Rider Injury

[Gracie21]

Hi all!

I would like some opinions/suggestions!!

I dislocated my shoulder in feb after falling off a horse at work and it is a right state. I have torn the inside of the joint, and the shoulder blade is being held in the wrong place, with severe damage to nerves, tendons and muscles. I have had several months of unsuccessful physio and now waiting to see a specialist surgeon in Jan.

I had to give up my eventer that I was riding because holding a contact is pretty impossible.

I bought a lovely (well I think he's lovely!) rising 3 PBA with the idea that by the time he is ready to back my shoulder will be on the mend.

However...I am now starting to struggle more and more with daily chores at the yard, mucking out with a shavings fork is horrendous (lots of shoulder twisting etc!) as is picking something up to go in the wheelbarrow.

I stopped physio because she admitted it was having no affect (and thankgod, it cost a fair bit!), and I have lots of questions going round in my mind!!

I have injured most parts of my body now and only 19! So very fed up and starting to lose hope! I have been told I can keep riding but to be honest even with pain killers it is so painful that I have ended up in tears trying to trot in a outline! It has also been suggested that I should give up!

)1 Should I ...
hold on tight, keep hold of the youngster in the hope that surgery and recovery will be done and dusted in a years time.

2) Start riding again and be brave, I can't make it any worse, but it does my confidence no good at all not being able to make a horse work properly!

3) Sell the lad and give my shoulder a few months off with no stress and strain (it may start to repair itself)

There are lots of other thoughts going round in my head but writing them down is tricky!!

Your opinions would be very welcome

 

[Miss L Toe]

Might as well hang on to youngster for a few months, but go back to your GP and get treatment on the NH, there will be an expert out there to help you.
You will have to bang the drum!

 

[BBH]

I think you need keep ponio but out at grass and rest that injury.

There will be someone who can help, you can't be expected to have that amount of pain and carry on with normal chores.

 

[Gracie21]

Thankyou for your replies I hope someone will help me! I cried last time I went to see the specialist, I don't think it got me very far though haha!

My dad has some land adjacent to his house I could keep him on, but am at a cracking DIY yard which doesn't cost over the odds so very reluctant to let my stable go!!
He is also very fine and I think I'd constantly worry about him being cold and dropping weight as he's stabled atm? I would love to put him on grass if I was brave enough to let him be a horse!!

Thanks

 

[paddi22]

rest your arm for a few months and do gentle physio. I know how hard that is to do though. I smashed my arm and was in a cast for 8 weeks, had complete muscle, tendon damage etc, like yourself. I started back riding as soon as possible and was in the same boat as regards arm soreness holding a contact. I kept trying for months and arm just kept staying sore.


I sent horse away for a month and rested, and my arm felt way better. I think it just needed a chace to gradually get stronger without getting strained all the time!

 

[ArabianGold]

I would turn neddy away to grass and rest up.

Or get someone to do chores in exchange for time with your neddy, riding / schooling / lunging etc..

As long as you rug well and feed well he should be fine at grass, but I see your point with regards to loosing a spot at a good yard.

The more time your body has to recover naturally and slowly the better.

Whatever you do don't sell him on.

Happy resting.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I agree, see if you can find grass livery so that you can rest. Also don't back your PBA until he is 4, both you and he will need the time. Once he's ridden and old enough, you could do endurance or switch to western, if you still can't take up a contact.

Here's my poor grey filly as a two year old, living out 24/7 in the snow. She's still alive and the rug is now being used by my chestnut youngster (see signature below) but without the neck as I cut it off (the 'neck' section of the rug not the horse ).

 

[LynnWalker]

Hi sorry to hear you are having such horrible problems after your accident. If i were you I would hold on to your horse and go and see the surgeon. I dislocated my shoulder at 17, did nothing and over the next 20 years did it a number of times again - the more you do it the easier it gets ( yuk) and is still very painful! Finally after an accident with my horse I did it again I went to A and E and after discovering Id ripped the tendons from the bone I was put on a waiting lists for an op.
Whilst waiting for the op i did it twice more ( swimming for goodness sake!!!) anyhow had the op, and the recovery time was 9 months - 1 year - but I did my physio religiously and now its almost perfect again . That was 6 years ago and havent had a stick of bother or pain with it since!

So do go and see what surgery will offer you - it really is not nice to be in pain and worry you may do even more damage to it.xx

 

[Honey08]

Hi,
As someone who is just coming back from a shoulder op (no 2) I say rest it!! Pushing through the pain can't be done - the pain is telling you that you're doing too much and if you ignore it you will end up with bigger problems..

It sounds like your injury is similar to what I had - the lining needed repairing and the shoulder pinning.. The operation is keyhole, and you're in for about 24hrs. Its about 4 months before you have the strength to ride again (and then on quiet horses) and 6 months before you start feeling like you have normal strength and movement. The shoulder is weak for about 12 months after the op. Taking the time to rest it and do the physio is vital, or it won't heal properly. I've had this op twice now - it was perfect for 4yrs after the first op, I evented my mare, who pulls hard, without problems. I had a fight with my youngster while having his teeth done, and he went to jump over me, hit me mid flight and moved all the pins, so it had to be done again this year! The waiting list for the op averages around 6 months.

I would try putting your horse onto the least work system that you can manage while keeping him healthy. Given the wait for the operation and the recovery, it may be well over a year until you are fully able to use your arm properly and do anything with the youngster, so selling (if you can bear it) nay well be the best option. I had my op in June, and have been back riding 2 months - and I needed fittening as much as the horse! I've not yet done any jumping/serious work = just happy hacking with my feisty mare in her XC bit so that she doesn't get too strong (last time she quickly learned which way to tilt her head so that she won arguements by leaning on my weak shoulder!!)

Good luck. Its not fun, but it is fixable, and worth it!xx

 

[Miss L Toe]

I was going to suggest gentle swimming just to ease movement
Can you find a sharer, you can help each other out.

 

[indie999]

Go and see a specialist and physios (a good one) is probably the best thing to do ie a sports physio a good one can recommend your GP to scan xray etc

Too much too soon by the sounds of it. If you like your horse hang on to it(believe me trying to find that good one is hard)!

I think you need to rest up.

 

[Gracie21]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...0917052685693.762787.653215692&type=3&theater

Heres a picture of the boy a few weeks after I got him! I'm glad to say that he has really shot up now, and now standing at 14hh at 2yrs 7 months. Still not sure whether he will turn grey or not? A close friend who has arabs and my farrier says he'll stay roan because he has dark points, but another says he'll be dappled (like his mum) or grey! What are your thoughts?

Anyway, I have decided to hold off from taking any action until I have seen the specialist and then after that take it from there! Mucking out is getting painful but its something that has to be done, he has a DISGUSTING stable!

Once I have had the news from the surgeon I hope I will be able to keep him in, he gets a lot of handling and even goes in the lorry for trips to the petrol station (exciting I know!)

Thankyou for all your replies, it is interesting to hear about similar injuries and what operation may be involved. I am also thankful for opinions on whether to turn him to grass or not. Maybe I am just too soft??!!

 

[LittleWells]

Check out the thread on here about adult helpers someone posted earlier! Sounds like you need a Christmas stable elf. Poor you (

Is it worth contacting any local riding clubs or better yet, a rugby club who can recommend a really good sports physio to you for post-surgery help? I had keyhole on my knee 3 years ago and while no where near as severe as your shoulder sounds, its all about the rehab. Good physio and then making sure you do your rehab exercises that they give you, sort you right out and you'll be fine with your lad!

 

[Tr0uble]

Go back to your GP and push for some real answers....get whatever scans you can get done.

I was assaulted a year ago and had my knee cap smashed. For months the scans didn't show the real damage as tne superficial damage was hiding it. The docs were telling me that I was being oversensitive to pain, that I would ne walking with sticks forever, that there was nothing else they could do...

I pushed, amd they MRI scanned again amd again and eventually they could see the problem...which was that the back of my knee cap had been damaged beyond repairing itself (was disintegrated) and I had surgery to rebuild it. I'm still in recovery, still in intensive physio amd need a stick sometimes, but it has only been four months since the surgery. It's certainly a million timesmbetter than before surgery.

If your shoulder is not right, don't accept the answers you're given if it's not going to get you sorted.

The same doc who told me I was being oversensitive toain, told me that actually, I was being pretty hardcore! So they do get it wrong!

 

[tonitot]

No advice but you've made me feel better! I dislocated my shoulder nearly 3 weeks ago getting ON a horse at work and have been of work since and been told it could be a total of 6weeks off. Not allowed to move my arm much and bored out my brain but feel lucky now that I don't seem to have done mine as bad as you did! Hope you're all healed up soon x

 

[Meowy Catkin]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater


Heres a picture of the boy a few weeks after I got him! I'm glad to say that he has really shot up now, and now standing at 14hh at 2yrs 7 months. Still not sure whether he will turn grey or not? A close friend who has arabs and my farrier says he'll stay roan because he has dark points, but another says he'll be dappled (like his mum) or grey! What are your thoughts?

Sorry, but I can't see your photo or open the link.

 

[Gracie21]

Oh Yeah! It worked earlier! I'll try and sort it out!

Tonitot...take it easy!!! My advice, do not ride, or do anything!! Espcially as it is your work! It has caused me so many more problems than I ever knew it would (i did not know it had been dislocated until august, then it was popped back in!!)

I have had nearly every scan done. I had MRI with dye which was horrendously painful but showed a very clear tear so how they won't be able to ignore that! I have an ultrasound booked for 3rd jan then seeing the specialist on the 12th.

I will definetly call my local rugby club, what a good idea! The physio I had was FAB and really rate her (she thought I might have had a tear in my joint, and turns out I do, clever lady!) so if the sugeon says so then I will restart intense physio (what a drag, costant aching and soreness!!)

Everyone have a lovely weekend! Just bought some dublin river boots to cheer myself up...YUM!!!!!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

OK, roan and grey are caused by different genes, you could have him DNA tested to see which he is. You need to send a few hairs off for testing and it's not very expensive.

Roan
* Roans are born roan, they stay roan all their life.
* They will have solid (ignore white markings eg socks and blazes) head and legs in the base coat colour. The mane and tail will also be the base colour.

Here we have a blue (black based) roan. If he didn't have the roan gene, this horse would be black.

This is a strawberry roan. Without the roan gene this pony would be chestnut.

This is a bay roan. You can see how this foal was born roan and will stay that colour. Without the roan gene he/she would be bay.

Other genes that *look* like roan or cause *roaning* to the coat are rabicano and sabino. Greys can look roan for a time but... Greys are born a 'colour' (eg bay or chestnut) and then grey out as they get older. Sometimes they have grey areas around their eyes when they are born.

This is a black based sabino (also known as blagdon).

A black based rabicano. (Note the white area at the top of the tail and the way that the 'roaning' is on the flanks.)

This is my filly, the photos are in order. She was born chesnut but she has one copy of the grey gene. You wouldn't believe the number of people who insisted that she was strawberry roan when she was a yearling, but she doesn't have the roan gene (they were all wrong and some were shocked that she was white at two year old). She has greyed out fast, some horses take years and years to become white (still have black skin though).

Her sire was also born chestnut and has one grey gene. He is dapple grey at the moment.

Remember, if a horse is for example, bay but has one or two grey genes, you would expect it to have black legs because bays have black legs and that is the coat colour that it is starting with. The same horse could take 20 years to fully grey out, so it could keep those black legs (and even the black mane and tail) most of it's life. Doesn't stop him from being grey though, and it doesn't make him roan.

 

[Gracie21]

OO how fantastic having a timeline of colour!! Is that Piatza & Steph? He is gorgeous, how very lucky you are to have a foal from him!

How did you put the pictures in? Being a newbe this is all a bit confusing for me! I tried 'insert image' last time and it spat it back at me!

If I can figure it out I will post a pic of Jack! He has black legs, a mane you'd expect from a dappled, a white stripe on his face and half black, half white tail! He has got a lot more grey hairs since i've had him, and his mane has turned colour (it was pretty dark when I first got him).

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It is Steph Zebedee! The stallion is Calimeer.

Here's my filly http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/gkj+hanoonah

and my gelding http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/taj+amir

Plus photo instructions. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=426986

 

[Chavhorse]

Oh Yeah! It worked earlier! I'll try and sort it out!

Tonitot...take it easy!!! My advice, do not ride, or do anything!! Espcially as it is your work! It has caused me so many more problems than I ever knew it would (i did not know it had been dislocated until august, then it was popped back in!!)

I have had nearly every scan done. I had MRI with dye which was horrendously painful but showed a very clear tear so how they won't be able to ignore that! I have an ultrasound booked for 3rd jan then seeing the specialist on the 12th.

I will definetly call my local rugby club, what a good idea! The physio I had was FAB and really rate her (she thought I might have had a tear in my joint, and turns out I do, clever lady!) so if the sugeon says so then I will restart intense physio (what a drag, costant aching and soreness!!)

Everyone have a lovely weekend! Just bought some dublin river boots to cheer myself up...YUM!!!!!

Try and find a Physio who also works with Acupuncture.

When I broke my shoulder I alternately overworked it then over rested it and ended up with a Frozen Shoulder and a torn Rotator Cuff injury the thing that saved me was my wonderful Physio who started each session with 20 mins acupuncture the difference in mobility after just one session was amazing and it improved so much I just needed 2 sessions a week for 6 weeks and all was fine.

And I hear you about mucking out excruciating pain! the only thing that gets me now is too much poo picking (all those little forward and back movements) well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it;-)

 

[Gracie21]

<a href="http://s1137.photobucket.com/albums/n508/gracied2/?action=view&amp;current=339.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n508/gracied2/339.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


I HOPE THIS WORKED

Jack, aged 2 and 7 months!

 

[Mince Pie]

I'm another one who would advise you to rest. I have an old back injury which I ignored for 10 years, had regular osteo treatment but ignored advice to rest after treatment. Now I walk with a crutch, have a prolapsed disc and sciatica and have an appointment with a consultant surgeon in January.

 

[jaquelin]

Sounds like soft tissue damage that needs to rest and heal. TBH I wouldn't waste too much on physio. Also, some of the treatment & diagnosis of sports-type injuries in the NHS can be really off. I spent over 6 mo with a knee ligament injury - private physio, etc and I finally paid for a really pricey consultant who said it would take a long time to heal & to let it do so (with knee you strengthen hamstrings, etc; shoulder is different). It will seem like forever, but stop all horse activities and take pressure off your very damaged shoulder or you will do more harm.
Horse you can sort; turn away til you're better and then get back to riding when you are 100%. Good luck! - I do feel for you it can be so frustrating to be injured when you are an active person.

 

[LiveryList]

If i were you (and i kind of am as i have a 3yo mare and i also have just had an operation on my leg so been out of action!) i would do as much as you can with him now ground work wise, and then turn him away completely- when you are ready in a few months then start the important stuff with him. In the meantime is there any way you can chuck him away in a field somewhere or loan him out as a companion or something so you a) dont have to do the day to day yard chores and b) he will cost you less in the meantime? I turned Ellie away in November havign just backer her about 6 weeks before and she will be starting work again in Feb when my leg is ride-worthy again! :s

 

[Stacey6897]

Time, give it time, I dislocated my shoulder about 9 years ago, it was a posterior dislocation which means the head of the humerus got stuck behind my scapula, it wouldn't go back in so I spend 6 weeks in a body cast with my arm held up, think "I'm a little teapot"

Anyway, it took about 9 months before I could ride properly, even then my instructor would ask silly questions like, "does your horse always veer off to the right after a jump?"

So, gently build it up with exercise, don't push it too much, my horse doesn't mind having time off work, she lived out, I did have to figure out ingenious ways to shift bales around that didn't involve lifting though

 

[jendie]

It sounds as if you might need a capsular repair which is quite major surgery. Make sure you go to a surgeon who has a lot of experience in this field, don't be afraid to ask!!

You are only 19 and you need to get things right so that you don't suffer with this for the rest of your life. If your work is causing you a lot of pain I think that suggests you shouldn't be doing it! Can you go on sickness leave? Get some expert advice on what you should be doing and don't take any risks.

Your new horse is just a baby. I'd turn him away and give him time to grow up whilst you recover.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He's lovely!

I can't decide if he's bay roan or grey either! Time will tell.

 

[hula]

Hi just found this!

Share your pain. I dislocated my shoulder, suffered muscular injuries, broken ribs, nose and collar bone aged 17 falling off a horse, at the time I was schooling horses for a YO and jumping them in large unaff comps, afterward said YO(wife) was a cowbag. I am now 23 and still have issues with it.

For me the physio didn't work, and wasn't until a followed a sports rehab route in uni that I realised the physio advice that I was given was completely wrong and I rehabbed myself... feel free to PM if you'd like.

If I was you I'd hold on to your youngster, try and get surgery if you can and do not be afraid to push. I had to push for surgery for something unrelated during the early half of this year, and believe me if you are persistant enough they will give in.

Your disolcation seems different to mine, however once you are fixed via surgery or into rehab, get back in the saddle. Perhaps something quiet for a while and get used to holding a contact. Don't let yourself slide on any of the rehab, do it by the book and keep at it. You'll get there seriously, unfortunatly my riding suffered as I didn't own anything and I lost all of my confidence, but you seem very determined.

I havn't had surgery on mine (yet) but this is down to being an ex competitive national swimmer and having incredibly strong muscles, we used to train 12 times a week, were either in the pool or gym and on a specialised diet (so I was a lovely smeeling teenager chlorine and horses...yum). However, it does try and pop out of joint now and again, and does hurt, but as another poster has said gets better with time! The younger you dislocate your shoulder the higher the chance of it dislocating again. I may need surgery in the future but trying to wriggle out of it for now.

Good Luck

Hula

 

[Marchtime]

Definitely keep your youngster and if possible put him out to grass. I'm a year further along the line but in a similar position. I had a bad fall when I was 12 and dislocated my shoulder and damaged all the soft tissue. As I was so young I was advised to "see how it heals". It was never right and often hurt but I got by using prescription painkillers and weekly sports physio. Riding was ok with painkillers but other sports, such as swimming and racket sports, were impossible.
Finally last year I finally had enough of the pain and went to see a specialist. An MRI showed I had extensive damage to soft tissue and cartilege. I had my first operation in Jan 2011 and was advised it would be six months before I could ride. Luckily I'm waiting for my youngster to mature, so am happy to not ride at present. Unfortunately the operation wasn't a great success, so after lots of physio and joint injections I had another operation in October to fix additional problems as well as more joint injections. I'll be honest and admit it wasn't the magic fix I was after - I now only have 70% movement but I am pain free and both my physio and surgeon are hopeful it will stand up to riding. It is now over 12 months since I last rode!
My plan is to go for lessons at the start of 2012 and providing it holds up I'll be backing my youngster in Spring.
So my advice - wait until you see your specialist. Push for a proper diagnose (you probably need an MRI). If you need surgery make sure you follow the rehab plan, including the necessary rest time, to the letter and keep positive. Keep your youngster as it gives you motivation to get better. Good luck