Monday, May 09, 2011

Bit Of Lungeing

Tucker and Chance on the Line

Church and lunch afterwards took up a good part of day. Since it was Mother's Day, the diner was very busy so we had a wait.  I did have a nice salad bar lunch so it was worth the time, though.

Afternoon had worn on by the time I got home. I settled in for some computer time and eventually headed out to the barn to do something with the Boys.

I decided to lunge, again because my knees are hurting and I still think I am in "X-ray" shock from what the doctor said.  Oh, yes, I also did a lot of research on knee replacements and the best places to go.  The top surgical center is in New York City.  That is a major hassle as far as I am concerned. Getting into and out of the city is a challenge.  Public transportation for this kind of thing is out of the question, so that leaves driving in and out. And, since I would not be able to drive with the surgery, that means getting someone to drive for me. That might be OK for one or two trips in, but this procedure has follow up visits, so that is imposing an awful lot on the kindness of friends.

Another friend recommended a surgical center in Philadelphia. Again, that's a hassle, but perhaps not quite as daunting as New York. And some of the Philly doctors have offices in New Jersey, so I might be able to do follow ups there.

The local doctor I already met with is certainly qualified, but two things are putting me off a bit. The first is that he will not do both knees at one time.  Both my chiropractor and physical therapist think that is the way to go for some pretty solid reasons. The second "put off," was his reaction to the idea of riding. When I did my research on the Internet, I found no less than four reputable sites that say horseback riding is actually a recommended exercise after TKR surgery.  Now, I wouldn't mind this too much, but apparently riding USED to be a no-no and it's only within the last five years or so that it has been put on the good exercise list. I wish this doctor knew this.

So much for the knees. On to the horses!!

I lunged Tucker first and he was really a good boy this time. The fun part was doing a lot of transitions trot/canter/trot.  He was almost instantly obedient to my voice commands, doing 6-9 strides in each gait before the transition.  He was super responsive.  Then I set up a one foot high little "jump" for him just to keep him entertained.  Unlike the other day, he was quiet and lovely going over it on the right rein. On the left, he got a bit silly and started some of the bucking after the jump, but he was very much under my control, so it didn't matter. Since we finished up with a nice quiet jump again, it was just fine that he played a bit.

I did basically the same routine with Chance.  He too was very responsive on the transitions up and down, again, just on my voice commands. His jumping was very relaxed and I had to push him to keep him forward, but by the end of the little session, he was doing a nice soft canter to the fence, jumping and then cantering softly off without too much "push" from me.

All and all we had nice little workouts from some very well behaved horses.

Good for a Sunday afternoon.

3 comments:

  1. What good horses! They are better behaved on teh lunge-line that Ms Teena.
    Like Chance, she just needs to look at the food to put on weight (just like me).. sigh::. I want her to loose weight for her legs ...

    Interesting conundrum for your knees. I agree that if you go for a major surgery better get BOTH knees done at the same time, the less you go under anesthetic the better you are!
    I hope you find the right surgeon ^-^

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  2. philly looks to be nearer, is it?

    but isn't it, for you, also a function of what your insurance will sign off on?

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  3. The boys sound like they did really well today. I always love it when things work out the way we want. Good kids.

    A friend of mine went to the surgical center in N.Y. for her knees that I think you are talking about. I don't know if it would help you out to know that there are vans that will pick you up and take you where you have to go. I had one of these that took me in a wheelchair from the hospital to the rehab center. They didn't want me driving or someone driving me and the insurance paid for it. Might be something you could check out before making your decision. As far as riding, my doctor said there was no reason I couldn't continue to ride. He sort of made me smile when he told me to be careful and not fall off. I have been trying to take his advice.

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