I understand those riding phobias......after falling off a Friesian back in March & fracturing my back....it was a bit of a challenge deciding to get back on one & on top of that, a STALLION But this stallion was so mellow, we needed to use a crop to encourage the trot. A crop is another one of my riding phobias because my first dump off a horse back in my college equitation class was when the instructor told me to use my crop of the horse that was figiting around. I did & it bucked me over it's head, so using a crop is definitely a phobia. On top of that, he spooked when the sand hit the metal side of the arena when the lady before me was riding him. I was having second thoughts or maybe third thoughts as I got into the saddle. I definitely understand how hard it is to GET THROUGH those phobias. Sometimes I just shut off that area of my mind or I think I would never ride again after all the injuries I have had.

You are right in understanding how your horse feels.....horses definitely don't like not having a purpose.....she may not specifically be laying the blame of another horse unless she saw the accident.....but her feeling of knowing that SHE DIDN'T do anything to earn your fear & your not riding her could create a similar reaction.

I do believe that horses eqinemorphizes us. They look to us as their leaders & choose to follow us when we show ourselves as protective leaders......have you read the book Horses Never Lie by Mark Rashid.....it's the best book I have read on horses...one I can't put down. Best book on how to be the leader your horse selects, not the bully alpha horse that forces the position of leader out of fear.......great read.