Pain Develops Unbeknownst to Alyson, a physical feature she had assumed a benefit for an equestrian was soon to become a major issue for her. “I was always flat- footed and as pigeon-toed as they come. I liked it because it made it easy for me to keep my toes in when I was in the saddle,” she says with a wry chuckle. In 2010, as she was showing Ringo, she started to struggle with pain in her hips when she rode. “It got worse and worse over the summer,” she recounts. “Icy Hot became my best friend. Finally, my mother decided this had gone on long enough and scheduled a doctor’s appointment for me.” “The first doctor I went to could tell something wasn’t right. He referred
me to a specialist in Pittsburgh,” she continues. That specialist, Dr. John Christoforetti of Tri-State Orthopedics, delivered a diagnosis that was devastating: Alyson had the condition femoral anteversion, combined with extremely shallow hip sockets. Femoral anteversion causes the femur—and therefore the lower leg—
to rotate inward. The result is that both the knee and foot twist toward the midline of the body. Femoral anteversion is often characterized by a pigeon-toed look in a youngster. While many children who toe-in grow out of it naturally, some do not. In the case of femoral anteversion, surgery is often recommended. In a femoral derotation osteotomy, the femur is cut, rotated and fixed in the correct anatomical position. It is, clearly, major surgery. “Because of the combination of the twisting and my shallow hip
sockets, my hips dislocate and relocate all the time, especially while riding,” Alyson explains. “And I didn’t even realize it! With my diagnosis, I got what I called my death sentence: no more riding.” At first, she ignored her doctor’s advice and continued riding. Soon, her
mother stepped in and forbade her to ride. A few months later, she was in surgery to repair her damaged cartilage, which had multiple tears from the many dislocations. “The surgery helped me feel better—for a while,” Alyson continues. “Then the pain started again.” She was definitely banned from the saddle. Worse, her doctor could not tell her when—or if—she would ride again. “Those were some of the hardest months of my whole life,” she says
simply. Grieving, she leased her remaining horse and sold all her tack, equipment and riding clothes. But those dark months would also lead her to a turning point.
New Perspective After her surgery, physical therapy was very important to Alyson’s recovery, especially regular walking. “I wanted to be able to exercise outside, not in the physical therapy office or on the treadmill,” she explains. And so she had an idea. “I’d always been interested in therapeutic riding but never had the time
to pursue it,” she continues. Now she had time, the need to walk regularly and a really strong desire to continue working with horses. She found a nearby therapeutic riding center via the North American Riding for the Handicapped website, called On Eagles’ Wings. With a new fervor, she signed on as a side walker, assisting riders with challenges. “I would encourage everybody to do this at least once. I was feeling
sorry for myself when I started. And then I met these kids who fight every day, just to be. It really took me out of myself—it definitely took me to a
From the Top: (1) Alyson and Allegheny Mercierre, owned by C. Douglas Schmidt. Courtesy Alyson Furey (2) Telgay Breeze’s Gale, owned by Misty Morn Farm. Photo by BHP (3 & 4) Loafer’s Lodge Maximum Success, owned by Alyson. 1st photo by Equine Photo. 2nd photo by Brian Richmond
Warmbloods Today 37
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