After many years of suffering (but still being able to ride and compete) and procrastinating I am finally scheduled to have knee replacement surgery. My biggest fear is losing my riding ability ( I have been riding since I was a child). My trainer will keep the horse fit and she is very gentle and easy to ride (no spook, no buck, very smooth). I just can’t help thinking that I am making a big mistake and I will never ride again. Thoughts?
It has not been the case with me. I have had both replaced and enjoy riding without pain. I think it you search this sub forum, you;ll find lots of threads about knee replacements, and most of them are very positive. Of course there is always risk involved with any surgery, but I think most people find that they wish they had the surgery sooner.
I foxhunt. I foxhunt with two artificial knees and a replaced hip and shoulder. I hunt with a man who has two replaced knees, two replaced hips, and a replaced thumb. Except that I wear polo knee pads to protect my new knees from smashing against trees --I don’t ride any different than I did before. As I recall, I had both knees done mid-February (I opted to do both at the same time so I wouldn’t miss hunting), and I was back in the saddle May 8. So three months and I was riding again and I hunted that fall. And unless I’m hunting, I don’t wear the knee pads. Oh, two years after I had my knees replaced, I rode 250 miles across MI in 14 days. A lot of what you do in PT is the same movement for riding and posting. Be sure to TELL you PT person that you ride.
My dad has had both knees replaced and says every time he steps up on a horse he kicks himself for not doing it sooner. After the first one, he said “it’s the first time getting on a horse hasn’t hurt in 15 years!”
He just came back from a week long riding trip through the Black Hills, so the bionic knees are definitely working out for him.