A horse-rider was left with enormous golf ball eyes after a horror stables fall saw her split her forehead "in half".
Abbi Diamond, 19, was feeding her Dutch Warmblood horse, called Blue, when she tripped on uneven ground and hit her head on the kerb in December.
Her eyes ballooned so rapidly she was left temporarily blind with "golf ball eyes" like a goldfish.
Stable owners rushed Abbi, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, to A&E where the bone-deep 5cm cut needed 17 stitches.
Concerned doctors warned the administrator that she will be left permanently scarred by the freak accident.
Now Abbi is warning others to wear a helmet at all times while handling horses, as she continues to recover from the traumatic experience.
Abbi said: "It was a normal day. I got up to go to the horse and she's currently unwell, so she's on box rest.
"I was holding on to her lead rope and I lost my footing, I tripped on a pot hole or something and I fell.
"Blue can be quite flighty so I didn't let go of her, so didn't put my hands out to protect my face, and my whole face went straight into the kerb.”
Abbi has owned the 11-year-old horse for four years and has won awards in show jumping competitions with her.
She never thought she would sustain such a serious injury away from the arena.
Now she has been left unable to feel her forehead entirely and is waiting to see the long-term damage left by the fall.
Abbi said: "It was really deep. I was dying to see what it looked like properly so my mum took a picture while I was sat in A&E waiting for it to be stitched up.
"It was a deep gash from one brow straight into the other one. It went down to my eyelid as well and I have 17 stitches in there.
"There wasn't any surgery but they gave me anaesthetic, though I couldn't really feel anything anyway.”
It took staff around forty minutes to stitch up, and the plastic surgeon checked all of her movements.
Abbi had both eyes closed for two or three days and feared her sight may never return.
She added: "I looked like a goldfish with golf ball eyes. A few of my friends have kindly said I look like an ant too.”
"I still don't have feeling in my forehead but I'm hoping that will come back.”
After three days, one of Abbi's eyes finally started to go down and she was able to film some videos for her followers to explain what had happened.
Now she is sharing her story to warn other horse riders to stay safe even while off their horse - urging them to wear hats even when they think they are safely on the ground.
Abbi said: "One eye slightly opened and that's how I managed to make the TikToks and explain what was going on. It's had about 5.1million views which is almost the population of Scotland.
"[Medical staff] said there would be a scar and it would affect my eyebrows. That was a bit of a worry as I'm into my make up. Even [when I'm] not wearing make up I'm a girly girl.
"I might have to get my eyebrows tattooed on or draw them on every day.
"The chances of injury when out show-jumping were high, but I never thought it would happen now."
Since her accident, Abbi has resolved to stay optimistic and still hopes to ride her beloved Blue again in the future.
Abbi said: "I'd tell people to make sure they wear the correct footwear and even a hat.
"A lot of people don't put their hat on while handling their horse on the ground, you just think everything will be fine. If I'd worn a hat my injury wouldn't be as bad.
"I'm hoping to get back on board, I'm desperate to get on.”
