What kind of saddle? And at what speed? If the horse is walking, which probably should be most of the time, I don't think that would be hard. A trot or gallop might hurt more. Not sure.

A western saddle is made to be comfortable for long rides. It doesn't require much of the ankle unless you need to change gaits (speed the horse up). For a good rider, that's usually just turning the heel into the horse and applying pressure, not the exaggerated kicks you see novices use.

When I broke my foot, I actually found that, at least when I wasn't putting weight on it, it hurt a heck of a lot less than it had when I sprained it badly. The doctors said they were sure it was a break as soon as they noticed the discrepancy between me not able to put weight on the foot but not being in pain as long as I was off it.

I'd add, what I can do with a sprain partially depends on what kind of shoes I'm wearing. I once sprained my ankle right before I had to go teach a math class. I laced my hiking boots up as tight as they'd go, so the ankle was more-or-less immobilized, and managed to limp through class (clinging to the little chalk-catching tray at the bottom of the chalkboard the whole time I was working on said chalkboard, but I made it).

Once, while in basic training, it was so bad that my ankle swelled up to the size of a grapefruit - my foot and lower leg swelled with it. I was still able to walk some, but I had somebody to lean on and a stick. I would think that as long as one is not standing in the stirrups, it would be OK.

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So, let's say you are giving my character a quick course in self defense, and you give her a knife. Is there somewhere on the horse or saddle that you would have her keep the knife that would be in easy reach?

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Why is she trying to use the knife while on horseback? Assuming it's not a throwing knife, how is she going to get close enough to use a knife? Off the top of my head, I can't think of any cavalry that has gotten by with less than a sword. A spear. Certain types of bow (but you have to be careful, there. Not all types can be used while in the saddle.)

Most fighting while on horseback is going to require her to put weight in the stirrups--on that ankle. Well, pretty much any kind of fighting will, actually.

I've had several sprains. It usually (and it does depend on the severity) aches a bit when you're not on it, but can hurt or even fail to support your weight when you walk, etc. Compression and support are good. Obviously, she's not going to be able to elevate or ice it, which means it will take longer to heal.

Also, you might want to pay attention to which foot is sprained, and how the character is going to mount with a bad foot.

I wonder which foot I've been saying is sprained...now I've got to go check.

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I guess she just needs to get proficient at galloping her horse in the opposite direction.

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Not knowing anything about your story. What kind of horse is she riding? Where did she get it?

Properly trained, a horse can be a weapon, too.

I'm certainly not an expert. However, I have no reason to believe that it would be any easier--or quicker--to learn to fight effectively with a knife than with any other weapon.

Even when the horse is going in a straight line over distance, the rider will be flexing his ankles to absorb the shock of the horse's gait. The type of saddle has nothing to do with it. Try this little experiment for yourself: Stand on a level surface and space your legs out to where they would be if there was a horse between them. Point your toes forward and squat so your knees are directly over your feet and balance there for a few seconds. This is where a rider's legs and feet are when riding a horse. Difficult to do, isn't it?

It takes time to develop this stance and there has to be mild pressure on the stirrups or the rider will lose them. Any pressure on a sprained ankle is very painful. So, yes, riding a horse with a sprained ankle will hurt. That ankle will be moving constantly with the movement of the horse. Even if the rider left the ankle out of the stirrup, it would be hanging and moving with nothing to support it, and the longer the ride, the more painful it will become.

As for the dagger comment: I would think most knives or daggers would be belted to the rider's waist and not be kept somewhere on the saddle. If this person just happened to get separated from his horse, he would want his weapon with him and not running away from him with his horse.

My character is thinking about attaching some sort of sling to her saddle that would act like a kind of "super stirrup" so that her foot wouldn't just be hanging there. I've stretched my story out so that she's not riding the horse until she's been healing for a week, but it can't stretch much longer without snapping. Drat that girl for being so clumsy!

I hate to relegate her to the wagon, since part of the purpose of this trip is to toughen her up and make her stronger. When she sprained her ankle and I realized she wouldn't be able to walk, I decided horseback riding would fill the same purpose. My magical character is being quite stingy with magic at the moment, so I've still got my fingers crossed that I can make the horse angle work.

kitti--My country is loosely based on a 17th century France, so unless there is a compelling reason to ditch them, they would have stirrups.

Your "super stirrup" would almost have to be stretchy so it would give under the girl's foot. Anything that would hold the ankle without any give would be the same as riding with a stirrup I would think. Is her ankle supported with a splint or some kind of soft cast? This would make a huge difference and ease the pain caused by the movement of the horse. And even the gentlest horse in the world would make a foot hanging loose down his side sway, stirrup or no stirrup.

First, poor Tess's sprain was about as bad as it can get, with a lot of exposure to the elements thrown in to boot, so she misses her original travel group.

Second, she gets a week to recover before this spot with a horse riding company comes available.

Third, there is this really cheesy scene where I try to force the magical character in the story to heal her ankle against his will, but it will get cut as soon as I don't need it for my Nanowrimo word count anymore. He really wouldn't heal her ankle--magic is too dangerous, you know.

Instead, her ankle will be alright in the mornings but really bug her in the afternoons. The first couple of nights it'll cut into her sleep dreadfully, poor girl.

Fourth, she doesn't take a weapon with her, but tomorrow night something is going to happen to make her wish she had. After that she'll start defensive training whenever she's off that horse.

It is a sweet horse, named after the one my grandpa pretended to give me when I was a little girl.

Anyway, it sounds like the story is off to a good start and Unwritten has the needed info to pull it off.

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If, as implied, she can't wak and can barely stand, her training is going to consist of "and this is how you fight off an opponent while you are lying down!"

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Wouldn't that depend on where the horses are and what they are being taken care of for and being protected from? Horses can survive pretty well in the wild (take care of themselves).

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As for how many horses two people could care for and train, it depends on many different factors, Like what sort of training you do. Some trainers spend hours one one horse. Others can work two or three an hour. Age of horse also makes a differnce. Some people spend a lot of time handling babies, others turn them out in a field and do mothing with them until they're old enough to start working under saddle or in harness. Are the horses stall kept or pasture kept. Stall kept part of the day gets spent watering feeding and cleaning stalls. Pasture kept you have time spent trekking in and out and depending on the size of the pasture you still need to feed and water if there's not a natural resource. IOWs So many factors can make this answer vary widely. Same as below. As long as you cover the bases, you have wide latitude on what is right.

Response to Unritten-- Would riding with a sprain hurt? Sure. Can it be done? Absolutely. The most major thing IMO would be which ankle is it? Horses traditionally are trained to mount from the left side so if it's her left foot, she's either putting all that weight on the ankle to haul herself into the saddle. Mounting on the off side,or relying on finding a surface to climb up and mount from. Just something to think about.

She'd want to ride with a long stirrup. A long stirrup decreases the angles the leg bends at. It also forces more reliance on the knees and upper leg to balance. Taking the weight off the calves and ankles but leaving you with support if the horse flips out for any reason.

Some horses actually trot smoother than they canter. It all comes down to build. You want a horse with a good slope to its shoulder and fetlock giving it a smooth gait. best bet--if a gaited horse. Talk about a smooth ride. An animal that drives off its backend and eagerly moves forward is going to cause much less pain to a person with a leg injury. A horse needing constant prodding she's either going to have to rely on a stick or a whip to keep the animal moving. So an awful lot of your dilemma boils down to what kind of horse she stumbles across, or if she's buying/stealing one does she know enough to pick a good one. Honestly, I've been on horses I wouldn't have wanted. to ride more than a mile with everything intact