I’m new to horse forums and I am hoping someone will respond with experience in the situation my daughter is facing. She was tying up her horse at the wash rack after a training and it spooked reared and her thumb was caught in the lead rope and bar and was amputated just below the knuckle. They tried very hard to reattach it but the injury was too severe and she lost it. She is just 12 years old. She rides hunt seat and jumps and competes in shows. We are at a loss as how will she hold the reins without her thumb??? She is a very determined young lady and is waiting for the green light from her surgeon to get back on a horse. We still do not know how short what remains of her thumb is, bandages are still on, but she has small hands and it looks very short. Her trainer is great and is waiting of course to see what she can and cannot do when she returns to the saddle.
I am very sorry to hear about your daughter’s accident. I have no personal experience but I would think that she could run the reins between the pointer finger and the next finger on that hand. It will take time to relearn but since she is young it will probably be easier for her than for an adult after a lifetime of riding.
Look for therapeutic riding groups where you live and see if there are any Paralympic programs or trainers.
Maybe look for a FB group that deals with riders that are differently abled.
I have to believe that riding without a thumb, while daunting when recent and only 12 years old should be fairly easy to overcome compared to what challenges other Paralympic riders have overcome 
{{}} to both of you.
Lo
This should work well! There are many ways of holding the reins that are used in other disciplines, I think she’ll be fine.
You can customize her gloves by turning the glove for the injured hand inside out and sewing across the thumb at the length that fits what remains of the digit. Then cut off the extra material, turn it back right side out and presto! customized glove.
Best wishes to you both!!
Eventers hold their reins in many unconventional ways. Has she thought about eventing?
Also, pony club kids often have some minor disabilities. My daughters pony clubbed with one kid with cerebral palsy, several with ADHD. one with multiple issues post brain tumor, and a couple of kids with bad diabetes. Our club was not a competitive, go for the Olympics type club. The kids were very accepting of their differing challenges. Our kids all grew up to be productive members of society (several veterinarians, a realtor, a dentist, a couple of engineers, etc.) if you can find a diverse pony club, your daughter may feel less self conscious if she needs some adaptations to ride effectively.
After you figure it all out, let us know what works. There is a woman who posts on the forums whose son lost ?a foot. He has continued to ride, with some adaptations from a rehab program ?at John’s Hopkins.
I dislocated my thumb and had it put back in place and splinted/casted for 6 weeks when I was younger. I had a permanent “thumbs up” on that side til the splint came off, haha. I found that holding the reins as one normally would, just without my thumb on top, worked well enough, I just needed wider/thicker reins than what I would normally use in order to feel the rein in that hand properly.
In the jumper ring, I believe it would be legal for her to use adjustable rein loops such as the Rein Bows used by some para-equestrians. They work on most standard reins (though a bit better on rubber ones) and you can adjust where on the rein the loop sits. Something like that on the injured side would give her a bit of extra security should the rein slip through her fingers for any reason, and would prevent her losing the rein entirely. For the hunter ring, I bet you could get away with having an extra large stopper sewn on at her ideal jumping length, which she could hold in her hand to have more to grip and feel a bit more secure (kind of like when I used the thicker/wider reins when I was in the splint). The stopper would be invisible to the judge, so shouldn’t be marked as unconventional (in theory)
Is a prosthetic an option? I know there are finger and thumb prosthetics, but don’t know if they would work well for riding.
Many ropers are minus a thumb and they keep riding and roping without one.
My friend had his thumb amputated by the rope catching it.
He held it in the glove, the surgeon reattached it.
They said is a common injury here.
It is like new now, just gets ouchy in cold weather.
Sorry they could not save hers.
I expect she will do fine riding, as those here without a thumb do.
I remember reading about some operations where they attach a person’s toe to the hand:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/the-surgeons-who-make-toes-into-thumbs/381362/
I wonder if she does need a thumb there, if that could be one option?
Try a ‘handhold’ loop like on driving lines for that side… * think … the circle end of a dog leash sewn on reins. Four fingers hold.
William Shatner had handholds ( loops) sewn on his reins - saw him show with them.
The handhold loops are safe and offer control - generally on all driving lines.
3 loops each side - so one can use the best line length for the particular horse or pony.
- where is my color / won’t work tonight
here it is /I’ll fix later.
An easy addition to her reins .
My uncle had this done after a bad accident had crushed his hand. He is a mechanic and does not seem to have any limitations.
