pregnancy,babies and horses :-)

S

sparklesr

Member
Joined
1 February 2013
Messages
10
Visit site
Hello,
me and my partner are trying for a baby, all exciting :)
I was just wondering though what you guys did with your horses during pregnancy.
I own 2 horses, one is a youngster that will be due to be broken in next year. My other is 17yrs old that i do alot of competing on.
My 17 year old is not a novice ride and i dont like to idea of anyone else riding him due to all the effort i have put in , i dont want it un doing. He also have issues with new people/riders so its just not worth it.

Would given him 9months off be a option , or is lunging him a good idea? Is 18yr old too old to get back into competing after 9months off? We currently compete BSJA and BD. the odd XC too.

Also, once baby is born.. did you have time to fit your horses in around baby? I have a very supportive partner and family so im sure i would be able to fit everything in, i was just wondering about everyone elses experiences. The money isnt a problem too, and after maternity leave i would go back to work but only part time.
I cant wait to be a mum, i just dont want to neglet my horses either
I want it all :-)
If you could share your experiences?
thanks
 
You can have it all :-) I too have two horses and pregnant with my second. I'm currently still riding and plan to stop in march. My baby is due July so my boy will only have four months off. He's a late starter and we haven't jumped yet so those four months will be spent lunging and free schooling over the cross poles and small jumps etc. I've put in a lot of work with him and too don't want anyone else to ride him! My other horse is retired so not a problem.
Babies sleep a lot so if anything in the beginning I had more time for stable chores as used to hang around the yard waiting for baby to wake up! I've no worries that this baby will be any different :-)
 
thank you for your reply.. The horse your riding now, whats he like to ride? as i would like to ride my boy whilst pregnant but im abir worried about that. saying that, although hes not easy, hes not dangerous. I think with it coming up to summer, i dont want to miss out on the riding but at the same time i dont really want to be pregnant during the winter as it makes it harder for me to look after them. least in the summer, i can just leave them out. Once baby is born , like you say they sleep alot and my parents can help so being at the yard in the winter then will be fine.
i think because this is something ive never done, but cant wait ! im nervous at the same time. does that make sense?
 
You can certainly manage it all, you just need efficient time management.
I have 4 children and 4 horses, including youngsters. I rode throughout my pregnancys, the ones I didn't ride I kept ticking over or turned away.

As newborns my babies fitted round the horses, I rode while they slept in the car or buggy, it got trickier when they were toddlers but I managed, a supportive husband helped a lot.
 
thank you , your replies have been very helpful !

I think if my horse was younger i wouldnt be as worried but hes 18 next year and im worried im going to loose a good competing year this year.. saying that there are many horses jumping in there 20s still ;)

good time for me to start a family tho, next year ill start breaking my youngster in so certainly cant be pregnant then ;)

thanks
 
Yes it can be done. You just have to be organised and in the right mindset. I found the worst time for me was the first 3 month because I felt so sick and tired, but the rest of the pregnancy was fine. With 1st baby I didnt have horses. 2nd baby (18 years later) I rode until 7 months about which time my hips started to ache, with 3rd baby (now 9 months old - eek) I stopped riding at 4/5 months as I felt unstable and my hips and bladder couldn't cope!!!! You have to do your own risk assessment. I just rode in the school and didn't do any jumping, other choose to hack. There have been some other good threads with practical advice. Will try and find some.

Trying is one of the best bits about getting pregnant! Good luck!!
 
I'm pregnant with my 2nd baby and am looking at selling my horse. I have coped ok with one baby, I just don't think I'll have the time with 2 little ones. Horse was on loan with my first and he got laminitis due to improper care. I can't face going through that again so I think it's easier to sell :(
 
Can't quite as on my phone OP, he's green and sharp but sensible and bombproof ( if all those can be put together! The first four months or so baby is tucked safely inside your pelvis so I'll stop when I can feel baby rather than pushed up fat and uterus! Sorry if that's a bit graphic!
With my first pregnancy I stopped really quickly so knew I wanted to ride for longer this time round. You've just got to do what's right for you :-)
 
A bit different but I had a share horse when I was preggers but I still rode for the first 4 months or so as she was v sensible anyway. I was lucky to have a helpful fiancée who took over the mucking out etc as I progressed. I ended up moving counties 3 months from my due date but when my little one was about 6 months old I bought a foal! I don't drive either but I've managed as my yard is just over a mile away and I can juggle going up there around my fiancées work. I've found having my youngster very rewarding and some me time, I'm just the kind of person that gets down if I can't get my horsey fix so I thrive on the hard work!
 
I rode up to 28 weeks, only rode my sensible mare and stopped hacking out with people on nutty horses! U will know when the right time is to stop. My baby is 9 months now and I've managed to ride a fair bit (at least 3 times a week) despite her being exclusively breastfed. It is possible but u need support to do it.
 
I'm pregnant. I have put my horse on part livery to take the pressure off having to be at the yard for stable duties and so he is settled with people he knows looking after him in case I can't make it up for a while after having my bubba.
I'm 5 months and still riding most days. My horse is very trusty and calm. I'm doing mostly hacking and light schooling these days. I have a lady who comes to jump him for me and to do the odd comp. I also have back up with my mums friend who also likes to ride him.
I'll prob stop riding in the last couple of months. Then I aim to pick up again once I'm ready after the baby is born :)
 
It can defo be done.

Had my daughter last March. Rode up to 38 weeks on my 21 year old; hopped back on 3 weeks later (was lucky enough to have an uncomplicated labour and birth) and was competing 8 weeks later.

Kept my boy fit by lunging and his previous owner who is also a v good friend ride him once a week, as did my instructor.

I've taken the year off and baba comes with me to the stables in the morning to put horses out (also have a 2yr old filly) and/or ride. My dad is amazing, he mucks out most days for me and babysits while I ride if she's not snoozing in car.

Husband is a superstar too and takes his turns eves/weekends if I'm riding/competing.

You'll find your own routine and way if managing after a few weeks and its super you have the support in place too.
 
littlemisslauren said:
I'm sat here at 24 weeks looking at my huge bump.... logistically how did you manage??
Click to expand...

i didnt really get a huge bump until nearer 30 weeks... but then i still managed, i could have carried on riding until term tbh, the bump just never seemed to be in the way once i was on and believe me I got big and it was certainly in the way the rest of time! Tbh, when i was riding it was about the only time i felt comfy! I went to pregnancy yoga and Im sure that helped too. Getting on, i used a mounting block and getting off i did the whole leg over neck and slither thing lol. I think both of these pics were around 34 weeks..

DSCF1044.jpg


S0011145.jpg
 
My last little hack was at about 14 weeks I think then I think the weather put a stop to me doing anymore until I had a bump and OH started worrying too much!

I'm counting on the birth going smoothly so I can be bundled back onto a horse asap!
 
littlemisslauren said:
My last little hack was at about 14 weeks I think then I think the weather put a stop to me doing anymore until I had a bump and OH started worrying too much!

I'm counting on the birth going smoothly so I can be bundled back onto a horse asap!
Click to expand...

when are you due? it wont be long and then you'll have summer and light nights to look forward too :) I think i was very lucky as last winter was pretty decent weather wise so i didnt have to stop, i think the fact i was able to keep going helped. My wee one arrived in May.
 
NeverSayNever said:
when are you due? it wont be long and then you'll have summer and light nights to look forward too :) I think i was very lucky as last winter was pretty decent weather wise so i didnt have to stop, i think the fact i was able to keep going helped. My wee one arrived in May.
Click to expand...

This one will be a May baby too :) OH is very supportive and knows I need my horsey fix thank god. I'm hoping to sit my Stage one while I'm off on maternity so I can't get too rusty:o
 
Great pics Neversaynever! They have definitely spurred me on to keep riding! I'm 15 weeks atm and definitely not ready to hang my stirrups up quite yet!
 
Just to add balance, I didn't manage to keep my horse going after having my daughter 5 1/2 months ago.
I started off having a sharer, that didn't work out as then horse needed to come in due to mud fever. Then I brought my horse home, tried to ride her a few times a week with my mum having baby. It just didn't work.
Logistically, time wise and energy wise I just can't keep that up!
So I decided to put my horse in loan til my daughter is older :)
 
I had my baby 4 weeks ago :)

I have 2 horses, one was backed during her 3rd year and the other is rising 3 so unbroken.
I also have 2 other children who are 7 and 9 - both go to school though.

He wasn't planned so i just went with the flow. The plan was to ride throughout pregnancy but after hitting 10 weeks i had terrible morning sickness and hospitalized twice, didn't feel well again till 24 weeks or so, so i decided to turn away my 4 yr old (that was in the June)
I also had bad SPD (still have a bit now) so riding was also a no-go because of that. Toward the end of the pregnancy - last few weeks i could barely walk through the SPD so OH had to basically take over the care of my 2 cobs, luckily they live out 24/7 so OH was checking twice daily and pilling hay over to them. The past 2 weeks i have started doing them myself again as opposed to looking at them through the car window!

Really missed riding, last rode in June! Hoping to start riding when the light nights come as its a bit difficult at the moment with OHs business suddenly booming he is working flat out 7 days per week from 8am till gone 5pm which then its too dark to do anything anyway! baby gets pushed in his pram down the field everyday (about a mile walk) to hay and water them. Once the light nights come i will be riding after OH finishes work and hopefully he should have his weekends again so he can have the kids for a few hours :)
Planning on backing my 3 yr old too this summer, also going back to work part time October and also hoping to do my BHS exams this year so the baby will go to childcare part time :)

Where theres a will theres a way! :D
 
I had a baby last June, I rode at the very beginning of my pregnancy and did all yard chores until I was 6 months pregnant. Since then my pony has been on loan to a riding school - it's the perfect arrangement for me because I can visit him whenever I want and he is available for me to ride one day a week.

I had a baby who hated her pram and only slept in my arms/in a sling in the day, plus was exclusively breastfed and ate every few hours so I would have struggled to look after and ride my horse. I've ridden a few times since baby arrived, and now she is nearly 8 months old it's the right time for me to start riding once a week, Woohoo! :D

Just keep your options open, be flexible because you just don't know what sort of baby you're going to get!
 
If you have a supportive and helpful husband and family then it probably wont be a problem, but mine isnt and I have had to sell my homebred youngster who was my future competition horse as he just wasnt getting any attention at all except mucked out, and that was when baby was asleep!

My husband doesnt help with our daughter at all and never has done and is intensely jealous of any time I tried to spend with my horses ( had a companion ) , he is very controling and bullying and even called my farrier my boyfriend because he came to do their feet!

My mum only has her grand daughter for the day im at work so I still dont get any free time to enjoy myself.

I am now leaving as I cant cope with living with him anymore.
 
flaxen said:
If you have a supportive and helpful husband and family then it probably wont be a problem, but mine isnt and I have had to sell my homebred youngster who was my future competition horse as he just wasnt getting any attention at all except mucked out, and that was when baby was asleep!

My husband doesnt help with our daughter at all and never has done and is intensely jealous of any time I tried to spend with my horses ( had a companion ) , he is very controling and bullying and even called my farrier my boyfriend because he came to do their feet!

My mum only has her grand daughter for the day im at work so I still dont get any free time to enjoy myself.

I am now leaving as I cant cope with living with him anymore.
Click to expand...

oh flaxen :( life will get better x
 
it's hard to predict how/if you'll be able to cope, as you don't know what kind of pregnancy, labour and baby you'll have.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant now. I had to stop riding very soon after getting pregnant, because I felt sick and absolutely shattered all day. I barely managed to do my (desk!) job, and wasn't able to do anything but work-eat-sleep. The tiredness and nausea lasted from 2 to about 24 weeks.

I then felt a little better for a few weeks, but then the bump starting to get quite big, and the tiredness came back.

I was planning to stay active (horses and dogs) throughout my pregnancy, but just haven't been able to. I know people who have felt fine, and were able to continue their life pretty much as normal, but it's different for everybody.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top