Hi and welcome, this is a great site for support! Mark said it all.

I too have PCS from a horse accident, it's been 15 months for me and no riding in sight yet. Because I did not have the proper guidance in the beginning, I have to back track now and see what helps. With that in mind, I would suggest the following:

See a neurologist (if you haven't already) to rule out any other possible issues (vestibular, etc)

Call your Brain Injury Association asap (don't wait any longer), they are amazingly helpful and will assign a case manager free of charge to help your particular situation. They send you articles and info, including the best Dr's near you to see. I was finally referred for NeuroPsych testing and that person referred me to the sports medicine Dr I am seeing now. Plus they are just incredibly supportive.

Find a respected sports med Dr (perhaps from BIA), they are more helpful than a regular primary Dr. That person will help guide you as to what exercise (if any right now) you should be doing. They will monitor your condition as you progress and can advise you.

It is true that first you should be symptom free before starting back on an exercise program, so start with staying in your healing process (I like Mark's example of his dog) before worrying about more. I know it is frustrating...I am only allowed to do leisurely walks, no exercise while I get my symptoms back down. It feels disgusting...but it doesn't pay to push it. It will set you back even more.

There is a report on the protocol for returing to a sport and the first step is NO SYMPTOMS for at least 24 hrs before you can begin Step 2 which is LIGHT exercise 10 min per day and only if you remain symptom free, etc. So it is a potentially slow process, just to prepare you.

Riding a horse on pain meds is not a good idea (even without a concussion) and could create worse symptoms that you may not feel right away. It isn't just about not feeling pain.

You may not be clear on your judgement and awareness right now either, so your movements on the horse may not be the same (your horse will feel you being off too). It was wise to send your horse off, so you are not tempted. My horses are here at home and I still don't feel ok enough to work them on the ground let alone get on.

Though I am getting better, my reaction time is slower and that leaves me vulnerable, and my boys are well behaved. Just to prove that point, when standing next to my horse, he spooked (very unusual for him) in place and slammed his hoof into my foot. Now my foot has slight nerve damage because of the way he hit it. The funny thing was, at that moment I was thinking how perhaps I was feeling up to starting some ground work with him....guess he knew I wasn't ready yet and said so! haha!

Bottom line is: don't guess on the exercise, get reliable info from someone who actually understands concussions and can guide you properly. Then healing will take place faster.

Hope this is helpful in some way!

Jeni