question for mums who own horses

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Kittykins

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Hello, posted this in Soapbox but it might be better here...

Have just found out that I'm expecting(!!!). It wasn't exactly planned to say the least, so a bit of a shock, but we're excited nonetheless.

However, what I'm wondering (apart from all the obvious) is this: how do you mix being pregnant with owning horses? Can I still ride for the first few months? Would love to hear how others have coped!
 
Yes- If you trust your horse, obviously no horse is ever 100% and you have to be careful. I rode until my bump sitting on the saddle became too awkward! that was fairly late on as i was only small.
The real reason i gave up was due to a bad accident at our yard involving a much quieter horse than mine but it just really made me sit back and think.
If your happy to ride and your Dr is happy for you to ride go for it!


Good luck with your pregnancy ridden or not!
 
Do what you feel comfortable with.

I rode but if another pregnant woman chose not to, I wouldn't question her decision.
I rode up to 7 months when I finally found somebody to share my horse. I just mucked out on my days then.

Oh yes, congratulations :), I hope everything goes smoothly :).
 
sure you can ride.. but i wouldn't ride anything likely to give any grief, shy/buck/rear etc. the risk of riding in pregnancy is the risk of a nasty fall... so I'd give a wideberth to things that would increase the likelihood if that makes sense... jumping/riding unfamiliar horse/etc.. i rode a friend's PONY (not even a horse!!) while pregnant and the bugger reared, spun around and left me stood there in shock - thankfully i've always had a knack of landing on my feet...after that i avoided riding unfamiliar horses/ponies.

congrats by the way :)
 
Ahh, thanks for this guys. I worked on a livery yard a few years ago, and whilst I was there the owner/manager fell pregnant. She stopped riding the day she found out (although she was principally riding young animals), so I've clearly had this impression that it's totally off-limits from day one.

Phew, won't have to cancel this week's lesson then!
 
Congratulations. I rode up until I was 28weeks pregnant, If I wasn't huge I prob would have done more.
 
Hi

I rode up to 28 weeks but I was carrying twins so my bump was all out front and I found getting off too painful. I did stop jumping when I found out but continued to do dressage and long distance rides.

I'm glad I stopped when I did as it gives your muscles time to relax where you need it but by riding early on I didn't get too big.

I was still mucking out and other jobs until I popped but I did leave dragging the wheelbarrow up the muck heap to other people.

The worst thing I found was leading a liveries horse that pulled, I pulled a muscle in my back doing this and was very sore. I stuck to just doing my own then.

I also spent some time getting my horse used to a pram before I had my boys so that it wasn't a problem once they were here. I left it next to the school while I rode and lead her back and forth to the field whilst pushing it. This has made my life so much easier now.

I did find riding at competitions sometimes difficult as there is always someone who will think they have the right to tell you that you should not ride and that your being reckless. I did my first BD comp at 5 months gone.

Good luck and on a slightly different note don't let everyone tell you horror stories about labour as its really not that bad.
 
Just hung up my spurs @ the weekend! I'm 7 months with number two. My boy is a saint but I've not jumped since I found out I was expecting & haven't ridden anything other than mine. Even managed a couple of competitions - thankfully no cheeky comments from others!

Getting horsey used to pram is a fab idea - good luck, I hope everything goes great for you :-)
 
Hi my doc gave me an approx time to ride until. Think it was 22 weeks. I rode til 7 months with my first but with the other two I didn't go beyond about half way. The imnportant thing is to work out how you are going to manage to organise riding time after the baby arrives.......And I was back on board a month after a caesarian section.........Bit naughty!
 
As soon as I discovered I was pregnant, I stopped riding. It had taken me three years to get pregnant and I wasn't going to risk anything going wrong. My second pregnancy happened really quickly and easily, but I still did not ride. I just would never have forgiven myself if I damaged the baby due to riding. But I was back in the saddle six days after giving birth. I couldn't wait! Luckily, my jodphurs still fitted.
 
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The reason you are meant to be 'careful' especially later in pregnancy is because ligaments loosen and your body changes to accomadate the baby(ies) and to prepare for birth, so you are more likely to hurt YOU. The baby is very well protected, and although you have to be sensible, honestly any Dr will tell you that unless there are complications the baby is less likely to be hurt than you are! Women can be seriously injuried or even critcal and the baby is usually fine. I'm not saying to be careless of course, just trying to offer some reassurance! :)

I'd still ride personally but if my horse wasn't as bombproof as possible and very experienced, I'd stick to the school where there are less likely to be surprises to spook him, or ride out on quiet lanes with someone who has a 'bombproof' (I don't really like that term) horse of their own.

Very best of luck and congratulations, sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you never planned on!
 
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