Buns in ovens and the patter of hooves...

[xDundryx]

I don't post very often so hello again A few weeks ago my OH and I found out I'm pregnant (11 weeks now) we aren't 'announcing' it until after the first scan in a couple of weeks. However our line managers know (not even told my family yet) so we can go to appointments etc.

Basically any advice on pregnancy/horse juggling ninja mums would be welcome! Both of us are in the Air Force but lucky enough to be in 'mon-fri' jobs at the minute however I'm working long hours and on call quite a lot. Luckily at our yard the horses are now out 24/7 a blessing as I only have to go up once a day now. I have an absolutely gorgeous 6yo TB ex racehorses, only owned him about 3 months and he's come straight from a small training yard. (As you can see the mini me was very much a surprise!)
I got my new boy after losing both my old ginger and young tb over the winter

Anyway, basically how do you juggle pregnancy and horses,any hints tips appreciated! My plan is to ride as long as I can then my instructor (who's at the same yard) will take over riding the dude for a couple of months (or as long as needed) my OH and I will look after him so I still get 'pony time'

I know a lot can happen and its early days so taking each day as it comes however I'm really struggling with tiredness, it just hits me and knocks me for six so the motivation to ride is hard during the week after work already and I've also been suffering from really bad queasyness at anytime of the day and started feeling faint randomly sometimes so bad I have tositdown where ever I am (never been a fainter!)

Do you just steel yourself, man up and battle on? I feel guilty if I havnt done my full day's work,done phys,ridden,poo picked etc etc etc. Also doesn't help that my mood swings are epic! Argh!!!!!!!

 

[FfionWinnie]

The only thing more tiring than having a baby is...well, having a baby!

Be kind to your body. Do not push yourself. All your muscles and ligaments get more stretchy in pregnancy and are more easily damaged so while you want to stay active, avoid the heavy work as much as you can.

Good luck!

 

[TheOldTrout]

On that last paragraph - no need for guilt. You need to be kind to yourself.

 

[PorkChop]

Congratulations

It can be done, I found babies and horses easy, had to be more organised once they were toddling!

My advice would be don't try and be a hero, you can only do so much, the more organised you are the better.

It sounds like you have everything sorted, if you feel tired then rest, your horse won't mind two jots if he doesn't get ridden everyday.

 

[xDundryx]

Thanks It's really daunting, the last couple of weeks I've barely ridden just 2/3 times a week basically because of being knackered! Luckily my non-horsey OH has become really quite horsey since we got the new boy, he's really taken to him and helps with pretty much everything except riding.

I know I'm really lucky in that respect. We've ben to a few local dressage comps and done some intro tests and he's groom extraordinaire, keeping me organised, horse holding, washing down etc etc.. Luckily the plan for baby horse is flatwork, hacking polework and getting him used to 'the real world' not rushing him, he's got so much natural flair and ability. Jumping, xc schooling, having a gallop about can all wait until next year!

I guess because it was a complete shock and having just gotten the youngster and it's thrown our plans in the air but hey life always does that plus I'm now worrying more about going full term and looking after baby than anything else.

 

[Jojoeena]

Congratulations !!
you will manage because you have to ... well unless you are prepared to give up which for me was not an option. It helps to have a supportive OH, and horses that are not too far away. I gave mine 6 months off, he was a youngster so no problems and allowed me to get into a routine with LO. Then I either snuck out while LO slept (you can express is BF or leave a bottle made up) or we went on mass and OH stayed with LO whilst I did what I needed to do and was on hand if I was needed.
It is MUCH harder once they are on their feet and starting to get opinionated (2yo) but now I try and make sure that horse time is 'me' time as it is much simpler.

It will just fall into place and you will find your own schedule which works for you, you will hear this a lot but they grow sooooo quickly, try to make the most of time with the baby, your horse is still very young and has probably had quite a busy life already so an easy year will not do him any harm, take the pressure off yourself as it is a big life change !

 

[xDundryx]

Thanks!

As with you giving up is just not an option, horse time is my down time and sanity/grounding/me time plus he's part of the family even the OH doesn't want him going anywhere, God help the first person that says 'oh you'll be getting rid of the horse now!'

He's really enjoying being a horse already in his huge meadow with his buddies it's nice to see so down time won't do him any harm. We have to fill the horses water using 25ltr jerry cans which ive been doing merrily up until the other day when I was hauling it into whe wheelbarrow to take down and i had a big twinge in my stomach so now I'm a bit wary of doing this plus I was poo picking and we have to wheel the barrows up into a trailer,again ful of poo its quite heavy (not something that bothers me or I struggle with normally) but again i had a few twinges... I dont want to be jack and cut back on these esp at such an early stage when noone knows but, should I be taking it a bit easier? It's normal everyday stuff that I hadnt even thought of as particularly strenuous :/

 

[pippixox]

hi, I'm 27 weeks now and have 4 horses! 2 are just turned 5 who i backed last summer but now they are just having time off as did not want to risk riding them. 1 is an 18yo ex-racer who i still ride as he is very safe, had him for a decade. one is a 13 yo mare who is also having the summer off as she can be temperamental so just didn't feel safe riding her after the first few months.

first 3 months for me felt like jet lag- soooo exhausted all the time. it did wear off a bit for the next couple of months. more recently I have been getting a sore back. had to run 400m of hose to get water to my field to avoid lugging the water containers that were becoming too heavy!

I do have days when i feel bad they are not getting much attention- I work 50 hour weeks and since April they have been living out- up twice a day but not for any where near as much time as i used to spend with them. but they are happy!

I also thought I would be super women and keep going like nothing was happening! but you do have to slow down and rest more- and I am still only 2/3 of the way through and know it will get harder. but so worth it, when you are chilling in the field, horses eating in the sun and feeling your baby kick

my OH is very supportive and other than a few people at work saying the usual- 'what will you do with the horses' no one has bothered suggesting anything as crazy as getting rid of the horses!

 

[xDundryx]

first 3 months for me felt like jet lag- soooo exhausted all the time. it did wear off a bit for the next couple of months!

Congratulations pippixox! You hit the nail on the head with it feeling like jetlag, however no matter how tired I just can't sleep, resembling a zombie at the minute! I have the first scan on 13th which'll nearly be my 14 week point hopefully by then things will be easing off a bit ready for the next lot of aches/pains etc!

Tonight despite being knackered I fed the boy in the entrance to his field while I filled all the water up and poo picked, riding would have been a step too much after doing all the essentials. It's a bit of a balance and I've not quite got it right yet x