Knee replacement and horse riding

You can replace my knee – but never my love of horses

 2020 – Our Intermediate Diploma student Caroline Dixon sent us her story a while ago – we want to share it with you all.  Caroline’s story shows us that perhaps we can all achieve our goal if we try hard enough.

I have been disabled with Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 4 years old.  Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease which means your immune system (which usually fights infection) attacks the cells that line your joints – by mistake.  This makes the joints swollen, stiff and painful. Over time, this can damage the joints, cartilage and nearby bone.  It affects all my joints and I frequently use a wheelchair.

When I was around 12, my care worker and physiotherapist put me in touch with the Riding for Disabled Association.  My care workers and phiso already knew of my big love for horses and that riding would not only make a difference to my joint flexibility and strengthen all my muscles.  They also knew it was something for me to do for myself and to focus on apart from constant hospital appointments.

The mental aspect of having a chronic illness or disability is something that is often overlooked, especially in children because they just seem to “get on with it” – when in reality it can be a very lonely and scary experience. I was at this stage when RDA stepped in.,  Their mission is to enrich lives through horses,

I will always remember my first lesson on a pony called Solo, he was an Exmoor and he was such a personality.  Amazingly all the horses seemed to understand the RDA group and behaved impeccably, and all the helpers were so kind and welcoming to me I felt right at home.

After lots of lessons and shows, later I outgrew RDA and did not ride for many years. By then I had started college and gained employment. Even still, my love of horses was always in the back of my mind.

A few years ago I began looking into maybe starting up riding again and discovered I was lucky enough to live close to John Shaw Equestrian Centre. I was very nervous as I had not been around a horse for a long time and was sure I had forgotten everything, They were more than kind and accommodating to me and I soon got back into the swing of things as though I had never stopped, they have a wonderful friendly family atmosphere and gorgeous horses with brilliant facilities.

After so many years the Arthritis had destroyed my knee joint and I was in such awful pain I was really left with no alternative but to have a total right knee replacement in September 2018.

I knew my recovery was going to be long, difficult and I would miss riding terribly. So, before I went under the knife I decided to join Lingfield Equine Distance Learning. I wanted to work on furthering my knowledge of horses, give my brain something to do while resting at home, and gain a certificate too. The best part is it can be done from anywhere and at your own pace, so if I was having a particularly off day it didn’t matter!

Image: Caroline with Minstrel

I had to learn to walk all over again and had very intense physio every day, it was not easy however my stubbornness and determination to get back on my feet won. About 10 months after my operation I was riding again, I was totally terrified and so excited to be going back, my lovely instructor Claire had all the time in the world for me and let me go at my own pace. Like with my walking I had to start again very slowly from scratch, I had to be careful with my new joint and even my balance and centre of gravity had changed!

My doctors have all said my riding was a huge help in keeping my joints and muscles strong before and after surgery which makes a huge difference to your recovery time and allows your new joint to be flexed regularly which is very important in a replacement.  The regular flexion helps to ensure full range of movement and correct muscle usage.

When you have a total replacement it is quite a harsh operation and your entire leg is affected, so recovery takes time.  However, I would do it again tomorrow just for the relief of the pain I was in and having a leg I could now bend!

I was having a mixture of group and private lessons when sadly Coronavirus affected us all. Being on biological drugs and having a rubbish immune system means I have had to be very careful and shield myself. So things are on hold right now, however it has given me the time to work some more on my course and I hope to have my first certificate soon!

Since signing up for this course I have been in touch with a local RDA group, I told them all about my studies with Lingfield and what I was learning, they were extremely impressed and when things open up again and it is safe I am going for an induction to be a volunteer with them which is very exciting.

I have included the websites of the RDA and riding school I attend and also a picture of me and Minstrel, a lovely school pony who helped me regain my confidence.

https://www.jsequestrian.co.uk/

https://www.rda.org.uk/

©Caroline Dixon 2020 & Lingfield Correspondence