I had huge plans this year for my horse and I to get back into shape and getting into some shows and trail rides, but unfortunately I’ve had medical issues crop up… About a month or so ago I was diagnosed with a rather large ovarian cyst, which for a while didn’t bother me but now it’s ruptured, and I have two more on the other side… And now the prospect of surgery is a very real thing. I feel guilty because I can’t give my boy all the saddle time he needs and wants right now, and I’m on vacation this week and had plans to ride on a daily basis, but now, because of the pain caused by the rupture it’s looking like I may have to put any type of riding off for a while.
So not only am I feeling guilty but I’m afraid of the possibility of surgery.
If anyone’s had any experience with this I’d really appreciate some insight.
Your horse truly doesn’t care if you are working him or not. If you take the time now to get the treatment you need in order to heal properly, you will be so much further ahead in the long run. Do what you can with your horse until you are healed, such as hand walking, grooming, etc.
Hope you feel better soon! I know how much it sucks! Sometimes surgery is the lesser of all evils, and it cannot be avoided. I have had ovarian cysts, but have been lucky enough to not have endometriosis, but I would not hesitate to have surgery if I needed it.
Generally they do the surgery laproscopoly and you’re out just a few days. You will feel so much better afterwards. My uterus was filled with a bunch of fun stuff and within a week after the surgery I felt a whole lot better.
I’ve been dealing with the exact same things. I’d say that if your horse has many good years ahead of him and you have access to good care with turnout you should just take it easy and rest. Not that you have a great deal of choice, but at least if you have many years ahead with your horse and he’s getting out of his stall (or lives outside) you can more easily focus on getting your health back. I had been sick with something else for many years and had major soundness issues & rehab struggles with my horse, and just as we were both starting to get well the endometriosis that was building up for 5 years struck me down pretty hard. If it’s a good month I have 2 good weeks, but if it’s a bad month I have little relief aside from prescription pain medications & taking it slow - I’m mostly limited to essential things like horse care instead of the “fun stuff” like riding. So I get it. I am now considering surgery - it seems like the best option.
Coming from someone who has lost most of her 20’s, not just one year, if all it takes is a season off to get yourself healthy (and I truly hope that’s all it will take) you should absolutely go for it and give your horse the time off. I’m sorry if you’ve already had a lot of time off and this is built-up frustration, though. Best of luck and please feel free to message me if you like. I truly empathize.
Sorry to be so late on the post 
I’ve struggled with endometriosis for 14 years. My first surgery, 12 years ago, I had a significant adhesion on top of endo everywhere, and I was absolutely miserable for about a week, and started perking up the second week post-surgery. Last year, I had my second excision done, and I was pretty much up and about from that one quite quickly. The only reason I wasn’t on a horse sooner was that I’d had a breast reduction 8 days before the excision 
How long it takes to get back in action really depends on you individually. You could be raring to go in a day or two, or it could take a bit.
The most important thing is to have the surgery done by an endometriosis specialist. A LOT of doctors say they treat it, but few are very good at it. The group Endometropolis on Facebook is a great resource for finding specialists, and I found my specialist through there.
I’ve had two surgeries for endo; the most recent one was in December and I couldn’t ride for two weeks; I had my horse on fulltime turnout and I also had a trainer ride her once the first week, and the second week I did longe work with her; the third week, I started riding again, very slowly, while continuing to do longe work; week 4 I discontinued longe work and rode a little more. By the fifth week I was back at full capacity.
