My 10 year old son was doing balance exercises without stirrups. This was his 5th lesson. He did extremely well the first time around the arena. During his 2nd trip around the arena ) in the opposite direction), he lost his balance. His body flipped back onto the horse's hindquarters which caused the horse to bolt and buck. My son was flipped off the hindquarters of the horse, was thrown 8-10 feet in the air, and landed on his back and head.
Thank goodness he was wearing his Troxel Legacy helmet with the dial fit. He walked away without a single head injury, to include no concussion. I dread to think of how bad it would have been if he wasn't wearing a properly fitted helmet.