Broke my pelvis...+ leg blood clot...I CAN WALK (update)

[CHT]

On Saturday, I broke my own rule of not riding a horse at a show that I don’t ride at home. horse did not take kindly to being told to GO in warm up, overjumped, and bucked on the land.

I KNEW riding him was a bad idea. I told the owner i didn’t feel confident about it, but it was her horse’s last show (being retired) and day one she couldn’t keep his focus to get over the jumps. I told myself I was being a wimp and couldn’t let her down. IDIOT.

Anyway, came off on the fancy GGT or whatever its called footing at has no slide…and couldn’t get up. Ambulance trip right to the hospital. Client who’s horse bucked me off did a good job making a chart and organizing boarders to look after the barn and house pets - meanwhile DH booked the earlies flight he could to get home from Germany (working there).

Result was my pelvis was compressed - sacrum cracked and pubic bone pushed together and twisted so it overlapped. Need surgery (cue panic) for a plate/screws or external pins/fixator. Fortunately (?) they were experiencing higher than normal demands for the pelvic specialists, and by the time they wheeled me to Preop, my pelvis had gone back into place. (Surgeon saw me sitting up in the gurney waiting and said based on my xrays, I shouldn’t be able to sit up - postponed surgery, ordered some physio and then new x-rays…and released me).

I go back in two weeks to see if I did indeed avoid surgery…or just postpone it. 6-12 weeks to heal is likely timeline. There will be snow before it is over.

I am “feather” weightbearing on my right leg, so walker or wheelchair. Crutches for stairs. Wheelchair sucks for off roading so I can’t get myself to the barn. We also still need to outfit the barn toilet with rails and a raised seat so I can spend time out there.

Currently DH and clients looking after horses’s basic needs.

Planning to move horses around so we can group them so more can be on round bales for the next bit, and then possibly do large square bale net feeders so all on free choice for a bit. … but…horse that bucked me off “needs” a stall and has shoes so can’t be with a hay net. Also some clients can be a bit demanding.

Also my nutty mare that can be hard to catch, is, of course, being difficult to deal with (I told them to leave her outside).

We don’t have staff, or an outside coach. I could bring a coach in, although I think people can handle no lessons, or I can come out twice a week…but can’t scoop poop or set jumps/poles.

I have no idea what to do with nutty mare, pony I was trying to train for lessons, or my yellow horse I had started taking lessons on with an outside coach. Pony is green (walk/trot, leg yields) but old owners may want her back (she is super sweet, social pony). Yellow horse is tricky to ride because people want to pull on him (he is big), but he is lovely.

Nearby barn owner offered to help teach and/or her daughter could help in evenings.

DH thinks he can do things, but he is NOT the horse person and can be gruff with clients.

Just looking for thoughts/ideas.

On the plus side, it has been heart warming to see even past clients come out and help, including one who I had riding a lesson horse prospect for me but then turned down for board (I didn’t think she bought the horse she thought she was buying…I was right…he is a PITA and lame), but she still took our dog overnight while I was in hospital and has helped with feeding.

**Update Sept 30, I spend yesterday in hospital again. Found a very large blood clot in my affected leg/calf. quite painful. On blood thinners. 3-6 months recovery?

[CHT]

Just wanted to add -we are currently low end for board, and haven’t raised our rates yet to reflect higher hay prices and utilities - everyone else has.

[EADoug]

I’m so sorry! That is a lot of extra stress to deal with while healing.

My best advice is to listen to your Dr and rehab team. If they say not to do something, don’t. Pelvis injuries can be difficult to manage. Let your body heal properly. It will be faster in the end if you let things heal now.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Wow, that’s horrible. I’m sorry about all this. You’ve done a lot of arranging and worrying about everyone but yourself. When things slow a little, maybe you can get time to focus more on your healing and putting yourself first. I hope your family is rallying around you to help.

[B_and_B]

First things first. Put yourself first. I did not do that a year and a half ago, and I am paying for it and will be paying for it for…? (hopped/hobbled through a direct full force kick by a draft horse to my femur bone…it turned out there was a hairline fracture, I did not treat it correctly.)
Horses that can be dumped into minimal handling for the next few months? (Nutty mare, pony, yellow horse) Do that. In my opinion minimal handling is often better than poor handling. 3 months is not very long. And chances are you will be able to restart work within that.
What you need to find is someone that is firm and consistent at reinforcing the ground rules over the winter. DH doesn’t sound like it. You don’t need someone who can ride, you need someone who can keep ground manners in line. You need a good groom.
Other than that…Jingles!! Lots of jingles! And remember, your pelvis is more important than the horse!

[hut-ho78]

Oof. Painful. Maybe see if you can arrange some working students and bank lessons. Your job is to heal. Take your time. Ask your clients to help. A lot of people like to help but may not have much time so see if something can be arranged like evening stall cleaning or tack cleaning or lunging or handwalking horses, etc.

Take your time. Meet with them. Get creative. FaceTime lessons. Mainly, it doesn’t hurt horses to be off for a while. It can be devastating to you to do too much too soon.

Take care.

[SillyHorse]

How awful! Sending jingles for no surgery and a quick recovery.

[Jenerationx]

Ooof… no advice other than make sure you take the time you need to heal, there is no fast tracking it and you will regret if you don’t take the time and end up with a longer recovery. I’m sorry this happened.

[atr]

Oh, what a bugger. Best wishes for an uncomplicated and easy physical recovery.

Having landed on the injured list completely out of the blue myself in the past, I would offer the following advice:

The horses will be fine with a few months off. They will be fine with the whole winter off, TBH.

Don’t be shy about asking for and accepting help. People genuinely want to be of use, but may need to be asked! You can work out how to return the favor later.

Talk to your horsey neighbors about an emergency care routine for future incidents. You all are going to need each others help at some point ( this goes for all of us.)

Be kind to yourself. You need to heal properly.

You can get freestanding grab bar dealies that work around the loo. Might be a quick and easy solution.

[JanM]

For tubs, there are temporary grab bars for the tub edge too. They actually work very well.

And for tub mats, I use Rubbermaid, the large size works in my tub, the XL is too big. After a shower, I just smack the tub mat on the wall, the suction cups hold pretty well, and then dry the back off, then when it’s dry, I put it over the tub edge to finish drying. You might find a shower stool helpful too, they make them for people who need more support, and they sell them in the home health care section. Don’t be worried about needing physical assistance sometimes either.

[Scribbler]

Whenever I’ve had a broken bone or health crisis (4 times in the past decade) I’ve put maresy onto pasture or once in full training board with my coach because it was December and too cold for pasture. A big pasture with a herd where they can just hang out. They do really well and don’t forget anything. They keep themselves fit and entertained in a herd. Much better than staying cooped up in a barn or small paddock.

I would also say, follow your doctors orders and dont think you need to be heroic or a martyr for a bunch of boarded horses. You may need to hire some barn help and raise rates to cover that.

[Fiesta01]

No advice to add to the great advice above. Just sending lots of jingles and (careful) hugs.{{{Hugs}}}

[CHT]

We got a grab bar (and shower stool) from Red Cross, but our tub doesn’t have smooth edges, so it isn’t as secure as I would like. We are looking for a bench that goes right across the edge (red cross was out) I definitely can’t step into a tub without something to pivot on. Using wet wipes and the cats’ waterless shampoo for now…don’t judge.

It would be easier if DH wasn’t sick…and understandably sad about leaving his German work contract early. (I admittedly did not react well when he mentioned he was upset to have to leave the work unfinished…and to leave Oktoberfest - those are fair feelings to have).

The next two weeks of waiting are going to be hard. I am relieved to not need surgery or to have to be in a rehab hospital, but not knowing is also hard.

DH is mad at Bucky Horse Owner. Fortunately she is on vacation. He has a point there too - she is the kind that bats her eyes and cajoles people into treating her horse like he is special. He isn’t special. he is spoiled. But I fell for it. I felt in a lose-lose situation: either I don’t ride and she has a crappy last show, or I ride and help her out…but she has spent years spoiling her horse and getting after him when he stalls out, so it should have been her taking the consequences, not me. Still, it was my stupid choice.

Between this and multiple concussion syndrome, DH isn’t sure how much he wants me riding/jumping (although then he amended it to maybe trail riding…because somehow he thinks trail riding in our moose infested fields is safer…he is not a horse person). I wish I had a video of Yellow horse so I could try to find a lease ride or something. The coach that was helping me doesn’t have her own stable or I would send him to her.

I know not to make any big decisions any time soon. It is just hard.

Thank you all for the well wishes.

[Horsecrazy3]

Please take the time to heal and find a great rehab team. I broke my pelvis is 6 places (3 mirror images on either side) completely thru fractures that thank heaven didn’t displace in a freak riding accident. Horse was not misbehaving. No surgery(yeah, as I didn’t want metal in me) but spent 5 weeks in the hospital to allow the fractures to heal to the point that with care I would not displace them. As soon as I was released I went to the pool and began rehab in the deep end, I found a physiotherapist who specialized in pelvis rehab, worked with my sport centered chiropractor and massage therapist. The fractures were not the problem, but the shortening of the ligaments and tendons around the pelvis took a while to lenghten to allow me to have a good dressage seat. I progressed from my western saddle, to a jumping saddle to finally my dressage saddle. The silver lining is that my pelvis is more supple and even then before the accident, because of the intensive rehab. My SO, who is an extreme mountain biker, was totally supportive and actually told everyone who visited that if they had any negative comments about riding/accident they were not welcomed to visit. Everyone stayed positive. After I healed my SO confided he was initially terrified but knew how much my horses meant. Find a supportive group to surround yourself with. Try to stay optimistic. Your horse will be fine and waiting for you. When I was given the okay to drive(12 Weeks), I trailered to my coach’s stable and she rode. The number 1 item on the list of to do is put yourself first, do what is necessary to get yourself healed properly. Sending you positive vibes

[CHT]

Well, now I have a fever, sore throat and blurred vision. Negative for Covid, but DH got sick soon after he flew home, so I likely got that (also negative for Covid0.

DH might need therapy more than me. He is really struggling with not being in control and letting the customers help even if they make some mistakes. He is also somewhat mourning the loss of $$ he had to take by leaving Germany early…yesterday that made me mad, but today I understand.

He was also venting some anger at HO’s sister (to me, not her…as far as I know), but I reminded him they are NOTHING alike as people. (They are all adults) HO thinks the world STILL revolves around her horse, sister on the other hand is absolutely ok if my injury means her horse doesn’t come in to the barn October 1 (he normally boards inside for the winter).

Yesterday he invited a former boarder’s husband over and they talked about welding some accommodations so I can get in and out of the barn using our side-by-side.

[candyappy]

What an awful thing to happen and I am so sorry! I know how hard it is to have others lives impacted when we injure ourselves. Mine was only 8-10 weeks but my horses got fed, no handling that whole time( except for farrier) and they did better than me.

I think for the people who have to pick up the slack there is a definite period of adjustment and then we have our own adjustments to go through and that just makes life crappy for everyone at the same time.

My advice is let people help you if they want to. That is always hard for me but hopefully you will be able to accept it. If you can’t find suitable people to work the horses just let them have a break. They will be fine, especially this time of year.

Here is hoping no surgery is needed and you have a speedier than expected recovery.

[Djones]

Get the freestanding toilet thing that sits over the regular toilet. It’s a bedside commode and you just remove the bowl. So that’s handled.

Your husband is rightfully mad and scared (it could have paralyzed you etc). Lots of emotional waves to ride.

I’m so sorry this happened

[CHT]

He wheeled me to go see my big yellow horse today (it is oddly hot here), and good old Midas heard my voice, threw his head up, and came marching over. Circled once at the sight of the wheelchair, and then came over for snuggles. It felt like a disney moment.

Tomorrow hopefully can get in the side by side tomorrow to visit the mares on the far side of the barn.

[NaturallyHappy]

Hi! I’ve been following this and have had no advice to offer other than what has been given. I do have a question…and please forgive and ignore me if it is inappropriate. Do you think the footing contributed to the severity of your injury? Oh…I do have a thought no one mentioned…how about extra calcium pills? When I broke my foot, someone suggested it to me. I’m not sure it helped but it made me feel better. Jingles for quick improvement. But don’t push it!!!

[CHT]

Yes. Yes, I think the footing contributed to the severity of my injury. I have been told by others it really hurts to fall off on, and at an earlier show someone broke their neck in the same ring (landed with their chin stuck out ahead of them) and while I was in the Ambulance someone came up saying ANOTHER older lady had come off and hurt her hip. The footing doesn’t have the slide that sand or grass has. The doctors did not expect the injury I have given my description, but then after x-rays, were convinced I must have internal injuries as well (Cat Scan from head to pelvis showed only pelvic injuries). I think it gives well for a small pressure point (hoof), but doesn’t give well enough for a large pressure point (my bum).