How long to wait to get back into the saddle after a pelvic fracture?

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aimsroan

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Hi all, I’ve recently bought a horse which I ended up falling off into a fence the day after (typical luck) I spent 3 days 2 nights in hospital for X-rays MRI’s etc. Found out I had fractured my pubic bone in my pelvis and micro fractures in my sacrum bone and trabecular bone with a bit of internal bleeding. I’ve been discharged and given crutches but I’m unsure how long to wait until I get back in the saddle as he’s only a young horse and I don’t want him to get lazy.. any suggestions? Thanks in advance :)
 
Pubic rami fractures tend to be fairly stable and heal well so think 6 weeks ish but your consultant will be able to tell you how stable your fracture is - it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question
 
I'd get someone you trust to ride him for a bit. You're going to feel vulnerable for a little while after that. He certainly won't get 'lazy' if you decide to wait. Unfit, perhaps.
 
I broke my pelvis a million years ago (1992) when my horse reared up and fell onto me. It took a good few weeks before I tried to get on again but I do remember the saddle being very uncomfortable even tho I was mended. I was fine in myself but the act of riding was very difficult at first. If yours is young and maybe skittish I would definitely err on the side of caution I'm afraid.
 
Fluffypiglet said:
I broke my pelvis a million years ago (1992) when my horse reared up and fell onto me. It took a good few weeks before I tried to get on again but I do remember the saddle being very uncomfortable even tho I was mended. I was fine in myself but the act of riding was very difficult at first. If yours is young and maybe skittish I would definitely err on the side of caution I'm afraid.
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Thank you everyone for your replies, I think I’ll have to get someone to help out and I’ll have to bite the bullet and wait ☹️
 
I broke my pelvis in two places following a road traffic accident. I was out of the saddle for 3 months but I had multiple injuries so healing took a long, long time. I found it more useful to tell my consultant I was going to get back on the horse on :insert actual day and date: rather than ask when they thought I would be ok to ride - that way they gave me a definite NO or YES rather than a wishy washy answer.

When I did get back on it was uncomfortable. All I could do was walk round. I would recommend a seat saver. Getting on was easy but getting off was a two man job - someone to hold the horse and someone to help me swing my leg over to dismount - I had to lean back and swing leg over horses neck rather than the usual way of dismounting.

After a month it did get easier but even now, on cold days or wet days, I feel stiff in my hips. Hope you're back on board soon xx
 
wiglet said:
I broke my pelvis in two places following a road traffic accident. I was out of the saddle for 3 months but I had multiple injuries so healing took a long, long time. I found it more useful to tell my consultant I was going to get back on the horse on :insert actual day and date: rather than ask when they thought I would be ok to ride - that way they gave me a definite NO or YES rather than a wishy washy answer.

When I did get back on it was uncomfortable. All I could do was walk round. I would recommend a seat saver. Getting on was easy but getting off was a two man job - someone to hold the horse and someone to help me swing my leg over to dismount - I had to lean back and swing leg over horses neck rather than the usual way of dismounting.

After a month it did get easier but even now, on cold days or wet days, I feel stiff in my hips. Hope you're back on board soon xx
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That’s a good idea I’ll bring it up with my consultant in my check up, I imagine I won’t be doing much other than walking round but I’ve got a few people willing to help me until then which is lucky. Thanks for the idea and support :) xx
 
I fractured my sacrum in two places with multiple soft tissue injuries after coming off my horse - that actually gave me more pain than the fractures! It took about 6 months to recover, and I had loads of physio. I started riding at 6 months, but was really uncomfortable - sitting was very painful and I only walked around for about 30 mins. I bought an avecello gel out seat saver and it was fab although interestingly once I was completely ok, I found it too much to ride on and sold it to someone else with a pelvic injury! Like Aimsroan it was the getting off that was most problematic as I found it really hard to lift my legs. Luckily my boy is only 14.2, so no great height to get off!! Take it slowly and get some physio, the exercises made a huge difference. All my Dr's were very unimpressed that I wanted to ride again....
 
mustardsmum said:
I fractured my sacrum in two places with multiple soft tissue injuries after coming off my horse - that actually gave me more pain than the fractures! It took about 6 months to recover, and I had loads of physio. I started riding at 6 months, but was really uncomfortable - sitting was very painful and I only walked around for about 30 mins. I bought an avecello gel out seat saver and it was fab although interestingly once I was completely ok, I found it too much to ride on and sold it to someone else with a pelvic injury! Like Aimsroan it was the getting off that was most problematic as I found it really hard to lift my legs. Luckily my boy is only 14.2, so no great height to get off!! Take it slowly and get some physio, the exercises made a huge difference. All my Dr's were very unimpressed that I wanted to ride again....
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I might have to invest in one then :) my family aren’t very impressed I want to continue but at the end of the day I wouldn’t be able to live without riding. I’ll have to ask when I go for my check up. I can’t even feel the fractures it’s my internal bleeding and tissue damage that hurts the most.
 
aimsroan said:
Hi all, I’ve recently bought a horse which I ended up falling off into a fence the day after (typical luck) I spent 3 days 2 nights in hospital for X-rays MRI’s etc. Found out I had fractured my pubic bone in my pelvis and micro fractures in my sacrum bone and trabecular bone with a bit of internal bleeding. I’ve been discharged and given crutches but I’m unsure how long to wait until I get back in the saddle as he’s only a young horse and I don’t want him to get lazy.. any suggestions? Thanks in advance :)
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I got back on with help, and rode nearly 3 miles home after falling off. I had to get off and walk the last 200 yards home as it was getting very painful. Family took me to hospital to get head checked as they thought I had been knocked out. No problem there. Hospital xrayed pelvis and found fracture. I got told to keep moving which I did not too much sitting about. It turned out that when my pony bolted I fainted due to low blood pressure and was out before I fell off.
I carried on looking after pony but very carefully and slowly but it kept me moving. And was riding very cautiously after six weeks. Hope you are soon recovered.
 
Misty05 said:
I got back on with help, and rode nearly 3 miles home after falling off. I had to get off and walk the last 200 yards home as it was getting very painful. Family took me to hospital to get head checked as they thought I had been knocked out. No problem there. Hospital xrayed pelvis and found fracture. I got told to keep moving which I did not too much sitting about. It turned out that when my pony bolted I fainted due to low blood pressure and was out before I fell off.
I carried on looking after pony but very carefully and slowly but it kept me moving. And was riding very cautiously after six weeks. Hope you are soon recovered.
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That’s what I want to be doing but they told me bedrest because I fractured a few other bones slightly. I feel much better after being up on my feet for 3 days so I might try and get myself to the yard soon :) thank you x
 
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