The day of truth... I have ridden!!

[Luann]

Hello fellow hippies, hippies to be, and hippy-horseback riders,
 One of the happiest days of my life has finally occured! I know this sounds overly-dramatic to you, but I live to ride, and have defined my entire life by it. As it says on my coffee mug, " I have spent most of my life in the saddle, and the rest I've just wasted"
 My Dr gave me permission to start riding last week at my 3 month post op appointment. I have been recovering well with very little pain, no limp (except that start-up limp that all us hippies seem to have when first standing up) and what seems to me a great return of ROM.
 I borrowed a quiet, calm, older horse of my friend's for my first ride. It felt so great to be on a horse again! I first noticed how easy it was to mount. I wasn't sure if I would need a mounting block or not. It used to hurt badly to reach up with my left leg (even though my "bad" leg was my right). Not any more! I did a lot of trotting and posting starting out. I can tell I haven't ridden for three months (an all time record for me!) as both legs are weak and not as "quiet" on the horse's sides as they should be (they swing a little). This, of course, will just take more time in the saddle to get back. Next I loped. I felt slight discomfort in the HR leg (esp when horse was in his left lead). It got better immediatly afterward, and with subsequent tries, nearly faded away. Overall I was very pleased with the ride.
 That 1st ride had gone so well, the next day my friend took me on a two hour trail ride. It went even better than the first ride! We even trotted a bit (gotta work on those leg muscles!) and loped a bit, too. No pain that ride, and the next day I was walking fine.
 Today is my third day back riding (yes, I am obsessed) and I rode my own two young horses: a reiner and a cutter. Since they are only 4yr olds, have had 3 months off, and can be quite spunky (esp the cutter), I lunged them under saddle for about 20 mins each and then tied their heads around (like a colt- bitted them up). When they were good and tired, and only then, I mounted up ( again, soo much easier!).
What I joy it was to be on them again! They both acted like gentlemen and I put them through their paces. I even wore my spurs to cue them and my HR'd leg worked perfectly! Because we are all out of shape, I kept the rides short. To put it mildly, folks, I am in my own personal heaven again. All thanks to my HR. Also thanks to Pat, and everyone who has posted on this website.
 If all continues to go well, I fully expect to be able to ride and train almost everyday now. I will keep all equestrians posted on my recoveryl. I hope to be riding my cutter on cattle in a couple of months.
 Sincerely, Luann

[moe]

Good for you Luann, some ride horses, some ride bikes, it's great to be back in the saddle. I can relate on the mounting pain, I used to have to lay my bike down just to get on and off, lol!

[snoots]

Hey Luann!
I got your message and how fantastic for you! The time sure has flown since your first post. I remember my first ride too and it was as though long lost energy had flowed back into my legs.(an emotional experience) My horses were both such gentlemen about the whole thing and I had done a lot of groundwork in the weeks before actually getting on so that part was kind of anti climactic and surreal.
I used to lay down my bike to get on too.....but no more!!!
Keep on riding Luann there's no stopping you now!

Terry

[Luann]

Thanks for the support and kind words Terry and Moe!
 I went on a 3 hour "poker" trail ride today (still on borrowed, calm horse) and did great! Walked just fine afterwards, too. It just keeps getting better. Too funny about having to lay your bikes down to get on. I guess if I had been more inventive (or better at training horses!) I would have tried that with my hay burners!
  Luann

[Luann]

Hi Dom - and all other riders and hippies out there!
 Dom, I don't know if you read my other posts, esp here in the equestrain section. Well, I used to be a jockey, and I'm understanding that you are exercise riding somewhere... I'm guessing Canada (you did say your horses were on "holiday". I spent 3 different seasons riding races at Assinibioa Downs in Winnipeg. I now live in my home state of Oregon.
 I just hate to hear that your are not doing well. I do agree with your statement that both pre and post op, riding was and is less painful than walking!
 I have been riding again now for three weeks. I have very little discomfort. I have literally been in the saddle almost all day with no problems. Sometimes I take my foot out of the stirrup and straighten my leg, and I feel the muscles getting tired and stretched out again. But with all you are going through, I feel almost quilty to say (at least, so far) I feel that I am almost riding at 1OO% of my ability. I say almost, because I have still not tried to cut. I do plan to try again (just on a flag, not real cattle yet) at the end of the month.
 I am just thrilled that, these last few days, I have been able to participate in a clinic that I sponser every year (Pat Wyse) and I am riding well. I have been able to do sliding stops, rollbacks, spins, lead changes, etc. and all at speed. No problem with the HR. In fact, I feel like a new person. I do hear of people with HR doing well at first, and then having problems. I will just keep hoping for the best and be positive. Even if I have to go through a revision sooner than I want to, I will always be glad I tried the HR first. I would always haved wondered had I not.
 Dom, so sorry (you have no idea, I really feel for you esp if you have a passion for racing and you are riding in pain) that you are having so many issues. Please keep me posted. I would love to hear more about where you are loping horses, and how your hip pain is being resolved.
As for all the other riders, hope your results are good, and you can again ride pain free. I am loving life again. Luann

[Luann]

OK, bad guess! I just caught up and read your most recent posts (I had missed a few since I've been busy with the riding clinic!). I now know you are from the UK (did I get it right?) and it's interesting to read about the NHS (the US has proposed something like it, causing a nation divided!). Too cool to hear a top jockey riding flat races has had a HR'd and was able to return to the track! As good as I feel now, I do not believe I could do that! Please keep me posted on your hip investigation. I'd still like to hear about your thoroughbred experiences,too. Lu

[Luann]

Hello again Dom!
 So good to hear form you, you will get a good laugh to know that I, too, hard a hard time understanding your descriptions of the type of riding and competing you are doing now! I asked another former girl jockey that I am best friends with, and she new a little about "point to pointer" jumping. Sounds like fun. I think, as well as my hip is doing, I would (at least at only 4 months post op) be a little hesitant to jump. When I first got back to riding, I trail rode a friend's older and calm horse that I knew would not jump any water crossings or deep ditches we might encounter. I did not want my hip going through that yet. Now that it's been another few weeks, I did ride one of my 4 yr olds on a wooded trail, and he did jump a ditch in the trail. I was quite relieved to find that it did not bother my hip much. I did take a couple ibuprofen right afterward, just in case!
 Yes, when I lope (esp on trail rides) I often "2-point" and stand up jockey style for comfort, both before the surgery and now. It IS more comfortable on the hip, even though I am not in real pain anymore, I still feel stiffness and pulling and stretching of muscles going on in there.
 I understand the "fresh horse" problem (is that what "ditching" means??). Was your filly bucking an goofing off a little with you? Not sure about the "nappy" comment. Was she sulling-up? Balking? I'm thinking it meant she was not wanting to work very hard, hence the "pony club kicks" and spurs comment. Too funny! Yes, spurs, on my two 4 yr olds, are my best friend!
 So it sounds like, thank goodness, you are not in as much pain now as in some of your first posts. Do you think you will have to have a revision to a THR? What do the D'r say? From some of your other posts, it sounds like your Health System has it's down falls.
 Are you still exercising any racehorses? I rode some Arab races, too, when I first got my jockey license. They are soooo slow. The are also hard to crouch down on, since their heads are so high up! There are things I like about them, but riding races on them wasn't one of them.
 I know they have reining horses in Europe, but I think most of them are in Spain, Germany, etc. It is a type of western riding in (some people call it "Western Dressage")  which the horses competing are put through various patterns, all which involve some circling, lead changes, roll backs (running into a stop, and them quickly doing a 180 degree turn and breaking into a run again in the other lead/direction) and big sliding stops (these QH's are actually bred to put their butts into the ground and stop hard when asked- they wear special back shoes that are flat and slick so they can slide and throw dirt ).
 My other horse is learing to cut. That is when you go into a large herd of cattle push and single one out, then move it left and right and try to stop and control it as it tries to get back to the herd.
I used to English ride primarily when I was younger (obviously, race riding is English). I showed hunter flat ( mostly English pleasure and equitation) and some saddle seat. I started riding western about 15 year ago, as I got into some instructors that taught western, and I liked that most of western riding was rowdy stuff. After race riding, I needed rowdy to keep the adrenaline "junky" in me satisfied! 
 Lu

[Luann]

Hey all extreme equestrians and sporty hippies-
 I have been working a cutting flag with my cutting horse for about 1 & 1/2 weeks now with no ill effects. This is when a trained horse (cutting is a sport in which a horse moves a cow out of herd and then plays "keep away") follows a mechanical device that mimics the movements a cow would make in a real cutting class/show. It involves pretty extreme back and forth jarring motions. For now, since I can remotely control the flag's speed, I am keeping it moderate to slow.  I'm very excited, though, and hoping that, after speeding it up, and not having it hurt my hip, I can start cutting again on cattle. I'm planning to try in Nov. (which will then be about 5 and 1/2 months post op).
 Happy healing hippies!  Lu

[B.I.L.L.]

Well I have absolutely no idea what you two are talking about but you sure do sound excited to be "Back in the Saddle".  Congatulations  Luann and I hope you get back on track soon dom.  I ride dirt bikes and like you could not wait to ride asap after surgery. 1st ride at 6 months was so so, 2nd ride at 9 months was good, felt good riding and minimal pain after, by a year and a half I could ride for 3-4 hours at a time and the operated hip felt fine, I've even crash tested it a couple times and although scary, everything held together just fine.
Anyway my point was it will keep getting better, so enjoy it as often as you can.
Good luck to you both and keep riding !! 

[Pat Walter]

Luann

Glad to hear you are "back in the saddle again!"  It is great to get back to the activites we love. Thanks for sharing your joy with us.  I would only make one comment that you should not get too agressive for a few more months.  Enjoy the easy ride and don't push it.  It takes 6 months for most healing and 1 year for complete healing.  Going slowing in the begining is a good approach.  You will have to send some photos or videos of your rides.

Good Luck.

Pat

[Luann]

Thank you Bill and Pat!
 Hope you are still healing well, Pat!
  I promise I will take it easy at least until Dec. The cattle my trainer has to cut on are not very lively, so I think it shouldn't be any harder on me than the flag. If I show any signs of hurting too badly, I will back off.
 Thanks again for all your support! Luann

[HelenJames]

Something alike was discussed on the Yahoo! Answers last week, i can share a link if you want some

[Luann]

Hi HelenJames,
 Yes, thank you, I would love the link. I have a hard time accessing that site for some reason (it does not seem very user friendly- or maybe that comment just shows my age!)  Lu

[Pat Walter]

Hi

You do have to belong to Yahoo and then join the surfacehippy health group.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surfacehippy/

The search function is not very user friendly, but will work if you take a little time to search around.  That is one reason I started this site.

Pat

[Luann]

My one year (almost) update!
 Hello hippies, since I so appreciate all the folks who give us their progress reports, I thought I'd better give mine. I am just a little over 2 weeks shy of my one year anniversary, and I am happy to say, I feel just awesome about 95% of the time.
 I had a Conserve + right hip done, due to osteo arth. and bone spurs, by Dr. Edward Sparling In Vacouver, WA on June 2, 2010. I am a 5'3" female 117lbs, 46 years old at time of resurfacing. My first two months after sx were typical with no complications. In my third month I experienced great improvement, and was walking without a limp and riding/training my horses again (with my Dr's approval), occasionally still took NSAIDS, but at MUCH lower levels than before sx, and no narcotics.
 Then around last November/Dec., I started getting really sore again. Not quite as bad as pre-op, but my hip recovery seemed to be going downhill. I was terrified, of course, and imagined the worse! I managed it with NSAIDs and grit. At my 6 month check up, I told the Dr how it pained me, and with ROM tests, radiographs and the like, they said the implant looked fine, and to keep taking the Ibuprofen to manage it. They offered no explanation other than it must just be a little inflammation and not to panic. I could still do all my riding and horse chores, just with discomfort (although the riding was the most comfortable).
 So, I tried to keep my sanity, work through it, and, thank goodness, they must have been right. Come about February, my hip greatly improved again!! In case everyone is wondering, there was not an incident of any kind I can think of that could have made it worse in those months (other that the cold, damp weather in Oregon!) I did not do anything that I was told I shouldn't, fall, or push/injure it in any way. Anyway, the point being is, I shared this because I want hippies to know it can happen. Do not panic if it does. Get a check from your Dr and if everything is OK, wait it out. My guess is it was just part of the healing process. Keep your head up!
 I am very happy to report that from Feb to this day, I have been fantastic. Not to say that it is completely trouble free. I do have some days that are better than others, but even those days are still FAR better than my best day with my old hip! My range of motion is near perfect. I can ride my horses all day, and do chores( ie: clean stalls, move hay, empty heavy buckets, fork manure out of large wagon, etc), and walk back to the house with no limp! I must add, too, I do not just "moisey down a trail" with my horses. I show cutters and reiners, which to you non-horsey people, means running all out, stopping hard, turning on a dime, spinning like a top, etc. Appart from maybe jumping, this is some of the most rowdy riding a person can do. I am currently in first place in my cutting class(a type of showing involving chasing/working cattle) ! Horray for hip resurfacing!!!
 I work about 30+ hours a week as a dental hygienist with no discomfort (for some elderly patients, I have to clean their teeth standing up for an hour, and this doesn't bother my hip, either!). I drive a manual tranmission car with no problems. I have hiked 8 miles in 2 1/2 hours with only a little knee pain the day after (a little ibuprofen and it was gone the next day). I now take nsaids only occasionally as needed (prehaps 5-6 times a month?). I am hoping that from here it only keeps getting better!
 If I had to whine about the little discomfort I do have left, I would have to say this. When I lift something really heavy (approx 60-80 lbs) I feel a little soreness in my hip still. This has been true since the sx, but I have noticed getting MUCH better the last six months (and yes, we horse people lift this kind of weight a lot!). Also, when I bend way down, from my waist, like to straighten a shoe or sock, it hurts a little when I straighten up again, I may even limp a step or two after, but it gets better immediately. This has also happened since day one and has improved greatly. I still have knee pain now and then (same side as HR) not sure if this is related to hip or not at this point, Dr's can't really say, I may simply have a knee problem, too. Lucky me. I will add that running moderately fast is still a challenge. Kinda still limping a little at a run. It almost seems more due to weakness and not pain. Any imput on if/when this may get better, runners/joggers?
Well, long post, but that is about it. I will continue to update at times. Here's hoping all of you will feel this good. If you are someone with a bad hip comtemplating sx, I hope this helps in your decision. It has changed my life.
 Thanks sooo much for this website, Pat!   Sincerely, Luann

[halfdone]

Hi Luann.  Thanks for that wonderful update!  I'm glad that your new hip has now settled in and is performing well with the many challenges you're throwing its way.  May it give you many, many more years of good service!

(For what it's worth, I found ROM and function on my left hip (now 5 years old) continued to improve up to even a couple of years post-op.  I don't push it as hard as many on this forum, but it has done a couple of Olympic distance tris with no aftereffects.  I am hoping that my newer addition (now approaching 4 months) settles in as well as the other did.  I expect that you will find that your hip also continues to improve for a while yet.)

Best of luck for continuing equestrian competitive success.

[bothdone]

Hi Luann

I've read through your posts and your joy in returning to horse riding had me smiling like an idiot.   Strange really as I didn't understand quite a bit of it and as someone who probably didn't even see a horse in the flesh until my teenage years I tend to steer well clear of them.      (I did see them in Saturday morning cinema shows in Westerns!)

Your obvious joy comes through loudly.  I'm really pleased for you.

Ed

[Lopsided]

Luann, I have been wondering what has happened to you these last few months. Glad you are still improving.

D.

[ScubaDuck]

Luann-

Thanks for the update and the encouragement.  It sounds like you are doing great.  And having ridden horses a couple of times I know how hard that is on the hips.

I am curious when you could start driving your manual transmission car.  I have two vehicles, a manual and an automatic.  The manual I'd Honda that gets great gas mileage and the automatic is a Jeep that doesn't get good gas mileage.  So hopefully I won't have to drive the Jeep too long.

I am in Oregon also.  I am scheduled with Dr. Pritchett in Seattle on August 1st.

Dan

[Luann]

Thank you for all your replies!
 To the two D's: Hey D-lopsided, Missed you too. Hope your hip is doing well. I didn't write for a few months this winter due to the soreness I was experiencing. I didn't want to alarm any new hippies, and I didn't have anything nice to say about my HR at that time. I figured that I would wait it out, rather than hitting everyone with a "downer" post. So glad to report it all worked out.
 
 To the other D in Oregon, good luck! I hear Dr Prichett is the best in the area. Kind of wish I had made the drive... not that my Dr seemed to have done anything wrong. Just for long term piece of mind, since he is the most experienced.   Thanks for the support guys,  Lu