Did anyone NOT ride during pregnancy?

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EquestrianFairy

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I couldn't make up my mind where this was best suited- SB or here.

Anyway: I am entering my 2nd trimester and I still haven't ridden, to be honest- I simply don't trust my horse to look after me. She's green, young and has an attitude that I love about her but her attitude means she is an additional risk.
The chances of me falling off are slim, the chances of her having a tantrum and getting me off is not so slim and this is my concern.

I haven't ridden since August as she pulled herself In the field and then we moved yards, I have however contined to do the mucking out etc.
A girl who knows her has offered to ride her a few times a week to keep her going until I find a sharer but this makes me feel unhappy that I am not riding her and I want to remain active and fit.
Agh!! It's so confusing for me to know what's the right thing to do?
 
I rode up until I was too fat to get on and off properly! BUT I have an old man of a horse who is very steady.

Do what feels right for you, whatever anyone else says or does :)
 
The right thing to do is trust your instincts.
If you dont feel 100% safe dont do it.
My youngster was booted out the field for my pregnancy but i still pootled round the lanes on my old boy who i would trust with my life.
 
Please dont beat yourself up over this. It should be such a happy time however you do it. I rode on the day I found out I was pregnant and didnt ride again (I had already miscarried 4 ) and although it seemed like a long time it did zoom past. My little cob was quite safe but I still decided not to take a risk purely my own choice . If you are keeping up with the yard duties then you will still be pretty fit.
Good luck
 
I didn't, my horse got chucked out for a full year. If you think there is a chance you might all off then why risk it? Ask yourself - how will you feel if you fall off and lose the baby? If she is green and young maybe it will do her godd to have a break, and it probably won't be in her best interests to be ridden a couple of times a week as a youngster? They need more consistent work don't they.
I am sure I will get shot down in flames for my opinion, but imho babies are too precious to risk in that way, horses are unpredictable, and you just never know.
 
i didnt ride for the first 12 weeks due to previous miscarriages. Then at 12+2 i got attacked by a horse at work and dislocated my knee :/ by the time it healed i was too huge to get on/off.

Had it not been for that i would prob have still hacked my mare because i trust her as much as you can trust any of them to be sensible.

It's totally up to you though, dont feel bad if you dont want to ride, a bit of time off wont hurt her
 
I'm just gone 4 months now, and I rode a little at the very beginning of my pregnancy, but I wont now, until this small person has been evicted from my womb. Not worth the risk IMO.
 
I pottered round in the schoool on my very steady pony until I was 11 weeks then stopped, got back on 5 weeks after a c section :)

Trust your instincts and do whatever you feel is right.
 
Having had 2 miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy , I didn't ride after 12 weeks (or when we told people), but really I was too sick to want to ride anyway much before then. For me, falling off and losing another, even if the fall wasn't to blame would have not been worth it. :) Now have 3 children :)
 
I rode a handful of times up to 12 weeks, then stopped. I was crippled with SPD so getting on and off would have been impossible but I still didn't want to risk it. I don't know about anyone else but I felt very wobbly when I was pregnant so I'm not sure my balance would have been up to much!
 
Thanks all, youve made me feel a little better :)

My gut tells me not to ride her, unlike my other pony (who is on loan) i cannot trust her to be sensible enough. Dont get me wrong, shes good to handle and i love her to peices as i enjoy her sharpness but my head is warning me what she is like and that is that forefront of everything i do with her.
 
I didn't ride from 12 weeks and I trusted my mare totally. It just didn't feel safe to me. I left mine off for a good 18 months and the break did her the world of good. She came back into work in amazing form so really, I wouldn't worry at all. I did lose a lot of fitness (to put it mildly) but I'm sure if you keep as active as you can, you'll be fine. Congratulations too :) xx
 
I did with my first baby, competed XC at 14/15 weeks etc. Next time I won't at all, (same horse) I just realise more now what can go wrong and how much there is at stake. Every situation and every preganacy is different and only you can decide.
Definitely trust your instinct, a break really does them the world of good what ever the reason for the break (interesting thread on here about a horse having time off for a tendon problem that came back much better from a proper rest)
 
EquestrianFairy said:
I couldn't make up my mind where this was best suited- SB or here.

Anyway: I am entering my 2nd trimester and I still haven't ridden, to be honest- I simply don't trust my horse to look after me. She's green, young and has an attitude that I love about her but her attitude means she is an additional risk.
The chances of me falling off are slim, the chances of her having a tantrum and getting me off is not so slim and this is my concern.

I haven't ridden since August as she pulled herself In the field and then we moved yards, I have however contined to do the mucking out etc.
A girl who knows her has offered to ride her a few times a week to keep her going until I find a sharer but this makes me feel unhappy that I am not riding her and I want to remain active and fit.
Agh!! It's so confusing for me to know what's the right thing to do?
Click to expand...

Hi I rode until I couldn't get on her anymore but she is a very trustworthy horse xx
 
I was very gung ho, 'oh I won't stop riding' etc, then a friend asked me to ride out at their racing yard before people knew I was pregnant.
Halfway up the gallops on a hard puller a sort of terror struck me out of nowhere, and I just thought, 'how bloody stupid, exactly what am I trying to prove!?'
I had to go out again with the next lot, then I got off and that was that. Baby is 9 weeks old and I'm going to get on mind again this week, I just chucked him out for a few months.

Not worth it IMO!
 
I rode with my first till I was about 10 weeks, my horse then tripped whilst on a hack, she went onto her knees and I went over her shoulder I then realised no matter how much I trusted her accidents still could happen so I stopped.
 
I did ride but know plenty that didn't. You are quite right to follow your instincts. Especially as you know that even if nothing goes wrong you may end up getting off to avoid a confrontation, which isn't ideal with a young horse (especially as after that you wouldn't get back on again for ages).

I wouldn't bother getting anyone else to ride unless you are sure of them. Better for her to have time off than have anything go wrong when ridden. Have fun on the ground instead. Unless you have access to a really safe horse, if you can't stand not riding?
 
I didn't. I'd only bought him a few months before (after the last miscarriage) and didn't entirely feel safe, so I was happy to have the trainer ride him a few days a week to keep him from being a total pasture ornament. When I was looking at being cleared to ride, we increased the number of times a week he was ridden, I started stepping up my own exercise routine, and eight weeks after my son was born I picked up more or less where I'd left off.
 
I rode up until I was about 5/6 & the only reason I stopped was although I trust my boy he can have his moments & is so strong, plus my OH wasn't happy me riding. I have a sharer for him so when I knew her & my mum were riding I would go up get them in brush them off & get them all tacked up & ready. I still done all the normal chores up until I was due :)
 
I rode my 14.2 right up to the eve before I went into labour. However I'd ridden her since I was 12, & she's the sort that had already spent years nannying tiny novice kids with washing line reins round sj & xc, & would hack with a novice kid, so safer than my own two feet or my car. And more importantly I trusted her. I had the offer of riding an older cob, who had done rda work in the past & was still ridden on a private basis by a severely disabled adult. However I didn't trust it like I did my 14.2, just because I hadn't known it over half my life. So I completely understand someone choosing not to ride.
As for the horse, I'd say turn away. Unless of course it is best kept working for weight management or stiffness etc, in which case take up the offer of a rider.
 
Well as you know, I didn't ride, because I couldn't and as you know I spent the most miserable 9 months of my life which I definitely think could have been made much better by a gentle hack once in a while.
But if you have reservations, don't get on. There's nothing more dangerous than someone riding whose bricking it on a young impressionable horse IMO and you're right that most definitely isn't worth it!
 
I've just stopped riding now at 33 weeks. I was only schooling towards the end and i didnt feel like i was doing either of us any good anymore. It does make me sad not being able to ride, i know its not forever but it feels like it :(

Like many others have said its up to you, if your at all worried i wouldn't. Mucking out and lunging will still keep you fit.

Good Luck!
 
I stopped riding! In fact I stopped owning and I had always said that when I got pregnant, horses would take a back step for a few years

4 years later in back to owning and now driving and love it :) the break did me and my family good
 
We were stationed in Germany when I came home and under went IVF treatment. When I returned to Germany expecting a dodgy (bleeding & bed rest ( returned wheelchair assistented)) pregnancy we talked about it and felt as the pregnancy was unstable it was not worth the risk. We talk about the pros and cops and took the chance to send the horses home to the UK one to a sales yard and the mare to stud. Due to husbands subsequent postings including Kuwait I ended up having 7 years out of the saddle.

Do what you feel is right for you. You said your horse is a youngster it is not going to do it any harm to have the months off. You would never forgive your self if something did happen.
 
I didn't ride right from the beginning but only due to complications and was advised not to take the chance. I got back on my mare when the baby was 6 weeks old with no problems. A friend of mine rode the day before her baby was born and rode at least 3 times a week right through her pregnancy, saying that she had a fantastic bomb proof pony who was in his 20's. I mucked out the 3 horses I had at the time every day with no problems and the day before my baby was born I had the urge to empty all 3 stables and disinfect them!! Good luck,do what you are comfortable with and I do think it depends on the horse's reliability.
 
Go with your gut feeling. I rode (light hacking mainly) up to 5 months, only because I felt totally safe. OH and my 1st midwife were both strongly against it. But then I changed midwives and my new one had no problem with it (she was horsey too), she said as long as i didn't do any jumping, and the horse was quiet, it would be good for me (mentally, more than anything). But the last time i rode was on a 10 mile 'fun' ride (wasnt so fun for me by the end of it), i was in agony with SPD and bump had started bouncing, so that was the last day I rode. Not sure if i'd do it again, would have to depend on how the horse felt to me.
 
I've decided I'm going to probably leave it until after baby is born. I have to get a sharer anyway as she is on DIY with some part livery and when I go on leave money will be tight. I intend to continue mucking out until the summer and doing the usual yard duties.
Once I have a sharer and the routine is settled I'm going to use my 'yard free days' to book in antental yoga classes and antenatal fitness classes to replace the riding fitness part. Hopefully this will mean once baby is born (providing no complications) I should be able (and fit enough) to jump back on.
 
I rode up until 30 weeks on my very safe TB, however the last few rides on him were just walk really as it got so uncomfortable. I would have liked to have ridden longer but I got bored just walking round the school on him and felt neither of us were benefitting from it.

My baby is now 9 weeks old, think I first got back on my horse 6 weeks after birth and have since only ridden twice. Although he is on DIY and I go down every day to muck out etc, trying to fit in riding with a new born is tricky :-(

I would not have ridden if I didn't trust my horse 100%, so do what's best for you. Like others have said it's only 9 months (which may feel like a lifetime) but once baby arrives life kind of changes anyway- that's a good thing by the way :-)

Also a good sharer is worth their weight in gold :-)
 
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