What did you do with your horse whilst you were pregnant?

clairec1154

clairec1154

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Now I know many of you rode whilst you were pregnant, but I am about to start ICSI (IVF) and I have a horrible feeling that I am going to be warned not too, I will find out tomorrow! :-(

In an ideal world I would love to find someone who would ride, carry on with my lessons and compete him at dressgae for me (at my expense) whilst I am out of action. BUT I have had such problems with liveries I don't know if I can stand the stress if the rider turned out to be a disaster!
 
TBH if you're going for ICSI you've been thru the mill abit trying to get pregnant. I wouldn't risk the pregnancy due to a fall... plus To be totally honest you are going to be a 'bit emotional' due to all the hormones that they stuff you full of - and not a calm quiet rider.

Normally I wouldn't stop someone riding cos they are pregnant but in your case, I wouldn't want to take the risk... I'd get a sharer or something to help with the horse or if you're going to need the extra money perhaps consider selling.

I had a friend ride mine when I was pregnant, I rode to 6 months before I was put on bed rest but I got pregnant very easily and the emotional risks assoc with losing baby were probably lower. (That sounds like I didn't want to be pregnant which is true but I desperately wanted a baby, and somethings u have to suffer for the ends...)

Blitz
 
When i was pregnant, i turned mine away, simply because i'd spent so long re-schooling and getting them going well, i didn't want that being spoiled, i am very fussy. Plus my mares enjoyed some time off. If you want to ride, i think you should wait untill the pregnacy is secured at 12 weeks, the docs will always tell you not to ride, but i rode uptill 6 months in both of mine without any problems. If you prefer not to, you can advertise for a rider, and invite them down and see how they work with your horse and if you would feel comfortable to let them take your horse out, you could try a weeks trial and see how they get on, plus you can always go down and check its going well.
 
I rode up until 28 weeks when I was pregnant with my first, at which point it felt the right time to stop, for me. Only you will know how you feel about how much/little you want to be involved with your horse when the time comes, and a big part of my decision was based on my horse's generally quiet temperament. It's a such personal decision.

Sounds like finding someone to work and compete him could work well if you find the right person, if not you could always turn the horse away and get back into together afterwards.

I wish you the very best of luck with the ICSI.
 
I rode until about 18wks then somthing in my head said enough is enough, so i turned her away brought my unborn son a yearling to keep my mare company whilst turned away, has worked well and son is now 10mths loves his pony and i'm just about to start competiting again.
Good luck with it all xxx
 
Thanks for the quick replies and please post more as I am feeling a little emotional and I am in such a dilemna about it all!

Sorry first bit of reply maybe too much detail!

Blitznbobs - OH has two son's from his first marriage and had a vasctomy over 20 years ago. I didn't ever think OH would want more or that we would be able to have kids. So I am not emotional as we haven't been trying....... We asked about a reversal last year and after OH had loads of tests we were given a 2% chance, so were advised ICSI. They also told me I was getting too old (34) and we should have treatment before I am 35 as % goes down rather a lot!! I feel emotional as I am scared that I am not ready to have chilldren, OH says you are never really ready?

tinkand lily - I am really lucky, I have 3 horses (a 2 year old, a 15 year old and the old boy who is 24) and I keep them all at home. Planning to send the 2 year old away to be backed next year and the old boy isn't really ridden any more, so it is just Robbie, who would love to be turned out and do no work what so ever!!

lzt and sammiea - thanks for your replies, I am sure OH and consultant won't let me ride due to the nature of the ICSI and the fact we have to pay privately (the cost of treatment would actually buy me a very nice horse!!


I really don't know what to do with the horses, hense asking what everyone does, did. If you turn them away is it easy to get them back into work and does age matter as Robbie will be 16/17?
 
I rode up to being about 5 months but stopped jumping as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I'm very fussy about who I let ride but asked my friend to compete him a little for me as she's a lovely quiet rider who I was confident wouldn't ruin my hard work!! She did a bit of everything with him, including SJ, XC, ODE and showing and won a fair few things. I thought I may feel a bit jealous but, to be honest, it was rather nice being groom and owner!!

I continued to lunge etc all the way up to being about 8 months but then I turned him away over the winter for the final month of my pregnancy and a couple of months after. I brought him back into work late February and have been competing since the end of March so its all worked out well. I was stressed when I first found out I was pregnant and a bit paniced about letting someone else loose with him but needn't have worried. I think the key to it is being as confident as possible in the person riding - if you're not then a year or 6 months eating grass isn't going to do any major harm. :)
 
I found mine easy, a little spooky on the road to start with but nothing dangerous, they dont forget, though i do suggest lunging with tack on first, to re-accustom them with it, mine had a little buck and a fart to start with but once settled, they were fine
 
I rode until I was about 19wks or so then turned the horse away for the summer (due date was end of Sept)

He was fat and happy and I was fat and happy!

I brought him back into work at the beginning of December (baby arrived 4th Oct) - the bringing back consisted of lunging without tack on Day1 , lunging with tack on Day2, hacking down the road on Day3 :D

ETA - Good luck on your IVF journey!
 
I had my first (and only) child at 34. Yes, older than the average maybe but really not old in reproductive terms.

I rode until I was over 8 months and then stopped because getting off was becoming a bit of a challenge! That was OK for me but will not be a choice for everybody. If you don't want to ride you can still long line and do other things if you think you would struggle with a sharer.
 
I put mine out on loan to a close friend. She knew him and rode him quite a bit anyway so it was perfect! Almost 2 years later and she still has him on loan as they got on amazingly and now i have a new one. xx
 
:) Firstly, good luck with your IVF, take care and do as you are advised. The horse will be there waiting for you, it won't be the end of the world if he has some time off.

I put my mare in foal, I rode, a lot, was doing 25 mile rides up until I was 7-8 months and I only stopped riding when I couldn't get on so easily and a joggy arabian played havoc with my bladder!:o
 
As recently married I read these threads with intrest as im sure it wont be long till we think about having a family. My mare is a novice eventer and always has a couple of months off over the winter after the season due to my work commitments and the fact she works so hard during the season and deserves a break ! I have been thinking about leasing her out as a JRN, does anyone have any experience ?
 
Sorry queenb I have no experience of leasing out as a JRN?

Well today's the day that I find out when and when I can not ride :-( so wish me luck I feel really nervous....
 
When I became pregnant my boy at the time was a young 17.2 TB x and was a total nightmare both under saddle and being led, it was a tough time with him. I ideally would of part loaned him then had my instructor ride him on the days I had him, but due to his fragile mental state :( that was not an option. I went down the full livery route though I had to move yards as staff on the yard I was on refused to handle him so that was a prob. I was very lucky that my instructor had a soft spot for my horse and believed that if once we sorted his mental state out which was getting there :) he would become a amazing horse :D rode him and came and lunged for me :). I also had a another who was a welsh sec b and though I did have a rider for him I used to pop on him twice a week I put very little weight on when I was pregnant the first time so continued to ride him till 8 months I also kept him on DIY :D
 
I loaned mine to the Equine department of the local agricultural college. It worked brilliantly for me as my horse loved all the attention from the students and was always worked under supervision. I did have to relax about the fact that there wasn't much turnout and that they didn't look after him *exactly* as I would do, but he was ridden every day and got really fit. I could go and visit him every weekend and had him home at grass for the summer.
 
I had my son when I was 21 and was stupid. I carried on riding and showjumping thinking I would be ok but my horse stopped at a fence when I was 6 months gone and I flew over her head but luckly landed on my feet. I give up after that and just turned mine away. If it happened now I wouldn't ride at all.
 
First of all I hope your appt went OK today. I have recently been through an IVF+ICSI cycle and was told that for part of the treatment I shouldn't ride, so didn't. The cycle was successful and OH and I decided that we had been through so much to get to a pregnancy, we didn't want to risk endangering the baby by me coming off, despite having had my horse for 16 years and knowing him inside out.

Luckily my YO is able to keep my horse fully in work - whilst I am sure he would have loved a year off, he is getting on in years and slightly arthritic so really needed to be kept in work to avoid any deterioration ("use it or lose it"). The associated increase in livery fees is something that I have been budgeting for for some time and I am getting used to spending time with my horse only from the ground.

You probably will need to sort out something temporary for your horse during the ICSI treatment when you can't ride - will a few weeks holiday do him/her good? Longer term, whether to keep riding whilst pregnant is completely an individual choice that you and your OH (would recommend you include him in decision making) make based upon your personal circumstances, risk perception, your horse's requirements, finances, etc.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all your thoughts, Ok, I am allowed to ride for a while longer!! Although I have been told I might not physically feel well enough to ride during the last phase of IVF, before the ISCI. Everyone seemed really cool and layed back about the horses and riding and told me to see how I feel ;-)

Otter - can I quizz you about ICSI via PM? I only know people that have had IVF and both had 4 attemps which scares me!
 
Sorry for hijacking thread - this got me thinking (hopefully planning ahead!) - is it ok to ride in the first 12 weeks? Several close friends have miscarried at 7 and at 10 weeks. Although I know Mary King went to WEG at 5.5 months...

But is there more risk in the early weeks? And then after that its just a queston of not falling off?
 
Hesperus said:
Sorry for hijacking thread - this got me thinking (hopefully planning ahead!) - is it ok to ride in the first 12 weeks? Several close friends have miscarried at 7 and at 10 weeks. Although I know Mary King went to WEG at 5.5 months...

But is there more risk in the early weeks? And then after that its just a queston of not falling off?
Click to expand...

Whether to ride at all during pregnancy is down to personal choice and circumstances. Whether riding/falling off in the first 12 weeks is less risky than riding/falling off after that - that would need an answer from a medic, but I'm not sure how much validated medical evidence there is out there to support it either way. The risk of miscarriage within the first 12 weeks is generally known to be higher than later on in pregnancy, but whether riding (without falling off) increases that risk, I doubt there has been any research into it.

Sorry for no absolute answers.... but there aren't any for this one
 
Hi, and good luck with everything. I rode untill 24 weeks but only walking round the lanes on my usually very well behaved 13 year old. I just knew when it was time to stop BUT I think if I was in your situation I wouldnt ride. There is an increased risk to the pregnancy by riding as riding is prob fine but falling off may not be. I am 35 and just had my first baby ( am also considered elderly !! ), I dont think you do ever feel ready for it, but just have to take a deep breath and try if it seems the right thing to do. I know I spent the first few months of my much wanted pregnancy thinking ' oh my god , what have I done ' ! I would also say that it's actually nearly as hard now to sort out riding etc especially if you go back to work. I assumed I'd be able to go back to the 4-5 x a week I was doing before and I really struggle to fit in more than 1 or 2, so it's worth just thinking about the medium term in your plans as well. I think I'll be back on track in a few years but me and my boy are taking it easy for now while the baby is small. He'll still be there in 2 years time but she wont be a baby for long and I want to enjoy it.
 
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