Riding after C-section

[Crustyjugglers]

Hello, just interested to hear other people's experiences of getting back in the saddle following a C-section. How long following surgery did you wait, how did you prepare and how did you find it when you did?
Thanks in advance!x

C-section is one area where really I'd say you MUST listen to the doctors/midwives. There was an international rider at the yard I was at when I had my CS, and she won a World Cup qualifier 2 weeks after her CS - had brought forward the date for it specially so she could ride in it. I felt a lot of performance pressure after talking to her and was very disappointed when I couldn't ride my horse at the county show 5 weeks after DD was born - I got on the horse the night before and realised I could barely sit on him let alone show him. By about 2 months afterwards I was feeling up to starting to ride, and by 3 months I was feeling a lot more normal. I went hunting but took my cousin with me and swapped her up onto the horse after about an hour as I was feeling a bit tired. Your entire stomach wall, all the muscles that make your core, are cut through, and it takes a while to heal. I've heard horror stories of people riding and their incision starting to come apart at one end and frankly that sounds terrifying. Not worth it for the sake of a couple more weeks. If it helps, by about 4 months afterwards I was starting to feel a lot more normal. It really is only a short while in the grand scheme of things.

Thanks backinthebox. My initial feeling was to leave it at least 8 weeks before getting back on. He won't have been worked all winter so we'll both have to build ourselves up slowly.
Did you do the exercises the hospital recommended? I've started those and hope to start Pilates again when I'm a bit stronger. Is so weird feeling this "floppy" in my my core!

Ah, you’ve had your CS already! Well done! Winter is a good time for you to give your horse a rest (both my kids were late summer.) I’d look to get someone to help you get the horse back into fitness - I was very precious about letting anyone on my horse before kids, now I let lots of people ride him as long as they are competent. It doesn’t spoil my relationship with him but it helps me keep him ticking over.

I wasn’t given any exercises but if you’ve been given some I’d do them. Pilates was great for getting strong again for me.

DW was a very experienced and fit rider - doing 50k endurance rides etc on her Arabians. DW had a C section on 28th Feb many years ago. We decided to have a first go a hack out together on Good Friday (so about 6 or 7 weeks later) and she was as weak as a kitten. She fell off after cantering and broke her ankle with a new born!

She'd lost all her core strength and of course what she'd not factored in was just how fresh her horse would be after a break and on spring grass.

Gosh I felt all floppy and had no core strength for at least 3 months after mine.

You really must take it very easy - if you strain yourself after surgery you can make the long term scarring and injury much worse.

I wouldn’t be making any immediate plans to ride in the near future tbh.

I got back in the saddle six weeks after each of my two CSs but I took it very very easy. Both times I got on after my instructor had schooled the horse so he was tired and chilled and just walked about for a few minutes. I gradually built that up so I was doing the cool down after the ride and eventually onto gentle schooling sessions.

The surgeons cut your skin and then tear your abdominal muscles to get them apart. This means it will heal stronger and faster than cutting, but every fibre is torn.

Listen to your Drs and listen to your body. It is major abdominal surgery and even if fit and well will take time to heal.

I think I rode after 5 weeks. Strangely, my main worry was catching it when I got off... which is weird as there was no wound or anything by then!

I was back on 3 weeks after on a quietish one and built back up to normal over about 4 weeks

Thanks everyone - I will definitely be taking it easy and listening to my body! I'm more of a happy hacker/wee bit of endurance and riding club stuff so no pressure to get back out and compete but I will be looking for a sharer to help me keep him ticking over though.

I don’t know if it’s any different but I was gently hacking 3 weeks after my total hysterectomy . I was told to ide as soon as I felt able.

10 weeks for me but that was because I had complcations