Wizard Session 219: Helplessness Blues
Wednesday, 3/30/11
It looks like I won’t be riding until I consult with a neurosurgeon about my back-so frustrating! Hopefully we will set up some physical therapy and then I’ll be back in the saddle. Until then, Wizard needs a job. We longed again tonight, this time in the outdoor arena where the footing is deeper. Rain is expected for the next few days, so I wanted to take advantage of the dry outdoor footing while I still could. Wizard pulled a few of the turn-around-and-face-me tricks when he was going to the right, but I pressed into his side with the butt end of the longe whip and that kept him out of my personal space and prevented him from crowding me. Wizard did not want to walk on the longe line, either, but after a few attempts, he remembered how to do it. My goodness, how quickly they forget how to do the things they don’t like doing!
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 
I’m not sure what all has been going on with your back, but let me tell you a little story about me and maybe it can help?…… when I was 5, I fractured some vertebrae in my back. When I was 13, I took my first riding lesson. I rode for 10 years and then started developing pain. The pain was in my foot, and it sent nerve-impulses from my heels into my sciatic nerve/pelvis, and my back would “lock up” on me. It was hard to bend, impossible to walk, and while I had no trouble actually riding, physically getting on and especially getting off was very hard and painful.
I was diagnosed at 23 with plantar fasciitis in my feet and underwent treatments for 5 years before finally having surgery to cut the fascia. None of the treatments resolved my issues. My back pain intensified, my nerve pain in my legs prevented me from walking. I tried swimming and that seemed to help 90% with my feet. But yet, still, my back persisted and when I stopped swimming, everything intensified and continued to cripple me.
Finally, at 31, after dealing with pain for nearly 10 years- I got a new SADDLE. It fit me better, although not perfectly. I hadn’t even realized I had outgrown my saddle, which I had been riding in for more than 10 years. When I got my new saddle, everything resolved 100%. Back doesn’t hurt anymore. Legs don’t hurt anymore. Nothing. I can walk all day and have no pain. I don’t ride anymore for other reasons, but I’m just saying, it may be something to consider.
I hope you’ll be taking pictures from the Kentucky Derby! I’ll be in the infield watching the race (or what I can see of it) for the first time in my life this year. I can’t wait!! I’m looking forward to putting my Nikon D80 to GOOD USE then!!!
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