Riding Break

I miss my ponies. I haven't rode in a week. Which isn't that crazy, seeing as how I rode maybe once a week, for 10 minutes at a walk when Andy was lame (a good 8 weeks before he was completely sound again). And when I was working 80 hours a week I could only see Andy once a week, and went a few weeks without riding. So one measly week is not that long, but I am spoiled from riding 5+ times a week, sometimes on more than one horse. But a week+ off is not a good thing. Katie and I have often discussed this. You lose a lot in one week of not riding. We'd go maybe 4 or 5 days on a long weekend without riding, then go out and ride polo ponies together, and we'd be huffing and puffing, and sore the next day. Who knows how out of shape I'll be when I ride. Not only have I not been riding, I've not been doing ANYTHING at all. Even sitting at a desk for 4 hours makes my back hurt. Weaksauce.

My doctor said I could start riding again as soon as I felt ready...Does my staggering impatience count as "ready?" I actually feel really good when I wake up in the mornings, pretty much back-spasm free. Of course, by the time I go to bed my back hurts, and is stiff and spasming. So I guess that means ride early? I don't want to ride too hard too soon, but I don't want to lose too much muscle tone either. That being said, I'm going to try to ride tomorrow! I don't really plan on trotting or cantering. I just want to evaluate how it effects my back. Not to mention, I'm supposed to have a dressage lesson on Friday with a new dressage trainer. I planned it weeks ago, for the first opening she had, and I really want to do it. I figured that I would be sufficiently recovered 10 days after falling, so I didn't cancel it. I figured if I still felt awful Tuesday or today, I could cancel...and I don't feel awful. I feel on the fence. So it's kind of too late to cancel now, so I'm just gonna go for it. I'll pay for the lesson, even if I can only walk and have to end things early!

This whole situation is just lame. I knew my luck was running out, and that sooner or later I would have a bad fall and get hurt. I just thought it would be off of Andy, and thought that maybe I'd get a broken arm or hand or something cool, get a cast, and still ride. But backs are important. You kind of need them to do, oh, anything. And I don't want to have to do physical therapy- been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I spent 3 months in PT for a silly knee injury (thank you crazy TB mare), and don't really want to go back for my back. If there was one thing I learned in PT for my knee, it was that I made everything worse by inactivity and guarding that knee. My quad completely atrophied and started pulling my kneecap out of alignment, causing most of my pain. My pt was pretty much just targeted strength training. I don't know how back PT would be different. I'm also trying to keep the medical treatments to a minimum and keep everything hush-hush, because the fall happened on my trainer's horse, during the course of a lesson. I signed the release and take full responsibility for what happened, but I know how insurance companies work and if they knew the real circumstances of the accident I worry about them going after my trainer to pay for medical expenses. So I've been lying about which horse I came off of to any and all medical professionals. She did tell me that there wasn't much I could do to prevent the fall, or stay on once it the horse bolted, but I am of the opinion that if I were a better rider that had better control, then it wouldn't have happened.

I will be sure to update with whatever happens during my ride tomorrow! I haven't decided whether or ride Andy or LB. LB's a steady-eddy that would probably be easier to ride, but Andy is my pony and I adore him, not to mention that with me out of commission there is no one to ride him.