Thank you for all your comments. I would like to respond to them all, but unfortunately I broke the middle finger of my left hand yesterday and typing with one hand is a tedious process.
Short version: it was very windy and Miss was spooking in the crossties. I grabbed her halter in an attempt to settle her and just at that moment the door to the tack room 3 feet in front of her slammed shut and she reared. My fingers were caught between the halter and her nose chain. When I got my hand out the segment of the middle finger above the upper joint was at a 45 degree angle. Not.a.good.thing. I instinctively shook my hand very hard a couple times and that helped with the angle but it still looked crooked. Then I noticed a piece of skin along the outside of my little finger was thrashed and it was bleeding. Then I felt dizzy and had to lay down.
Miss is fine. Finger is splinted and taped to ring finger. X-ray showed break right at the joint. Waiting for referral to orthopedist. I guess I'll be pretty famous at the barn now!
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Saw ortho today, weird old guy. He said I did "a fine job" of breaking my finger, but that he wouldn't recommend surgery (thank God). He gave me a clear plastic high-tech splint to wear to try to help straighten out the end of my finger, and wants another x-ray taken in a week to check on progress. He said to wear the splint for 5 weeks! I'm going to go crazy typing with one hand for that long, don't expect any wordy posts for a while.
I went to visit Miss yesterday and found out that the best rider at the farm broke her collar bone and suffered a concussion in a bucking incident/fall yesterday. They haven't had an injury in over 5 years, now two broken bones in less than a week. I hope I didn't start a really bad trend.
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I broke my finger in a horse related accident and also had a 45 degree angle. The ortho talked me into surgery to get it straight again. NOT! Did the surgery and had 8 pins, 6 cast changes in as many days because the pins kept catching on the cast, 6 miserable months of physical therapy and I still have a crooked finger.
ReplyDeleteI hope yours turns out better than mine and that you feel better soon.
I'm sorry you've hurt your hand, fingers can be a real cow to heal on the upside if there is one it'll prevent you from nose picking with that finger for awhile, hey i'm grasping at straws looking for that tarnished silver lining!
ReplyDeleteI hope you mend quickly chickling
ouch! that sounds horrible. hope you heal quickly.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds pretty awful. Poor thing. I hope you're not in too much pain. I can't imagine it feels good plus the "doing-lots-of-things-with-one-hand thing" must suck.
ReplyDeleteYou had to go and break the most important finger, didn't you?
ReplyDeleteBut I digress, I'm glad you're allright.
And dammit, let's plan a date already.
I broke my baby finger at the knuckle in a volleyball related accident and had the top part of my finger sticking off at a 90 degree angle. The ortho told me I could have invasive surgery to straighten the finger and make it look nice but it would probably never be able to bend OR they could splint it to be only slightly crooked and I would retain almost full use of the finger. I opted for the latter. It looks a little odd and clicks a little when I bend it but I can sip tea without my finger sticking straight out.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a bit of a skittish horse and did the same thing as you...grabbed his halter thinking I could calm him quickly. Luckily I just got a bit of a scare and a leather burn. Only made that mistake once.
Hope your finger heals quickly. Picking out hoofs with a splint on your finger can't be fun.
Ouch!! I have never had a broken bone despite being pretty accident prone. Hope it mends quickly.
ReplyDeleteOh noooo! ouch! damn, that must have hurt...! weird how those kinds of accidents are always so split second... sending good thoughts to your finger, and to you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you have Missy. She is good for you, and I know you're good for her too.
Thinking of you tonight (4/17) ...
(starts to say something...)
ReplyDelete....*faint*
I'm so sorry about your injury. Horses can be rather large, strong, foolish, and we just have to always know that. I suppose everyone who plays horsey gets their share of boo boos.
ReplyDeleteWow. Hope you feel better quickly.
ReplyDeleteAm noticing how your mom instincts kicked in instantly without thinking.... keep your baby safe and calm, despite the risks. A rearing horse which is crosstied can really get itself badly hurt. You did good :) Am sorry about the finger. Injured extemities are the most gawd-aweful painful. Hope it heals swiftly. Advil is our friend. Not only, thanks to a belgian named (what else) Big Ben who stood on me, did I get my second toe on my right foot broken (and which now extends way beyond my big toe, and looks strangely like a finger...Eew) but I got my nose broken by a wee slip of a thing named Frankie, who refused to jump a gully while we were hacking, and then changed her mind just as I was first thown forward, and then unceremoniously thrown backward, nearly clean off her rump by the force of her neck slamming into my face. Barbara Streisand had nothing on me for a week. Princess Xena (P of warrior puppies) broke my nose (again!) when I tried clipping her nails. Took us a good three years to get that particular manouver down. Now she closes her eyes and passes me a paw, whilst she turns her head away. Sweet thing. Hope you feel better soon, and that your finger ends up looking like...a finger.
ReplyDeleteI hope the painkillers are doing their job and keeping you pain free and happy!
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteHow is your finger doing? Are you accustomed to wroking around it yet?
Yikes, that sounds so painful. I'm glad that you are on the mend. I love reading about you and Missy. It's got the makings of a great love story.
ReplyDelete