Pregnant (me not horse) when to stop riding?

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elsielouise

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Hi

I know a few people have posted on this before and I know many people ride up to the end of their pregnancy. Indeed my farrier tells me every time he sees me about his client whose waters broke just as she was going on a hack and she still went on the hack!


Buuuuuuuuuuuuut I've just come back from my 5 month scan ( all normal thank God) and I had a discussion with the consultants wife in front of my OH where she was telling us about the few riders they had seen who had fallen unexpectedly in pregnancy i.e horse stumbled on road etc.

My OH listened to this with horror and although up to now he's been supportive of me still riding he's starting to put the pressure on.

I think I AM being sensible, I don't ride my 5 year old now, only my more experienced mare. I only ride out in company now or else I just hack over to menage and I've not jumped since being pregnant. Is this as sensible as I can be? Should I stop cantering?

How do I convince OH I can keep going? I planned to ride until clocks go back. Or should I hang up my saddle now?

Anyone who has been here please help!
 
I think your OH is right to be concerned and that you should take on board his concerns and hang up your saddle. You are both bringing a new life into the world...for the sake of a bit of riding I would look after it and take care. It is not worth the risk and riding a horse...no matter what anyone says, is a risk hobby/sport.
 
For every person here who rode into the last month, there will be another who decided to stop as soon as they knew they were pregnant - only you know how you feel and what your doctor is happy with you doing.

I rode up to nearly the very end on my pony, who I trusted to behave - my friends sometimes had kittens watching as she could be very lively, but I knew her well and had had her years. If there was another pregnancy I would possibly do that again

At 6 months I also test rode a new horse for my OH and schooled him, on reflection that wasn't wise (I knew it was silly at the time but was a bit gung ho then). I wouldn't do that again.
 
I rode with one of mine till 37 weeks......still cantering round as normal BUT my mare is a foot sure cob who is 100% trustworthy.

It really is up to you. My midwife was pretty cool about it. She said that even if I did fall the chances were, once I was heavily pregnant, that the baby would be fine & it would be my body that took the brunt of it!!

The only thing they did say,iirc, was that if my placenta was low it wouldnt have been wise to carry on.....
 
I think its time to stop now i stopped at 5 months and all i was doing was walking in the arena from day one of finding out about my pregnancy,i would not of dreamed of hacking out as my lad can be funny on the roads but a donkey at home.
One of my friends had a horrific riding accident while she was pregnant and she has lucky the baby was ok and that was a freak accident just walking around an arena.

I do honestly think its time to stop riding,by all means keep mucking out and doing jobs as long as you take it slowly.I was mucking out and doing yard jobs until the day before i had james,and i had been in slow labour for 4 days at that point.I do think keeping active on the yard is good for you i did not gain any weight during my pregnancy,well not on my legs or bum just all baby.
But if you are mucking out and doing bits remember to only half fill the wheelbarrow and dont lift waterbuckets or do anything too heavy.
 
im 8 months and im still doing all the jobs , but not getting on , to much risk id never forgive myself if something happened due to me wanting to ride , just be carefull , ive lost a baby through a miscaraige and tht wasnt my fault and it really messed me up so if something happend when i was ridding gosh id never get over it
please be carefull
xxx
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I was still cantering at 7 months but then I caved in to pressure from my OH and my Mum. I think you should do what feels right for you. Everyone is different.
 
I agree with mother hen here, only you can decide. I rode till I was almost seven months gone, I jumped till five, but as the bump grew I held back a bit and by seven months it was sitting low and uncomfortable.
I still lunged and spent as long with the horses, just didn't ride them.
I rode again six weeks after I had my son, would have been sooner but complications during the birth ment I took longer to get over it.
Good luck in what you decide.
 
This was a hot topic at our yard last year as we had two preganant woman and they had very differing opinions, one stopped as soon as she knew she was pregnant and the other continued to ride until she was unable to get on and off safely.

It's very much personal choice but if you trust your horse then you should carry on until you stop feeling happy riding. No horse is 100% and accidents can happen but the same can be said for any situation. I think getting on a safe horse is as dangerous as walking down stair or getting behind the wheel of a car, you may well do it for year and have no injuries but it's never going to be 100% safe. Maybe you could put it to your OH in that way, it's fine to be protective but you can't be wrapped up in cotton wool for 9 months, it's just not plausable.

Congratualtions on the baby, let see some pics onces it's born
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At the end of the day, no one can force you to stop.

You just have to sit there and think IF something happened, and we all know NO horse is 100% bombproof, and the worst happened with the baby, would you be able to live with yourself?

If the answer is no then stop riding.
 
I think you'll know yourself when it's time to give up. I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant, and still riding.

I gave up jumping properly almost as soon as I found out, but am still schooling (including an hours lesson once a fortnight) and hacking out, although my hacks are gradually getting shorter (mainly cos I need the loo all the time!). I'm still cantering, and galloping occasionally - it's actually trot that I'm finding hardest now my bump is growing.

I'm just starting to think about stopping, mainly cos my pelvis has been a bit sore this week, but I'm hoping to continue for another few weeks. The weather this week hasn't helped, as I no longer ride in the rain or iffy weather
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I think getting on a safe horse is as dangerous as walking down stair or getting behind the wheel of a car, you may well do it for year and have no injuries but it's never going to be 100% safe.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to disagree.

Horses are unpredictable animals, you dont know for certain how they are going to react to a situation, even if you have been there 1000 times before.
 
I rode up until about 8 months, doing everything except jumping. I stopped at 8 months as one day I got on and it was so uncomfortable I couldn't do it anymore. I was still mucking out up until the morning I was induced. Everyone will have a different opinion on this, you have to do what you feel comfortable with. I do remember my friend having kittens one day as we went to gallop a stubble field and my boy decided a bronco fit was a good idea. We didn't do any stubble fields after that!
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For me it was a way to release stress and relax I would have been unhappy if I couldn't ride all the way through which I and my husband considered would have been more detrimental than riding. I did find myself a sharer who still jumped and took my horse out for mad gallops so he was calmer when I rode him. Is that an option for you?
 
I gave up riding at 6 1/2 months mainly because I got a stitch everytime i trotted even though i wasnt physically very big! You have to listen to your body and see how you feel, I still spend time doing groundwork to exercise her.

Good luck with pregnancy
 
With my first child, I didn't ride at all, I felt too ill all the time.

No. 2 however, I rode up to 5 months - on a steady horse that I knew well, and I have to say that I felt most well and normal when I was riding.

I had to stop at 5 months as I had a pelvic problem - it gave me a very deep seat, but getting off became a problem!

I think its all down to how you feel. Pregenancy is a natural thing, not an illness, so if you feel like riding, then do it!

PS I never did tell my mother in law - she would have had me locked up!
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think getting on a safe horse is as dangerous as walking down stair or getting behind the wheel of a car, you may well do it for year and have no injuries but it's never going to be 100% safe.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to disagree.

Horses are unpredictable animals, you dont know for certain how they are going to react to a situation, even if you have been there 1000 times before.

[/ QUOTE ]

And young male driver are not unpredicatble animals that react in odd ways?! I stand by what I say, life isn't predicatble and riding a safe horse is no more dangerous than general day to day dangers we all face.
 
It's a really personal decision. You will always get people who recoil in horror when you say you want to ride, and who will try to make you feel guilty about riding because it's not 'just you' to consider any more. But every time you cross the road, or get in a car, you are doing something potentially life threatening.

My consultant said it was a good way to keep physically fit and mentally happy, and was happy for me to continue.
I stopped cantering a bit before the end as my horse was a strapping 17.2 ex racehorse who was difficult to hold, and stopping him used to give me a stitch, but I continued to hack out up until 24 hours before I had my baby. I think this helped me to stay slim and get back to my pre-baby weight straight after my baby was born.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Hi

I don't have a sharer but I am paying someone to excercise my 5 year old and she will shortly take over fast work on my older mare. The plan is that I will be able to potter about on her and she will still get fast work to keep her sane.
 
Thank you for all your input. I've ridden out this morning and we got caught in torrential rain. My mare hates this and sticks her bum into the rain and can be a bit of a twit but since I had someone with me she was fine. So, steady hacking out in company probably the best way forward. Luckily for us we can get right off the road within 2 minutes of leaving yard.

I think I'll play it day by day. The first time I don't feel safe I'll stop. I'm hoping I can keep going for a few more weeks but if any complications set in I will of course stop straight away. I'm not showing too much at the moment so if I suddenly pop that might change things too.

My baby IS more important than a few canters.
 
I know life is unpredicable, but realstically you would struggle to live a normal life without walking down stairs, however stopping riding for a few months wouldn't do more than stop you enjoying a hobby for a while.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that riding while pregnant is wrong. I have never had a baby and I have not made a decision myself as to whether I will ride or not if I do get pregnant.

All I am saying is that make sure you go into it with your eyes wide open, understanding fully how risky riding actually is and being fully aware as to how you will deal with any potential consequences.

Good luck and best wishes with whatever you decide.
 
I gave up when I was pregnant and got a friend to exercise my mare. I just decided if I did fall and lose the baby I'd have to live with that for the rest of my life!

That said I also know people who have carried on riding with no problems, I just felt it was a bit like russian roulette with my baby but everyone is different, I tend to be quite cautious anyway.

Good luck
x
 
I am 5 months pregnant and stopped riding at 10 weeks. I had planned to ride till 20 weeks, but my boy went lame and was out of action for about 3/4 weeks by which point I had grown and didnt feel happy doing it.
I luckily have a sharer for him, but if I didnt I would just turn him away until next year.
I still muck out and do yard things but dont lift anything heavy. I nearly dropped my lovely new saddle in the middle of the yard as it was too heavy. Also my (naughty to catch) horse pulled away from me last night and I have pulled a muscle in my side. Nothing serious but just reminds you they are strong creatures and you MUST be careful. They dont know you're pregnant and will act as normal.
 
I had my baby 6 weeks agao and rode up until 4 weeks before i had her, for the last month or so i only rode a semi retired horse and was only walking and trotting up until about, your sensible to stop riding the youngster, i stopped riding mine as soon as i found out i was pregnant, i do however think most horses know when your pregnant, a mare i ride being perfect example, she never put a foot wrong EVER while i was pregnant and now that im not she's back to being cheeky! I stopped cantering around 6 months and before then i cantered leaning forward out the saddle to stop baby getting bumped around to much - though they are very well protected in your bump!!

I would ride until you feel its time to stop, why not get your OH to go out with you on foot if possible, it might reassure him that your being sensible, my OH didnt try and stop me riding as he knew i was never going to listen.
 
when my mum was pregnant with me she kept riding right up to the day before she went into labour. She was cantering and jumping BUT she had her own yard and own business and if she didnt do it then there wouldnt have been any money coming in at all. She then hacked out 2 days after giving birth with me in a front sling.

Then she wonders where i get it from LOL
 
I am 14 weeks pregnant, I had decided that I would carry on until I felt unsafe/uncomfortable, and would stick to riding on the flat, at home on my trusty old ned.

Problem for me is that I have felt so darned sick and tired its all a can do to crawl outside after work to check they all have four legs - when I have actualy got on board I have felt so much happier and better in myself. I am hoping that the next trimester will be better - not sure about riding towards the very end - depends on how my bladder holds up
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Nooooooooooooo........ did she have a seat saver? I haven't thought about when to start again, depends on birth but not with stitches surely...... noooooooo...... lol
 
Tell me about that. The only reason I got through that stage was I was paying someone to ride my then 4 year old and needed to hack out with her. Felt soooooooooooo bad really didn't want to bother some days. My OH bless him checked mine on really bad days othwise I think I'd have ridden less.

SOrry to tell you too my MS is still hanging round a bit now.....
 
I would probably have to say that you should listen to your OH. Ultimately it is your decision but i'd think about it this way....riding will always be there, yes it will suck to miss out for a while but there will always most probably be another day to ride. Babies dont come along all that often and if something did happen then that would be a very sad thing to have to deal with emotionally and may well stick with you for a long time.
Good luck with your baby whatever you decide.
x
 
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