Pregnant, when should I stop riding?

[JoniR]

Just that, I'm 7 weeks pregnant and not sure how much longer I am safe to ride. I have a lovely, steady shire x mare and I have no fear of falling off, I never have since I bought her 5 years ago. I've only been walking since I found out about pregnancy. I do all my riding offroad as I am lucky enough to be on a yard that has extensive hay fields that we can ride round.

Any experience/advice gratefully received.

Well it is fine, till 2 wks before. But if anything happens it will be very hard to life with. 20 years I did ride up till 2 wks before due date, know I wouldn't now.

Ohhhh and congrats

I rode up to 7 and a half months with DS1, 6 and half with DS2 and 4 months with DD.

I was riding a Connemara when I was pregnant with the boys and just carried on as long as I could however I was riding a highland when DD came about and it was so sore on my hips. Don't know if it was 3rd child or wider pony that did it but I had to stop at 4 months.

You stop when you can't bear the responsibility any longer. It all depends entirely on you. A woman I used to work with came off hunting at around 30 weeks. Her son was born soon after. She appears to have no scruples about it whatsoever. Personally, being overweight and unbalanced, I'd stop straight away.

In similar position to you, own steady horse, offroad riding, I rode till 7 months with first but stopped when trying for second.

I mainly schooled, so lots of trot and canter, but shorter sessions.

Do what you feel comfortable with, riding kept me fit and sane through my first pregnancy!

When you can no longer get off....then revert to the trap - but that was me! To be serious, it depends on your health and safety and circumstances. Saggyoldclothcatpuss encapsulates this point well x I think I rode to my last month but just walking on a quiet cobby in a quiet location. I was still throwing up so it was more about fresh air than exercise.

As long as your GP is ok with it, and you feel comfortable then I would carry on for a while yet - what you do need to be wary of is any of the heavy lifting and pulling around that can happen when you are on the ground. Congratulations.

I'd keep going for as long as you feel comfortable doing it. For me it was at about 4 or 5 months when I started to get a proper bump that I gave up, because I was worried about bashing it if the horse spooked. It sounds like the type of riding you are doing is quite low risk though, so you should be OK for a while if you wanted to keep going.

Thanks for your replies. It's put my mind at rest. DH is a bit of a worrier and it was rubbing off on me. I think my mental health is just as important as my physical health, and for me being on horseback is the best place to unwind and de-stress. I'm glad that people have ridden safely quite far into pregnancy, I was not looking forward to a long period without. Of course if GP tells me to stop then I will. I have friends at the yard who will be more than happy to pitch in and help with the lifting side of things and Nelly (my horse) is such a gentle old thing I don't have any worries about her spooking or acting the fool. I'm feeling much better already. Thankyou!

Question dose Nelly sniff your belly some of mine did, a gelding in particular.
??????

Zara PHillips has just announced she is pg and I understand she is still riding.

Yes, she has sniffed my belly a few times. I assumed that she was looking for treats, but now you mention it. Maybe they can smell hormonal changes?

Hello - I rode until 5 months, and I only stopped as I tweaked a tendon in my pelvis, which in my opinion was my body telling me that was enough. I then mucked out 2 daily and lugged buckets, bales etc. I did this with my first and 3rd pregnant, and coped with labour really well both times, I felt fit and strong and found I coped really well. My middle pregnancy, I didn't ride at all and it didn't reach term :( With regard to belly sniffing, mine did and seemed to be a bit intrigued. When my babies were born they were all very gentle and my gelding would stand over the pram whilst I poo picked:)

You'll know when it's time to stop.With DC1 I rode a quiet cob up to the day before she was born. On the actual day I mucked out and did all the other chores in the yard,left at 1.30,decided to pop past local maternity hospital to get checked out as I hadn't felt that many movements over the last 12 hrs. I was told to get my bag as I was 3cm dilated .
I checked in at 3pm,she was born at 5.30pm.....

With DC2 I rode a thoroughbred who was being used as a nanny horse for friend's hunter. I vividly remember galloping through the country side whilst 6 month's pregnant and all of a sudden I realising what I was doing......

I asked friend to go back to walk and decided there and then I would not ride again until after her birth.

I simply hadn't considered the dangers as horse was very reliable,but all it takes is a tumble or a rabbit hole....

You are very right about the mental health aspect though. I found it such a brilliant way to relax I'm sure it helped me stay sane.My second was also an easy birth,woke up at 4.30am with some twinges,sorted DC1,left home at 5.30am,got to hospital at 6am,baby born 1 push later at 6.05am. Not sure if that had anything to do with riding though.

I rode until the bump was in the way when I was getting off ;-)

I rode till almost 8 months but in hindsight, knowing how I now feel I about my little son, I wouldn't do it again. I'd personally stop at around 3 months when I get pregnant again. One day! I did love going out though, but if something had happened.....

I rode till 37 weeks, he came at 39.

Competed till 34 weeks but I felt fine.

I rode until about 20 weeks with DS2 and only stopped then because DH was nervous about it (and he's a horse professional ).

DH has a client who is competing FEI dressage at the moment. She is due in November but is huge. Her problem is that she looks like Les Dawson in a wig when she's wearing her topper n tails, so from a purely aesthetic viewpoint she's going to stop competing shortly .

I had to stop at 16 weeks (am now 23) due to pain in my pelvis. I have a clyde x welsh mare who is the sweetest thing ever (mostly ;) ) and the temptation to get back on for a little walk/trot is really strong atm but I genuinely don't think I can stand the pain afterwards :S

I was riding when I went into labour!

I am a professional rider so although I did not ride any youngsters or clients horses, I kept my advanced horses going all the way through. I was also back on board 2 weeks later but has a super easy and fast labour.

Listen to your body is all I can say. I did end up having her a little early (37 weeks) as a result of over doing it, but I wouldn't do anything differently next time as I pinged straight back to my prepregnancy shape a week after having her and my daughter is as healthy as can be.

Oh, and she loves to momentum of a horse. She sits on in front of me and walks the horses to cool off or warm up (again only my advanced ones). The only issue is she doesn't want to get off!

Everyones messages are so interesting, i'm currently 16 weeks and still riding, unfortunately i came off last Wednesday and chipped my spine, but bump is all fine. i will be getting back on but only at walk, trot, and hack basis. i'm considering taking up inhand showing so i can still compete without showjumping.

I'm 10 weeks now and went out for a burn on my TBx yesterday. Spoke to the doctor who said that at this stage "the bean" as my husband and I refer to him/her, is so small that they are very well cushioned inside me and even if I came off it is very unlikely that they would be harmed. Doc's main concern was that I didn't get kicked in the belly so I won't risk handling our very young stock just in case. Might have to rethink riding my TB when I get a bit further down the line when baby is in closer contact with the outside. I've only come off him once in three years but he is a bit of a nutter and it's not worth the risk, especially when my centre of gravity and balance is likely to change a fair bit in coming months! Think I'll switch to just riding my friend's lovely cob later on and play it by ear just listening to how I feel. Hubby is likely to get more jittery later on anyway! Hardest thing at the moment is turning down riding in competitions for a couple of friends who are nagging me to take their youngsters out: they don't know I'm pregnant yet and can't understand my reluctance!

I stopped riding my skittish Thoroughbred the moment I found out but continued to ride my Arab till 13 weeks...that is until he did a huge buck at canter (typically, he hadn't bucked in years before that!) and I decided to call it a day after that.

By the sounds of your horse, you'll be more likely to bump your car or similar than fall off so hopefully you'll be able to continue to ride for as long as you're comfortable x

I don't have a horse right now, but am still taking lessons at 17 weeks. I only gained 1.5 stone with DS1, and was still walking the dogs twice a day and swimming daily by week 39, so I'm hoping to be as physically active this time, too.

In any case, I only ride in an arena, on a very steady Quarter Horse.

I was sharing a cob until I discovered I was pg at 5 weeks. My gut instinct was that I didnt want to ride anymore whilst pg. A few reasons, he is a bit quirky (throws the odd hut huge buck in occasionally - the sort that gives you whiplash!) and spooky. Also where I hack, car drivers don't have a lot of respect or slow down so I decided to just help out with poo picking, jobs on the ground etc just to keep my hand in. Also wanted to give his owner a chance to find another sharer whilst summer is still here.

It's entirely personal. With DC1 I rode my own horse til nearly 5mths and I would have kept going but I found it really uncomfortable. With DC2 I had moved to a new yard and the hoss was on his toes and spooked massively taking off with me. I was about 4-6weeks diffed and for me, I decided it wasn't worth taking any chances. If I had been at my previous yard I would have kept riding for as long as I was able and then the further into my pregnancy I probably would have only ridden in company.