Following on from "are horses in pain every time we ride"...

[RachelB]

Sorry, I'm jumping on the bandwagon of "following on..." posts!
My question is, are we as riders always in pain when we ride?
I'm not sure it's actually possible to not be in some degree of pain just from being alive, but we deal with it. Where do we draw the line with ourselves, and is that line any different from the line we draw with our horses? If so, why? Because we can't ask them if they are in pain? Would you call out your vet if you thought your horse was in pain, quicker than you'd go to see a doctor/ physio yourself? Why?
I know my answers, just interested to hear other views

 

[kerilli]

crikey... umm, if i'm in pain, i don't ride, tbh, i get myself sorted out, cos it's not fair to sit up there all crooked and sore and reactionary. i've pushed myself through the pain before (including riding the day after i smashed my knee) and it absolutely wasn't worth it... i was very lucky that my mare took care of me, cos i was incapable of coping if anything happened, and kidding myself that it didn't hurt THAT much wasn't really the cleverest thing i ever did...
i'd probably get a vet quicker than i'd go to the doctor though, that's for sure! i will call a physio/vet/chiro immediately if i think a horse is in any pain at all, no question.

 

[Baileysno1]

I have astmah and regullary put myself in hospital through riding and caring for the horses, at one point last year I rode till I couldn't breathe then took my inhaler and got back on, rode till I couldn't breathe, took my inhaler and got back on, etc etc till I was hospitalised for a week and pumped full of steriods, it didn't occur to me I'd got myself in a bit of a state and should go to the doctors, however if I was riding a horse with COPD or breathing issues and it so much as sneezed I'd get off, would hate to think I was pushing them when they were in pain or discomfort!

 

[jumpthemoon]

When my back was hurting I rode anyway, until I physically couldn't, which probably wasn't too clever. I ended up only walking around the school which was a complete waste of time, really! I think in future I would see the chiro sooner...

If my horse was in pain I wouldn't ride unless it was going to help. Sometimes if I know his back is out I will keep riding, but then it only needs to go very slightly out and I can tell - if he was in pain I think he'd just dump me and go back in tbh!

I call the ver/chiro/dentist straight away and make sacrifices at work/home in order to get them out asap - I don't do that for myself. I think the difference is we are able to choose, whereas the horse is not in that position, so it is only fair to get them sorted asap.

 

[Hullabaloo]

Probably the silliest thing I did was to ride with a trapped nerve in my shoulder. My right arm and left leg were numb but I'd already arranged to borrow a horse so my friend could ride mine and I didn't want to disappoint her. The horse I borrowed was a bit lively, and to make things worse we met the hunt while we were out. The horse pulled my arms out and managed to untrap the nerve. It was already much better by the time we got back to the yard. Still a stupid thing to do though.
I do ride my horse with aches and pains but would be a bit more careful these days about riding with anything more serious.

 

[MizElz]

What a cool topic!

I have ridden in the past with a broken hand, a twisted pelvis and a cracked shin. But if my horse limped for even one pace, I would be off in a trice; she'd probably have three weeks off just to be safe! At present, I think I may have actually chipped my anklebone; it hurts like hell to walk, drive, ride etc, but it hasnt stopped me doing any of these things! And god forbid anyone suggest I go to a doctor!

Ellie, on the other hand, has the vet/farrier called out ASAP if anything seems amiss!

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Like a dork, I went on a hack with broken ribs once and nearly killed myself as a result (had a bleed into my lung!) I even managed to trot with reins in one hand and other hand desperately clutching my side. But if Sunny looked or felt a bit odd, like Kerilli, I'd have the vet out before you could blink!

 

[MagicMelon]

Well I do ride in a degree of pain, well not pain - more uncomfortable due to a pain in my back which Ive had for about 2 years now. Been to physio's and the chiropractor and neither worked so not sure what else to try! Pretty used to it now TBH.

But if my horse were in pain, I would get the vet etc. out ASAP. That's like anything though - I mean most of us carefully work out our horses diets so they are as healthy as possible, whereas a lot of us eat shite etc. We all want our horses to be fit and healthy, sod ourselves!