Welcome to blog! I started it in 2020 to chart my recovery from breaking my ankle (hence the name). I guess no-one saw a global pandemic coming. It's turned into a place where I can talk about the things happening in my life, my horse and my cats. Enjoy!
Author: langlep
So 2020 was going to be my year. The year I got my life sorted after being served redundancy notice from my job in November 2019. The year I ticked off more things from my horsey bucket list. The year I got my mental health back under control and reduced stress in my life.
I had a plan. And it was a good one. Then the plan changed dramatically on 2 January. I came off my horse at speed and broke my ankle. Badly. Like all good equestrians, I got back on and rode back to the yard, sorted Buddy out and then drove myself to A&E. That’s where this journey really began...
I was sent home from A&E and told to crack on, only to receive a phone call later to say they’d missed a fracture (and a rather serious one at that). Whoops! So fracture clinic on 3 January, surgery on 5 January and home to recover.
I started this blog as a way to chart my recover back to the saddle. As I cleared clinics and competitions out of my diary and wondered what the next few months would bring, it's been a safe space for me to say how I'm feeling.
The new plan was to get a new job, to keep Buddy is kept ticking over and recover from my injury. Another good plan! I didn't expect a global pandemic, lockdown and all that happened in 2020.
This blog has changed over time but it's continued to be my safe space to share the things going on in my life, with Buddy and the cats. Enjoy!
Buddy Boy turned 14 today. Sadly it wasn’t the best weather for him. Rather damp as we headed out for our walk.
Usually we’d go for a long ride together. This year it’s a bit different. I wonder if Buddy minded. I definitely missed it. I didn’t miss Buddy acting like a 3 year old when he heard the steam rally. Cause he’s never heard that before!
Probably not my best plan. We didn’t go that close. And assumed that as he’s experienced it 7 years now, he’s be OK. That was my first mistake. Never assume with horses. Or it could have been the boy racer car backfiring. We had it all today. And we were only out 15 mins.
I did get back in the saddle today though as a friend let me ride her horse. Maybe that was Buddy’s birthday treat too? He looked quite surprised when spotted me.
Happy Birthday Buddy Boy. You really are My Absolute Diamond.
A while back, I got a letter to say that there was a safety recall on The Comedy Car. Apparently the hood striker could fail. Cause it’s not terrifying enough driving the Comedy Car at speed without the risk that the bonnet could fly open…?!?!
Finally got round to booking it in. Well after much discussion about whether the safety recall was on the original part or the replacement part that I had to buy in 2019 when the bonnet wouldn’t close properly. Airing on side of caution, the garage booked it in.
Being a rare breed, there was only one place I could take it locally. Thankfully it wasn’t too far from the chiro’s. So booked it in for a day I was working.
Could I leave it all day? Umm no. It took the chap 10 mins to do it last time. Well we could offer you a courtesy car for £15? Umm that’s not really a courtesy if I have to pay for it.
Finally agreed that I would come at my allocated time and wait while they did it. Hurrah! I arrived to find the paperwork said I was leaving it. Umm nope. I have another meeting to get to. OK you can wait….
An hour and 10 mins it took them!! Still at least it’s done. And this sign made me giggle. I was rather bored by this time I can tell you.
Buddy has his special shoe put on today. Just call him Cinderella! It’s called a spider plate apparently. My fab farrier made it for him after having a chat with the vet. Honestly, I’m not kidding when I say Buddy has a crack support squad!
To make sure he’s not wonky, he made a slightly different version for his other front hoof. Everything crossed it helps his recovery.
I love the green putty. Green is definitely Buddy’s colour. Well he is an Irish boy after all.
I’m grateful for my crack support squad today too. There have been lots of tears today. Things have been building up for a while. I know I’ve been drifting into the rumble strip of life. So today I let the tears flow. And took my oversized Labrador and his Cinderella shoes out for his constitutional. It helped.
One day we will go to the Ball Buddy Boy. Till then, walking it is. Let’s face it, he’s definitely my Prince Charming.
I treated myself to some new yard gloves. Well the ones I have been using have definitely seen better days. In fact, I didn’t realise how bad they were till I put the new ones on. And promptly stuck to the wheelbarrow handle.
Love the motto on the packaging. Not sure how much gloves are going to live, explore and discover?! One things for sure, they will discover a lot of poo!
Oh my days, I was one very pooped Pip this morning. I didn’t sleep that well as I couldn’t switch my brain off. The downside to an adrenaline high day yesterday. I’m not sure people get the concentration levels you need to commentate. Sounds so easy, it’s just talking right?! Nope. You need eye in the back of your head to see who’s starting and finishing. Ears everywhere listening the the jump judges and officials. And be able to know where up to 5 horses are at a time. Oh and keep everyone up-to-date and mildly amused at the same time.
I love doing it, so not complaining at all.
Thankfully caffeine was on the agenda for today as I met up with a friend for coffee and a catch up. That turned into coffee, tea cakes, 2 hours of chatting and yet more coffee.
Well we can’t meet for a hack at the moment, so we did the next best thing. A coffee date.
Another successful stint of commentating today. This time back at the Area 14 & 8 RC ODE at Poplar Park. The weather was perfect as was the going. The same can’t be said for my pronunciation of all of the horse and riders. I did my best as always.
Helen and I have a fab partnership now. Even thought we only do this together once a year, it’s like no time has passed. She even created her own version of the horse tracker to make sure things ran as smoothly as possible. It worked. Not a clue how many combinations we got round today. I know for sure that there were no fallers on XC today.
It was as inspiring as ever seeing so many happy faces come through the finish line – horses and riders. Till next year…
Think the reality of Buddy’s injury is starting to sink in. Six months feels like a long time. And it could be longer depending on how his rehab goes.
No camps, no lessons, no clinics, no competitions, no trips, no adventures. Well not for a while yet. These are the things that light me up and make us, well us.
Once again the goals that I set at the beginning of the year seem very far away again.
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m also very grateful that he will be OK. The relief is still very much there.
I know I’m not the only person who’s going through this or has been through it. But it’s the first time I’ve been through this with him. I didn’t have this much time off when I broke my ankle. Covid did put pay to so many things so 2020 wasn’t a great year for us. It really is true that it’s quicker to heal a bone than a ligament.
I can reframe it till the cows come home. Right now I’m sad, frustrated and disappointed. Again. So taking time to work through those emotions. I’m sure there will be many more ups and downs to come.
Looks like I am going to have to up the cheerleader role again and help others shine. Starting tomorrow by commentating at Poplar Park at the RC ODE.
As you can see Buddy is clearly traumatised by the whole experience. My oversized Labrador is enjoying the snacks.
I did a good deed today. Ended up being a bit of an adventure too. I sold a jacket. The buyer wanted it for a showing show tomorrow. She was getting a bit stressed as she wasn’t sure how she could get to me to pick it up.
As she wasn’t too far away, I said I’d drop it off. Wasn’t expecting it to be one of those ‘round the houses’ kind of journeys. Still we finally met in a supermarket car park. And she was very pleased with the jacket. So all ended well.
Today has been V-Day for Buddy. After nearly 5 weeks, he’s still not right. So I took him to a lameness locator clinic being held by my Vets. I was fascinated by the process (mixed with mild panic, heart-racing anxiety and a sick feeling most of the time).
Let’s start with the good news. Buddy has sustained an injury that he will recover from. We will still be able to do the things we were doing. He’s going to need some further treatment, fancy shoes and a lot of rehabilitation.
Now the bad news. It could take 6-8 months for him to recover fully. Now we all know that patience isn’t my strong point. Looks like I going to have to embrace a slower pace with my little boy for the coming months.
Buddy was a model patient. He took it all in his stride. Given he’s had nearly 3 weeks off work, I wasn’t sure what to expect when they lunged him. He was as good as gold. Even in the torrential rain.
When the three sensors he was wearing showed low grade lameness in all 4 legs, my sick feeling turned into nearly vomiting in the corner. More data was needed. So more trotting for Buddy.
We knew his off fore was the issue. The data confirmed this. After 3 nerve blocks, his lameness was improved by 72%! And the hind leg lameness was all but gone.
X-rays were clear. So scans next. They showed an injury to one of his ligaments. It looks like an old injury that had been aggravated. But it was healing so the time out was helping.
It was a very long day. Quite the emotional rollercoaster too. I’m so relieved as I had 101 possible outcomes running through my head.
Basically, Buddy has twisted his ankle and needs time to recover fully before we can get going again.
He has a few more people in his fan club, loved the snacks and got a free Willy wash while he was sedated.
The road to recovery starts tomorrow. Tonight I’m shattered…
Thought I’d take a nice picture of Buddy in his smart rain coat. He had other ideas and thought he’d get up close and personal.
I was reminded of the saying ‘no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing’ today. Went out to poo pick having taken my coat off cause I was getting too hot. As I reached the furthest point from the yard, the heavens opened.
Let’s just say I was very soggy by the time I’d finished. I can’t help but laugh when the rain is running down my nose and back.
Tales, Tails and Talus 