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.
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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. 
