She realized that an Indian saying about riding dead horses* was relevant. There was one option, which was to even consider mounting a dead horse in the first place. This option did not apply. Another option is that she rode a dead horse for a while, without realizing it and then for another while realizing it. This option did apply. And lastly, she discovered the option of having dismounted from the dead horse, but its saddle was still on the horse. An option the Dakota Indians had not taken into account, it may be our cultures attitude of not letting go of many things and events in life.
As long as the saddle is on the dead horse, all options for improved situations are down to below zero. Needless to say, that this has in reality nothing to do with riding horses or equestrian sports, but with acting and changing behavior if things go wrong - leave the earth - take a different direction - need to be revised.
While she was waiting for her hair to turn grey and be invited to the clubs of senior citizens, the corrective action to be taken was now to get ready for another joint replacement. The last years were characterized by a non-balanced movement as one hip was already "done" and the other hip was worn. Riding dead horses has meant for her to tolerate this imbalance and to tolerate all pain and restrictions that came with it.
Shall we call it "raise a new filly"?
There are plans and dreams, but currently the main thought in her head is whether a senior citizen who dismounted a dead horse has a slight chance of renewal, of being able to fully move again. So this is less about the question of another hip replacement (she explicitely thanks the Zimmer company for having developed this kind of spare parts, she thanks Dr. Jonen of Endoklinik Hamburg for having done a great job in split-seconds (Tuesday Aug 2, from 8-9am) for her its rocket science, she thanks her trainer at the Injoy gym in Büdingen who has done another great job preparing her training plan pre-surgery and last but not least, she is grateful as ever to her husband and the three horses at home for constant support).
Written seven days post surgery, she does not dare to unveil the dreams in total. Rather, she copes with the situation that being able to walk using 30% of weight on the new hoof, requires a bit of concentration. And the constant "Gesund bergauf, krank bergab" to memorize staircase walking, seems hilarious. Then, she's asking herself "holy cow, which is now the new one and which is the old one??" and wonders why others in the TEPfit forum on Facebook really give names to their new parts. If this is about raising a new filly, these days are the genetic preparations. She wants it healthy and sound, she wants it powerful, she wants well a little more than one should expect of new materials within a body. While planning the new filly, she didn't know yet about its talents or preferences. The setting at home was well prepared and kind of freaky. The bed, normally way too low for a freshly operated joint, stood on four bales of German Horse Span. There was an electric water boiler in her room, of course cups and a nice selection of teas, and a PC to watch livestreams of the currently ongoing Olympic Games. All she watched was equestrian sports, and people who did or did not dismount their living horses. So, this is part I, part II will follow at a later point.
*When you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best option is to dismount.
