The Adventures of Rowdy Part 2

Below are the first few diary entries Kathy Richardson has made, chronicling her recovery journey with "Rowdy". If you missed Part 1 of Kathy's story, you can read it here.

3/5/19 – Rowdy arrives. The delivery happened at the barn so it was a few days before Rowdy and his delivery box were brought to the house, unpacked and assembled. Talk about easy!! Rowdy went together in a matter of minutes. Then, the next decision was where to put him.

3/11/19 – I wanted to make sure my doctor was OK with me riding Rowdy, so all I could do was admire him and give a ride to our boarder’s daughter when she came to deliver Girl Scout cookies. When I showed the website and pictures to my surgeon, he was totally OK with me riding Rowdy and gave me the go ahead as long as I promised not to overdo it.

How embarrassing to discover I needed a special step stool so I could climb on Rowdy, but I am using a bareback pad and not a saddle, per the surgeon’s recommendation. The next embarrassing moment was learning I could not swing my right leg over his back without assistance, so my understanding and supportive husband helped me lift my leg over him. To be on a horse was the most exhilarating feeling and for the few seconds I was able to sit, there was no thought that Rowdy was not real. Less than 1 minute later I needed to get off as the pain in my hip was excruciating. The final embarrassing moments were being unable to perform a traditional dismount, needing assistance to lift my leg over Rowdy’s head, instead of performing a traditional dismount, and then needing more assistance to get off the step stool. I was exhausted after that short ride.

3/13/19 - The pain from stretching unused muscles in my hips and core from my short time on Rowdy’s back 2 days earlier kept me from getting back on sooner. I have decided that until I am able to mount and dismount unassisted I will not ride alone. As I mounted from the step stool I needed assistance to lift my right leg over Rowdy’s back. Today I picked up the reins and moved Rowdy forward and back at a nice, slow easy walk. I managed to ride for one timed minute before stopping.

Once again, I was unable to lift my right leg over Rowdy’s back so my husband lifted my right leg forward over Rowdy’s head and then assist me as I climbed down the step stool. I could definitely feel the stretch in my hips and my core afterwards.

3/16/19 – I took another ride today. Ray had to lift my right leg over Rowdy’s back but it was not as painful, nor was my hip as stiff as before. I rode for another timed minute before feeling the need to dismount. I still needed assistance lifting my leg, forward and over Rowdy’s neck. There is no way I can swing my leg towards his tail, for now.

3/19/19 - I met with the Physical Therapist who will be assisting me following my hip replacement. I showed her the website with the Equicizer and received an enthusiastic OK from her, once again, with the caveat to not ride every day so I don’t overdo it. Today, I rode 90 seconds before needing to stop and dismount. While that might not seem like a lot of time, it felt as though I had been riding much longer. I could feel the stretch in my hips and my core and noticed I was not in as much pain as I was the first two times I rode.

3/21/19 - I had another pre-surgical doctor appointment today. As I was going down the stairs to the car I discovered the pain in my right hip was not as intense as before and my hip seemed looser and more cooperative. WOW!!! Already?? Amazing!! I keep showing Rowdy to every health professional I see and they are all encouraging me to ride, but remind me to keep it in moderation. I came home from my doctor's appointment, and I climbed onto Rowdy all by myself!! My right leg dragged over his back but I did not need to have help getting on, which was a huge victory!!

I sat on Rowdy for 30 seconds and then rode him at a gentle walk for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Another victory!!! I still needed help dismounting and had to have my right leg lifted over Rowdy’s head and neck, but I was able to climb off the step stool without assistance. Another victory!! But I overdid it, as I pushed myself to become independent.

3/24/19 – My right hip has been so sore that I was unable to climb onto Rowdy until today. My right leg still dragged over Rowdy’s back but I managed to mount unassisted again. I picked up the reins and rode at a gentle walk for 2 minutes, before dismounting. My hip was so stiff and hurt so much that my leg dragged up and over Rowdy’s neck as my husband lifted my leg to get my legs on both side of the horse. I needed help climbing down the step stool. So, 2 steps forward and 1step back.

3/26/19 – I climbed on Rowdy unassisted again today. My right leg still dragged as I put my leg over his back, but I mounted unassisted and my husband said I had better control over my leg. I rode 2  minutes at a slightly faster walk. I like the feeling in my core as I am building up my strength. It no longer feels strange. I had difficulty dismounting and had to slide farther back on Rowdy so my husband could lift my leg over Rowdy’s head. I have no strength to do it myself, and the pain from the joint is excruciating but I am confident I will get there, especially post surgery.

3/27/19 – I came home from the doctor, after learning my surgical date is 4/9, and decided to get on and see how much strengthening I could do between now and then. What a huge mistake I made. I hurt so badly I could not get off soon enough and was screaming in pain as my husband got me off Rowdy. It was a good, but unhappy, learning experience. I can see I won’t be riding every day for a long while.

4/8/19 – Today is the day before surgery. I had to stop all anti-inflammatory medication, since March 29 so with each passing day the pain has become excruciating and sleep has been eluding at best. Doing the day to day tasks has been more than enough, so I have sadly had to admire Rowdy from afar. But the end is in sight and I am so optimistic to have all of this behind me.

We're sending Kathy all of our thoughts and prayers as she is now 5 weeks post surgery. We will have another update from her soon to hear how her rehab with Rowdy is progressing! 

www.equicizer.com

NEW Series - The Adventures of Rowdy

Kathy Richardson recently purchased an Equicizer to use primarily as a form of rehabilitation from a devastating accident. She received her Equicizer, Rowdy, in March and shortly thereafter came to us with an idea. She wanted to start a diary of sorts to document her journey back to the saddle using the Equicizer and was curious if we'd like to be a part of it. We said we'd love to and we are excited to announce that we will be working together with Kathy to bring you a new guest blog series "The Adventures of Rowdy". 

To kick things off, Kathy shares some backstory on what originally lead her to discover the Equicizer...

My name is Kathy Richardson. My husband and I own Rusty Bar Ranch, a boarding, lesson and training facility in Roy, WA. Life was good and my business was thriving until 9/20/16 when I was on my way to Olympia to pick up my Blue Heeler, Boo Boo from her final cancer treatment. I was less than 5 miles from my home, and slowing down for the upcoming traffic light, when I was rear ended by a driver traveling at a high rate of speed, who, according to witnesses, never even touched his brakes. The back of my seat broke; I twisted sideways and landed on the center console, breaking it and 4 ribs. I laid there helplessly, staring at the roof of my car, until it came to a stop. After getting out of the car I learned from witnesses exactly what had happened.

Following the initial impact, I glanced off the vehicle ahead of me, at an angle, flew over the northbound lane of traffic - which, fortunately, was clear as the light had just turned green - went straight between a telephone pole and advertising sign, barely 15’ apart, and missed the parked U-haul truck by inches, before coming to a stop 75’ from the edge of the road. Unbeknownst to me, at 3:32 PM that afternoon, my nightmare began.

Due to the severity of my injuries which included 4 broken ribs, not caught at the time of the collision, and an intensely swollen right leg, I had to stop all lessons, GS training days, and birthday parties. I also returned the 3 horses who had just arrived for training. It was 6 weeks before the swelling in my right leg went down enough to allow me to put on a sock and a shoe.

A month after the collision I began experiencing migraine headaches so intense that any sound, smell, or light made me violently ill. I have a friend with MS and while I could sympathize with her migraines, for the first time I could now empathize with her. After complaining to my doctor about my inability to lift either arm, (the result of having both hands on the wheel at the time of the collision) an X-ray in December revealed the broken ribs on my right side from landing on the console. X-rays also revealed that I had torn the rotator cuffs in both shoulders.

Starting in February 2017, I have had an injection in my spinal cord which finally stopped the migraines, rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder, an upper and lower GI in an attempt to understand why I could not keep food in or down, and 3 abdominal surgeries, over the summer, which eventually fixed the GI issues.

In December of 2017 I began experiencing a great deal of pain in both knees. PT did not help and in February of 2018 I was fitted for a knee brace to take the pressure off the inside of my left knee which was bone on bone. One month later I saw an orthopedic surgeon and in June of 2018 I had the inside of my left knee replaced. In August of 2018 I had the outside of my right knee replaced.

Since the collision I have been unable to ride my horses, teach lessons, or clinics, or drive a vehicle any further than from my house down to the arena and back again. Within a few months of my second knee surgery, the pain in my right hip became more intense and my gait was off balance and quite pronounced. Physiotherapy and PT only made the pain more intense. Even the orthopedic surgeon felt I needed to give my knees more time to heal so my gait could improve.

I decided it was time to do some research to see what I could use to get me back in the saddle again. I came across The Equicizer website, and read everything about them. A testimonial from a woman in Australia who had encountered many of the same health issues as me, as the result of a collision, resonated with me.

Meet "Rowdy"

I immediately contacted Frankie and Kayla, and placed my order in November 2018. In December 2016, I lost my best friend of 24 years; my 31 year old Arabian, Rogala Signet, barn name Rowdy. When asked if I would like to model my Equicizer after any particular horse, I immediately knew I needed to memorialize Rowdy, hence the upcoming blog, The Adventures of Rowdy. Each Equicizer is hand crafted and they are built in the order they are purchased however I wanted to be in the saddle NOW so I was still disappointed to learn I would not be getting Rowdy until February 2019, but I told myself good things come to those who wait and I was certain I would not be disappointed.

Rowdy arrived the first week of March. He was brought into the house, set up, and moved around a few times until we found the perfect location for him. He looks so much like my own Rowdy I was moved to tears. Frankie did a beautiful job recreating him from the pictures I had sent and I am so grateful. I hope you'll follow along as I begin my Adventures with Rowdy...

Kathy Richardson

www.equicizer.com