Horse rider suffered a crushed skull and needed metal plates inserted in her head after being kicked in the face by a stallion she adopted

Cassy Fitch, 23 (left), from Phoenix, was left with brain swelling, a broken nose and a crushed sinus bone after the stallion was spooked by a jogger and lost control. 


She was thrown backwards after Andretti, who she adopted three days earlier, booted her between the eyes. She also had an inch-deep wound in her forehead (right), which was stitched up straight away. The accountant spent more than a week in intensive care and needed major surgery to have metal plates inserted into her skull. Despite her ordeal, she managed to get back into the saddle after just 12 weeks. She made a full recovery, but occasionally suffers from memory problems and gets painful headaches.