Riding while pregnant?

[kellzi]

Hi all, any views on riding while pregnant, computer says NO!!!
really sound and safe horse and it really is keeping me sane riding. But don't want to put baby at risk, am 7 weeks

First pregnancy I rode until 16 weeks incl. Galloping and jumping. Sat on her at 26 weeks and it was so comfortable.

This time we moved yards when I was around 10 weeks or so and I wasn't comfortable riding because she was spooky with her new surroundings.

My doctors have been positive about it.

All I can say is trust your instincts. During my first pregnancy I had bad morning sickness which left me so dizzy I didn't have the energy to tack up, but when I did ride I felt more alive than ever. This time I just didn't enjoy it at all.

Beware of 'other horses', mine's a poppet but both pregnancies I've had to keep away from a coupke of bolshy, bargey idiots and it does seem to piss people off when you say 'no, I can't get your horse in because he has no respect'.

I rode until nearly 20wks first time, including some low level eventing. Had my leg broken by a loose horse at 20wks so obviously had to stop.

Second time, I hadn't ridden the first 3 months due to a really hard frost which made riding almost impossible and when I got on at 16weeks it was way too uncomfortable, so no riding that pregnancy.

Thank you x

I've just stopped riding at 19 weeks, but because she is also in foal and starting to slow down! My girl is lovely on the ground, but can be tricky on top at times, so I stopped jumping and didn't take her on the roads. I have always felt safe and being with her and out in the fresh air has been lovely. I did find it really hard doing her after work though as was so exhausted in the first trimester, but that's getting better now. I reasoned that I know the risks and weigh up those risks and then decide. So it has to be a personal decision, but if you're 100% happy and are sensible then I'd say go for it! (won't tell you what my MIL has said about it though....!)

I think it's a very personal thing and you need to decide how you feel about it.

As far as I understand it riding is not a problem as such, as long as it is a type of exercise you are already used to, it's the falling off (or getting kicked or getting trampled) that's the risk.

Before I got pregnant I always assumed I would ride through most of my pregnancy, but in reality I stopped at 23 weeks. I was too large to school effectively and also I was very worried so it wasn't worth the risk for me. Progressively I found other things difficult, e.g. I got a bit slow and unsteady so lunging was out of the question as well.

My horse is injured so cant ride but I def would have ridden until I felt I physically couldn't. All the girls at my yard who've had kids have ridden throughout their pregnancies. Go for it. X