Riding with a Splinted Finger

[the_eventing_RN]

Looking back there were many odds against us. It was a dark evening, the barn manager opted to keep the horses in overnight for a “storm” and my 6 year old 17.2hh TB did NOT agree to the trailer training I had in mind. Long story short he took off around the trailer, and pulled the lead through my hand to the point that it squeezed all my fingers, jammed and dislocated my middle finger pretty badly.

I work in the ER so I got the finger reduced and splinted pretty quickly but I essentially had a “gnarly” dislocation and a teenie avulsion fracture.

It’s in the middle finger and I asked the doc to spare all my others in the splinting. So theoretically i could place the reins between ring and pinky finger per usual with my middle finger remaining splinted. Am I nuts?!

I have a lesson tomorrow so I’m hoping to ride. We all know equestrians are tough…and nurses make the worst patients. Hard combo lol

[punchy]

Whatever works, when you try it just do what feels best. You don’t have to lace the reins through your fingers at all, so like a fist with the rein outside your pinky is good enough. You could cross your reins, too, or ride one-handed. But I like to tape the injured finger to another, so it’s not hanging out by itself—that’s just begging to be knocked about again.

[pony_grandma]

I couldn’t remember which fingers were taped but I sure remember this photo! fingers 4 and 5 taped together here. English ladies sidesaddle hunt here taking their break.

[atr]

Yep, you are nuts.

I did more or less the same thing to my pinkie finger back in April. It hurt like hell for weeks, and hurt even more if I knocked it on something, and frankly it still hurts and it’s a damned nuisance. The thought of Mr. Spooky throwing one of his little tantrums and jamming back into it was enough to make me want to throw up.

I was banned from riding for several weeks by the hand specialist–as she said, the last thing you want to do is do it again.

But I am old and now understand that I am not immortal and things that I should not have done to my body years ago have now come back to haunt me. Your mileage may vary!