Judysmom…it was fabulous…I woke up and they reminded me to bend my knee frequently…so I obliged then and kept it up I was good for 2 days stayed in bed did the ice every / hours for 20 minutes. Day 3 I walked to barn by day 4 I was driving, day 6 I asked permission to ride…and did so. …by day 13 I had my post op check up with full flexion in knee walking normal and barely any swelling. Days 14 which was last Tuesday I started. Week working Bit Check at D.A.D.
Looking forward to Fox Hunting in another week. Best surgery I ever had…
I’ve always kind of read this thread from a distance and now I get to put in my two cents! I was riding about two weeks ago and I got bucked off in the road. In the end I had a fractured talus bone and ripped some of my tendons. I had surgery and got two plates and eight screws put in.
Fall is my favorite time to ride too! 
Hope everyone gets well soon.
Dear, with that much hardware, you’re not putting in 2 cents, you’re putting in dollars. I’d like to say welcome to the club, but that doesn’t sound quite right…
I can make you deal on my spare AirCast though. :lol:
Hi guys waves I’ve never really noticed this thread before, but I saw it today…can I join? I was born with trashed ankles 
I was born with bilateral clubbed feet, had casts on all the way up to my thighs for my first almost-year, had pins running into my feet in between each toe, and one up the bottom of each heel. All to straighten my feet out. I am beyond thankful that I can even walk, let alone ride. But as a result of it all, my ankles have very little flexibility, and they’re very weak. If I ride multiple horses a day, or I’m doing a trail ride or something that will cause me to be on for more than an hour or two, my ankles will want to murder me. Really painful, lock up if I sit down too long, takes me a while to stop limping… if I know I have a “rough” riding day ahead of me, I’ll vet wrap them for some extra support that will fit under my boots. People always tell me I’m too young to be hobbling around like that…I shudder to think how poorly I’ll get around when I am that old:lol:
:sigh: Another day and I’m done with PT. Again.
Apparently, I did a better job of spraining my ankle than I first thought, or maybe than I was led to believe. The doc & PT talked me too far down off the ledge when it happened. I think it was as bad I originally thought.
Insurance is balking at the last month of PT, which had to happen eventually. Dr sent PT the protocol for a total ankle replacement to submit. Geez, I knew he did a lot of work, but really?
I’m just tired of this right now. My foot feels about like it did in July/August.:mad: Not horrible, but not like I want to run on it. I’m having a bear of a time getting out of the brace. Just can’t seem to go all day without it.
I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in 4-5 weeks. The really bad thing is that I’ve enjoyed NOT going. The spasms & knots in the rest of my body have almost disappeared since I haven’t been working out. I feel like I have a little angel & devil over each shoulder - Go/Don’t Go - I’m not sure which one is saying what.
Oh well, off to find some cheese to go with my wine. Or maybe some Halloween candy.
Ugh, looks like I get to join the trashed ankle brigade
Came off pony at a schooling show at the barn Thanksgiving Sunday (oct 13th for you non-canucks) and managed to tweak my foot in the stirrup on the way down, tearing all the ligaments in my left ankle. Had surgery first thing Tuesday morning (after spending monday night in the hospital. I was glad they let me go home sunday night so I could enjoy my thanksgiving dinner, haha), and am casted and non-weight bearing for 6+ weeks. Going for a second surgery in 3 months to remove the hardware that was put in to stabilize the joint, and then we’ll go from there. Prognosis is good but not great, I may not be allowed to continue vaulting post-recovery, unless I am able to do my dismounts at a halt, or use the smaller kids’ horse for lessons instead of the teen/adult’s 17hh mare. The risk of a wrong landing or landing too hard on the bad foot is just too high. I’ll need wider footbed stirrups to support the foot and prevent hyperflexion, but that’s fine, I was looking into some nice wide stirrups for trail riding anyways.
I’m both looking forward to (eventual) physio, but also dreading it because I know it’s going to hurt. But, the sooner I get it done the sooner I can get back to riding 
Went to the Dr yesterday ( had another mri last week) but still have no answers. The mri is clean aside from some residual bone bruising, so while the Dr agrees that I have a definite gait abnormality, he can’t see a cause and therefore can’t fix anything. His only answer was tocontinue using my knee brace, and hope that in time my knee stability improves. Unfortunately this means no riding astride as the upper, inner frame of the knee brace prevents me from putting my leg on a saddle (hence my sidesaddle thread) and I dint trust the weight- bearing ability of my knee without the brace in the saddle. Because he can’t find a cause or anything fixable in my knee, the Dr said there was no reason to come back, or continue physical therapy.
Red mares that sucks! Can you do the PT exercises at home?
Petra - That’s really frustrating. Are you thinking about a second opinion at all?
Quick update on me - they still don’t know what’s causing what ever it is that’s destroying my bone marrow. I’m going to see a rheumatologist the end of the month as my ANA was positive and there is some thought that it might be an atypical presentation of Lupus.
The good news - my cancer dr put me on a whalloping dose of prednisone two weeks ago, which I’m finished with, and I feel better!!! I have gone two days in a row with out my cane!!! I told my horse that his vacation is almost over! LOL.
It still hurts quite a bit, but its ok. Yay prednisone!
Glad to hear the prednisone is helping Judysmom! My sister had Lupus and I believe prednisone is what helps her a lot.
At this point I don’t think I’ll get a second opinion. Since the symptoms are pretty manageable, I’d rather just work on strength training and see how things progress in 6 months or so.
Petra - You’re giving me flashbacks from a year ago - “There’s nothing wrong, just push through it”. If I were you, I’d find a top notch knee guy, and get his opinion, even if I had to do an overnight trip. I went through 5 docs before I got one who really figured out what the problem was, and all I had was a stupid sprained ankle.
Judy - yay prednisone! glad something worked.
Still not sure who’s paying for PT:lol: not too worried though. I’ve managed to wear heels for 3-4 hours at work a couple times. Woo-Hoo! I might have to stop by & see if the PT will crack my ankle though, it feels half-way locked up. Last time he played chiropractor with it, I swear I heard it “Clunk!” when the bones went back into place.
So my old friend sinus tarsi is back.
The last sprain didn’t exactly want to heal, but seemed to get a little better after the last time PT cracked it. Then I went shopping on Black Friday, it was at least better than last year. It was ok on Saturday & I had a nice ride. I’m getting better at posting off my knees. Then I baked all day Sunday. About 6 hours. Uh-oh. Not smart. Start the downward spiral. Ended up tree shopping in the boot last Sunday. Vicodin on Monday.
Saw the doc a couple days ago. On the + side, the ATFL has apparently healed, but the Sinus tarsi syndrome has flared up. So when that gets bad, the only problem is that I can’t put weight on it, walk, stand - little things. Got a shot of cortisone again (OUCH) hope is that since my foot is pretty stable now, it will work better than last year. I got explicit instructions - “Don’t sprain this again!” before I left. :lol:
I’m three weeks post knee surgery, and wow! Yesterday I mucked three stalls and rode for a few minutes. I haven’t been able to ride properly in years due to knees, so with two knee surgeries in two years I feel like I might be back on track. Not replacements, fixes for what I tore out and for the severe arthritis. I also have a pair of composite stirrups coming in which might help. I have short legs, and am currently liking riding in the old Wintec and will also probably move the knee blocks back slightly for more support. I still have a really long way to go before I can properly ride again and to gain all the strength I’ve lost, but it feels like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t an oncoming train.
For those trashed leg people who are back in the saddle, how did you get on and off your horses until your injury was finally healed and you started feeling normal?
Once I get the green light to get back on a horse after next week’s hardware removal, I’m hoping to get back at it slowly but surely. I can get on my pony easy enough with the 3 step mounting block, and reverse the process to get off again, but he’s not the most reliable as far as horses for me to ride while still healing go. So I have offers to use friends’ horses, the best match temperament and movement wise (quiet enough to walk around on without a horse handler, and big enough walk to get my hips swinging and work the pinched nerves out the rest of the way now that they’re 75% free again) is a 17.2hh warmblood gelding. He’s the ideal horse to get on and regain strength and balance, and to help with the pinched nerves, but getting ON (and off) is going to be a challenge.
Any insight?
I tended to wait to ride until I could safely mount and dismount without issue. With a really tall horse… Is your issue the ankle or knee? It also really depends on your mobility in the joint and which leg it is. My issue is in my right ankle, so I could always mount and dismount easily. When I trashed my left knee, I mounted and dismounted from the offside as my gelding would allow this. I prefer not to dismount with a mounting block because there’s too much of a chance that things could go horribly wrong, such as missing or catching only part of your foot on the block. Instead, when I dismount from my short mare (15 hands), I slide off the side and land on my good leg with the bad knee bent to prevent that foot from hitting first, this has worked for me for the past four years.
left ankle (of course, ugh). So it makes things interesting (even climbing and descending stairs - I lead with my left in my natural gait). Physiotherapist agrees that riding is the only thing that is going to unpinch the nerves in my hip that are causing numbness and pain in the left thigh (hip took full force of the landing the day I fell and while physio plus a 20 minute walk on the lead has it about 75% better, it’s still an issue, moreso than the ankle ever has been), and is supportive of me getting back on, as long as there’s a safe way to do so. I’m just not sure if there’s a safe way to do it short of dragging the picnic table into the ring, haha!
I have no intention of being unassisted for a looonnngggg time, but I really REALLY want to be done with the nerve issues! Luckily once the hardware comes out I’ll finally get an MRI to figure out which nerves are pinched, so there’s a bright side.
Edited to add: I’m also a vaulter so have no issues getting on on the “wrong” side (actually, my vaulting mounts are BETTER on the right than the left, haha!)
It would be worth the time and lumber expense to build a set of steps, or find someone who can. We have a set at the barn and they’re the only way I can get on and off right now. There are four steps, and a hand rail along one side. They can be moved, and live in the arena where they are stable in the softer dirt. They’re perfect for stability while mounting a tall horse, and if I’m having trouble lining up a horse I put a cone on the off side to keep them lining up straight.
[QUOTE=romewhip;7438488]
It would be worth the time and lumber expense to build a set of steps, or find someone who can. We have a set at the barn and they’re the only way I can get on and off right now. There are four steps, and a hand rail along one side. They can be moved, and live in the arena where they are stable in the softer dirt. They’re perfect for stability while mounting a tall horse, and if I’m having trouble lining up a horse I put a cone on the off side to keep them lining up straight.[/QUOTE]
Brilliant! Would you be able to get me a picture? I’ve got some handyman friends (since me + power tools/cutting wood = bad idea) who can help, they just need an idea of what the heck they’re making. Google isn’t being particularly helpful at the moment (that, or my googling skills suck and I need a crash course in “how to google efficiently” haha)
I clicker trained mine to stand stock still while I mounted and dismounted from the tall multistep mounting block. I also trained my mare to let me get on and off the off-side. Food is very motivating.
I’m using a upside down 100-gallon rubbermaid water tub, placed next to a 3 step mounting block. I walk my horses up beside the watertub, while I mount the mounting block, then I can stand on the tub fairly stable, while I place my foot in the stirrup & basically step over the saddle to mount. And dismount pretty much the same. I carry peppermints or horse cookies in my pockets, & horses get rewarded for standing quietly at the mounting block for me.
Although I had my knee replaced in 2011, I still do not feel comfortable dismounting to the ground. Guess I’m still abit protective of it, although I can ride and drive & do pretty much everything now that I couldn’t do without massive pain before.
?? For those that have horses at home. I’m having arthroscopic surgery for a meniscal tear this month. For those of you that have had it, how long before you could do your barn chores? Horses live out 24/7, so work is minimal. Dr said to expect 10-14 days before I can resume activity but I’m hoping he’s being conservative.
