Things that you wish you knew about your hobby before you started?

[whyyyyyisitmonddayy]

I’ll go first - I’ve been an equestrian since I was 4, and rode on and off until I was about 11 when I got “fully” into horses. Father bought me a pony for my birthday later on. Beautiful gelding who I still own and love with my whole heart.

I knew all of the regular unspoken stuff but not one single person told me about the risk of spine and joint wear-and-tear.

I was told I might end up with life altering injuries from falls - but in all honesty my gelding is as sweet as sugar, very straightforward, and we’ve never done the truly dangerous stuff like cross country or hunting. In our hay-day (pun intended!) we competed successfully in dressage, but that was just about it. We weren’t really ever at high risk of the scary stuff. I also ride very infrequently now, and at most I used to ride at low intensity 5ish days a week. I’m fairly low mileage ( as is my horse!)

but now at 21 — I’m in horrible and constant pain with my lower back and right knee. I’ve never had a bad fall either. I’ve even had my poor horse fall completely onto me - but we weren’t badly hurt. But I’m in such horrible pain all of the time. I have almost constant sciatica at 21.

My worst flare was about 3 months ago where I physically could not move my legs. I was crying in pain and could not move my body at all. There was no relief. It eventually resolved by itself but it was a really horrible couple of weeks.

my knee is also so sore. A horsey friend of mine, at 21, has had a full knee replacement. This was wear and tear, apparently. my ankle is also damaged and clicks in the joint (feels almost loose?).

I struggle to ride my bike (I used to love cycling about 10 miles a day) and now my knee and ankle can’t hold up for more than 10 miles a week. I find driving for long stints a challenge.

I’m absolutely fine in the saddle but can no longer wear a back protector as it worsens the pain massively.

i don’t even really ride these days, but the pain is worsening. I don’t think I’d go back and change anything as I really do love my horse, but I wish I’d known. I wish someone had said “in ten years you’ll probably have chronic pain”.

none of this started until about three years ago either. It came on all of a sudden.

Physiotherapist & equestrian mum here (my own horsey DD is also 21)! Really sorry to hear this OP, it all sounds very tough but in all likelihood these are different underlying problems which are unrelated to riding. Have you spoken to your doctor or seen physio etc about it?

In particular, knee replacements really don’t happen in 21yos without very good reason (ie: severe trauma, joint infection or congenital abnormalities). ‘Normal’ wear and tear wouldn’t be valid in that age group. I’d be conscious that a) you may have gotten the wrong end of the stick and b) you’re really overthinking the riding association!

All movement is good movement. I personally believe that riding is a great hobby for staying fit and strong and would never discourage anyone. Brilliant for core strength in particular and those yard jobs really do add up!

Thank you for the advice I’ll try and seek physio therapy when I can.

I’m sure it’s the riding as I’ve spoken to my GP and a physio therapist who agree it’s related to that ( and partially cycling) , but right now I cannot afford private treatment (gp just wanted to give me painkillers) . My friends replacement was wear and tear - I’ve seen the report by her surgeon who could only chalk it up to her showjumping career putting pressure on her joints. He did say the genetic component very well might have led to a predisposition, but nothing more that “wear and tear” as he put it!

i might be suffering from a lack of muscle to support my joints, so I’m starting to work on that.

I don’t know if the question in the title is rhetorical or what, but I’ll answer.

What I wish I knew about my hobby before starting? I wish I knew that it would turn into a real passion of mine, because then I would have started it much earlier when it would have been easier to abandon my corporate career and pursue a career in my hobby / adjacent to it. As it happened, I discovered my hobby in my late 20s when I had a lot more to lose by jacking in my corporate career and starting from scratch (I was already earning 6 figures in my finance job by then). Nearly 10 years on, aligning my hobby and my work is even more of a pipe dream. I can’t make the maths work, no matter how frugal I think I can force myself to become to withstand the ~80-90% pay cut. Of course cost of living has got more expensive in that time, which doesn’t help…

Anyway.

The lesson: TAKE MORE RISKS when you’re young.