Those who have recently had a baby.....how long before you started riding again?

cob&onion

cob&onion

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My baby boy was born Saturday just gone - he's a week old tomorrow :) had a relatively easy birth with no complications or stitches etc, been good and resting up most of the week with baby - he sleeps very well only waking once through the night for a feed :D
This morning i managed to venture out in the car to see to the neds, only to chuck hay out for them (i left babba with OH) was nice to get out. (OH has been brill and been pretty much haying and watering them for weeks now due to having SPD i could hardly walk!!)
Haven't ridden since June - neither has my cob been ridden :eek: eager to get started soon, am thinking another 2/3 weeks or so seeing as we're expecting snow for a little while now! plus by then i think i should be pretty much feeling normal again :) planning to take it really easy as its been a while! going to ride in the school for the first few times and build up fitness together, lucky as cob is very laid back. Invested in a merino sheepskin saddle cover for comfort! ;)
When i had my 2 previous children (9 and 7 yrs ago) i didn't have a horse - i had a gap of about 5 years and returned to it when daughter (youngest) was around 3yrs.
So, When did you return to riding after having a baby? how did you find it (balance wise) ? any tips for the achyness!!
Please share your experiences.......
 
I returned to riding about 3-4 weeks after and that was with third degree tears and lots of stiches. Took it slowly at first. Balance was my worst thing as I was about 2 stone overweight and found I had to adjust my riding to compenssate for my balance and 'new' size!
 
I started after 8 weeks, but had trouble getting on! My core strength had vanished and instead of hopping neatly into the saddle I was hopping on the spot and getting nowhere in fits of giggles. Horsey was very good even though she had been turned away for 4/5 months - we got fit together.

Have a word with your Dr or Health Visitor first and see what they say.
 
It was about 6 weeks for me, again with 3rd degree stitches. I was so excited, but also really nervous. I made the fatal error of getting on my 4 yo, who hadn't been ridden for 7/8 months, instead of my 21yo trusty mare and thinking everything would be exactly the same as before - well it wasn't, my confidence had disappeared as had any muscle tone I had before! I was lighter than before I was pregnant, but just very weak and feeble.

Not a good return. I sent the filly back and spent time getting to know my old mare again, slowly.
 
Hey cob! :D
Glad to hear its all going well. Life without SPD post baby is amazing isn't it!?

I started about 8 weeks after but then I had the c section. Was expecting to be all wobbly but actually I've been ok.
I didn't ride through pregnancy either, getting back on and going out of the gate on a little hack was the best feeling ever!

Mines been a good sleeper too. I sleep more now than when I was pregnant and getting up to shuffle painfully to the loo 6 times a night!

:)
 
I was on about 4 days afterwards - and I had stitches! I don't remember feeling any different balance or strength wise tbh, but it was on my trustworthy WB, who's sadly now retired :-(
This time round, I'll have to get back on my Irish youngster - might be a different story! Lol!
 
I was back on after 3 weeks but had an episiotomy plus some extra stitches and it was still pretty painful, I came back from my first little hack standing in my stirrups then I think I gave it another week then carried on as normal just building both our fitness back up. I dont think my balance was effected, my first ride out to do some xc I fell off in the carpark after my horse backed up into the electric fence and had a great broncing session (i doubt i would have sat it before) then I was nervous on the ride and went around all the jumps and felt like a total idiot lol, I do think that was a combination of not riding for a few months and falling off just before too. But was back xc and SJ shortly after and felt fine. Don't do too much too quick, I did my jobs as normal 3 days after and it really knocked me back I was ready to not move for a week! Congratulations and sooo lucky with the sleeping!
 
Congratulations.
I was back on at 10 days - walk trot and canter :-)
Two bits of advice....
Firstly, I thought I felt great within a week or two but it was only at about 3 -4 months looking back that I realised how weak and unfit and generally rubbish I was ( probably due to effects of blood loss and breastfeeding ) Basically dont overestimate how well you feel because you will just make yourself feel worse!
Secondly, get your abdominal muscles checked by a physio if you can. I had mine checked through the NHS and had a midline separation. She gave me specific exercises to help this and its now resolved. Otherwise it can become a weak point and possibly lead to herniation.
Its great that you are getting a lot of sleep. If things change and you have a few bad nights then the best cure is getting on your horse and out in the fresh air. There are times I have turned up at the yard knackered and half asleep and left feeling amazing - that is the power of ponies!
 
Congratulations on the baby!

I wasn't riding when I had mine but a woman called Maria Alvarez Ponson gave birth then six weeks later got on her endurance horse rode 160km (100 miles) and won the world championship beating the Sheik in a racing finish! Some tough cookie!!!
 
Everyone is different and eveyones horses are different, I got on my oldie (who'd been ridden by a friend the whole time) after 2 weeks, riding was fine - but I couldn't get off! and it hurt a lot after so I realised, for me it was too much too soon! I didn't try again for another month then rode him for a month before getting on my horse (who'd been off since I was 3 months pregs)
Took a while to be back up to full work again for both of us!
 
I waited the official six weeks just to be cautious but TBH could have easily got back on after 3 or 4. Went up to see to pony after 4 days, still have the video footage of me with newborn in sling snuggling up to pony as if we'd been parted years not just a few days LOL

Easy if LOOOOOOOONG labour and no stitches though. [lucky]
 
I was back in the saddle just under 3 weeks after giving birth and that was with stitches. I'd ridden to 33 weeks pregnant and only gave up as I felt I was so heavy! Lol
 
Thanks for sharing :) i suppose everyone is different

Went this morning again and hayed them both before the snow (which didn't happen :rolleyes: )
Hoping to go for a walk tomorrow morning for the fresh air down to the field, will take baby in his sling. Will be our official first outing!! I need to get out the house now, have got to that point - and longer than the 20 mins i had this morning!
Hoping OH will take a bit of time off this week so i can get out and have a bit of horsey time, just grooming them etc.....
Meant to be heavy snow now for the next few weeks so looks like the weather is going to dictate when i can ride again!!

I hope to be fully functioning and out and about again by the spring though :)
 
I had SPD. It's awful isn't it?
I got on horse after 3 months - they advise to wait that long for your pelvis to settle. I would have probably snuck on sooner but my horse had a lami attack so was out of work til 3 months after baby was born. I felt like a big fat jelly on his back!!!! Poor horse, I had gained a lot of weight as SPD made me housebound... I still get hip pains/clicking and baby is 9 months, but physio says my abs etc are really good for someone who had a baby recently -so that's thanks to horse! I am back to decent fitness and a size 12 after weightwatchers, however I am pregnant again now... Not intentional this time so all you new mums - TAKE PRECAUTIONS!!!!!
Congratulations on your babba. My little guy is just starting to pull himself up to stand and says 'mamma' - so cute!
 
Im 33 weeks pregnant at the moment so im interested in this thread. im also interested in everyones plans, I mean how are you all planning to juggle baby and horses? im worried that im not going to have time
 
I had a c section and I got back on my horse after 4 weeks (can't believe it looking back) I was only planning to have a walk round but ended up cantering around the field lol! I competed my horse at a local showing show after 8 weeks and won both classes!! But I couldn't breathe cantering around as I was so unfit! My horse was exercised lightly by friends fron about 5 months into my pregnancy when I stopped riding!

I'm due my seconded baby in feb and have found this pregnancy a lot tougher. I will be in no rush to get back in the saddle (mainly due to bad weather) but as soon as the clocks change I'm sure I will be more keen.
 
Jackbobs... My boy is 19 months and I competed a lot last season, ran a small business from home, worked part time 3 days a week and took our boy with us to endurance comps staying overnight many times... Had a fantastic year! My boy is amazing, love him more than anything. We also got another horse, 4yo Arab!

My secret... The most supportive husband ever! (And fab parents too!)

You can do anything you put your mind to and my advice ... If its too much don't be afraid to admit it. :D x
 
I rode up until 30 weeks, then got back on my TB 6 weeks after the birth of my baby. Bubs is now 13 weeks old and I've only ridden 4 times :-( my balance is perfectly fine, it's strength and being so unfit that has really affected me. My horse is not strong but I really struggled to stop him in canter lay time I schooled. Although I had a fab hack out on Friday :-)

Re finding time to juggle baby and horse, my boy is on DIY so I go down every day to muck out, but finding time to ride is much harder (luckily I have a lovely sharer). I have to ask the mother in law to babysit and then I feel guilty asking too often :-(

I'm hoping once the weather gets better I can park baby next to school while I ride.

Congratulations, when you do first get back on just take it easy, your body will tell you what it's capable of :-)
 
At the moment my OH is working from 8am - 4.30pm - all the hours of daylight, he works outdoors in the woodland (own business) and its suddenly really taken off since about November, so much so that he now works 7 days a week and has taken on 2 people. I had the baby 10 days ago OH had the saturday he was born off and went back to work whilst i was in hospital the next day and hasn't had time off since :( , luckily the kids have been back at school (7 & 9) so haven't had to much to cope with.
I am fitting haying/watering cobs in before he goes to work at 7am and evening - 5pm. Both times of day its dark so am too looking forward to lighter nights, OH says he will have baby and kids after work so i will have horsey time in the evenings.....i don't think i can ride for a few weeks though yet - MW says the SPD could last up to 6 months, feels better than it was but its still there especially if i do much walking. Apparently i have been doing too much and need to rest for another week or so *SIGH* i just want to get out and about particularly because i had a tough pregnancy - the first 6 months i spent with my head in the toilet sick 24/7 in and out of hospital, then the last 3 months hardly being able to walk with SPD!!
On the other hand, am back in pre-pregnancy clothes already :)
Roll on lighter nights and SPRING!!
 
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