I’m so glad to see this conversation on here as I had just logged in to start my own as all of the posts I could find when I was going through my ordeal were so negative and terrifying! I, however, have had very successful recovery. My story is below. Sorry it’s so long, but it’s stuff that I wish I would have read/known when I was going through it all.
On May 21, 2017, I broke my tibia and fibula at the ankle when my sweet, green mare decided she didn’t want to take a jump at a show and, instead of making the decision to circle out (hello, she’s a green horse, it’s a schooling show, AND it was the warm-up class - SMH), I tried to force her over the fence. We all know who is going to win that argument. When I finally came off of her, I landed on my left foot and thought, “hallelujah, I just landed on my feet and everyone will think I’m so cool!” Unfortunately, my foot stuck very firmly in the sand and my body kept going. And, well, it didn’t end well. At first, I thought (prayed) it was just a horrible sprain. I tried to walk out of the arena on my own, but that didn’t go well. My trainer ran out and sat with me for a few minutes while we figured out what might be going on. I decided that I could walk out of the arena using him as a “crutch” which was a HORRIBLE idea! One step was fine (even though I couldn’t feel my left foot at all), but the next time I went to put weight on that foot, everything fell apart. I will spare everyone the details of that moment. The medic came out, took off my boot, wrapped my ankle (out of position mind you - OUCH!!), and my trainer drove me to the nearest ER.
So, one thing led to another, and I ended up having to wait 10 days for the swelling to go down before they could operate. On May 31, 2017, I underwent an ORIF operation and they put in a plate, 6 pins, and 2 screws. During my follow up appointment with my surgeon, I learned that my trying to walk on my injury (twice) had crushed the fibula more than could be seen in the x-rays, so the plate was quite a bit thicker than anticipated. But, everything went great in the surgery and I was on my way to recovery.
After surgery, there was zero weight bearing allowed. I got my stitches out 10 days after surgery and a cast put on. The cast was taken off on June 30, 2017 and I was given the green light to slowly start putting weight on the ankle while wearing the fancy air boot. I probably pushed it a bit, but I was walking with just one crutch in just a couple of weeks. At my next appointment on July 24, 2017, my surgeon told me to start to “get back to normal life as much as possible” and, get this, actually gave me the green light to ride again!!! I couldn’t believe it. Almost every post I read about riding post-ORIF made me believe I wouldn’t even be on a horse again for 4-5 months. And, yet, here I was less than 8 weeks post-op with clearance from my surgeon to ride again! Granted, I was expected to “take it easy,” but I didn’t have to break any rules to start riding again.
I eased back into riding by starting off on a great friend’s sweet, sweet older mare who had just come off of stall rest. We were the perfect pair - both in recovery mode. I spend a couple of weeks riding her 4-5 days a week, and then decided it was time to ride my girl again. Getting back on her was like the best dream of my life coming true. The first day, we just walked, but I was so happy that I stayed on for an hour and a half. Then, we quickly progressed to trotting, cantering, etc. Now that I’ve rambled so much, I’ll sum up what has happened since.
She and I went back to our first post-break horse show on October 7, 2017. This show just happened to be at the same place where the accident happened. The funny thing is that I wasn’t nervous or scared. I was determined. We jumped around a 2’3" - 2’6" course like we hadn’t taken a break (no pun intended) at all. We also just wrapped up another show last weekend that went amazingly well!
Now, for a few tips and what my ankle future holds:
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During your non-weight bearing period, get a knee scooter!! It was a life saver for me. Once I finally got one, I was so much more independent. I also invested in an Ariat backpack as carrying a purse while on crutches is just not pleasant, and it also allowed me to carry more things around the house. Oh, and if you are fortunate enough to have access to a swimming pool, take advantage of it. I was walking around in the pool within two days after the cast coming off, and it was glorious! It also really helped with getting my strength and mobility back.
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If you have broken your left ankle, once you ride again, mounting is obviously going to be an issue. I talked with my trainer about trying to mount from the right side and he thought that might work. However, when he tried it on my mare to get her used to it (she’s such an angel that she had no issue with it at all), he found that he almost fell off just trying to find his balance that way. He didn’t think the risk was worth it for me (God bless our trainers!), so, every day I rode, someone would help me climb the stairs of our huge mounting block and, from there, I could get my right leg over my girl’s back and slide on. However, it only took a few weeks before I was able to mount again on my own.
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I cannot tolerate paddock boots as the top of the boot rubs too much on the plate. The only tall boots that fit right now considering the size of my ankle are the boots I was wearing when I took my fall. Of course, they are my Parlanti show boots, but, hey, at least something fits! I find that compression socks (not the super compressing ones, but the middle of the road) along with some vet wrap around my ankle works better for me than the back-on-track ankle brace. It just did not give me enough support and made getting my boots on too tough.
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My trainer has somewhat weak ankles and so totally understands ankle injuries and pain. He recommended that I ride with my foot almost all the way in the stirrup (not past the heel of the boot, obviously). As a hunter rider, this totally upset me as how could I possibly ride without putting my heels down!?! That led to a very helpful discussion with my trainer about it not really being about the position of the heel but more where your weight is distributed. Wish I would have known that at 8 years old when all I ever heard was, “GET THOSE HEELS DOWN!!!” Lol! I’ve been slowly backing my foot out of the stirrup and am almost back to my pre-break position. But, the hardware does get in the way of my mobility, which leads me to my next point…
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This is a big one in my mind - if you have hardware in your ankle (or elsewhere), please consider researching getting it removed. And, talk to your surgeon about it as well. I am an attorney (lame!) and, because of that, am one of those nerds that actually enjoys researching anything and everything. During the 10 days I waited for my surgery, I researched everything about the surgery, weight bearing afterwards, etc. After my surgery, I spent the non-weight bearing weeks researching what happens after a surgery like this. I stumbled across a snowboarding forum where a ton of people had experienced this injury and had developed major problems with the hardware after a few years. That led me to do more and more research, and I found a rather recent medical study that recommends hardware removal if the patient is healthy. Then, I found more and more discussion boards all discussing hardware removal. Some of the biggest issues/concerns I read about were from people who had either never been given the option for removal or who had opted not to do so and who 10, 15, 20 years down the road, started experiencing issues with the hardware. Most often, a screw or pin would begin to back itself out of the bone and would require removal. Unfortunately, after a number of years, the hardware is so implanted in your body that removal is not as easy as it is early on. Now, this is all coming from someone who still has her hardware but…
My hardware removal surgery is on December 19, 2017 (10 days from now!!!). While I have moments when I wonder whether I really want to undergo another surgery when I’m walking fine, back to riding (at almost 100%), and really don’t have all that much pain, I am reminded why I’m getting the surgery when I put my boots on and feel the pins rubbing up against my boot. Unfortunately, I have rather skinny ankles and, once the swelling went down, the plate and pins became very prominent under my skin. Part of that is also due to the fact that they had to put a thicker plate in there.
Anyway, I talked with my surgeon and, seeing as I am not going to be retiring from riding anytime soon (or ever) and so will continue wearing boots on a daily basis, we decided hardware removal would be best for me. And, even though I’m no spring chicken, I’m just 38 and plan to stay active for a long time, so the thought of possibly having issues with the hardware 10 years down the road is just too scary for me. Luckily, the hardware removal surgery is only about 30 minutes, I get to go home the same day, and can start walking on it the next day!
So, if you’re reading this and are early in the recovery process, stay positive as it will go by quicker than you think, and you won’t be out of the saddle all that long. Promise! 
