injure. I also think I messed up some cartilage on one or two of the floaters.
I got bucked off this spring as I was mounting - the cantle of the saddle is what bruised my ribs quite badly during the rag-doll phase of being bucked off.
I rode that day lightly in the ring, and the same the next day but anything more than a sedate trot was painful. I gave up the 3rd day because it hurt too much -getting on and off and any jerking movements if the horse wasn’t perfectly behaved. It took about 10 days until I was feeling better enough to ride again and about another 10 until I was back to “full work” comfortably.
I had a fall last year and bruised/broke ribs and pulled the major muscles from my back around to the pectorals. I pretty much kept riding although at a gentler pace. kinesio tape really helped.
It took a full month before I could sleep after a very hard landing from an unplanned dismount. Laughing, sneezing and coughing were the WORST. At 2 months, everything seemed pretty much back to normal.
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