Horse folks: pain tolerant or just stubborn?

[BuddyRoo]

I posted this on one of my other boards...thus far I think it's 50/50...more stubborn and more pain tolerant. :lol:


I have friends who are farriers or trimmers who have rasped down to the bone and barely flinched.

Friends who have been kicked so hard they're black and blue and purple immediately....tossed out a cuss or two but carried on.

Friends who've been thrown off, broken something, gotten back on and finished the ride before heading to the hospital.

Friends who had pretty major surgeries that would knock other down for weeks but within days, they're back out doing chores.

So my question is...do you think that horse folks/farmer/rancher types are just more STUBBORN than the average Joe or do you think we some how have a higher tolerance for pain?

I ask cuz this a.m. I was getting part of my ear lopped off for a biopsy (no big deal...seriously) and the doc was going to numb it up first. If you've ever had local anes you know that it does burn like heck.

But anyway, she said, "Oh, there will be a pinch and then a burn" And there it went...yep. Poke. Burn. Burn. Burn.

And she said, "Uh, is it burning yet?" sounding a little concerned.

Me: "Oh yeah. Quite a bit."

Her: "Oh. Good. Well, you didn't flinch. I was afraid I hadn't gotten it in there."

Me: "Sorry. I'll flinch next time."

LOL

I guess it did hurt, but I was expecting it. Much like one would expect a kick to hurt, or a stomped foot, or a rasped knuckle. What are ya gonna do?

So. Horse people? A little more pain tolerant or just too stubborn to show how much the stuff hurts? :confused:

[2DogsFarm]

Interesting supposition, BR

I do have a high pain tolerance, but I never connected it to my love for horses.

Maybe sacrificing a bit of physical body for my passion has made me pain-resistant?

After being bitten, kicked, stepped on, tossed off, etcera, ad nauseum I guess maybe you do develop a thicker skin...literally.

[cnvh]

I think it stems back to the biggest lesson you learn when you start learning to ride: WHEN YOU FALL OFF, YOU GET RIGHT BACK ON. No whining-- suck it up and get back on. I can't tell you how many times that was drilled into my head... and I can't think of any better life lesson I've learned in all of my 33 years.

I was one o fthose who got back on with a broken bone-- fell off when my horse stopped at a fence (my fault), broke my collarbone (although I didn't know it yet), got back on, got OVER the fence, then went to the hospital. When I was a teenager, I fell off, got knocked out, got a concussion, gashed my head, and had gotten back on and started riding home when the ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital. (I don't remember any of that.) The only time I DIDN'T get back on was when I sprtained my back pretty badly from a fall and basically had to be carried to the car to go to the hospital.

I never really thought about it much, except when you ride, that's just what you do... and I'm sure it carried over into other areas of our lives.

[ShotenStar]

High pain tolerance here.

When the orthopedic surgeon said I was allowed to bear weight 'as tolerated' on the femur I broke in November, I told him he needed to be more specific, because my 'as tolerated' was Much Higher than most of his patients. It is now 12 weeks since the break and I am back to doing barn chores and daily living things like grocery shopping. Not riding yet, but with all the ice in the outdoor arena, it's not like that is an option ...

*star*

[BuddyRoo]

I think maybe it's the whole, "let's just get this over with then" kind of deal too.

I know that when I broke my arm, I was given two options:

1) Wait til a room opens up so they could put me under to set it pending surgery
2) Set it in the ER and get to go home and wait for surgery.

I opted for 2. Now, I had some drugs on board so while it hurt, I just didn't CARE....but I remember some coworkers saying things like, "OMG, you watched them set that thing?" LOL Yeah...really cool technology they have now too...you can watch them line all the bones back up while two real cute docs tower over you and play tug o war with your arm! Sweet!

[Nipntuck]

Maybe we understand what is really serious and what isn't. When I had an amniocentesis prior to my son being induced prematurely, the Dr. wanted to inject lidocaine under the skin. I told him not to bother, that would hurt more than the real needle. He agreed and went ahead, and said all his horse person patients were stoic. - I blew that concept out of the water with an induced labor without an epidural. :uhoh:

We don't have time to be really hurt and we have lots of practice with owies. :yes:

[mjrtango93]

High Pain Tolerance here.

I broke my leg in a fall and walked on it for 4 days. In my defense they said only none weight bearing was broken when I went to the ER. Turns out I broke my tibia head off and my fibula was broken clean through. Had surgery, had the drain pulled out (my doc said I was his first patient that didn't scream during that and I was 17, and he works on alot of pro football players), and was walking on it 2 weeks later (shhhh don't tell my doctor he would be mad). I was originally told 6 months non weight bearing and actually was at a show going prelim 3 months later.

Also broke my ankle this past summer but refused to go to the doctor because I knew they would cast it. Its fine now really, I just can't point my toes low enough for pull on boots, but other then that it looks just like the other. Ok maybe this one was stubborn.

[RomeosGirl]

I think maybe it's the whole, "let's just get this over with then" kind of deal too.

I know that when I broke my arm, I was given two options:

1) Wait til a room opens up so they could put me under to set it pending surgery
2) Set it in the ER and get to go home and wait for surgery.

I opted for 2. Now, I had some drugs on board so while it hurt, I just didn't CARE....but I remember some coworkers saying things like, "OMG, you watched them set that thing?" LOL Yeah...really cool technology they have now too...you can watch them line all the bones back up while two real cute docs tower over you and play tug o war with your arm! Sweet!

Yeah, broke my humerus in a fall. The paramedics come out, first they tell me I'm lying in a pile of poop. I tell them I don't care. Then they inform me they are going to have to pick up my arm, which is laying at a right angle to my body & I can't move at the moment. They tell me they can give me drugs before they move it, but then they will have to call a different kind of ambulance. So, I'm thinking "Then I'll have to wait & it will cause a lot of trouble for these guys & the ambulance they have already called..." So I say - no drugs, just move it. They tell me OK, but it's going to hurt?!
No problem just be for-warned I might yell:yes:

[Bluey]

Oh, battle stories, I see.

I have one of my own. I had two broken bones in my wrist a year ago in November.
To repair them, the hand surgeon made three incisions and ran a scope in there to see what he needed to do.
Since the cause of the broken bones was that one of the two forearm bones was too long, he cut it in two and took a piece off, secured it back with a 5 1/2" plate and seven screws and used that little piece he cut off in the middle to repair the wrist bones.
As I was being wheeled back to recovery, I woke up as the anestiologist was trying to give me the axiliary pain block.

As I moved around on him, my heart quit, four times, so they all had to keep attending to that and gave me a nitroglycerin pill under the tongue.
I, still a little groggy, tried to tell the nurse that the pill was not dissolving and asked if my heart was really stopping all those times or if it was the monitor leads moving around that was doing all that beeping, just kidding.
She didn't think it was funny.:p
Whatever they were injecting in the IV finally stabilized my heart.

Because of all that, I didn't get the pain block.
All afternoon, evening and night, they kept coming and asking if I was hurting and wanted some pain medication.
Since I was not, I kept telling them no.

Next morning early, the Dr came by and I was alert and teasing.
He asked how much I was hurting, I told him not any, just felt a little bit sore.
He asked the nurses how much pain medication I had and they said NONE.
His eyes got big and he answered, shaking his head: "Those horse people are veeeery tought.":lol:

I was home and doing fine that same day and honestly, never had any pain at all.
That first provisory cast was a bear to walk around with, with a pillow under it to hold it up while doing chores.
When they put the permanent cast on two weeks later, working around the horses with that was a breeze.

I agree that many that work with horses learn to keep doing what needs to be done and ignore pain, best we can, if it is not signaling anything important we need to worry about.:yes:

[BuddyRoo]

lol Bluey!

"Those horse people are veeeery tought."

Just to clarify...I'm not suggesting one should not follow doctor's orders or deny themselves treatment.

Just started giggling this a.m. when I had apparently not give the appropriate reaction to indicate that things were as they should be. Which of course....when bored...got me to thinking. :)

[SarahandSam]

I honestly think it's stubbornness--the "get back on the horse" mentality. My fave saying is the one about "Are you going to cowboy up, or are you just going to lay there and bleed?"

I'll take days off of work to do other things or for mental health, but I'll drag myself in there if I'm sick, unless it's deathbed point--why waste a sick day being sick? I'd rather take it off and go riding. (:

When I was 17 I was in a rockslide in the gorge nearby and got a pretty huge gash on my head. I wrapped a couple of bandannas around it, and the guys in our hiking group were trying to figure out how to do that chair thing to carry me back up out of the gorge. My female friend and I stood there and watched them for a bit, and then just started hiking. The boys caught up eventually...

[horsetales]

For me its more stubborness. I agree with the fall and being hurt, its been drilled so many times to get back up in the saddle and try again, I do it automatically. Just because I'm hurt doesn't mean the work stops. Besides nobody cares for my guys as good as I do ;)

[tweeter]

Interesting question....I'm leaning towards the high tolerence tho.

Broke my leg out in the woods, walked 1 mile back to the barn (couldn't figure out how to get back on), took care of horsie, cleaned his stall, cleaned tack, had dinner.....then went to the hospital. They set it with no drugs on board. Hurt, well yeah, but not all that bad. And a stop at McDonald's on the way home made me feel much better :)

Broke my foot (NHR, I fell off my flip-flop). Heard it break. Drove to hospital, told them it was broken....they didn't believe me, didn't think it was necessary to do an x-ray. A month later it was still black and swollen, so I went back. This time they x-rayed. THEN they had a fit cause I was walking on it. DUH.

Besides, most horse people don't have the time or patience to be hurt :winkgrin:

[pony grandma]

Stubborn, pain-tolerant, and cheap :D

I got better things to spend my money on.

[Vesper Sparrow]

I think my BO/coach takes the cake for pain tolerance. She broke two of the vertebrae in her neck (the same ones as Christopher Reeves) the day before an event when her horse fell over a fence while she was schooling. She didn't think anything was seriously wrong and managed to complete the event, cross county and all--I think she got a third place or something. It was only the Monday afterward when she was mentioning to a doctor friend that her neck hurt after a fall and she was told to go to the hospital immediately.

[Bayou Roux]

I don't think stubborn is the right word...maybe pragmatic? Maybe efficient?

We've got other shit to do, so we suck it up and get on with it.

[Trevelyan96]

I'll have to vote for stubborn.

1. Thrown off horse, hit head, couldn't remember where I lived for an hour, but drove myself home anyway, then went to work the next morning (as soon as I remembered where it was, no joke).

2. Thrown off horse... laid there for a few seconds taking deep breaths to see if ribs were broken then directed the entire audience from the ground on catching horses, putting them away, etc. So they all followed directions, but LEFT ME LYING THERE. Finally got up and hobbled home when one member of the audience said something so stupid I just couldn't lie there any more without wanting to kill him. Next morning, couldn't move, spent night in hospital getting tests to see if I could keep my spleen. Luckily the verdict was yes.

3. Kicked in leg. Again, lying there directing audience on catching horses so paramedics would not have to work on me in the pasture with 2 horses running around loose, and commenting that I was glad stalls were already cleaned. Refused morphine for ambulance ride, even though everyone, including me, was sure leg was broken. Luckily not so... hospital gives me crutches, says I won't walk for a week, need the crutches for 2. Took only 3 doses of pain meds, and started walking around in 2 days, sans crutches by day 3. I have a permanent dent in the upper thigh muscle of my left leg, LOL, and its still black underneath after 3 months.

Then there's the countless head to head whacks from the horses, rope burns, being stepped on, back pain from lugging water buckets and tossing 50 lb. bales of hay that every horse person endures.

I don't think it hurts less, I think we're just stubborn and maybe a little more desensitized to it.

[fromatox]

I have a very high pain tolerance, but I always go to the doctor straight away if something doesn't feel right. I just don't want to risk doing any permanent damage to my body that might hinder my riding in the future!

It just isn't worth being '"tough" and then having to suffer the consequences later. I'm sure a lot of people think I'm a wimp for taking it easy for a few days because I broke my toe, but I'd rather recover correctly the first time then have arthritis in my toe a few years from now!

I really don't like hearing about people breaking bones and bleeding out the ears and then getting back on. It's not tough, it's stupid. Go to the hospital!!!

Although I have to add that I have two HUGE permanent dents/bruises on both of my thighs from getting kicked on two separate occasions. I only went to the ER for the second because besides the thigh, my knee was hanging off my leg. :D

[Ajierene]

I would not consider pain tolerance or willingness to press through pain to be horse related, but have something to do with work ethic and being an athlete.

A friend broke his finger playing football during a slow time at work. He was sent to the clinic and told to wrap it and not use it for a while - he needed it and where we were at the time, you didn't take a day off unless you were dead, so he worked with it, and used it. It never healed correctly, but he worked through the pain because that is what we had to do.

I was watching a commercial for a show on the History channel about Lumberjacks. They guy was talking like it was no big deal that an accident chopped off half his hand and muscles in his arm and he just pressed on.

There was a running back with the Eagles - I forget his name, but he was arrogant. He played in the Superbowl on an ankle that had been broken and was not completely healed.

For that matter, many athletes return to the field with injuries that would floor someone else. One man at my job accidentally sliced his arm, requiring several stitches. He was going to just wrap it up and keep working - we had to order him to the ER to get the arm stitched.

I have also seen various people who get very upset at the littlest accident related to horses, or if the horse even thinks about going faster than the rider wants.

Working with horses may tend to draw a personality with high pain tolerance and/or willingness to work through pain, but this trait is not exclusive to the horse industry, not by a long shot.

I also agree with Fromatox - just because you are pushing through the pain does not make it a good idea. I went to the hospital when a pony reared up and flipped over. He did not land on me, but my hips twisted violently and I heard a snapping sound. I laid still until the EMS arrived and carted me away. I cracked a rib and had a very small hematoma, but otherwise, fine - thankfully.

The friend that broke his finger and still worked on it - not what I would call the brightest idea. Three months later he still could not bend it well and may never have full function of it.

[vacation1]

I think it's just an ego thing. There's a culture of dismissing injuries and discomfort as just being part of riding. Many of the most intense horse people I meet tend to have a certain personality - independent, reserved, wry, determined. I think these people tend to be more invested in being 'tough' and they influence everyone else.

[Drummerboy]

While I have a high pain tolerance, I think its also a matter of "There's sh** to do, i don't have time for this"! They still need to be fed, etc etc etc so we just do what needs to be done.

War story: Had a jump pole fly up and hit me in the leg, dropped me, drove home, ice, keep it up etc etc. Came back and finished my lessons. After the gash healed I had a lump the size of a golf ball on my shin for months. Rode for three months without a stirrup on my left side because I couldn't bear weight in the stirrup. Decided I better get it checked, yup, I has broken it. Theory was go in, scrape calcium, reset, nope, thanks anyway, I'll live with it. And I do, it still bothers me, but I deal. At 45, I have enough creaks I just add it to the list!

Stupidity episode: Mowed the lawn in my half chaps on a hot day, I have no idea why. Got totally dehydrated, vomiting, dizzy, the whole bit, for two days. Totally dragged out. Somebody probably should have taken me to the ER, but I lived. Might have to do with the strict instructions to just shoot me and put me in the field with the rest of the guys...

[Emryss]

A little more pain tolerant or just too stubborn to show how much the stuff hurts?

Yes. Or a little dim. Whichever explanation suits you best....

[dbtoo]

Don't you think we're also pretty darn disease resistant too? I mean look at all the stuff we expose ourselves to and inadvently inhale/ingest. Or, again, are we just too stubborn to give in to the occasional cold, stomach ache, etc?

[cnvh]

Well I think this post makes it pretty obvious that we're all pretty darned proud of just how much we CAN take, huh? Riding is not a sport for the faint of heart; if you're going to freak out and call it a day after getting a hangnail, then this probably isn't the activity for you.

(It's worth mentioning that I think I read a study somewhere that said women are proven to have a much higher pain tolerance than men... listening to my hubby complain about a headcold like he's dying, I would be inclined to say that's probably true. :))

[BumbleBee]

I think pain tolerance training starts day one with horses and you just keep up-ing your tolerance with each injury.

[EqTrainer]

I have a very high pain tolerance.

Amongst the numerous broken things, I think the funniest was the anesthesiologist when I had LMEqT. I told her my back has been broken and an epidural won't work, so I'm just going to have her without anything, like the last kid...

she laughed at me. What a bitch. Told me I'd be calling for her in a few hours.

I will give it to her, she was gracious enough to stop by an hour and a half later to see my new beautiful baby girl :lol:

[Bluey]

Many years ago, a kid was being dumped by a horse and I reached over and broke his fall.
As he hit my arm, it dislocated my elbow so bad the Dr in the ER didn't want to touch it, called for a orthopedic Dr.
That Dr suggested putting me out, but I would be not able to get back to do evening chores, so I asked for any other way and he said if you are game, some Valium may do it, if you sit still until I get it back in place.

Ok, that is what he did and yes, it did hurt, but I didn't care that much and was careful to stay very still.
The nurse holding my hand cried out, as I squeezed hers so hard when he put all back in place.
I hope I didn't hurt her too much.:(

I did get back and, with that arm in a sling and swelling and getting black and blue the whole lenght of it, I got my chores done and never missed a day's work.

The Dr said I may get 75% use back, but in six weeks I had 100% and he was very pleased.:)

I agree with the poster that said that to work with horses, you have to be somewhat tought to start with.:cool:
I don't know about the comment of maybe a little stubborn and dim also.:lol:

[Daydream Believer]

I have a high pain tolerance, Irish stubbornness and I hate doctors/hospitals (no offense to those in that job or who work there.) I just don't want to go to them unless my life is truly endangered or I can't heal myself. I can't imagine why anyone would go to an emergency room for less than a serious broken bone or major injury. Never fails to amaze me how many people go there for very minor issues.

The good news is the few times that I've ever been drug into the emergency room, I did not have to wait long...broken bones and concussions and being brought in by ambulance are good for getting you past mean looking triage nurses!

I have gone XC with a seriously broken index finger...took it out of the splint to do so and just taped it to my middle finger. Every time I jumped and released the reins and moved my hands up the neck, I'd hit that finger. I made it around clear! Eventers are particularly pain tolerant.

I had a nasty fall a few years ago...could not move my shoulder or arm (nerve damage), memory loss, nausea, dry heaves and shakes, and I finished chores (heaving as I went) before going to the house and calling a neighbor to see if she'd drive me to the hospital.

I don't think there is a trimmer/farrier alive who is not highly pain tolerant either. They simply would not last a week...stubborn is helpful also. .

[Daydream Believer]

Amongst the numerous broken things, I think the funniest was the anesthesiologist when I had LMEqT. I told her my back has been broken and an epidural won't work, so I'm just going to have her without anything, like the last kid...

she laughed at me. What a bitch. Told me I'd be calling for her in a few hours.



That is funny! You'd think no woman ever had a baby without pain killers. :lol: My old eventing coach(Betsy F from Apex) told me that having a baby did not hurt anywhere near as much as being stepped on my an event horse with studs! She said it was like a vacation...no chores and rest for three days.

[Daydream Believer]

I'll have to vote for stubborn.

1. Thrown off horse, hit head, couldn't remember where I lived for an hour, but drove myself home anyway, then went to work the next morning (as soon as I remembered where it was, no joke).



That is hilarious! :lol::lol::lol: That memory loss sucks doesn't it! :winkgrin:

[Sithly]

I think vacation1 hit the nail on the head. It's part of the culture. Generally, other horse people aren't going to baby you, and they don't want to hear you complain. :lol:

A few years ago, my leg got crushed in some heavy machinery. I took the afternoon off, but went to work the next day turning out horses and cleaning stalls. My leg was about twice the size of the other one, but I just bought a compression sock and kept moving. It felt better when I was active, anyway.

I don't think it was broken, but I don't know for sure. Still have a permanent lump on my shin. I probably would have gone in if I'd had health insurance.

I'm a little more cautious these days. I don't want to jeapordize my future soundness. ;)

[Trevelyan96]

That is hilarious! :lol::lol::lol: That memory loss sucks doesn't it! :winkgrin:
As I was sitting there in the middle of the ring trying to remember where I lvied and realizing I couldn't, I found the entire situation so humorously fascinating that I think I scared everyone at the barn that night. Weird thing was that I could remember numbers easily enough to page my son and even call my boss's voicemail the next morning to tell her "I might be late".

[lynz]

I am going to say it's a little from column A and a little from column B. I know since I was born, I've had a higher pain tolerance than most (when I was only 3 years old I had an eardrum burst - didn't hurt one bit and my doctor didn't believe me!). Since then, I've done a lot of things (usually with horses) to get hurt and still refuse to go to a hospital. A lot of that is stubbornness and my friends will definitely attest to that!

I also may have a "disease" (it's not truly a disease perse) and since I actually went to my doctor for it, I've been taken very seriously - I NEVER go to the doctor "because it hurts".

[TropicalStorm]

Hah, for me its kind of a protective thing.
I don't like others to see me hurt or in pain-long time emotional scars from junior high ;), so I try to mask it as much as possible.
but that being said, I think horse people also tend to injure themselves more than the average person. so eventually, you do get better at coping with it.

[lynz]

I'll have to vote for stubborn.

1. Thrown off horse, hit head, couldn't remember where I lived for an hour, but drove myself home anyway, then went to work the next morning (as soon as I remembered where it was, no joke).



I did something like this back in the spring! I fell off and hit my head (only had a minor concussion though) and even I went to work 2 hours after the "accident"...

[JollyBadger]

I tore my rotator cuff while dragging and flipping over those heavy rubber mats out of the barn to be power-washed.

Figured I just over-worked my muscles, so I just carried on about my business, continued doing barn chores. It was sore for a couple of days, and still had a bit of a "pop" feeling when I moved it certain ways, but (as others have said), there was work to do. I didn't have time to go to a hospital.

Nine months later, I re-tore the rotator cuff doing some mundane house work. It hurt, but I went for two consecutive sleepless nights before finally deciding I might need to have it looked at. I drove myself to the hospital, which was an adventure in itself because I drive a stick shift, and it was my right shoulder that was hurt. . .so it was "clutch, shift *ouch!*" the whole way there.

After x-rays and all kinds of fun stuff, it was confirmed that I tore the rotator cuff nine months before, it healed somewhat, then tore again. . .and I was "sentenced" to do physical therapy. The doctor said that the next tear will require surgery. That was a few years ago, so I'm about due for another major medical bill. . .

[WendellsGirl]

Well, I am stubborn, and I am pain-tolerant, but I think most of it has to do with - if I don't get of my arse and do the chores, no one else will! I can live through almost anything, as long as I can drag a bucket of water, scoop a pile of poo, and toss a flake of hay to my guys.

[amastrike]

This is why I always try to do my barn work BEFORE I ride--so if I get wounded while riding, at least I don't have to clean stalls while in pain :lol: .

I can deal with pain, I just tend to whine about it, lol. A couple years ago, I was supposed to be working at my barn's day camp after Christmas... I didn't feel well, and threw up in the bathroom. Thought I was better and went back to work... not long after, I was feeling sick again. It wasn't until I threw up outside the barn and the other person working ORDERED me to leave that I went.. Spent about 12 hours puking at 30-60 minute intervals. It was absolutely terrible.

I also have a weird thing with a shoulder and a hip, but I prefer to not find out what's wrong with them, because I'll probably just be told to stop doing what I'm doing, and that's not gonna happen. At least this way, I'm not disobeying doctor's orders. And my health insurance situation is still a little weird, and on the off chance my shoulder's habit of slipping partly out of joint and grinding around in the socket is something serious, I don't want a pre-existing condition on my medical records making it difficult for me to get health insurance later on.

I've had a few interesting falls, but thankfully I still mostly bounce. I have had a couple where I landed on my butt and spent a few days perfecting my two-point :lol: . Riding isn't for the weak.. if you're going to give up every time you get a boo-boo, you need to find a new hobby. Like channel surfing. If you want to be around horses, you've gotta suck it up and work through the pain.

[Seven-up]

I'm a high pain tolerance kind of gal.

And I can prove it's not ego. I still whine about things, but the truth is it just doesn't hurt that bad.

I wobbled around on a torn ACL for 6 weeks (bitching the whole time, of course, but it was because I couldn't bend my knee enough to drive, not because of the pain) and when I finally got around to going to the doctor, he asked me about the 1-10 pain scale thing. I picked about 5 or so, and he gave me a strange look. The looks got even stranger when they got the results of my MRI back.

[tikihorse2]

In my case, it's a combination of stubbornness, high pain tolerance, and being 100% Finnish! (No kidding, doctors and nurses at medical schools in places where there are a lot of Finns in the population are taught that Finns are reluctant to take pain medication; it may have to be offered a number of times before a Finn will break down and take some! :lol:)

I've had migraine headaches as long as I can remember, before I started kindergarten even, so that set my pain benchmark pretty high right off the bat. Then, having Finnish parents who were super-stoic about pain themselves and didn't believe in pain medication of any sort raised it further. I remember being pretty much left to myself when I was sick and having to yell if I wanted or needed something.

Horses set the bar even higher. Toes and a foot smashed by shod feet, jammed and broken fingers, banged heads, getting squashed up against walls, being bitten, kicked...

I'm only 46 and I have sciatica, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. I KNOW I need to have my right knee replaced, but I don't want to, because I don't want to take all that recovery time off from riding.

Maybe I really need psychiatric help? :lol:

Kim

[MunchkinsMom]

In my case, it's a combination of stubbornness, high pain tolerance, and being 100% Finnish! (No kidding, doctors and nurses at medical schools in places where there are a lot of Finns in the population are taught that Finns are reluctant to take pain medication; it may have to be offered a number of times before a Finn will break down and take some! :lol:)


Humm, you might be onto something there, 50% Finn here, and I don't take the pain meds either, because they put me into a coma! I will take them for intense pain (mostly surgical type) and then just pass out until it wears off.

Advil works just fine in most cases (sometimes a bit more than the recommended dose).

However, when I had my daughter, that guy with the epidural drugs was my best friend for life!

In my case, for sure it is just that I don't have time to be laid up and babying myself, too many horse-chores to do. The last incident, where I was hit in the head with a trailer ramp, most likely tore a few ligaments in my knee, was pretty lumped up (no concussion - the trip to the ER confirmed that - they wouldn't let me drive the truck and trailer home from the vet hospital with my horse - something about possible seizures?). . . well, that very night, I was out hand walking my horse who was recovering from colic surgery. So there I was hobbling on the bad knee, with the two black eyes from the whack in the head. . . every two hours to hand walk and graze for an hour.

[millwrightmomma]

High pain tolerance, good drugs, and a stuborn streak a mile wide :D ..... Yup that pretty much describes me. :)

In Early december 2008, I was bounced into the barn wall, outside of a door, and came to likely about 1 1/2 hrs after the incident happened. Initially I was worried about a back injury, having broken my back and neck previously. ( not horse related), however since the moving parts mostly moved, I managed to get up and get to the house. Took a couple of pain pills , and went back out to finish the chores.
The next day I needed to put out hay, which posed a problem because I couldn't step up into the tractor.........so a friend delivered squares, which I couldn't lift because of the back pain, and the partly separated shoulder sustained while kissing the wall the day before :) Answer, cut the strings, retie them, and drag them out 1/2 bale at a time.
This went on for a week, until the kid came home from school.

I did see a doctor, nothing broken in the back, strained for sure and needing good chiropractor, agreeing my shoulder had been separated, didn't know about the knee, (later MIR confirmed torn ligament), agreeing I had a concussion (eyes 24 hrs later still were not quite right). Nice young guy, gave him a few laughs, not too many patients come in with stories like I had......his comment....well, at least you had on a thick toque, and warm clothes, or you might have had a really bad head injury and hypothermia...gee thanks Doc.

Stubborn, stupid, high pain tolerance........It's called Pony up and get the job done, The horses have to eat, and drink.
Hubby wasn't home except one night to take me to the hospital 24 hrs after the deed happened.
I lived on pain killers, tea and PB sandwiches for a week.....then I didn't feel too bad.

[amdfarm]

(It's worth mentioning that I think I read a study somewhere that said women are proven to have a much higher pain tolerance than men... listening to my hubby complain about a headcold like he's dying, I would be inclined to say that's probably true. :))

This is very true. It's all due to the fact that women are made to go through child birth. Lucky us!! :D So we can tolerate long lasting pain better than men who can deal w/ on the spot type of pain well, but if it lingers, look out. I'm sure you all know a man or many that don't handle pain or being sick all that well.

My one and only trip to the ER was because of kidney stones. And I didn't have just one, but FOUR! :eek: That was the absolute worst pain I've ever experienced, like 100x worse than child birth (26 hours of labor.) It took three months for all of them to finally pass. The attacks were horrible. Hard to believe something so tiny can be so painful, but they are jagged little suckers. I think if any man had gone through that it would have killed them.

I have pain of some sort everyday, but I've learned to deal w/ it and carry on. I changed the way I do things to make it easier on me, but I'm also very stubborn and have a decent pain tolerance. I also don't like showing I'm in pain or have pain and most times I don't. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? :yes:

[WaningMoon]

For me it's both. Everyone in my life says they have never met anyone as stubborn, even my doctors. I had 4 c-sections with no pain meds and got back on my horse in 6 days with the first one. Old fashioned gall bladder surgery immediately following the second c-section and was back to milking and haying in one week, left hospital by signing myself out against medical advice the day after the surgery. Had to go back and get the drain out. Had my tonsils out a few yrs back, was told if it started bleeding to come right back. Went through a whole roll of toilet paper on the way home as it started bleeding alot, went home anyway, it was okay.

Was told to not get on a horse again in 94, due to a progressive spine disease which will put me in a chair at some point, started training and riding my untrained 13 yr old mare this last spring. Enough of that crap, if Im going to end up in a chair, I will get there happily.

One time ppl found me unconscious in the middle of the road. My horse had stumbled, I went over her shoulder, right hind shoe got me side of my head. Huge gash in head. I woke up, went home, did chores that night, didn't go to the hospital. Still have huge 8 inch scar on head where hair don't grow. I just took a shower twice a day and kept the stuff picked out of it, it oozed stuff for two weeks, and wdhat a headache,wow.

I do feel pain, I just fight it. I've always had to be the one to do the stuff others can't. During milking at night , if the guys could get six bales to stay balanced on a wheelbarrow down to the other barn then I HAD to be able to do seven, just who I am.

So, I think stubborn and pain tolerant.

[fordtraktor]

I think farm life in general prepares people for pain. It is a fact of life for us.

My dad, who grew up farming 300 acres with a mule team, is the toughest person I know. He fell on a job and broke two vertebrae in his back. He walked around, feeding horses (which requires him to carry 35 pounds of feed around the fields) for three weeks before finally getting an MRI. He didn't think it was so bad, because his back is already worn out to the point that the extra pain was not really that big of a deal.

We are a family of migraineurs, which I think builds pain tolerance like nothing else. I have broken several bones, but not one hurt as bad as a migraine.

[Hunter Mom]

Let's not forget adrenaline, either. I've only been truly injured once (torn ACL) but have had a lot of scary tumbles. I rarely hurt right then & there - it takes a little bit. Because of that, I tend to get back on and keep going.

[Beverley]

Well, for starters, really, really high pain tolerance, in general. Non- horse example- way back in high school, broke a big toe on a Friday, still played in the powder puff football game on the Sunday (had to borrow boyfriend's right sneaker, because my foot was too swollen to get my own shoe on), got around to going to the Doctor on the Monday.

It has its down side- I was not amused when, in labor in the hospital with first child, all the residents gathered 'round the monitor and said 'wow, we can't believe you can tolerate that level of pain w/o an epidural!'.

Also stubborn- low tolerance for injury or disease getting in the way of doing stuff, in general. I am rarely ill and when I am, really, really grumpy when I 'have' to stay in bed (because I feel too lousy to get out of bed).

I suspect there may be some cultural overlay too. When one's parents went through the Depression (and the only doctoring they may have received was home remedies from their parents, my maternal grandmother thought a teaspoon of kerosene was a pretty good cure for lots of things, for example), one learns that for many back then (and really, still throughout the world today, except it's easy to tune it out sitting in front of our computers), you worked to get food on the table unless you really couldn't move.

[caradino]

I have a very high pain tolerance, but I always go to the doctor straight away if something doesn't feel right. I just don't want to risk doing any permanent damage to my body that might hinder my riding in the future!

It just isn't worth being '"tough" and then having to suffer the consequences later. I'm sure a lot of people think I'm a wimp for taking it easy for a few days because I broke my toe, but I'd rather recover correctly the first time then have arthritis in my toe a few years from now!

I really don't like hearing about people breaking bones and bleeding out the ears and then getting back on. It's not tough, it's stupid. Go to the hospital!!!

Although I have to add that I have two HUGE permanent dents/bruises on both of my thighs from getting kicked on two separate occasions. I only went to the ER for the second because besides the thigh, my knee was hanging off my leg. :D


AMEN! "toughing it out" is not worth possible long term or permanent damage to your body. as horsepeople, it really benefits us to keep ourselves intact and functional for as long as possible!

that said, i do have a pretty high pain tolerance, but i think most of that is just because i'm a woman, and the rest is just how i was made. i would like to see my bf, who had to sit down for about 45 mins after he whacked his finger on a door and skinned it, deal with the incredible pain i used to deal with every day because of my herniated disc. or break HIS nose and only use pain meds for the first day. (he was also a huge weenie when he got his wisdom teeth out):p i also got kicked in the ribs once, sat on the ground for a few minutes to recover from the shock, then got up and finished lunging my pony. then left for a weekend trip that evening, warning everyone when we got there that someone might have to drive me to the ER in case i began to suspect internal bleeding.

[Iron Horse Farm]

Where do I start? LOL. Had the worst fall of my life a "B" hunter show. Was laying there on the ground and my trainer runs over and tells me to stop screaming, that I was making an ass of myself and that she saw the whole thing and it wasn't that bad. Turns out that I broke my pelvis, badly, both sides - one in front (pubis) and shattered sacrum. In the ER I wouldn't let them cut my boots off - they were my show boots! 14 days on a morphine drip. They couldn't do a surgical repair because the swelling was already causing damage to the nerves in my leg. I was supposed to go to a nursing home and learn how to walk again. WRONG. Nursing homes are for old people. I made my hubby take me home. He had to go to work, so he put me in a downstairs bedroom, packed me in ice, packed me a lunch and gave me the TV remote and the phone. Six weeks after the accident, he wheeled me out to the barn and I rode my broodmare. Six months after the accident I found out that I was pregnant. I carried Garrett on a still freshly broken and now wopperjawed pelvis, but had a C section when they told me that there was a chance that a natural delivery could cause the baby's head to rebreak my pelvis. Checked myself out of the hospital 24 hours after my C section (I can sit at home and take Percoset) besides, they really didn't understand that the pressure OFF my pelvis caused more pain relief than the drugs did anyway. Only missed two days of school. Two weeks later - back to work full time.

Ooohh, didn't mean for that to get sooo long.

[tikihorse2]

We are a family of migraineurs, which I think builds pain tolerance like nothing else. I have broken several bones, but not one hurt as bad as a migraine.

AMEN! As I posted before, I've had migraines ever since I can remember--since I was three or four years old. Inherited them from dear old dad. :lol:

A few years ago, I was having some trouble and had to have a rather uncomfortable test that involved having a tube run down my nose through my throat into my stomach--sort of like being intubated. It was to measure something or other. The doctor said I did very well and that most people couldn't take it--they had to be knocked out. I couldn't believe it! I told him I'd had migraines all my life and that they were my measuring stick--"Is it as painful as a migraine?"--and this test didn't come anywhere NEAR a bad one! :D

Kim

[lindasp62]

Passionate.

Perfectionist.

And, completely stubborn and proud of it! :lol:

(for what it's worth...we horse people are the biggest bunch of cussers I know....I think it helps to get through it! :D )

[Tilly]

I have very low pain tolerance :yes:, so I'm just stubborn/stupid, because I make myself ride.

I was having an eq lesson with my trainer last Saturday, and my right ankle started hurting really bad. Sort of a burning/stabbing pain.
I have trouble with my heels, I push them too far down, and sometimes far enough that it hurts, so I'm used to this. But Saturday it was weird, my ankle was hurting bad enough that I started crying, and I had very little control over it, so my whole foot was twisting with my heel pointing away from the horse, and their was nothing I could do to stop it. It was sort of like my foot was numb as far as control goes, but was still clearly painful.
I kept riding until she made me stop. I didn't say anything, just kept going. I know, I'm stupid :lol:

I'm another migraine sufferer, and it doesn't help my pain tolerance :winkgrin:

[Equilibrium]

This is very true. It's all due to the fact that women are made to go through child birth. Lucky us!! :D So we can tolerate long lasting pain better than men who can deal w/ on the spot type of pain well, but if it lingers, look out. I'm sure you all know a man or many that don't handle pain or being sick all that well.

My one and only trip to the ER was because of kidney stones. And I didn't have just one, but FOUR! :eek: That was the absolute worst pain I've ever experienced, like 100x worse than child birth (26 hours of labor.) It took three months for all of them to finally pass. The attacks were horrible. Hard to believe something so tiny can be so painful, but they are jagged little suckers. I think if any man had gone through that it would have killed them.

I have pain of some sort everyday, but I've learned to deal w/ it and carry on. I changed the way I do things to make it easier on me, but I'm also very stubborn and have a decent pain tolerance. I also don't like showing I'm in pain or have pain and most times I don't. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? :yes:


AHHHHHHH! KIDNEY STONES!!!!!!

The worst pain ever. I was galloping horses at the time I had mine. Got on 4 sets that morning until I started puking. Kept carrying my tack to the next horse bent over double, but also kept thinking it would get better. At break time decided I should drive myself to hospital still in chaps. Puked while driving in traffic to hospital, thanks for head scarf. By the time I got there I thought I was dying. Anyway, treated and released with the "take it easy for a couple of days" speech. Back to work the next day. Funny thing is, before I went to the hospital I stopped by my husband's barn to let him know where I was going. Not a bit of concern which really ticked me off, he did pick me up, the least he could do. 5 years later he got kidneys stones. Well I can tell you what a sorry sight. He layed in the bed curled up in the fetal position saying call the ambulance I'm dying. I dropped him off at the hospital telling him you probably have kidney stones, oh no he says, I'm finished. Meanwhile I went back home to take care of the 20 horses. I get the call, yup kidney stones and an apology for the lack of sympathy when I had them. Of course I ragged on him quite a bit.

Other injuries, broke wrist. As soon as it was set, cut fingers out of cast so I could still pony horses during the races. Also galloped with said wrist. Worked for a guy at the time who had hockey player friends. One of the guys saw me galloping with a cast and asked trainer why he had me working in such a state. He said, that's her not me. Hockey player says, and I thought we were a bunch of tough guys. Also kept galloping with a broken foot as well.

The only thing I don't take for granted anymore, because I'm old, are head and neck. Neck is bad enough anyway and head injuries always freak me out.They can be minor or seemingly minor turns into dead.

Terri

Terri

[amdfarm]

AHHHHHHH! KIDNEY STONES!!!!!!

The worst pain ever. I was galloping horses at the time I had mine. Got on 4 sets that morning until I started puking. Kept carrying my tack to the next horse bent over double, but also kept thinking it would get better. At break time decided I should drive myself to hospital still in chaps. Puked while driving in traffic to hospital, thanks for head scarf. By the time I got there I thought I was dying. Anyway, treated and released with the "take it easy for a couple of days" speech. Back to work the next day. Funny thing is, before I went to the hospital I stopped by my husband's barn to let him know where I was going. Not a bit of concern which really ticked me off, he did pick me up, the least he could do. 5 years later he got kidneys stones. Well I can tell you what a sorry sight. He layed in the bed curled up in the fetal position saying call the ambulance I'm dying. I dropped him off at the hospital telling him you probably have kidney stones, oh no he says, I'm finished. Meanwhile I went back home to take care of the 20 horses. I get the call, yup kidney stones and an apology for the lack of sympathy when I had them. Of course I ragged on him quite a bit.

Other injuries, broke wrist. As soon as it was set, cut fingers out of cast so I could still pony horses during the races. Also galloped with said wrist. Worked for a guy at the time who had hockey player friends. One of the guys saw me galloping with a cast and asked trainer why he had me working in such a state. He said, that's her not me. Hockey player says, and I thought we were a bunch of tough guys. Also kept galloping with a broken foot as well.

The only thing I don't take for granted anymore, because I'm old, are head and neck. Neck is bad enough anyway and head injuries always freak me out.They can be minor or seemingly minor turns into dead.

Terri

Is it NOT the worst pain ever? And I've had open brain surgery, seriously, NOTHING compares to kidney stones. I'd have brain surgery ten times over again if given a choice.

Mine hit me while driving 30 miles one way to get a load of hay. My dad was w/ me, thankfully. Got the hay loaded, which wasn't too bad pain wise, but on the drive home I kept getting worse, then wanted to puke so pulled over did my thing and dad finished driving in case I got sick again. I was sweating, naseaous the works. Had the major urge to pee but couldn't... made pain worse. He asked if I wanted to go ahead and go home, nope take me to the ER please now!! Got an IV w/ very nice pain meds (morphine) and a CT scan, then sent home w/ a strainer to catch pee for months. Was a rockin' good time. NOT!!

I wouldn't wish kidney stones on my worst enemy.