Ride in the Park

The fog never did let up

The weatherman predicted the temps to be in the upper 60's and sunny today so I couldn't help it.   Despite me just having two rides under my belt since my knee replacement -- one at five minutes in length and the other fifteen minutes long, I had to try for a trail ride at our local park.

The weatherman was wrong.  The temps got up to about the middle 50's and the entire day remained foggy.  I've never been to Scotland but I imagine the weather today was something a Scotsman would find familiar.    It wasn't raining but as you moved through the air, it was wet enough that you felt as if you were collecting raindrops from the air.

So not the weather that convinced me to give the park a try but not bad for a January day.

One of our trail mates -- Wash the Mule!

I had convinced a few other folks to join me so I had some help thank goodness.  One of my friends held Golly as I used a picnic table to mount.   Yeah!.. mounting on the picnic table worked just as well as my tall mounting block at home.

We ambled around the ring for a bit as a start.  I had decided not to ask any "questions" of Golly during todays ride.   He's had seven weeks off as well and he has in the past gotten sour to work without some relaxation time so I thought a simple ride with the only expectation of going forward and having fun would be best.

After a bit we hit the trail and that's when I realized that not only is physical therapy humbling after surgery but riding was also going to be a humbling experience.   I've always been the one that "helped" out on the trail.  Making sure that everyone was safe.  Providing leads across streams or a good "bumper" to a horse that had forgotten their brakes.

On the trail

Today I was the one who needed help and it was a new experience.   I had to ask my trail mates to wait after crossing a stream and stop and when we got to fields to ensure that Golly remained calm and there was NO chance of an upset horse and a potential fall on my healing knee.

It was a new experience for me and I realize its way more fun to help than to be helped.  I sincerely appreciated my trail mates help though.

Overall Golly did well today but I could feel some tension in him and he was quite insistent on not being left behind.  At one point he stopped to pee (this horse pees more than any other horse I've met on the trail) and was a bit upset when he started off again and realized how far back he was from his friends.   We had some light bucks right then but not bad.   Its been a long time since he's been ridden so I don't think he did all that bad considering.

I didn't go long.  After about an hour I decided that any more would be pushing it so we headed back to the trailers.   The picnic table served as a dismount block and I was happy that not only was there no pain, my knee actually felt BETTER than before the ride.  Success!

First Riding Lesson after Knee Surgery

Had my first lesson today in months.   Usually my lessons are pretty tough due to my great instructor and I finish them feeling great about myself and my riding but my muscles screaming.  I knew that wasn't possible today because my leg muscles just aren't strong enough yet after my knee replacement.

I went to physical therapy yesterday and they feel I am getting close to discharge so want to "take it up a notch".  I think they took it up four notches!   Physical therapy is certainly humbling.  I don't like to quit but I was thinking hard about lowering the speed on the treadmill.   Instead I just kept counting down the minutes and hoped I would make it to the end.  I did.  Barely.

So I was a bit nervous about my first lesson back.  I wanted it to go well but was afraid that my endurance wouldn't be there.  I asked my instructor to ride him for the majority of the lesson and that I would get on for the last fifteen minutes or so.

Golly is out of shape and out of practice too so it was going to be tough on us both.  She worked on getting a good bend and suppleness while she was riding.  Lots of serpentines and getting suppleness in the neck and making the hind leg step under and push.

Watching my instructor ride today is a weird mix of pride in my horse who looks SO nice when she rides him (especially after not being ridden for so long) and jealousy that I can't get him that way.  Mostly though I am just glad we get the benefit of her instruction and watchful eye.

 After she rides Golly feels SOOO good.   Supple and light - responsive!   When I got on we focused on the same thing she did.  She asked me to think about stepping to the outside (even though I wasn't actually) while walking and trotting circles by keeping a firm rein on the outside and using the weight of my inside hip to create the bend.   I used the whip on the inside hind leg to make sure the hind leg was stepping and powering the movement.   She had to remind me multiple times to not use the leg and whip at the same time.  Keep the leg light when using the whip and use the whip like I mean it to get a response.  I tend to kick at the same time I use the whip so this will take some repetitive reminding on her part.

The temps this Sunday are supposed to be in the 70s.   Remarkable for a January day in Maryland!  Its just too tempting so I sent out an email to my friends and we are going to try a trail ride at our local park.   One friend has promised to help me get on using a picnic table since I can't get on from lower heights yet.  How I am getting off I don't know yet as right now I am using my very high mounting block to dismount.  I guess I will figure that out after I am on!

FINALLY rode!!!!

Yeah!  Yeah! Yeah!!!!  I finally got on Golly today.  It wasn't earth shattering or exciting -- which is EXACTLY what you want for your first ride back after surgery.  

So happy to be riding again

After our lunging session last week I expected him to be excited again but when I went to lunge him today he was dead quiet.  I could barely get a good working trot out of him.

So after a few minutes of lunging I decided to give it a try.   I pulled him over to my new extra tall mounting block and while my friend Dawn held him, I mounted using my right non-operated leg.   Mounting with my right leg was harder than I thought it would be.  After years of using my left leg to mount, my body is just trained to do it that way.  Now that I am putting thought into it though I am not sure why we ask our horses to be balanced on both sides and we always mount on side.   It just doesn't make sense -- it causes our left stirrup leather to stretch and has to cause our horses to be unbalanced.   Once my left leg is back to normal, I plan on mounting on both sides from now on.

My extra tall mounting block worked great.  Besides the fear of getting on a horse that had not been ridden in seven weeks, it was super easy to mount.

After dismounting on the high block

Golly was nice and relaxed and moved out at a slow amble.  He did feel like a wiggle worm though.   A shoulder out this way.  Correct and then a hip out the other way.  Correct and then the hip out the other side.  Wiggle left.  Wiggle right.  We have some work to do to remind him what straight means.  I am so proud of him though that he was so relaxed.  There are not many horses you can pull out after seven weeks off and they are close to boring.  Its why I love him and don't trade him in for a more exciting and talented model.

I even picked up a trot going both directions.   There was no pain in the leg but I can tell its weak and there is a "funny" feeling at the joint.  Kind of a wiggle left and right that I am sure is because the muscles have not fully healed to hold it in place.  I'm sure they will find their place again though.

Dismounting was a bit scary.  I just didn't know what it would feel like.  Dawn held Golly and I slid down to the new mounting block.  Again... besides the fear of the unknown it felt great.  Success!

Golly was relaxed enough that after I got off, Dawn decided to hop on for a few spins around the ring.  Its been a long time since Dawn has ridden so I think he must have looked pretty relaxed for her to trust that it would go well with her too.  It did go well of course!


So a good first ride.  I know we have a long way to go to build the muscles back up and I noticed in the picture that Golly has lost his muscling as well.  We will get there though.

Dawn hops on too

First Work after Six Weeks of Time Off

Wooohooo!!!  We did the new year right!   Nope...  I still haven't gone for a ride but I did pull out the lunge line today to see what he would be like after six weeks of inactivity.

Surprise Surprise -- he was a quite excited walking to the ring.   Excited enough that I decided that it probably would be more activity than my healing leg could handle so once we were in the ring (which is about 200 x 100 feet) I let him loose, pushed him away and said "go play".

He had a great time galloping around the ring, snorting and bucking.  Here is a pic...

After he got his Golly Jollies out, I picked up the lunge whip but still left the lunge line off just to see how he would behave without it.

Surprisingly he was quite good. I wish I could have taken a picture of him being good but I was so focused on him that I couldn't get the camera out.  Despite the ring being 200 feet long, he stayed in approximately a 60 meter circle as if I had the lunge rope on him.   He obediently walk trotted and cantered on cue.  What a boy!

All the gait transitions were made with just a verbal cue except for the canter to the right which took a single crack of the whip.  If you have read my previous blog posts, you know that canter has been a difficult journey for us so considering the time off and the easy transition to the left, I was super happy with what he gave.

I also put up a small jump about 12 inches high and 3 feet wide.  By just pointing to the jump, he eagerly approached and jumped it each time I requested it.

Golly is never going to be a fancy horse but I am very thankful that he and I have a relationship where he trusts me enough to free lunge upon cue even though he had every opportunity to run to the other end of the ring to escape.     He's my boy.. :) 

My Handicap Mounting Block and Still not Riding...

I was hoping that by now I could post a picture and a pat myself on the back posting about my first ride back on Golly after my knee replacement.  I have to admit its a bit hard to write a blog about dressage riding when you haven't ridden for hmmm... let's see.... its been six weeks!  I can't remember the last time I went six weeks without riding.

I had a goal to ride by week four and worked hard to get there.   Like many riding goals though... you make them... you work hard to get there and sometimes it doesn't happen and you need to set new ones.  Injuries of either you or your horse, weather, time conflicts or you just simply set a goal too lofty. 

The Sunday after Christmas, I had it all set.   It was an unusually warm and sunny day which would help ensure a mellow horse.   A good friend had volunteered to get on first and then let me do the cool down.  My knee was feeling good and my doc had given me the all clear to do any low impact exercise with "common sense and moderation".  I was good to go.

Then a few hours before we had scheduled the ride, my knee got a sudden sharp pain that nearly knocked me to the floor.   Turns out it my physcial therapists feel it was probably nerves refiring but it was a clear sign to me that I just wasn't ready and I need to let my body heal a bit more.  Very dissapointing.  

I am good with goals that require you to work hard.  When my therapists told me that I would have to push past the pain and do my exercises every day multiple times per day, I made it happen.  No problem.   Now that they are telling me that I need to be patient and let my body heal, that's not so easy.   Patience is not my best virtue.

But I've invested a lot of time off, pain, and work into this knee.  I'm dedicated to doing it right.

On a positive note though... my husband made me what I am calling my "handicap mounting block" for Christmas.  Its 2 feet x 3 feet wide, 2 feet high and very sturdy.  I should be able to mount and dismount from it.  I can't wait to use it!  

Hopefully I will be on soon and will be writing about my first ride back but if not, I have some other posts that I have started that I would love to finish so either way... I'll be checking in soon.

Post Knee Replacement - Resisting the Temptation to Ride

Its now been 2 weeks and 4 days since having my knee replacement surgery.  I am walking without cane or crutches.   If you don't see the big red scar on my knee, you wouldn't know that I recently had surgery.  I am walking with just the slightest limp.   Physical therapy is still taking up about 6 hours a week of my life but I enjoy the time there and like seeing the progress.   At my Thursday appointment I could flex (bend my knee) to 132 degrees and extend (make it flat) to about 3 degrees.  I am seeing big improvements in my flexing but the extension is slow work for me.

I started driving at the 2 week mark and at the same time went back to feeding and caring for my horses.  Last week it was easy to resist the urge to ride because 1) I was in way too much pain to even contemplate swinging my leg across my horse and 2) I wasn't seeing, smelling and feeling his soft sweet muzzle.

Lately I have been contemplating how and when I will be back in the saddle.  I want to feel that gentle sway and warm back again.  The big wet sighing blow of the nostrils and relax of the back he does after a few circles around the ring.   The perked ears in front of me leading the way on a new adventure.  The smell of fresh air, horse sweat and leather.

This knee replacement was a big investment of pain, time, money, risk of infection, and the kindness of my family and friends who cared for me and my responsiblities though.  I can't willy nilly just decide I want to ride and risk that investment.

But I want to ride.

So here is the plan....

Christmas is coming and my super talented husband has agreed to make an extra sturdy wide and tall mounting block for my gift.  My instructor has agreed to ride him first and then let me do the cool down.  I think with her help mounting and dismounting onto a sturdy base and settling for just ambling on a relaxed happy horse should let me test the waters in a safe sensible manner.

Before the surgery I was told that it may be three months before I could get on and I'm afraid they may stick to that plan.   My post-op appointment is next Thursday and I'm hoping he is so impressed with my progress he agrees that I can move forward with MY plan. 

Cross your fingers for me!

Partial Knee Replacement Healing and Rehab

In recovery a few minutes before
they told me to walk.

While you may not consider my knee replacement a "horse" or "dressage" topic to me it is ... because it was the day I realized that I was not enjoying or able to ride my horse that I knew it was time to head under the knife. I tried to make it work by finding new ways to get on and off and taking pain meds but in the end it was just too painful to tack him up and ride and I was riding less and less.  It felt like a chisel was permanently installed in my kneecap.

<Warning up high in this blog entry… I put some pics of the knee as it is healing at the bottom.  If you are squeamish you may want to stop halfway through.>

I know many riders face this same decision so perhaps a log of how mine went might be helpful to someone.

My surgery was eight days ago last Monday. I arrived at the hospital at 8 am for pre-op, bloodwork and to confirm for the second time that week that I was not pregnant. (No chance of it but they didn't believe me.) The lack of fluids through the night made the IV difficult to place but by 10 am and with the help of the anesthesiologist; I had an IV and was bent over so they could place an epidural in my spine.  I remember bending over and the stick and that must have been when they knocked me out because the next thing I remember was waking slightly during the surgery to have them tell me that it was nearing the end of the surgery. 

I had an epidural so I could very lightly be put under (making it easier to come out of anesthesia).  I woke up a couple of times during surgery but it was like being VERY drunk.  I didn’t care in the least that I was in the OR. 

By 12:30 I was in the recovery room and by 2:30 I was walking with a walker to the bathroom.  I have to admit I was a little terrified when they asked me to walk and put weight on a leg they had just chopped but it turns out the pain meds were still working well and I did pretty well getting there. 

I had what is called a partial knee replacement which means that they replaced only the joint on the inside of my knee – the area of my knee with the majority of the arthritis and the cause of my pain.  The recovery is generally faster and there is much less blood loss.

By a little after 3 pm I was in the passenger seat of the car and heading home.  The surgery was a little over an hour away from our house and I rode all the way home with my eyes shut praying I wasn’t going to throw up.  (I didn’t but I had a bag ready.)

We had to pick up my son from school on the way.  As he approached the car, “Mom, what is wrong with YOU?”  

“I just had surgery… I don’t feel well.”

“Oh… well you look like you are dying.”

Thanks.  You can always count on teenage sons for the truth.

The first couple of days were not fun.  I had physical therapy the first day and they spend most of it trying to see how far they can bend your knee.   I was sure the stitches barely holding my swollen knee together were going to burst in the therapists face.  I couldn’t believe he wasn’t ducking.

Each day gets better though.  You have a decent day and decide that sure… you can go to work for a couple of hours.  I mean all I do is sit -- its not like I work construction.  What’s the difference between sitting there and sitting at home?   I tried going for two hours on Tuesday and paid for it all night.  No sleep because the pain meds just couldn’t keep up.

I haven’t seen my horse since the night before the surgery.  I hope he remembers me.  I am hoping that next week I can start driving again and can stop relying on wonderful friends who are currently caring for my horses.   Until I wean myself off the pain meds I can’t drive.  Right now I am down to a little less than half the dose I was on the first week so I am getting there.

The good news is that although my knee hurts its completely different than the hurt before the surgery.  Instead of getting worse every day … its getting better every day.  I have high hopes that I will be riding soon and will be doing it pain free.   The goal is to be able to bend my knee at least 120 degrees and extend it completely flat at 0 degrees.    At my therapy session yesterday I was at 108 degrees flexion and 2 degrees extension.

I can’t wait to  post the entry about my first ride after surgery.  The sooner the better.

The picture to the left is the day after surgery.  The word "Yes" I had to write

on there to make sure they replaced the correct knee.  The knee to the right

is a week after surgery.  The bruising didn't start showing up until

about day three.