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Schnubbi24
Hi Marika, and thank you Sharon for tagging me so I wouldn't miss the post.
I had both hips replaced with the posterior method. My incision is more on the outside of my hip, but some of it does curl around a little to the back. Regardless, my surgeon called it posterior. Other than the tendon difficulties in the groin that I injured in PT, I never had any problems after the hip replacements. I just healed, got moving again, and that was about it. I do, though, have some tightness in some soft tissue in the left hip that I have to keep stretched. Maybe it's some scar tissue?? Regardless, it doesn't actually prevent me from doing anything, so I think I'll just leave well enough alone.
About riding a horse, depending on how you feel and what type of neck surgeries you had the hips may be less of a problem than the neck. I have a little degenerative disc disease and a small herniated disc in my lower spine, but I don't have the more serious issues with my spine, as you have.
About riding safety after hip replacement--just speaking of the hips here: My surgeon and I had a lot of discussion about this. He had quite a few patients who rode horses after hip replacement and he said it's not a problem at all in regard to the hip replacements themselves. Falling off, could be OK ... or not OK, depending on what happens with the fall. He told me that a direct landing on the hip wasn't as bad as twisting the leg during the fall/landing. The weakest part of the hip/leg after a hip replacement is at the bottom of the prosthesis stem. If that gets torqued, it can fracture the femur bone (thigh bone). A fall can also cause a dislocation of the hip--again, depending on the fall and landing. He said it like this "riding is fine; falling is at your own risk." I've checked out other websites, and there are people who have gotten kicked and fallen off and their hips held up just fine, so I'm not going to let it stop me from riding.
My philosophy of riding post hip replacement is that I will not ride any horse I don't feel safe on, and I will choose my riding places and riding friends wisely. I don't worry about the riding part at all, but I do not want to fall if I can help it. Granted, anyone involved with horses knows that falling can happen with any horse at any time, but there are some horses and situations that increase your odds of falling off. First, you need to evaluate your current horses and determine if they are safe. That can be tough because depending on your horses you may have to make the decision to sell them and get a horse that is safer. If your current horses are safe, Great! But be honest about that and don't risk your safety because of your attachment to the horses. There are good horses out there for everyone, despite the circumstances. So, do make an honest evaluation of your current horses. I had to do that, as well.
About my horse. She is an almost 19 y/o QH mare that I have owned (or maybe she owns me???) for 11 years. I know her very well, and she knows me. She is a pretty good girl, but not perfect. She can get a bit hyped up in a group, so I've decided I won't do any group riding unless I know there is at least one person in that group with a level headed horse that I can stick her behind until she calms down, which is usually after 20 minutes or so.
I will choose my riding partners carefully. I won't be afraid to make my needs known and I will NOT just go along with the group if it's a bad situation for me. I did ride a little in the fall, but that was only around my pasture at home. Because of my hip pain and tendon injury complications after the second hip replacement, I have been unable to ride at all for about 3 years up until the few short, mostly walking, rides I did in the fall. So, I have yet to get back out on the trail. But, I will in the spring--I live in NY state, home of the frozen tundra, so I don't ride in the winter.
Another thing to think about is safety gear. First, if you don't wear one already, wear a helmet. You don't need to smash up your brain too. Also, there are padded riding vests that eventers wear that will protect your back and your ribs, check them out. I plan to buy one before I start trail riding. I figure I need to protect the other parts of my body so that I don't injure any more things. I have a couple of friends who wear them and like them. I also found a pair of roller derby shorts that have some padding on the tailbone and outer hips that I plan to wear under my jeans/pants. My surgeon looked them over and he said he didn't think they were padded enough to make a difference in a fall, but I differ on that. I ride; he doesn't and doesn't know how it feels to fall or how riders typically land. So, I'm wearing them when I start trail riding. Here is a link to the shorts that I found. The padding shouldn't get in the way of riding comfortably--
https://www.xsportsprotective.com/crash-pads-2700.html There are other shorts that are more heavily padded, but I thought all that padding might be uncomfortable for sitting in a saddle.
There are also riding pants that have full seat "gripping" material. I'm planning to get these
broken link removed: https://www.thetailoredhorse.com/equi_Grip_Bum_imprinted_breeches.html There are others out there. Just do a search for full seat breeches or riding pants. I'm just trying my best to be able to safely keep riding. Some people may think what I'm doing is overkill, but I am doing what I need to do to feel safe and to hopefully be safer in the saddle. Being padded up will also boost my confidence and that can't help but make the horse do better.
Your neck is a different issue, and I think you need to discuss the risks of riding with your surgeon. Depending on what your condition is and what surgery you had done, that could be a bigger issue than the hips when considering riding a horse.
I hope this helps. Anything else I can do, please let me know.
Dorothy
Australia
What a bother that your body is letting you down - but I just love your positive, "lets just deal with it" attitude 
