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THR Horsey Girl's Recovery

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Bea, I hate to burst a bubble ... but a 12K does sound like a LOT so soon. You've had a major procedure done ... that's a lot of stress to put on your body. I know you want to do the race, but think long and hard about it ... really--just thinking about your wonderful progress so far and not wanting you to backslide.

About Silver. I'm really glad you have him to transition back to. You've had him a long time and he's your Steady Eddie. My feeling about the arthritis is that he will till you if he feels well enough to be riding, more than any vet or blood test will. You'll know. You may also want to consider a Legend IV injection series for him (these are hyaluronic acid injections into the vein for all the non-horse people out there :-)). I've had that done for a horse with knee arthritis and it worked very well for him. Amazing the difference it made.

Good luck with everything. Just be careful, OK ...

Dorothy
 
Hi Welshjane
Yes, my surgery was January 2nd not February 1, 2012. Sorry about that. I should have written the month out. I have been so long in this country, that I automatically write dates down the US way.
About the race, I want to be able to walk at least once seven miles here at home without any ill effects before I go. I was able to walk 7 to 10 miles prior to my surgery, so I was in ok shape. I really don't want to undo any of the healing I have already done. I have until the 22. of April to sign up. My 20 year old grandson will also be in it, but he will be ahead of us. My grandkids and I usually met at the end. We normally came in around the same time. My regular time the last couple of years was close to two hours, but not this year. :cry:
The mustang club is just a group of people who try to promote the mustang and what they can do and their plight. This weekend we are having an overnighter with a trail ride on Saturday and Sunday. It will be in Washington as we have to go somwhere without snow. We still have to much snow here in the mountains in Idaho. I will leave my horses home and just camp with my Newfoundlander (dog). Am not ready yet for a trail ride.
Dorothy, my Silver had been doing very well on monthly glucosamine shots with his arthritis. Before my surgery I switched him to Equithrive, which is supposed to be good. Now he has some sores again from trying to get up. I will start him on the glucosamine shots again. The blood test is more for everything else not the arthritis. I want to keep Silver around for a while yet if I can. He does look in good shape, accept for some swayback. I got him a new saddle last Spring which fits him better.
Well I am going for a walk now. Have the horseshoer come out in a couple of hours.
Take care Bea
 
Hi Dorothy
Just trying to think of everything without hurting myself and undoing everything that already healed.
The horseshoer thought that my Silver walks different with his front legs. He swings them in, especially the left leg. He put his shoes on and tried to correct the gait. I won't ride him until the vet sees him on Tuesday.
I hope his arthritis is not overly much worse.
I stayed busy all day. First the horseshoer came so had to catch the horses. Then my grandson and one of his friends helped me to get my pick up camper onto my new truck. Took us forever. Different highs from my old truck bed etc etc But we did it, so have to only tie the camper down tomorrow.
Walked a bit this evening again, but did not go far as my thigh was so tired and complaining. Sitting now with a hot water bottle on my thigh.
Will see what tomorrow brings. Want to go and wash my Newfie as he really needs it. My horses manes and tails are such a mess. It dried out a bit and then we had more rain again. MUD everywhere. Been raking every day for an hour or two and still not done yet. Will get there eventually, then I will have to start mowing. Not yet though, grass is not high enough yet.
Have a great weekend
Bea
 
Hi Bea, I hope Silver gets a good vet report. You take such good care of him (and Cody too). It always warms my heart when I see people going the extra mile with the older horses to make them more comfortable.

A new (to you) camper sounds really exciting. It's great to be mobile with horses and having a comfortable place to stay while horse camping makes it even better. I'm still in a tent, the trailer, or back of my truck. Although I haven't done any horse camping in a couple of years since this hip stuff started, I hope to be able to resume it next year. I'm trying to find a comfortable cot that I can put in the back of my horse trailer. I want something with a good mattress and wide enough to be super comfortable while I sleep. I need to take some more measurements of the trailer some day so I know what space I have to work with.

Things are moving along for you quite nicely.

Dorothy
 
Horsey girl. Just came over to say ""Hi' How are you doing with the horses. Sound like you are very busy with your horses. Have you planned a camping trip yet with the camper? Today was so warm and sunny. Let the sun warm up my knees and the swelling wet away. Good to see the knees again. Stay safe and be careful. Take carel:doggieshmooze:Tashia:friends:
 
Thanks Tashia and Dorothy
Yes Tashia, I went camping last weekend. It was great.
Tomorrow morning I am leaving for five days to visit my daughter in southern Idaho. Most of my former co-workers work also down there and are throwing me a retirement get together. Will be nice to see everyone one more time.
I had a shot in my right hip today. Hope it will work ok.
My left thigh still likes to argue with me when I overdo it. Still don't know if I can do the race which is in two weeks. I will sign up for it and will see how things progress. I have been walking almost every day three miles without any ill effects. I walked one time close to five miles and all was ok. So, will see.
Dorothy, I rode my Silver yesterday.:yes 4: He seemed to be fine. I could see no change in his temperament in carrying me. My grandson held him for me while I went on and off. So, the next step is for me to get on him without someone holding him. He does not like to stand still. That's an arab but I love him dearly. He is such a sweetheart and so cute. I am going to attach a picture of us.
Take care everyone.
Bea
 

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Oh Bea, what a beautiful horse Silver is, and the rider is pretty good looking too ! Hehehehehe

It must feel so special to have gone camping last weekend, I truly am in awe...

And, how fabulous your trip away sounds, a great catchup with your daughter and ex co workers... Good to see life is returning to normal, keep it up hon xx
 
Good for you to be able to ride Silver. I bet you feel so free. Glad you had a good time camping. Thats the way to go. Have a good weekend and keep having fun. :doggieshmooze:Tashia:friends:
 
Hi Bea--Silver is adorable!!!!!!!! I think Arabs are the prettiest horses out there! He looks a lot like my friend's horse--the one that she rode on the U.S. coast-to-coast ride. I'm so glad you have him as your transition horse. Arabs are so tough and hardy--no wonder he is still doing so well at his age. That hardiness ... and great care from his mom!

Did you use your new camper for your trip. Will you be able to pull your horse trailer OK with the truck-trailer combo. (question mark key still not working--have to get that fixed some time). I bet that was a great adventure up there in the beautiful country in which you live.

I'm so glad you are walking pretty well. What a great feeling that must be. You are an active person, I can tell. So being sidelined with a nasty arthritic hip must have been very difficult for you. I hope the other one responds well to the injection. Mine is definitely better since the injection, but it's not good enough to just deal with ... thus, the second surgery in June. I'm hoping that will help my back too. I notice that my back isn't bad when I first wake up in the morning and gets much worse as soon as I start moving around. That says to me that it might be tied to the hip arthritis. It's on the same side and very low--almost parallel to the hip. Keeping my fingers crossed that the hip replacement on the right will make the back pain better too.

BTW, I found out my friend DID go through northern Idaho last summer. She was near Coeur D'Alene. She was riding a gray Arab a lot like Silver and ponying an appaloosa pack horse--her own horses. A friend was riding with her too for the last several hundred miles of the trip, and I think at that point she was also riding a gray Arab and ponying a chestnut QH pack horse--borrowed horses so she didn't have to ship her horses all the way from NY because they started that leg of the trip in Montana. Deb's horses had stayed the winter at a ranch in Montana, so they were already there. Her friend switched horses along the way but it I think it was in Washington. You'll have to check around and see if any of your horse friends met them.

I hope you have a nice visit with your daughter and a great retirement get together. Fun!

Dorothy
 
Yes, Silver is beautiful. I think Arabs are the most beautiful of the breeds. Didn't realise that they are considered tough and hardy. They look such aristocrats with the raised tail and head. Actually Silver looks quite small, Bea. How tall is he?

Well, I think your life sounds just magical, what with the horses and the Newfie and the camping and all, and I suppose you live in beautiful wild country out there in the Rockies. And you're retired now, AND you have a shiny new hip, so life is pretty good, eh?

What thoughts on the walk/run in May? do you think you are going to be ready for it? did you sign up for it anyway? It's hard to judge, isn't it, how your progress will be between now and then. As for me, I find it hard to imagine, at this stage of my recovery when I'm still limping around, that I can really get fit enough to do serious walking, but I know it will come. I was back walking good distances by around 10 weeks last time. Am busy in discussions with my acquaintance who runs the Nepal treks. He now thinks I can do the Annapurna base camp trek which he will be leading, in Dec, but I'm still unsure that I'll be ready so soon for all-day trekking. I must go back on your thread and check when you're planning to go.

Have a great time with your daughter and ex-colleagues. come back and visit when you return, won't you?
 
Great Job Bea! -Camping with your horse(beautiful he is!), visiting your daughter and a retirement party!!

Life is returning to normal-a wonderful thing!

Have fun and enjoy that party-Im sure its well deserved:thumb:
 
Thanks Sandy, Dorothy, Jane, Tashia and Haldox.
I thought, I better take the time to do some posting. I had a great time at my daughter's place. She has so many animals (horses 3, cats 3, dogs 5 and goats 2 ) and it is always fun to be at her place. Guess she is my daughter having all the critters. Had a great retirement party with my former co-workers. My daughter joined us in the evening for dinner, so that was nice.

Jane, arab horses are very hardy horses who can go forever. In our younger days I used to ride my Silver all day in mountainous terrain and he was ready to go again the next day. I do take it easier with him now though. For his and my sake. He has one more shot for his athritis. I hope he feels better.
I did ride him by myself a couple of days ago. He was pretty much ok standing by a log waiting for me to get on him. Rode him only about 30 minutes in the hills behind my house. He was'nt too willing to stand by the log again for me to get off him. But, we finally got it done. Today it stopped raining for a bit, so may try riding him again.

Dorothy, I got myself another pick up. I did have an old one ton GMC which was ok for hauling both, the pick up camper and the horse trailer at the same time, but it was getting old. I want to do some traveling and not have to worry about getting stuck. Anyway, last month I got myself a 2008 F250 Diesel 6.4 l. It is an awesome PU. I drove it down to my daughter's and got 17 MPG. My old PU gave me at the most 10 MPG.
Have been doing lots of walking. Down at my daughters one day it was in the 90s, so had to walk early in the morning. I did 5 miles last week one day and felt ok. Even hiked a bit in the Owyhee desert where my Cody is from but did not see any wild horses.
Here at home the weather is much better. Maybe in the mid 50s. On Saturday I used my tractor the first time and really felt my thigh muscles as it has a very heavy clutch. On Sunday I walked 6+ miles and felt ok the next day. I did sign up for the race next Sunday and am going to attempt to do it. If I start hurting I can always stop and maybe find a taxi or go into a tavern for a beer :th_heehee:.
My thigh muscles sometimes cramp up and hurt when walking. I massage it then for a bit and that seems to help. Also my IT band is still stiff quite often. I am taking the cane when walking longer distances. It seems to help taking some weight off my operated side. I just don't want to hurt anything on my new hip what has aleady healed.
Sooo, I will cross my fingers that all will be well. The problem with the Bloomsday race is all the people (over 50,000). It takes some walking to get to the start and after the finish to get back to the bus which will take me back to my car.
A friend of mine will walk with me. My grandson will be ahead, but we all have cell phones. There are also first aid tents on the route. I could take my crutches along just in case but that would be overdoing it I think.
The shot in my right hip seems to help some so far. I can sleep a bit better laying on my right side. Will know more when I start to ride longer.

Haldox, I love your dog's picture. My Newfoundland mix, Ricky, has also Golden Retriever in him. That is what the vet things. They are such awesome dogs.
Bea
 
Hi Bea, so glad you had a good week away. I just dropped by to wish you all the best for the race this weekend. Just take it easy - you've done it tons of times before, and there's always next year if you don't make it all the way this year. So if you need to take the tavern and beer option - why not? Sounds good to me.

good luck!
 
I'm glad you checked in! I've been waiting for a "Bea" update.

Glad you had a nice visit at your daughter's home and at the retirement party. Officially retired!!! YYIIIIIPPPPPEEEEE!

Your new truck sounds GREAT! I've heard diesels run forever, so you will have that for a long time. Gas mileage is good too. I have a 1998 1/2 ton Chevy truck (gas) that gets about 15 miles per gallon without the trailer and more like 12 MPG hauling the loaded 2 horse trailer. It is in great shape and runs almost like new ... and it's paid for, so I don't have any plans to get a different truck yet. When I do, I may go the diesel route and get at least a 3/4 ton, since my goal is to get a small living quarters trailer by the time I retired in 10 years. I have a Jeep that I drive day to day that gets a little better mileage than the truck, although it's still not good enough. When the Jeep dies, I'll have to get a small car. Gas is just SO expensive! I'll still keep the truck, of course, to haul the horses and to use for snowy days because it has 4 wheel drive.

I'm so glad you are getting out and riding Silver a bit. Great that you have him to transition to Cody. He looks and sounds like such a cutie pie. You are doing so great with your recovery, I bet you will be able to ride Cody soon too.

Walking all that distance! WOW!!!! I'm impressed!! Hey, I have a suggestion--how about using trekking poles. They are very lightweight and helped me a lot when I needed a little something but didn't really need an actual cane. More comfortable to grip than a cane. Very adjustable too. I bought a cheap pair on ebay that have held up very well.

Keep up the great work, Bea! You are an inspiration to me.

Dorothy
 
Bea, I endorse what Dorothy says about the trekking poles. I always thought they were for cissies, but after the first THR my physio advised me to get some, so I got a very cheap pair and used them, as Dorothy says, as a transition aid. They're back in the car now and I'll be using them for the next few weeks on my longer walks.
 
Mad Rocker isn't a small world after all. :th_heehee::doggieshmooze:Tashia:friends:
 
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