Comments at Christmas cause I choose to carry on riding whilst pregnant

Haha, funny joke. Book yourself a little starter lesson then the next day you’ll be quicker listing the muscles that don’t hurt rather than those that do. That’s before you’ve even made it faster than a walk 😆

@Gloriia

what about running?

'not all pregnant women want to get unfit and gain too much excess weight and exercise can really help with that'

Tbf there's not much exercise and fitness inviolved sat on a horse, surely the poor horse is doing all the work. Better to do some brisk walkimg or some swimming perhaps.

I used to horse ride until I got pregnant

it’s what you can live with….could you live with the “what ifs” if something did happen and you were injured and something happened to the baby? In my case the answer was no so I stopped

have to say though then being a mother gave me a whole new sense of mortality and the fragility of life and I could never bring myself to go back to the extreme sports I did before kids. I had too many friends and acquaintances die from motor bikes, injured from horse falls etc

'So probably best not to get in a car either then. 1,600 people died in 2024 in car crashes'

Yes and we could all be run over by buses. We've had these false equivalence posts already.

Life is indeed full of risks. We can't all stay indoors under a blanket for ever. Thing is some risks are greater than others and we should be able to risk assess appropriately.

@BoxesBoxesEverywhere

ALL sports are risky to some degree though…

not all pregnant women want to get unfit and gain too much excess weight and exercise can really help with that.

good for mum = good for baby 😊

I agree as in you're an adult and able to make your own choices, and get thoroughly peed off at people sticking their nose in when it comes to things you should or shouldn't do, whether it be in pregnancy or parenting.
I personally wouldn't have done any risky sports though when pregnant but that's just me I suppose.

I rode for the last time when I was about 12 weeks and got tossed off - baby was fine but I decided not worth the risk

You can guarantee they will know. Horses, especially those who you have a bond with, will know at least that something is different and behave accordingly. Horses are incredibly intuitive, can match their heart rate to yours and match your mood. Our pony is a super fit competition pony and today after bouncing around with dd, a tiny 9 year old then rode him about in a huge open field and he calmly trotted towards home on the stretch my dd uses for race/fast work training. They really are exceptional in that way

My sister rode through pregnancy, I didn't approve but didn't say anything.
I think it depends on your attitude to risk overall, which will change once you have a child. In this case though it's not you that people are worried about it's the baby.

My view is that it's an avoidable risk and I wouldn't take it with my child. Driving a car isn't really avoidable.
No-one has an accident deliberately, it would not be an accident.

How many kids do you have? If it's more than one, then i can't believe you took the risk of a second pregnancy when you already had a dependent child to support with that extreme attitude to risk!

The most dangerous threat to OP health and welfare right now is the pregnancy, not doing a sometimes dangerous sport in a deliberately controlled and sanitised way.

I had every intention to keep climbing during pregnancy, unfortunately HG saw that i didn't!!

I'm really glad you had successful surgery - it looks like my BIL has too, although he needs crutches and is still hospitalised with a drain in his back - the surgeon found a large mass of nerves wrapped around a broken piece of bone apparently.
We're grateful though because as you know, the quicker they operate, the better your chances of escaping long-term damage and he was almost past the "48 hour" timeline.

I mean the point I was originally responding to was about orange juice and coffee, but on the horse-riding idea…

I think it’s silly to say you trust the horse when the horse doesn’t speak English. You have no way of knowing for sure what he’s thinking. He doesn’t know you’re pregnant and won’t be thinking “I best buck gently away from this scary car because my rider is in a tentative state.” It’s your risk to take but not one I’d be taking.

@Gloriia

FFS, a woman is NEVER just a ‘vessel’, pregnant or not!!
OP feels that riding is good for her physical fitness and her mental health and therefore she should keep doing it for as long as she feels able to. Becuase she is still a person pregnant or not, and her and her wellbeing matter!

@justpassmethemouse

yes of course I take precautions to minimise the risk when I cross the road. Just as I’m sure OP takes precautions to reduce her risk of falling when riding horse. It’s all we can do in life really. We cannot eliminate risk and life would be pretty miserable and dull with any activities that have zero risk.

The risk is reduced hugely given she is an experienced rider and she has had years of experience with her current horse. She's not pregnant and decided to buy a new horse she doesn't know or decided she needs to do three day eventing at 30wks. There is a huge variation in horses and in how your ride them.

I have seen my daughter come off horses multiple times but its always been on horses that she doesn't know very well or when she is attempting something new or the horse has a reputionation for something say for example - people falling off it when it's jumping or very easily spooked etc....

I wouldn't recommend that in pregnancy but if you know your horse which it sounds like you do I think I would carry on.

I’m a lifelong equestrian and know lots of people who rode while pregnant- some even up to the last weeks.
It’s your choice. Tell people to keep their beaks out.

Yanbu. I rode until about 22 weeks. I planned to go longer and I would have but my back/pelvis couldn't take it.

The risk isn't of the OP dying, it's of a fall causing her to miscarry.

I rode when pregnant with my youngest up to about 20 weeks, when my centre of gravity shifted too far and I began to feel unstable, so I stopped.

Accidents happen even with horses you know well. I wouldn’t be risking my unborn baby’s life and I’d be worried sick if anyone I loved chose to do so.

I rode until the very end. I had a big safe mare I trusted. After I’d had my daughter I was actually horrified I’d taken even the slightest risk to her when it wasn’t necessary. We all know how very easy it is for things to go wrong riding even on a trusted horse and I wouldn’t do it again.

…Do you not as standard look both ways before you cross the street?

Do what you’re comfortable with 🤷🏼‍♀️
You're an adult presumably with some level of common sense.

I ate cured meats and rare steaks in my pregnancies.. because how often does store brought chorizo give you an illness? The risk was so minimal I wasn’t going to take away something I enjoy for such minimal risk.