Brittain Westernberg, a mom of four, suffered traumatic injuries after being trampled by a horse.
The animal knocked her over and stepped multiple times on her head. The resulting attack caused multiple brain bleeds and skull fractures as well as back injuries.
According to People, she was about to pet the animal. That's when the horse knocked her over and trampled her.
A friend helped her and got her to the hospital in time to save her life.
"We raise performer horses. I was out taking pictures of a sale horse when she spooked at cattle that were in the roping pit," Westernberg recalled to the outlet. "She spun around and kicked me in the back and then kicked me in the head. This was the first time we had taken her off the property, so it was a lot for her."
"We were halfway in the arena when she saw the cattle. I was going up to pet her neck and reassure her it was okay," Westernberg continued. "She stepped on me a bunch and knocked me out pretty good."
She also described the moments after the attack as well.
"I woke up in the back of an ambulance," she recalled. "I was responsive pretty quickly. Telling them I was okay. I don't have damage to my spinal cord, thank goodness. If the bone had broken just an inch over, I wouldn't be walking."
Horse Attack on Woman
After the horse attack, she was in critical condition and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital.
"I absolutely was worried I was going to die. Being in ICU and seeing people leave in body bags made me have panic attacks," Westernberg told Kennedy News & Media.
Fortunately, she recovered from the horse attack.
"They told me they were surprised I could move my legs and talk, I was really lucky I didn't get it worse than it was," she said.
But she now deals with a lot of mental trauma from the event.
"There's some true PTSD that's going on," she said. "It was life-changing. Horses spook and it's made me realise how quickly that animal could basically take your life."
"We take for granted how quick things can happen," Westernberg added. "I have about 12 horses and five for sale. I've had horses since I was six years old."
