I'm back, baby!

Never would I have thought I would be so overjoyed at walking again unassisted.  Never would I have thought that I would spend most of the year so far handicapped. 

Last Monday I was cleared by my orthopedic surgeon to start walking without crutches, one of the best pieces of news I’ve received all year.  He set my next appointment up for the end of June and said that he would clear me to start running / regular activity at that point and it’d also be my last appointment.  I attended my last physical therapy appointment that same day and said a fond goodbye to the therapists that had worked so hard on helping me regain my strength and mobility over the last month.  And of course, then I went riding on Wednesday night for the first time in three months. 

Vicious side-eye to the camera
I hadn’t exactly been cleared to ride but then again, I thought a walk around in the saddle wouldn’t do much harm.  The first shock was that the swelling in my ankle and foot had gone down enough to fit my paddock boots and half chaps over it.  I brought Bryan along to the barn to babysit in case something went wrong / I needed an assist getting on or off Maeby.  It was a cool evening (for a change) and I rode Mae at a walk around the arena for around 20 minutes.  It was calm, quiet, and felt great overall.  There were only three points when I felt uncomfortable:

1) Getting into the saddle.  That meant putting my broken leg into the stirrup, transferring all my weight on to it, and heaving myself over.  Bryan held the reins to make sure Mae didn’t move, which she didn’t.  It felt a bit uncomfortable (ankle) but I managed to do it without toppling over.  I still don’t feel comfortable doing this unattended at this point.

2) Posting at the trot.  In the middle of the walk, I wanted to see if we could trot / if I would notice any difference.  The discomfort made itself clear immediately.  I may have to trot without stirrups until the doctor clears me for all activity six weeks from now.  I haven't even pushed into the canter for now.

3) Dismounting.  This ended up being fine because I slid off and landed harder on my right leg and kept any weight off my left.  I didn’t feel comfortable enough dismounting onto the mounting block again (we have those small plastic ones).  Again, I may need supervision for this as well.

Altogether, it was good to go out to the barn with an objective besides stuffing Mae full of treats and dropping off supplements.  I could feel my back muscles reengaging where they hadn’t been worked out in awhile.  Mae has been fat and happy under my trainer’s direction and she didn’t mind meandering around the arena at a walk on a cool evening.  If anything, I’ve learned to be patient the last three months and I can stand to be a little more patient about getting back to regular scheduled programming when it comes to riding. 

Comments

  1. Wahoo! What wonderful news. Hopefully you regain strength quickly and can get back to your usual lifestyle of mobility. =)

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    1. Ignore the question mark, that was an accident 😂

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    2. lol Thanks! I'm going to try again this Wednesday

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  3. can you get on the other side for now and dismount that way too? just so you arent using your bad leg. We used to have to learn to do both ways as a kid and I am glad we did! I AM SO HAPPY YOU RODE THOUGH and can walk on your own again. I guess it was a good time to be handicapped if nothing else :)

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    1. I'll try that on Wednesday - good idea! Mae has a bad habit of walking on from the mounting block, which we've been working on since I've owned her.

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  4. Well done for all the hard work you have put in in regaining strength and mobility during therapy . I am so happy to see you back on the saddle, slowly but surely.

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    1. Thanks. I've had to get there patiently, which I'm truly bad at

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  5. Great news for sure, Ruth! So good to see you're back in the saddle again...hahaha:D

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  6. Woo for riding again! I haven't ridden since October so I feel you on missing out. It has to be very nice to be able to do things you were restricted from again. Congrats!

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    1. I feel your pain, truly I do. Slowly but surely :)

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  7. YAY! Hopefully you have all the 2020 injuries out of the way so you can be back to riding more!

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  8. That's such a great news to read Rooth! Be patient you wildflower! I'm also happy to read that Mae is a one happy fatty horse haha Xx

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    1. LOL Mae is quite content and happy with being called a fatty. No body issues there!

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