When a fall broke my sacrum my Silver Plus insurance was a life saver

“It’ll never happen to me.”

It’s a thought many of us in the equestrian world have had. We handle horses with confidence, perhaps even ride regularly and deal with the risks as part of the job. But the truth is, working with horses is high-risk, no matter your experience, skill, or how well you know the horse underneath you.

Accidents can happen in a split second, and when they do, the impact can be life-changing.

Carly’s story is a powerful reminder of this reality.

What started as a routine schooling session on a familiar horse turned into a traumatic injury, a long recovery, and a complete upheaval of daily life and work.

In moments like these, having the right insurance isn’t just helpful, it’s vital. It means support when you need it most, peace of mind when everything feels uncertain, and a financial lifeline when you’re unable to work.

Read on as Carly shares her honest and emotional account of her accident, recovery, and how her BGA insurance proved to be a safety net she didn’t know she’d need—but was so grateful to have.

When a fall broke my sacrum, my Silver Plus insurance was a life saver

I'm Carly, I’m 33 years old, and I have lived and breathed horses for as long as I can remember. The day of my accident, I was schooling a mare I had ridden many times. We were jumping a course of fences, and she went disunited, I lost my balance for a just a second and my foot came out of my stirrup. As she turned the saddle slipped and I fell underneath her, I felt a hot, shooting pain as her hoof pressed into my back.

The pain I felt was insane. After getting up very slowly and hobbling back to the tack room I knew something was very wrong. I rang my mum to say I needed a lift to A&E.

The hospital team were brilliant, I was quickly strapped to a board and all the tests and scans began. The results showed that I had broken my sacrum in two places and had severe nerve damage. 

After a week in hospital, I was allowed home on bed rest. I had a catheter inserted and I couldn’t walk without a frame to support me. As my body began to heal, I had to retrain my bladder, and it took nearly five weeks for my bowel to start working properly again. The reality is that I may have issue with this for the rest of my life.

I have broken bones before, but nothing prepared me for the excruciating pain and mental struggles of this accident. It’s been six months now and I’m still very much on the recovery journey. I’m still not back to work and I can't ride, I'm hoping I will have some good news with my next lot of results. 

Thankfully, I had taken out Silver Plus insurance with BGA, I hadn't any savings to fall back on and I'm self-employed. The BGA and KBIS have been great and so easy to talk to, from the first phone call from my hospital bed, to now! I filled in the forms they sent, emailed them back and they got the first payment over to me very quickly. It has still been hard financially but knowing I had this helped massively.

I would recommend using the BGA and I will start nagging people who don't have insurance to sort it out! It has truly been a life saver.

What if it happened to you?

Carly’s experience is a sobering reminder that no matter how skilled or cautious grooms are, the unexpected can happen in an instant. The physical pain, emotional toll, and financial pressure of a serious injury can be overwhelming, especially if you're self-employed and don't have the support of Statutory Sick Pay to fall back on.

What made a real difference for Carly was having the right support in place. Her BGA Silver Plus insurance gave her a safety net when everything else felt uncertain, helping to ease the financial burden while she focused on recovery.

If you work with horses, don’t wait until it’s too late to think about insurance. Protect yourself, your livelihood, and your future. BGA insurance exists for people just like you, because while we hope you’ll never need it, you’ll be so glad it’s there if you do.

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