Thursday, July 7, 2011

A Mile!, Doctor Visit and Some More Goals

This morning I walked a whole mile, including some smallish hills - had to stop and rest from time to time but it felt pretty good.  I went to the shoulder doctor.  They took some more x-rays and everything looks like it's staying put pretty well and healing up - I'm always going to have one piece of my collarbone sticking up but it doesn't seem to be causing a problem so we're leaving it alone.  The doctor evaluated my mobility and said I'm doing really well for less than four weeks out, and now I'm supposed to work on extending my range of motion, using pain as a guide to when I'm doing a bit too much.  I asked the million dollar question - "when can I ride?"  He said that I know better than he does what my riding calls for in terms of shoulder and arm mobility and forces applied, and said I was the best judge of that (!!), but there's no reason I can't ride pretty soon (!!!), although the ribs are likely to continue to be some trouble pain-wise as I move more.

So I'm edging closer to being able to ride, which is very exciting!  I've managed to achieve one of my goals that I've set myself before riding - grooming all three horses.  I still need to be able to tack up, including tightening the girth, and need to be able to walk 2.5 miles comfortably and do some in-hand and lungeing work, using both hands, with Dawn (who's gotten amazingly fat in the short time she's been on vacation) and Drift.  I've also added the goal of picking all 12 horse feet, which requires using my left hand and arm - particularly for Pie, who's a "leaner" with his backs.  Getting closer every day . . .

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