Don't want to put you off riding altogether, but a colleague of mine (experienced rider) fell off last year and broke her pelvis. That took a bit longer to heal.
I love horses - but I think it would have to be a Clydesdale nowadays to carry me!
Those slim, racy little things would sink down to the ground if I heaved my weight onto them... I think I would go for driving, if I ever had a horse. Would love one, eventually (along with all the rest of the livestock 
); they are useful for moving heavy weights around. (Not just myself, I was thinking of logs etc just now!) And I'd simply love to turn up at the local shop with my horse and cart and get off to do the shopping!When I was at uni, there was one family that occasionaly came in by pony. And in my early years in that town (late 80s), there was an elderly couple that had a horse and cart - you would sometimes see them outside the bank or post office; one of the couple doing the business inside, the other one staying with the horse. That's the problem nowadays - everybody has car parks, but there's nowhere you can park (i.e. tie up)your horse!
) and I discovered Wilkinsons - cheap or what? 