Riding & pregnancy

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racingdemon

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Couldn't decide whether to put this here or in soapbox,

anyway, as i'm sure people have read, i'm currently pregnant, and still hacking out 2-3 times a week (although the snow put a stop on yesterdays)

i'm 32 weeks, which is give or take 8 months, but i'm unsure when to actually stop riding, mainly because atm i don't feel any less stable than before being Pregnant, and i originally said i'd stop once i got too big & bulky, but so far that hasn't happened (although i'm sure it will!!)

so, my question, for those that did ride during pregnancy, when did you make the decision to stop?
 
Sounds to me that you are not ready to stop. I would have thought the best time to stop would be when you are uncomfortable, feel unstable etc.

At the moment it is probably keeping you nice and fit and baby is probably loving the motion and rythym of riding out.
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Enjoy yourself and just listen to your body.
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Best of luck with everything
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I think this little person may pretty much be born in the saddle!!!!!!!

As long as you are comfortable keep going, I think the exersize can only strenghten those pelvic muscles, which pretty soon you are going to need!!!!!!!
 
My bessie buddy rode right up untill a week before her first baby, but then for the second one she stopped a month in, she said this time she didnt feel as safe..

I think you'll probably now when it is time to hang up your riding boots!
(probably when your feet are too swollen to fit in the stirrups! lol)

Good luck!

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I stopped at about 8 1/2 months, when the only way I could get off was to throw myself off and other bits of me were starting to swell up as well as my belly (turned out I had rocketing blood pressure so it really was my body telling me to slow down a bit)

You have reached the stage where baby is occupying pretty much all of the available space and isn't cushioned at all, which does represent a risk if you were to have a fall..so my personal view would be to limit yourself to very safe slow schooling from now on...
 
I stopped riding about 3 weeks before the baby was due as I got really big, the weather was very hot and I just didn't have enough energy to ride!
 
I stopped at about 8 months, one day I got on and it was just uncomfortable, I think the baby had dropped as up until that point I was fine. It literally happened over night so I would say if you are still comfortable carry on.
 
Never been pregnant but am old enough to have learned to listen to my body, if you feel fine then it probably is fine so long as the horse isnt buckling at the knees!
 
My daughter rode while pregnant but at 8 months she met a dog and owner in the bridlepath the owner said the dog would be ok,it was on a long lead. As they past the dog jumped at her horse's chest the horse spun around in doing so caught his leg in sheep wire which caused him to rear up [never did this ever before] lost his balance and fell over backwards on my daughter ,then galloped home. First we knew about it was the horse arriving in the yard .PANIC.We knew she had gone through the bridlepath but it is long and didn't know which end to go in from.The dog owner had called an ambulance and soon a helicopter was hovering above but as they thought she was in labour they wouldn't put her in there so we had to wait for the paramedics to walk the path to her.She had a hoofprint on her stomach and we feared the worst but all was ok.We never let her ride again till after the birth which meant the horse missed dressage final it had qualified for[had to have same rider]Baby born 1 month later fit and well and is now 18 months old. You never know and it is the falling off that is the problem, so be very careful
 
I pottered out on Domi till I was 13 weeks then occasionally rode my mums horse till 24 weeks but I was really nervous in case I fell off and the worst happened.

Then a pregnant friend was riding out on her bomb-proof cob, which uncharacteristically spooked at something and she fell, hard, and subsequently had a miscarriage. The bomb-proof cob was sold (through no fault of its own - just as a response to the owners' grief at loosing her baby).

So, in short, if Im lucky enough to get pregnant again, I will not ride. I will not consider it. Its just not worth the risk, in my opinion. I look at my son now and shudder to think that I ever put his unborn-life in danger by riding
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Cassandra

p.s. this is not to say that I think any less of any of my friends who ride whilst pregnant. Its a choice everyone has to make, to weigh up the acceptable risks of any activity. I just wanted to share my experience.
 
I agree with you there, I was in hell having my first as I was so riding fit my muscles wouldnt "give" when in labour, I was left in such a mess they had to get a consultant to sew me back together and I had a cafeter for five days as I was so swollen and raw I couldnt pee!!
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Joking aside, the ligaments in my back were so strong that the epidural tube snapped in my back..there are still a couple of inches of it floating around the spinal fluid that they couldn't remove..said to be caused by continuing to exercise up until a couple of days before birth and riding during pregnancy
 
I have to agree, several friends rode until very late on and the ob-gyn said that their 'rock solid' pelvic floors made this things very difficult and at least 2 of them had to have 'e' (no I am not saying it - ew ew ew icky gross) Stop now, let it all relax!!!!!!! (seriously tho, i think you'll know when it's time to stop, but I might be tempted to ride in the field rather than hack out just in case?)
 
I'm 16 weeks pregnant and stopped riding when I found out at 6 weeks. I was told to avoid high impact and contact sports (including aerobics, jogging, skiing, squash etc) which I believe includes riding my manic 14.1 cob! Now I have a bump I'd be too worried about falling off - again, I don't have a safe ride, but then who of us really does? My baby is far more precious to me than missing 9 months of riding. And at 31, I have to start my family now! The horse has had the last 8 years!! I'm still competing every weekend – as the groom to my sister who now has two rides…and enjoying all the care and in hand exercises / lunging so still very active but avoiding all unnecessary risks.
 
I would be stopping now for all the above reasons. The consequenses of falling off and what could happen are to awful to even talk about. I stopped at 12 weeks . Your really lucky to have kept riding for so long. Agree about the pelvic wall too, its rigid in riders, the docs are always on about it.
 
the comments about your muscles being tighter than normal giving your more chance of requirng a c-section are unfortunatly true, hence Martin arriving via the sun roof.

However stopping now really isn't going to make enough difference either way from what I was told.

Trouble is it's hard to find someone who actually truly knows about this to give you a decent answer. I only found out because my surgeon who did my c-section had read a report on it , all the midwives scoffed at the idea.

So I'd say enjoy your riding whilst you're happy and baby will arrive one way or another so don't worry about it.
 
I personally would keep riding as i dont think i could go 9 months without riding. i wouldnt ride as intensively, but as im not and have never been pregnant i wouldnt really know how id respond. i might get all hormonal and possessive and not go near a horse for 9 months!lol!

keepin fit during pregnancy is always really good for you and ur baby, and i dont mean to sound sadistic or anything, but everything u do carries a risk, from crossing the road, walking down the stairs, etc. anything could happen to u at any time. i wouldnt give up horseriding just "incase" and then get knocked over by a car etc.

its everyones personal chioce tho. some agree, others dont. we all have different views and opinions.
 
My consultant told me that a strong pelvic floor from riding would help with pushing. I found giving birth an ordeal (but because I have a low pain threshold, I found out..don't believe all that rubbish about a mystical experience!!) but didn't need a C section. I rode (my very safe ID) till my midwife told me that the head had engaged and I had visions of him being born with a flat head! Do what you and your OH are happy with....and enjoy the last few days of being able to do exactly what you want because you want to - those days will NEVER come back!
 
I was still competing and showing until 6 weeks before my daughter was due. In fact that year I won 6 championships and the supreme championship at our local riding club show. After competing all day at the show i had to hack pony 15 miles to where she was going whilst I had my daughter as she wouldn't box. She certainly boxed on the way home!!!!. But I ended up having a section. Jodphurs were fastened with elastic bands.
 
thanks everyone,

i was still hunting at 4 and a half months, (& jumping things i really shouldn't have) but i kept forgetting i was pregant until i'd landed over said hedge etc!

i think i'll see how i feel, i think if i'm going to need a c-section due to the strength of my muscles not riding for the whole 9 months wouldn't have made a difference, and if i'm right paula radcliffe had a natural birth so i'm holding that thought for now.... aparently her pelvic floor was so strong it counteracted the contractions!! ouch!!
 
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