Real life - A Joint Effort

This article is from the September 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Danielle Viney shares the challenges of Rheumatoid Arthritis and competing in the show ring

Danielle, tell us a bit about yourself and your history with horses. I’m 26 from Clyde, Victoria. I was lucky enough to have a mum who was horsey when she was young, so I have been riding since before I can remember. I joined Tooradin Pony Club (now Tooradin-Dalmore) when I was 11 and from there I gained experience in dressage, eventing, jumping and mounted games. The jumping side of competing was short-lived but I continued on with dressage and showing. We always educated our own horses and this gave us experience with so many different types of horses, as we would pretty much get on and work with anything and everything horse-wise. I loved finding a good diamond in the rough and I will always remember my mum's expression as I presented to her my future Garryowen mount! As I grew older I decided to focus more on showing and worked my way up to competing at Royals, Horse of the Year and even competing in the Garryowen at the Royal Melbourne Show.

When were you diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and what exactly is the condition? I was officially diagnosed with RA when I was 15 whilst having knee surgery after a fall from a horse. The doctors said that most likely I had always had the condition as a child and it was becoming more active as I got older. Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune condition where the body mistakenly thinks its own cells are foreign invaders and releases inflammatory chemicals to try and kill them off. This means the body is continuously attacking itself in the joint linings causing painful and swollen joints, joint erosion and fatigue. Most people think of arthritis as an older person’s disease, but they are generally thinking of osteoarthritis which comes from general wear and tear on joints, not the body attacking the joint.

What effect was it having on you at the time? I had always had sore joints that we put down to ‘growing pains’ at the time, but unfortunately we now know that it was most likely the RA. The first signs I had were in my left knee that was painful and swollen after a fall and when I had surgery to try and correct it the surgeon noticed that there was quite a bit more joint damage than he would have expected. This led to me having blood tests checking for the typical blood signs of RA, higher than average C- reactive protein (CRP) levels and a higher Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). I was also found to be Rheumatoid Factor positive which is a sign that the arthritis was not going to be a juvenile form which some people can grow out of.

How has your condition progressed? Because I was put on treatment relatively early compared to some patients, they did manage to prevent the damage worsening in my knee, however RA is a tricky condition where it can move to multiple joints during a ‘flare.’ A flare is where the body has a higher than average immune response and releases more inflammatory chemicals, and this causes me quite a fair amount of pain in my larger joints such as my hips and spine. Medication options are difficult as what works for you at the start of your treatment eventually won’t suppress the immune system enough as the body learns to work around it. The most common method of treatment is immune suppressant medications, however this also puts you at a higher risk for infections and the flu becomes a real issue as your body just cannot fight the virus. This also makes Covid-19 much scarier for me as I am classified high risk. I’m lucky that I have always been fine with needles, as my current medication has to be injected into the skin each fortnight. Right now I am currently trying to regain strength after coming out of a massive flare that was caused by a delay in getting my medication during the first wave of Covid-19 here in Victoria. The RA has now attacked my hip so badly I will need a hip replacement, as I am currently walking around with bone on bone in my left hip and all my muscles were working so hard to get me around they all eventually gave up, and the fatigue was worse than I have usually had.

What effect has it had on your riding and horse ownership? I think I have always been a bit more careful in regards to what I do, as a fall from any horse would not be a great idea as I certainly don’t bounce like I used to! Over the years I have found that the more organised I have all my saddlery and grooming supplies the easier it is for me. I have all my everyday brushes, sprays and boots in a trolley that I can wheel around with me, which is a real lifesaver from having to walk back and forth to the tack room on the bad days. I also make sure that I have a tall mounting block to get on with as I have limited movement and strength in my left leg, so getting on off the ground is impossible. I am so lucky that my current horse ‘Vinnie’ aka ‘Virtuoso,’ is so patient and does respond to a lot of voice commands, so that way I do not have to move as much when doing all the everyday things, like grooming and tacking up. We recently have had to teach him to park himself at the mounting block once I have finished riding so that I am able to lower myself from the saddle to the mounting block and then step down from there to try and prevent any jarring of my hips. Getting on and off a 17.2hh horse is definitely not easy!

And yet you still compete to a high level. What have been the highlights? The highlight of my riding career most definitely would have been riding in the Garryowen twice now. It’s such a long road to school and prepare a horse for such a prestigious event and to go out there and have an absolute ball was just the cherry on top. I will always remember riding that final halt and salute and bursting into tears as my horse had just given me the ride of a lifetime.

How do you manage the mental challenges? I’m not going to lie, the mental side is tough. Your body hurts a lot, it’s not something that you can just take a couple of Panadol for and feel fine in an hour. For me, during a flare I am fighting fatigue, joint pain that often means you can’t walk around without crutches, and even at night I’m often waking up several times due to the pain. I am lucky to have such a good support team of my husband and family who I can rely on to make me laugh during the tough days. When you have a condition like RA that you are going to have to live with for the rest of your life, it is so important that you have a person who you can go to and be able to vent, cry or laugh with no matter what.

What benefits does riding bring to your life? For me, riding can be that one time of the day where sitting on a horse, I can go and mentally relax and just enjoy myself. Horses have always been in my life and by being able to go down and see them it brings a bit of normality back into my day if I’ve had one of those days where things have just not gone well. They are always there for you without judgement and love you no matter what you can and can’t do on that day. If you rock up to see them with treats you are a legend in their eyes!

What have you learnt about yourself over years of managing Rheumatoid Arthritis? I’ve learnt that I am stronger than I think, not just physically but mentally as well. Managing RA is like walking a tightrope every day. Some days you’ll be doing flips up and down that rope, but then some days you will have that fall and it’s up to you to pick yourself up and try again.

What is your advice for riders with physical limitations? Don’t be afraid to ask for help! For a long time I was terrible at asking for help, and to be honest, I still need to get better at it. Your body has its own rules and you shouldn’t think you have to keep up with everyone else on those bad days. Have your gear organised as much as you can and look for ways to get things done easier. I organise all my rugs into sets (ie rug, hood, bib and boots) so that I can just grab that pack and go when completing rug changes. It also helps to have things set out so that if you do have to have someone else feed for you it’s easy for them as well.

I think you also have to be critical of what horse is going to work for you. Do you really need that horse that you have to work down for an hour at a competition before getting on? Or is something that you can get on and go with going to work better? I also had to look at what disciplines I want to go and compete in, as jumping is such a high impact it was never going to help my joints. You need to learn to listen to your own body and figure out what is and isn’t going to work for you.

What are your future plans in the equestrian space? For me, I think my next move will be more into the dressage space as I have been showing for several years now and need a bit of a change. I’m very lucky that ‘Virtuoso’ is quite laid back and happy to have a go at whatever I throw at him. I know that even if my body doesn’t hold up to riding in the future I’ve always got carriage driving to go to!

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