My Mom has cancer and has a foley in…probably going to be permanent.The only thing that really brings her joy is riding…Help please…I need to get her back on a horse.Any advice/help is greatly appreciated.She is an 11 yr stage four breast cancer survivor and it recently has come back with a vengence.My heart is broken.:sadsmile:
Well I would think that would be relatively similar to having male body parts to sort out. She is going to have to experiment with positioning to figure out what is most comfortable. Jingles for your Mom, I hope she has some amazing rides soon.
Thank you…
No advice, just hugs
Hmmm. Maybe a sheepskin seat saver too? And creative placement of the device? I wouldn’t care if I had to sit her on an inner tube if it meant she could ride. Bless you for trying to figure this out for her. I hope my kids would do the same for me.
I was wondering about maybe an Abetta or wintec western,or better yet a treeless… and have someone cut out a hole in the proper area…I think that could work.She rides dressage but at this point just being on a horse ,no matter what kind of saddle,would be awesome for her.It kills me to think she can’t ever ride again…thanks for the advice and please keep it coming!!
The foley may be compressed during the time she is sitting in the saddle so she would have to take frequent brakes or stand in the stirrups but the tubing is thin so I don’t see it causing a huge problem. Obviously put the small collection bag on her thigh while riding. We want pics of her in the saddle!
I defiinitely will post pics when I get this figured out and when she has the energy to give it a try!!She’ll be happy for ten/fifteen minutes walking around on a horse…the standing up in the irons is a good idea,thanks!!
Having experienced many foleys, the only thing I can suggest is short rides (10-15mins) and a sheepskin saddle cover. Just as a forewarning, it may cause a fair amount of pain… and ask the doctor first, for sure. Jingles!!
Two ideas. One is to tape the foley, run it up the front, up the belly, and tape under the bellybutton, then let it run down the leg. Second, IF you can afford it, get one of those M Toulouse Aachen saddles that has the imitation of the BioMex seat on it, the foley area would be in the gap between the two ridges so should provide some relief.
Good luck, and so wonderful of you to try to do this for your mom to help keep her spirits up.
does anybody make mcclellans anymore? (don’t they have a cutout in the seat?)
do you know any reenactors you could borrow one from?
If the catheter will have to be in long term, what about getting a suprapubic catheter? Its a surgical procedure but cuts out alot of the “discomfort in sensitive areas” problem and I’ve seen it improve quality of life in several long term bladder problem-folks.
I CANNOT imagine riding with a catheter BTW.
My first thought was McClellan as well.
http://www.carricoleather.com/mcclellansaddles.html
I think this would work.
Could you cut out the offending areas of a cheap saddle?
I have an old “flat” collegiate close contact just sitting around. The seat is foam (well feels like foam) uner leather. I wonder if it could be carved out to make it more like a (man’s) bicycle seat?
I am thinking you could cut out the area in the twist, and just behind it, and then cover with a seat saver.
Any way, if you want to try such a thing, the saddle is yours (I have been meaning to find it a home, and wouldn’t mind if it got ruined in the experiment). The tree is sound, the billets are good, and the leather is still in good shape, I just have no need for it (its a 17.5 standard tree).
Get her a Barefoot treeless saddle, and cut a hole in the removable seat pad. The saddle is super comfortable, made in Germany, but relatively inexpensive, and the detachable seat pad can easily be replaced with a new one if you want to sell the saddle later on.
This is one of the saddles that endurance riders (and horses) love because it is SO comfortable. I have one, and can attest to the comfort of it.
You can even get one on trial to see how you like it. Here’s a link to the Barefoot site
You don’t want a McClellen. They are sheer torture, very uncomfortable, and the seats are wood.
Hugs and blessings to your mother for what she’s going through. I have a sister with Stage 1 breast cancer, just fresh from surgery to remove the cancer, and starting chemo next Thursday.
I used to own a barefoot and loved it…good idea but expensiveAt this point I need an economical idea since I’m not sure how long she’ll have energy or if riding will feel good at this point.If it does I will pay whatever I have to for the right saddle.I know someone that collects McClellans,so we could try that…I also have an old Avante that I could carve out.Thank you so much for the saddle offer anyhow…that’s so sweet of you!!It’s possible that they will have to remove her bladder and then she would have a stoma,so I think they hesitate to do the one that comes out of the pubis for that reason.She’s had so many procedures at this point.I like the idea of taping the tubing up to the belly,that would help.I saw some cheaper barefoot knockoffs that could work as well.So many terrific ideas,thank you all so much.
[QUOTE=5chestnuts;5877697]
Get her a Barefoot treeless saddle, and cut a hole in the removable seat pad. The saddle is super comfortable, made in Germany, but relatively inexpensive, and the detachable seat pad can easily be replaced with a new one if you want to sell the saddle later on.
This is one of the saddles that endurance riders (and horses) love because it is SO comfortable. I have one, and can attest to the comfort of it.
You can even get one on trial to see how you like it. URL=“http://www.barefootsaddlesusa.com/”]Here’s a link to the Barefoot site
You don’t want a McClellen. They are sheer torture, very uncomfortable, and the seats are wood.
Hugs and blessings to your mother for what she’s going through. I have a sister with Stage 1 breast cancer, just fresh from surgery to remove the cancer, and starting chemo next Thursday.[/QUOTE]
Hugs for your sister and for you.My Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 in 98…she’s been a miracle for all these yrs…
ok, instead of carving out a saddle, how about getting a memory foam pad (like a twin size one) and cutting out a seat shaped piece, that you carve the hole in the middle of and maybe tape to hte saddle for her to sit on? this way you can adjust hte gap depth by adding a second layer if needed if it compresses too much when she sits on it.
I think that arabiansrock has the most practical idea there, that should be totally doable, good luck to mum, hope she can find a way to enjoy being in the saddle
