Osteopenia and riding

[Zalie]

At the (comparatively!) young age of 41 I was diagnosed with osteopenia (pre-osteoporosis) in my hips. My spine is fine, and one year on I'm still not on any treatment yet, with a review due in a few months.

Has anybody here experience of riding with osteopenia? Will it be helpful or not for building/maintaining bone density and strength? (I have googled, but the main info I've found is about full blown osteoporosis and advice to 'not fall off').

I haven't ridden since I was about 12, but as my children are now getting into riding themselves, I'm feeling the pull to get back on a horse. Is this a stupid idea, or not?!

Thanks for any and all advice

 

[arlosmum]

I have osteopenia. I was diagnosed following a catastrophic fall aged 51 where I fractured my wrist & 4 vertebrae in my spine.
I had a few falls prior to this one over the years & almost always ended up with a fracture.
I don't think it will be helpful in building bone density.
I was advised to swim, & walk. I also have calcium tablets to take.
The advice not to fall off is good!. However, the only way to guarantee you won't fall off is not to get on.
I took the decision not to ride my horse again because I am scared of falling off him again & ending up in in a wheelchair. I kept my horse, he's semi-retired, he's really a pet now.
I love caring for him & my daughter's 2 ponies.
If you feel confident & have a good seat, go for it. If I had been younger when I had the last fall I think I would have carried on riding my boy.
I hope I'm not putting you off. I was never a very confident rider & my horse is a 17.3hh IDxTB. If I had gone down the more sensible route of buying a fat cob perhaps I'd still be riding now. I may yet buy one!
Perhaps you could find a good riding school & have some lessons on a schoolmaster & see how you feel.
Phew! That was a long post! Hope you're still awake, OP!

 

[Myhorseeatsmoney]

I have been diagnosed with osteopenia for the last 16 years and I am now 52. I also have a serious illness so try to be sensible and ride horses with nice temperaments that do not deliberately buck, rear, spook, bolt etc but because of weak muscles prefer to ride a horse that is responsive and is best ridden using my seat and very light hands. I have ridden cobs that their owners have said are push button only to turn into rodeo contenders in the school . I have also owned a TB who would do almost anything to keep me safe. If you ride you have to accept that a fall is always a possibility but the things i always use when I ride are a neck strap and body protector and if I am hacking a seat saver made of either sheepskin or suede.

If you are worried about getting on a certain horse then don't. Try to keep as safe as possible and this should apply to everyone.

 

[Zalie]

Thank you both! Arlosmum, sorry to hear about your fall. That sounds awful and I hope you're fully recovered from it with no lasting effects. Myhorseeatsmoney, glad you are still able to ride - long may that continue for you!

I totally endorse the 'don't fall off' idea, especially as I would be a novice again - just with an older body, less bounce and more fear than when I was a child.

My children ride at a school whose main focus is riding for the disabled, so their horses are lovely natured and bombproof. So a good school at which to attempt riding again, I would think. Plus I'm fairly sure I only want to bumble around in a low key kind of way, enjoying the countryside and the company of a horse, as I tried jumping as a child and it scared the bejeezus out of me!

I think I might pluck up the courage to try on one of their horses, even if it doesn't help build bone density it's going to strengthen (currently very unfit!) muscles.

I wish I knew more about horses, how to spot which would be a good fit for me temperament wise, but I'm clueless as in the long term I would love to get a family horse. But I'd need one that would work for me and my rickety hips, my 8 year old who is really starting to get into her riding, and my tall autistic non-verbal 5 year old who would spend all day on a horse if he could. I'm not sure such a horse exists, and I wouldn't know what to look for if it did!