So I just had the left hip replaced 2 months ago. Can’t get on a horse for another month or 2, but went to at least sit in some saddles today.
Had the husband put the saddles up, used a mounting block, held on to the front of the saddle, and just about choked when I went to swing the right leg over.
Had to get on from the right side.
Anybody have a left hip done? Did it get to where you could get on from the left again? Or did you and horsie have to do from the right?
There are a number of (top dressage) riders who have had them done, and wondered why they waited!
YES ~ THR LEFT SIDE
Yes,
I had my left hip replaced 1-17 -05 - I use a HIGH mounting block ( that puts my foot level with the stirrup ). I considered that “Right Side Idea” but was not sure about:confused: accurately swinging my left leg over :eek:~ SO ~ I have always mounted from the left as before my THR. I was very:eek::eek: scared the first time ~ and saddled my mare for three days in a row before finally climbing on ~ “piece of cake” no problem - I was so very happy to be back on my mare ~ I cried!!! And then we raced around the entire farm property I was yelling and crying " HEY LOOK AT ME:cool: I CAN RIDE AGAIN !!! For a transitional practice :yes: Just put your saddle on an AVT- step into stirrup and swing and practice getting on it ~ then saddle up and keep saddling up until you can make yourself get on - ~~ just find a mounting block/ stool that is high enough so your left foot is level with the stirrup - Step & Swing ! Hope this helps sorry so long !! ENJOY !!!
:):D:winkgrin:
Thanks, ZuZu…
I put my regular saddle up on a higher dummy and swung over from the right.
Let the leg hang and felt ‘CLUNK, CLANK, CLUNK’ :eek::eek::eek:
…am thinking maybe I have some adhesions that need to let go…It was totally bizarre!!!
Please be careful !
:eek: please be careful !
Let the leg hang and felt ‘CLUNK, CLANK, CLUNK’ :eek::eek::eek:
Really thinking you would be better off mounting from the left side ~ your right leg knows how to swing ~ IMHO ~ whichever side you launch from just be careful.:eek: The trick is in the height of the mounting block so you just step as opposed to stepping and lifting/pulling /levering ~ up - Good Luck ~ the transitional ATV helped me immensely - do you have an atv or motorcycle or two bales of hay with a “holder” would work for the height. Just to repetitively practice the step and swing for getting your rhythm and confidence of ~ it won’t hurt and I can do this safely ~ type thing. Thinking of you and sending Jingles that you are able to get this smoothed out quickly and back to riding. OH ! getting down both stirrups dropped -come over to stomach and slide down - be careful of loose clothing.
If you are still in PT ` ask your therapist to simulate some mounting exercises - ~ I even practiced lunging horses exercises with my PT ~ take your saddle to PT and she will be able to guide you through the mounting from the left side safely so you are “super duper” ready when you can ride again.
I was part of a trial and so had to be conservative about exercise, and follow the protocol. I started riding 4 months after. I initially mounted from the right. But I and my horses have done that before. I thought any twisting might bother my hip. I soon went to the left and it was no problem. I did go to PT.
Good idea about talking to the PT…she’s TRYING stuff to make mounting easier - but either she doesn’t quite get what it takes to actually do that, or she doesn’t think I’m string enuf yet…
I want to clarify my modified “after THR mounting” ~ I do not ~do not attempt to do any twisting - I almost face the same direction as my mare ~ step left into stirrup & swing my right leg over ~ just like getting on a bicycle or ATV. I do not face the opposite direction and twist & swing up. ** Plus I have a mounting stool that puts my foot at the exact same level as the stirrup so I am not leveraging sp?upward .Took awhile to find the right height but makes the whole thing very easy and safe. Hope this helps ~ step left and swing right leg over ~ can be simulated with a box on the floor ~ step and swing right leg over -will help you with distance and rhythm.
Left hip: BHR feb '08
Be very careful. You’re only 2 months out. The hip capsule is the only structure holding your hip together. A good (bad) twist will loosen your acetabulum and keep it from ingrowth. You’re likely still on hip restrictions. Let it heal. Revisions are a b*tch.
I rode yesterday. The day was glorious and I was hip pain free after 3 hours in the saddle. :yes:
Yes, absolutely follow the DR. & PT’s directions ~ I did not do anything that was not approved by my medical staff. I was a total Chicken $hit ~ and waited and continued my PT exercises long after I had the ok to ride . It took me a very long time to get back in the saddle ~ I was extra careful and I still am extremely careful !!!
Hey, Tollertwins, how’s it going? I was just about to post today and announce
MY FIRST TIME BACK ON MY HORSE. How uncanny that we did it at the same time and had the same experience! I am 3 1/2 months out of surgery. My OS gave the ok to ride 2 weeks ago. I really had to talk myself into doing this today. I can understand how people give up riding due to fear.
My quietest horse is a giant barrel QH. There was no way I was getting on him. My other horse is a 17 yr old arab. Quiet, but still an arab, and unridden for 4 months due to weather. I don’t know anyone with small quiet horses, and I wanted my Stubben saddle I was used to. I was never graceful getting on the right side, and I never did it on this horse.
So I lunged him 20 minutes. He was full of himself. And, I’ve never ridden him in the round pen, although he is in the field with the RP. Ok, its now or never. More time off with out him being ridden will make things worse. So I got on the mounting block, and got on like usual, walked him around in some small circles, and got off in about 10 minutes. Yep, it hurt to twist. The muscles at the top of the thigh were tight. It was hard to swing the leg back over to get off, and I made sure to only land on the unoperated leg.
I like the idea of facing forward when getting on. I will have to try this next. I just got this horse last year. He doesn’t know to stand perfectly still when I get on and not move forward. Got to work on that. Ex-endurance horse, I guess he’s off and running as soon as he’s mounted. Generally he’s pretty sane, not like my other nut cases.
The hip felt fine, just the tightness about the top of the thigh. I never needed PT, no so no PT to work with.
Toller, you may be saddle sitting too soon. You still have lots of soft tissue to heal. If your shank is uncemented, it takes a good while until the bone grows around it and really secures it. I am a little concerned about the clunks you felt. Not sure what that could be. What are your components made of? My shank is titanium, the ball is ceramic, the cup is metal with poly liner. I felt mostly fine at the 3 month mark, although I have really stressed my leg, hip, and back cleaning up 4 months of manure out of the mud in the past two weeks, and other barn work. It all feels so good I forget that there’s still tissue healing. I can tell when I walk up stairs that I don’t have my full strenght back. And the issue with twisting to get on, and lifting that right leg to dismount shows that there is still tenderness and healing going on.
I have one of those large large exercise balls and I think I will practice getting on, and still on that to see if it simulates a saddle.
Glad to hear you are up and about.
Judy
[QUOTE=hosspuller;4757760]
Be very careful. You’re only 2 months out. The hip capsule is the only structure holding your hip together. A good (bad) twist will loosen your acetabulum and keep it from ingrowth. QUOTE]
Well now, THAT’s scary!!!
Fortunately (or not) I don’t have hip restrictions 'cause of the way that they went in. Altho having said that - no riding 'cause the bone ain’t grown in yet…so what you say probably still applies.
And I will never, ever, ever mount from the ground ever again! I have a pony - 3 step mounting block and you stand on the block and swing your leg over.
This entire odyessy started when I was mounting some wide bodies from the ground. Bony abnormality in the hip literally sheared the seal to the joint off the bone - in 3 rides!..It was going downhill anyhow - that was the LAAAASSSTTTT straw.
We tried to salvage the joint last year - but no go.
The hip quit clunking - altho I gotta admit it scared the bejesus outta me!!!
Gonna be interesting to see what it feels like tomorrow.
Bank - the saddle isn’t on a horse…it’s on a dummy. I’ve been doing veeerrryyy smmmallll bits of sitting in one of my saddle chairs for the last couple weeks.
I mostly wanted to sit in the saddle 'cause I’m sending a guy who will be making me one at some point some pics…And yeah - I need more muscle tone…
And when I actually get back on a HORSE it’s gonna be one that doesn’t really care if it stands at the mounting block till doomsday!
How do you feel today ?? tollertwins ??? Hip ok??? Jingles !
Left total hip Sept 10, 2004; back on my horse Oct 9, 2004. I’d had to mount from the right for months before the surgery anyway, simply could not tolerate the twist bit of the mounting motion. So, my v-e-r-y steady-eddie gelding was well used to it, and I continued to mount from the rt till long after I was released from precautions. The first ride was a total pony ride, my good friend and sometimes instructor was on the lead rope and I rode for all of 10 minutes.
Yep - hip was fine. Kind of ached yesterday, but I put a heating pad on it and took a muscle relaxer last nite.
I think I loosened something up that was stuck that shouldn’t have been. I was feeling something ‘thrum’ over my femur doing leg circles, and it doesn’t do that anymore!
Yeah…I figure the first ‘ride’ will be on, off, on, sit, off…Maybe a pony ride for the second and third, and then WALK…
Glad your hip is fine today !
You may be surprised with that first ride ~ once I got on I never wanted to get off ~ must have ridden for an hour + ~ so very nice !!!
In the beginning, I could feel an internal stitch pulling. I worried the doc would have to go back in and snip it. I guess it either pulled free, or loosened up, or loosened up when the swelling went down cause I don’t feel it any more.
I had my hip replaced in 2008 (21yrs old) and I was back in the saddle at just around a month, just walking the first 2 or 3 times, then trotting for about 2 weeks, then back to normal! If I can remember, I mounted from the right for a few weeks, then was able to get on normally after the muscles strengthened back up. I’ve been riding, jumping, and breaking babies again with no problems! Every once in a while I have someone spook and it pulls a little bit, but usually the pain subsides after a few hours. It was the best decision for me, before the surgery I could barely ride for 10 mins without crying in pain and now I feel like I did before I broke my leg! Its been great!
Yeah…wondering if I can ‘retrain’ mine to spook to the RIGHT!
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