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Golden Horse is a bit broken update

12K views 91 replies 29 participants last post by  Dustbunny 
#1 ·
Following on from this thread http://www.horseforum.com/horse-talk/golden-horse-bit-broken-227370/

I have been gradually getting better, but also being frustrated with the slowness of the recovery. I started Physiotherapy at last, just after Christmas and I'm already seeing the benefits.

Had to go to town yesterday, saw the surgeon in the morning, WOW I was beat up on the fall, I kept saying "I didn't know that, didn't know that" and he was saying "I told you while you were in hospital" Yeah, well I guess I was out of it more that I knew.

I didn't actually know I had broken my shoulder blade, as well as my collar bone until the physio told me, but saw the pics yesterday. He showed me the scan they did, that I don't remember being done, a slice by slice thing down through the body, and we counted at least 8 breaks and fractures on the ribs, some displaced, some fixed. The lung was actually well collapsed, and they were worried about dark spots on it, seems like they were quite worried about me for a while. He says I should be grateful for the recovery I have got, he thinks I am doing very well.

Oh and as a by the by, the CT scan I had back in November to check for progress on the ribs etc, showed nodules on my adrenal glands, which they think are just benign, but now we know they are there we can keep an eye on them.

I have ridden twice since the accident, had my first lesson last Sunday, and managed to walk and trot which was a good feeling, everything is coming back slowly. I am still kind of bent to one side, I am hoping that with Cassie yelling at me while I'm riding, and the physio working on me and giving me exercises to do that I will end up straight again. :wink:
 
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#2 ·
Denny, the progress you've made (both physically and emotionally) after such a horrendous fall is truly remarkable. It will take time, but you'll be just fine and you have no idea how happy it makes me to know that you're riding again.

:hug: Hugs to you and next time you see him, give the big gray goofball a scratch in his favorite place for being such a wonderful parter to help you.
 
#8 ·
D

:hug: Hugs to you and next time you see him, give the big gray goofball a scratch in his favorite place for being such a wonderful parter to help you.
I will do that, so far he is such a Godsend for me, it's going to take many miles before I totally trust him, but he is such a good horse.

Do they encourage you to do the exercises at home also? With all that damage, it will take awhile to get things back how they were & it really takes effort on your part so, just keep at it.
Oh yes, I have a bunch of exercises to do at home, and they are the ones that are going to make the most difference, and I am being pretty good at doing them:) I have put post it notes around the house, so when I come across one I have to do the exercise written on it, means that I get to do a few reps several times a day.
 
#3 ·
You're already back on a horse, so that is good! That physical therapy stuff can work wonders, so keep at it as long as you can. Do they encourage you to do the exercises at home also? With all that damage, it will take awhile to get things back how they were & it really takes effort on your part so, just keep at it. Hope the healing keeps going well.
 
#5 ·
I had no idea of the extent of your injuries. I think people have come out of motorcycle accidents on the highway with less damage:shock:. Are you sure that horse didn't grab you as you lay unconscious and slam you up against a wall?:-p Oh well, you're back in the saddle again and that's all that matters.
 
#9 ·
LOL, I spoke to the First Responder who looked after me a couple of months back, and he said he knew it was bad because I was lying in an impact crater, and the ground was hard.

Not to make light of your injuries but a study discovered that the antibodies produced from a bone breakage prevents ovarian cancer, so you probably WON'T get that!
Lol, that is a positive, and also while I was so damaged on the top half I developed some awesome leg muscles, which I have tried to keep working.
 
#7 ·
I'm glad to hear that you are mending, too. **hugs**
Not to make light of your injuries but a study discovered that the antibodies produced from a bone breakage prevents ovarian cancer, so you probably WON'T get that!
 
#16 ·
That's me, I think some people call it stubborn!

Wow, Golden. At least you do it well, when you do do it!

If you ever find a wall or plateau with that physio, I cannot recommend an Osteopath enough. ...not sure what you have for them out there, but it's worth the hunt!
My mum always said if it's worth doing it's worth doing well! Even I am impressed now.

So far, just a couple of sessions in, I think this physio is a gem, some are better than others, and this one, well more of a whole body approach, not just the bent side. If I get stuck I will have a look maybe, I have massage on Chiropractor also in the list of possibles.

count me amoung those who think your progress, considering the horrible experience, has been marvelous, and I truly am impressed with your fortitude.
Thanks, sometimes you have to stop and count your blessings rather than whining about the limitations :D

OH and say THANK GOODNESS I was wearing my helmet, which cracked, but at least I only have dizzy spells, rather than anything worse.

Wow....and I've been whining about my knee replacement! I do get a little of what you are going thru; my therapist feels I'm making good progress, I feel like I'm just stuck & wondering if I'll ever get back to my former level of functioning. Hang in there!
Yes we will get it all back, or we will at least keep trying right! It takes time and repetition, but hey, we are trying, and if we are trying we are winning!
 
#13 ·
Wow, Golden. At least you do it well, when you do do it!

If you ever find a wall or plateau with that physio, I cannot recommend an Osteopath enough. ...not sure what you have for them out there, but it's worth the hunt!

Good luck and keep that chin up, warrior!
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#17 ·
Another update...still moving forward:

Last weekend, I got pulled off if my own horse, I was tense, and nervous, he was a PIG, it wasn't pretty, so Cassie got me to get off, and poor Gibbs had another rider, who put him through is paces and gave him an attitude adjustment:shock: We arranged for A to ride him a couple of times for me just to get him straight.

Last Thursday I had a break through, strangely it was at physio therapy, she asked me a question about riding, she hit one of those hot topic buttons and ended up in tears. Long story short a bit of digging, and we got to the guilt I feel for failing with Ben. We worked through that for a while, multi talented therapist I have, and I went from there to the barn to ride.

Once again long story short, I rode my horse, I had someone stood near while I mounted, but they weren't holding my stirrup, or Gibbs, just there, and I rode...I don't mean sitting there hardy breathing, tensely holding him in, but being able to smile, breathe, talk and SMILE, yes I know I said it twice but it is important. I walked and trotted him, still working up to the canter/lope but we will get there. It was so great to be able to respond with an instant "Knock it off" when he was being a pig, I had a great ride.

I am a work in progress, I still have a long journey both physically and mentally before I am all better, but it is great to be able to actually enjoy being on a horse again.
 
#18 ·
So glad you are doing better. I didn't realize how bad it was or know your helmet cracked. Can't believe your back in the saddle so soon after something like. Way to go.
 
#23 ·
WHOOT, more progress..

We had a goal of being able to lope by the end of the month, Cassie had asked a couple of times if I wanted to try, and we had gone from "*&$# NO" through "Mmmmm not today" to me deciding that we were going to try it on Saturday.

Friday I had a mini melt down, couldn't remember how to even ask for a lope, or how it would feel, couldn't play it in my head because there was nothing there. I got some online input, and got over myself, and set off Saturday am with the intention of cantering,

AND


Well it was by no means pretty..:oops:

Cassie walked me through it all, got me practising the ask at the walk, then had the other girl in the arena do some transitions for me to watch, very very crisp and elegant...unlike Gibbs and I when we were up.

A combination of his default setting being "Do we have to?" and my errr 95% commitment to the transition led to lots of faster unbalanced trotting, lots of grabbing the horn, and general ugliness, so we quit on that rein.

Changed the rein, and started again, same sort of result, until the rider kicked in, and said DARN IT HORSE we ARE going to lope, so I backed up the leg with the other 5% commitment that was missing, and a couple of good healthy clouts with the end of the reins, and YES, we have a canter, and it is totally awesome, and I am smiling, and breathing, and enjoying it, got about 3 laps before we fell out. Tried again the other way, mixed results, hard to get him to take off, and when we did we were on the wrong lead, but that wasn't important at that time, no so comfortable for anyone obviously, but we were loping for sure!

So technical merit, hardly warranted a score, but satisfaction off the scale, and hope for the future very high..:thumbsup::clap:
 
#24 ·
Congrats! Isn't it just the greatest feeling to get that canter going again? When I started riding again about 4 years ago (after a pretty long break), for some reason I just had a mental block to doing it. My then-instructor had a beautiful schoolmaster dressage mare, put me on the longe, and made me do it. She tolerated me holding on to the front of the saddle, white knuckled, for a couple of weeks, but then she made me start riding, not just holding on. I still remember that feeling of pushing away the fear and letting myself enjoy it.
 
#27 ·
This weekend was truly awesome, had a lesson riding one handed all through, concentrating on forward, so squeeze to ask for the walk, if no reaction, sharp crack with the end of my rein and let him go. It was great, lots of energy, from both of us.Then despite me rehearsing in my head a million reasons why I wouldn't lope this week, it was my turn to lope, one handed, and by h e c k we did it.

For the first time in for ever I really felt like a rider, it was fun, and Gibbs is so comfortable. It was a great lesson as well, I shared it with another lady who is trying to get her confidence back after a fall, her horse is beautifully trained and very very light in her hand. She has been causing problems by being nervous of trusting her horse and over correcting.

The lesson was very interesting, showing how for me, just letting go of his head and driving from behind to produce energy made a good ride, for her just lightening up her hold made her horse relax and do great. They both arrived at the same point from different directions, and both riders were as proud and pleased as punch!
 
#29 ·
Latest update..

Today I met another milestone and went to a Reining Clinic, I set it as a goal back in February and I made it:lol: I was a bit worried as Gibbs was sidelined, so I was going to have to ride a strange horse, now bear in mind I have only ridden Gibbs, and a short ride on friends mare, since the accident. Also bear in mind that I hadn't done any loping for a year or so before the accident, so the notion of me reining is crazy, but I wanted to try, and it was on my to do list, so off I went.

I rode the baby sitter Bailey in the morning, 16.1hh of very patient stock paint. I managed to get my legs kind of behaving, so was rewarded with a pair of ball spurs to wear, that made life easier. The hands though are a problem still, a combination of very English wanting to ride in contact, and being nervous means that I keep taking up more contact than needed. I did start making progress on my hands, finished the morning on a big smile.

After lunch I was very excited to be upgraded to a very nice little reining horse, I have seen him run and he is awesome, sadly though my skill level is not at his yet, and he was getting upset with me and those **** heavy hands, as he got upset the nerves kicked in, and it was getting worse. So we called it quits and I got back on the ever patient Bailey, that was better, he is in my comfort zone, and is far more forgiving of rider error.

We worked on all elements of the pattern during the day, and ended up running a full pattern, mine wasn't pretty, but there were good points in it, not many, it felt better than it looked, but here you go



We had far better spins in the morning, when we got the pattern he wouldn't do it at all, and Carol says it is the first thing he quits on. Overall I am delighted that I did as much loping as I did, frustrated that I couldn't get on with Lucky, I think he was just plain unhappy with a bigger rider, he was standing 'odd' when we were still, and he and I just were not on the same wave length
 
#31 ·
If this winter will ever leave we have two more targets to hit

1) Schooling show next weekend, that might be entirely dependant on weather, and getting a hitch fixed onto my truck so I can actually haul horses again.

2) Last weekend in May, our first real show, Western Dressage, only 3 classes, well 6 classes over 2 days, 4 intro level (walk trot)and 2 at Basic level (lope)

The May Show is a real show, I just got this in the post



My official Bronze Level Membership of Equine Canada, aghhh. This is the real deal, away for 3 days, hotels, etc.....scary stuff.
 
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