So, I Sat in the Saddle
It was a beautiful day.
I'd lunged Chance a day or so ago, and he was quiet, well behaved and more sound than he'd been in a long time.
Today, I took the saddle out and decided I mount up for about five minutes.
I did not have anyone here to help, so my plans were minimal. Chance has never done a thing wrong under saddle, so I wasn't worried about him. His only vice is wanting to go out on the trail, so that when we ride near the gate out to the woods, he tends to stop and try to head for it.
No biggie.
Assuming his rider can use her legs to push him on. Also assuming his rider is not in pain in her thigh muscles and both hips. Also assuming that her knees don't hurt.
Assume all you will. None of the above were true. It hurt. My muscles just did not want to work once I was in riding position.
Most curious, as in all the years I have had moderately long layoffs, this has never happened before. My body, after over 50 years of riding knew what it was supposed to do, it simply couldn't do it.
So Chance meandered towards the gate and kind of stood there, waiting for me to tell him what to do. He was a perfect gentleman. I finally managed to wiggle a leg and the bit enough to get him to keep on walking.
Some of my muscle pain/tightness eased up a little, but never enough for me to truly ride. I had Chance trot about ten steps which actually felt better to me as it let my legs stretch a little. But there was no way I could do much more.
Clearly, I am going to have to do some stretching exercises for my thighs and hips before I can ride for more than a few minutes. I have an IGallop machine here and I've put one of my old saddles on it. I can work on myself using that.
Bit of a surprise, as I said. Then again, none of the exercises I did in rehab focused on stretching my legs around a horse. I guess that's all up to me.
It will be interesting.
Just overcame a computer crash of sorts. Suddenly, my keyboard just stopped working. I have no idea why and was in a bit of a panic. Then, I remembered someone's recent post on Facebook about what they did when one of their devices stopped working. System Restore! Fortunately, I was able to access it without my keyboard as my mouse was still working. Set my computer back in time to October 3, and here I am.
Whew!
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Glad you were able to get on board, even if it wasn't very comfortable. Expect that will come in time, especially as you're likely to work at it.
ReplyDeleteComputer problems drive me crazy, and I usually don't do a very good job of fixing them.
Lack of riding-muscle memory must have been disconcerting. We all ride after gaps, knowing we;ll suffer for it later, but to be so abandoned by skills we take for granted must have been very odd. I know you'll find your way back asap:)
ReplyDeleteGlad Chance is doing well enough for you to mount up. It's too bad you were so uncomfortable and in pain. I expect you will figure a way to stretch your muscles and become more comfortable in the saddle. The iGallop is a good idea with a saddle that's what I used after my knee replacement and it helped. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI hate computer stuff too. Recently, changed my background and lost all words and comments but not pictures. Took a day to figure it out. Well, I didn't figure it out, my son did. I only had to tell him the problem and he actually fixed it from his computer at the office. Amazing. Guess it pays to know what you're doing. I certainly don't.
:-( on the sore you front. i found that climbing gates/fences, combined with swimming (and barre exercises in the pool) helped a lot to stretch my hip when needed a few years ago... but still a work in progress. keep at it and in the meantime you could do in hand work etc with him of course....
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