Does got diabetes, or know somebody who does and still rides?

Horse-Factbook

Horse-Factbook

Active Member
Joined
10 July 2019
Messages
40
www.horsefactbook.com
I was speak to a friend the other day about her diabetes and we ended up talking about horses (some how I manage to turn every conversation round to horses!) when she said that she’d always wanted to learn to ride. In my naivety I supply suggested she should try it. You can imagine how bad I felt when she said she didn’t know if she could with her diabetes.

Anyway to cut a long story short I said I’d try and find out if she could which is why I’m posting this.

Does anybody hear ride with diabetes? Is it a problem or have you found ways around it? I did have a quick look online but didn’t really find an answer, some people say you can some say you can’t.
 
I know of plenty of people who ride with diabetes and do other more dangerous things! As long as it is well controlled, and she knows her own body ie. when a hypo is going to occur. It shouldn't hold her back! :)

Is she Type 1? Type 2?
Does she have a continual insulin pump in situ?
All things to consider too :)
 
Why shouldn't she ride?? Is she type 1 or 2? Yes you have to plan things more and if she has neuropathy in her hands or feet/legs that could be an issue but other than that theres no reason not to.

We are normal people too you know!
 
I drive rather than ride but the diabetes is the least of my physical problems! Is she newly diagnosed? It can be overwhelming at first and there can be worries about exercise and hypos etc. Its understandable that people feel like that but it does get better. Theres no reason diabetes would stop anyone riding.

I've got sight problems and neuropathy in my hands and feet, alongside a spinal trauma which caused mobility issues. I don't ride as the back issues make it too painful, but that's a separate issue. I did ride for 20+ years with no issues with the diabetes.
 
Horse-Factbook said:
I was speak to a friend the other day about her diabetes and we ended up talking about horses (some how I manage to turn every conversation round to horses!) when she said that she’d always wanted to learn to ride. In my naivety I supply suggested she should try it. You can imagine how bad I felt when she said she didn’t know if she could with her diabetes.

Anyway to cut a long story short I said I’d try and find out if she could which is why I’m posting this.

Does anybody hear ride with diabetes? Is it a problem or have you found ways around it? I did have a quick look online but didn’t really find an answer, some people say you can some say you can’t.
Click to expand...

Having diabetes mellitus is not like having no hands, you know... it's a metabolic condition that affects the way the body deals with sugars, and no two people are affected by it in exactly the same way.

Some people with diabetes suffer from episodes of tiredness or fainting because of hypoglycaemia, but by no means does everybody get this.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 over a year ago, possibly after living with it undiagnosed for years... I'm 50, weigh about 90kg, am about 1m85 tall, and can ride all day... I started riding regularly about six years ago.

The best, and probably only, way for your friend to find out if she wants to learn to ride is to go and try it: find a school that will do her an hour or two-hour trial lesson.
 
There are plenty of successful sports people still competing with types 1 or 2 diabetes. Sir Steve Redgrave won the last of his 5 Olympic medals for rowing three years after his type 1 diagnosis, and he had other health issues too. Here are a few examples from rowing.

http://www.runsweet.com/diabetes-and-sport/rowing/

So it is fine to ride with diabetes. A then young relative with unstable type 1 was able to get back to her competitive horsey lifestyle after she was fitted with an insulin pump.
 
Also me. Type 1 diagnosed 2 years ago. It isn't easy to manage it - and will be different for everyone - but shouldn't stop your friend learning to ride. I'm assuming she has type 1, because type 2 can usually be diet controlled, so she would just need to have glucose tablets with her and let the instructor know.

Btw - Steve Redgrave is actually type 2. He takes insulin because there's no way he could do the low carb diet required to put type 2 diabetes into remission and row. There's been some interesting discussions on various diabetes forums about him and how he hammered his body to get those results - not critical so much as whether encouraging someone to take huge amounts of insulin to carb load is ethical!
 
Thank you so much guys, my friend has only recently been diagnosed so I guess that's why she's hesitant and unsure about whether she is able to ride or not. I'll definitely tell her the good news!

Thanks again
 
Keith_Beef said:
Some people with diabetes suffer from episodes of tiredness or fainting because of hypoglycaemia, but by no means does everybody get this.
Click to expand...

Umm, ALL Type 1s will suffer from hypos. And its a bit more serious than tiredness or fainting. An untreated hypo causes a coma and then death. That's very rare as most are caught in time, but there are still people who die from hypos. Type 1 and type 2 are very different things and theres a huge amount of mis information out there about both sadly.
 
SEL said:
Btw - Steve Redgrave is actually type 2. He takes insulin because there's no way he could do the low carb diet required to put type 2 diabetes into remission and row. There's been some interesting discussions on various diabetes forums about him and how he hammered his body to get those results - not critical so much as whether encouraging someone to take huge amounts of insulin to carb load is ethical!
Click to expand...

Steve's wife is a doctor, she's a sports physician and was the chief medical officer for British Rowing so I think he was fairly well placed to make an informed decision.

Anyway, my Mum's diabetic, she doesn't ride but that's nothing to do with the diabetes and more to do with being terrified of horses. Absolutely no reason why a diabetic shouldn't ride although obviously if your friend needs to be careful to ensure that her blood sugars are stable enough that she won't experience any negative symptoms that could be dangerous while on the horse but that is just the same as any sport (or even driving a car). She should make sure that her instructor knows she is diabetic and what symptoms to look for and what action to take if she is showing symptoms. It would be sensible to take some lucozade or glucose tablets with her in case her blood sugar drops.

Many diabetics manage their blood sugar for years and never have a serious hypo, modern medical advances make it much more manageable.
 
Leo Walker said:
Umm, ALL Type 1s will suffer from hypos. And its a bit more serious than tiredness or fainting. An untreated hypo causes a coma and then death. That's very rare as most are caught in time, but there are still people who die from hypos. Type 1 and type 2 are very different things and theres a huge amount of mis information out there about both sadly.
Click to expand...

I'm Type 1 and can also confirm that hypos are much more than feeling tired or fainting.

Also Type 1 and 2 are very different and the way that they are managed are very different too.

I do everything that I did before I was diagnosed. Yes it requires planning and typically I will go hypo at an inconvenient time but my family/friends and colleagues understand.

I hack out alone and always check my sugar about 15 mins before I get on. I have a libre which continually monitors me so I can see if my BS is rising or falling. If the number is below 6mmol then I would eat a banana or cereal bar as any activity causes me to drop quite quickly.

I don't know what your friend has been told but please dont let them think they are different or cannot do something. Diabetes sucks but it is not the end of the world. It takes time to adjust and relearn things!
 
I have been type 1 diabetic my entire life and it has never stopped me riding. My horse and I compete successfully at British Dressage and my diabetes have never held us back, and since getting an insulin pump 2 years ago is has become even easier.

Unless there is other major issues that have been caused by the diabetes (e.g. with the feet) I can see no reason why diabetes would stop someone riding.
 
Leo Walker said:
Umm, ALL Type 1s will suffer from hypos. And its a bit more serious than tiredness or fainting. An untreated hypo causes a coma and then death. That's very rare as most are caught in time, but there are still people who die from hypos. Type 1 and type 2 are very different things and theres a huge amount of mis information out there about both sadly.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean to belittle the problems faced by Type 1 diabetics; I was grouping all Type 1 and Type 2 together, and according to HealthLine, "among all these people living with diabetes, 90 to 95 percent have type 2 diabetes".
 
indie1282 said:
Also Type 1 and 2 are very different and the way that they are managed are very different too.
Click to expand...

And medics now recognise that there are more than just two types of diabetes, one study reckoned five plus gestational diabetes. The Diabetes UK website lists even more types/sub-types.

lhopkins_ said:
Unless there is other major issues that have been caused by the diabetes (e.g. with the feet) I can see no reason why diabetes would stop someone riding.
Click to expand...

That's what has stopped my mum doing things, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic foot mean she is pretty restricted now. But the actual diabetes doesn't stop her doing anything (except eating as much cake as she might like!)
 
Keith_Beef said:
I didn't mean to belittle the problems faced by Type 1 diabetics; I was grouping all Type 1 and Type 2 together, and according to HealthLine, "among all these people living with diabetes, 90 to 95 percent have type 2 diabetes".
Click to expand...

I didnt think you was trying to belittle Type 1's.

But it is difficult when the info out there is mainly geared to Type 2's and alot of people assume we are all the same ( not saying you do)
 
SEL said:
Btw - Steve Redgrave is actually type 2. He takes insulin because there's no way he could do the low carb diet required to put type 2 diabetes into remission and row.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction, I thought that I had my type 1s and type 2s sorted, but clearly not. I hadn’t realised that some type 2s have insulin injections, I had incorrectly thought that insulin was just for type 1s.

I’ve read Steve Redgrave’s autobiography, too! (I must pay more attention in class).
 
That's why many believe that the references to type 1 and type 2 are unhelpful. Some distinguish between insulin dependent and non-insulin dependent, though that isn't the full story either.

And don't even get me started on the way diabetes is portrayed by the media. I hate the suggestion that diabetes is entirely self inflicted and purely down to eating crap. It unfairly stigmatises many who are already battling a chronic illness.
 
Kat said:
Steve's wife is a doctor, she's a sports physician and was the chief medical officer for British Rowing so I think he was fairly well placed to make an informed decision.
Click to expand...

The debates aren't criticism of the man himself, just whether or not it is ethical to encourage someone to inject a substance they otherwise might not need. He says that he just couldn't train on a low carb diet even though his blood sugars stabilised on it. I can't remember which cyclist needed steroids for his asthma but there was a lot of debate as to whether that was ethical or giving him a competitive advantage - ditto insulin for carb loading. Quite an interesting debate actually.

BTW - I'm a little sensitive when people say hypos rarely kill because I do know someone who died in their sleep the same year as I was diagnosed. Only 32.

Not that this is at all relevant to your friend OP and if she wants to give riding a go then she should definitely try. Its awful being diagnosed with a long term health condition - I'd never set foot in a hospital and now I feel like I have a loyalty card - but you do have to take a deep breath and crack on with life.
 
Thanks everyone for answering my question - my friend has booked her first riding lesson for Saturday! She can't wait.

Before I posted here I was having a tough time finding the answer online so thought I'd write an article to hopefully help other people who might wonder the same as I did. If you don't mind and have the time I'd be really grateful if any of you wouldn't mind having a quick read of the article to make sure I've not left anything important out. https://www.horsefactbook.com/fun/horse-riding-with-diabetes/

Thanks again everyone
 
There's a bit about eating 25g of carbs because carbs keep your sugar down which needs correcting - carbs push sugar levels UP

I'm in a bit of a morning rush but will have a good read later ☺
 
I am glad your friend has booked in for a ride.

I had a friend who had epilepsy and could not find anywhere to ride as she started to have the Grand seizures (the quoted health and safety). She could ride, as she used to ride at a riding school, then at uni before they became quite so regular.

She used to get a bit of notice, such as 20-30 seconds, where she would feel it coming on. That was good enough for me, I had 2 horses at the time so we went out together and had a blast. Funnily enough, it never actually happened while we were together. But, I am sure we would have coped.

Many people cope with many different health conditions. I hope your friend has a great time.
 
Red-1 said:
I am glad your friend has booked in for a ride.

I had a friend who had epilepsy and could not find anywhere to ride as she started to have the Grand seizures (the quoted health and safety). She could ride, as she used to ride at a riding school, then at uni before they became quite so regular.

She used to get a bit of notice, such as 20-30 seconds, where she would feel it coming on. That was good enough for me, I had 2 horses at the time so we went out together and had a blast. Funnily enough, it never actually happened while we were together. But, I am sure we would have coped.

Many people cope with many different health conditions. I hope your friend has a great time.
Click to expand...
I find that riding can be so therapeutic for so many things, that's great that your friend was able to ride. I agree with you though, people do cope when you wouldn't think they could, but if you have to you often do.
 
"type 2 diabetes is controlled and managed with diet"

But very often with medication, too. I'm on 850mg of metformin morning and evening.
Read: https://www.healthline.com/health/metformin-oral-tablet

"You don’t need to me tell you that you need to check your blood sugar levels before you go for a long trial ride, nor do you need me to tell you to make sure you’ve got enough glucose tablets and insulin injections with you. But it’s also important to make sure you’ve not only got your glucometer with you but that you actually use it regularly."

No. I don't need to tell you that, but then again it is a really over the top generalisation, and seems to me to be just for Type 1 (and maybe serious Type 2).

I have my blood analysed twice a year; breakfast before a 4 hour ride can be as little as 500ml glass of fermented milk and six Brazil nuts. We'll break for a rest at noon, when we'll take the tack off the horses, brush them and pick out hooves, water and feed them (so about another half hour of work) before we riders eat. After a good meal we'll tack up again and ride for another four hours.

But don't take my single anecdotal experience as being the sum total of the world's knowledge on the subject.

One last thing: your blog posts should contain references to reputable and authoritative sources of information.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top