Is it hard to start jumping again after a bad injury?

I broke my back (compression fracture on L3 vertebrae) January 30th and got the okay to start riding again at the end of April. I am walking, trotting, cantering, and doing trot poles. I am just really afraid to start jumping. I fell off and broke my back because I have jumped two feet at my highest and the horse was supposed to jump six inches but decided to jump 4 feet instead. How can I get over this fear? Will it be like learning to jump all over again?

Honestly do you want to jump again? You can always try another style. It's not being a quitter or anything like that, but I think if you really really really loved jumping, you would have the motivation. And you wouldn't be so scared. Maybe it's just a sign that you need a change of pace. Try western, dressage, or my FAVE saddle seat. They are all thrilling and exciting, but you don't jump.

ride a different horse. you might feel a bit safer jumping with a differetn horse. go to the stable and watch when someone else jumps the horses and see which one you would feel safe on. wearing a body protector might make you feel better aswell. i suppose it will be like learning to jump again! Good Luck

I've never been scared of much, including bad falls and injuries. I just get annoyed about not being able to ride, I don't care about pain or anything or getting hurt again haha.I did have a really bad fall about a year ago. I was training a draft gelding to jump, and we were getting up to about 3ft when we messed up on the approach. He was so big that he came up in sideways with no time to turn and we were going to crash through so I cued the very long spot for any chance of getting over. He panicked and ignored me and galloped up to it, placing his front hoof on a ground pole and slipping forwards, smashing his knee into the jump and falling, barely missing me. He had a few scrapes on his knees and his nose but otherwise we were both fine. After he got checked out and rested we went straight back and jumped the exact course again, making it over and restoring any of my possibly lost confidenceDepending on your level of fear, you may sink right back into it or you may need to start small and build up, beginning with the basics. If you do begin with the basics you will probably remember fairly quickly and as your confidence grows return to the rider you were before the accident.Whatever happens, good luck!

I had this (almost) exact same injury. Mine was a compression fracture to my L1, received from coming off of my horse. I wasn't jumping, but I'm not sure it really matters.I know how you feel. Good for you fro getting back at it so soon. It took me a full year to get my seat back. I couldn't ride for about 6 months after the accident.My biggest issue was trust. I had to learn to trust my horse again. Riding a different horse will do nothing for you, stick with your horse, it's the only way you'll get that trust back. Start slow and low. just the way you started before. It won't take long to build that trust up since you already had it once.It probably will be just like starting over, but it will go faster :)Good luck to you