Conference noted::equitation

    
    I know two people that rode up thru their 6th month, after that
    they thought it became very awkward.  Both their doctors told them
    that they really shouldn't, but both went ahead. No complications.
    They didn't ride for about two months afterwards, mostly couldn't
    find the time...
    
    -M-
    

    I've got a couple friends who rode while they were pregnant.
    One of them continued to jump (and event) till about the 6th 
    month.  When they started to get big they said keeping their
    balance was difficult.  The jumping doesn't seem like too
    smart an idea, but none of them had any problems. Of course
    they all had normal uncomplicated pregnancies. Afterwards
    it took them quite a while to get back in shape.
    
    Maureen
    

    There was one side effect though...
    It seems that pregnancy encourages one to make frequent trips
    to the ladies room.  Riding seemed to encourage this even more.
    
   

    
    
    I rode right up to practically delivery.  (I rode 6 miles a day
    on a bike too.)  After delivery, I rode soon afterwards as well,
    weather permitting.  My doctor encouraged it since it was a
    form of exercise I'd been doing all my life.  My doctor's feeling
    was, you know something isn't right once it doesn't feel right
    to do it anymore.  If I couldn't have climbed up into the saddle,
    then I would have known it was probably time to stop.
    
    I think a lot of people have the misconception that when you are
    pregnant you're supposed to lay in bed and vegatate or something
    which is probably the worst thing you can do for both yourself
    and the child.  You have to maintain good muscle tone for a safe
    delivery and what better way than horsebackriding??
    
    Sure, you can fall off a horse.  You can also trip over your
    own feet or fall down a flight of stairs.  
    
    

    I recall some TV programme on the settling of the American West in
    which an extract of a pioneer farmer's wife's diary was read. For one
    day it went something like: 
                                      
    "Ploughed the north acres this morning. Was delivered of my eleventh
    child this evening." 

    I rode steady for the first 7 1/2 months. After that I just rode
    at a nice walk. My Doctor said it was fine to do anything I was
    used to doing on a regular bases. Riding kept me in shape and my
    delivery was easy and fast. I only rode at a walk during the last
    month and a half because of my balance. I began riding at a walk
    again two weeks after delivery and in a months time I was back to
    normal riding again. This also helped to get back into shape.
    
    I would say that if riding does not bother you and your Doctor gives
    his O.K. they stay with it. I also found that swimming after a nice
    ride helped to relax me faster.

    Hi,
    
    Anyone out there like to share the experiences of riding during
    pregnancy? What to wear, how long they rode (5 months, etc...).
    
    My doctor says it's ok to ride so long as it is an activity I've
    been doing for a while. (For me, 12 years). I trust my instincts
    and don't go on any more trails for the time being...As a matter
    of fact, I feel fine riding, except for the few extra pounds I've
    put on!
    
    Anyone else out there want to share experiences?
    
    Thanks,
    Deb ; )  
    
    

    At the place where I boarded, the owner rode (in shows, yet!)
    until she was 8.5 mths...then it was just too hard to get into
    the saddle.  I asked her if she had any problems, and she said
    it was no problem, other than when her belly got too big, the
    saddle horn would poke her now and then....
    
    Lynne

    I guess the horn of the saddle could pose a problem, but
    since I ride English, I can rule that out!
    
    Thanks
    
    Deb ;]

    
    First of all, congratulations! I hope you enjoy your pregnancy. 
    
    I rode into my fifth month. I probably would have ridden longer, but it
    was November, it was cold, it was dark when I got home, and I was
    always so tired after a day of work. As soon as I found out I was
    pregnant, I stuck close to home. I also stopped sitting the trot--just
    didn't like the thought of the baby getting jiggled so much. I also
    stopped jumping. Towards the end, I could only ride for about 30
    minutes, then I'd get too tired.
    
    I should also mention that my horse is very quiet and gentle. You have
    to trust the horse 100%.
    
    My balance always felt okay. Mounting got to be a little tough at the
    end though.
    
    I was back in the saddle about four weeks after the birth, but I took
    it REALLY easy. The biggest problem now (6 months later) is finding the
    time to ride.

    
    	I just read a note in the New England Tenn Walking Horse
    	newsletter about a woman who completed an organized trail
    	ride and then went directly to the hospital, still smelling
    	like horse when the child was delivered!!
    
    	Sherry
    

    Thanks for the replies, I am in my fourth month now, and I know this
    winter will also keep me sticking close to home, it's at least a 25
    to 30 minute ride to the barn.  I do trust my mare very much, I've 
    been riding her for 5 years and we trust each other.
    
    I hope to last until November -- sigh, I will miss riding whenever I
    feel like it, I realize there is going to be some time when I can't
    ride at all. My mare is actually not mine, I've been leasing her for
    all this time, and at times, I feel like she's mine, but we hope to
    lease her and keep her at the barn...I hope so, she's sort of an
    institution around the barn--and I'll get to see her too...!
    
    Thanks for the good wishes, I'm looking forward to the baby very much
    even though it will curtail my riding somewhat.
    
    Deb
    
    ;]

    
    
    I rode into the 7th, and like one noter, it just got to cold and
    icy.
    
    Also, I was kicked in the stomach at 7.5 months, thrown 5 ft.
    thru the air and landed facedown on my stomach.  After the
    contractions subsided and nothing happened, I picked up the
    grain buckets and carried on.
    
    As my obs/gyn said, "You horsewomen are made of tough stuff."
    
    

    Yikes! Kicked in the stomach sounds pretty scary!
    
    We have an indoor ring, so riding in winter is ok, it's just the
    cold and the drive...sometimes bad and sometimes not so bad...
    
    What did you all wear? My britches still fit, but the waist
    is getting a tad tight, I guess those stretchy britches with
    elastic waist might be good for a while...?
    
    Anyone know of any maternity britches out there?
    
    Thanks for replies so far!
    
    Deb ;]

Congratulations!!

    I wasn't able to ride as long as the other noters...  my body _really_
    relaxed so hanging on got very interesting immediately (before I knew
    I was p) and I had to sit out a couple of months, due to spotting.
    By the time I was allowed to try riding again, I was in maternity pants 
    and concerned friends were trying their hardest to convince me to stay 
    off my, how do I say this???, AH!  _spirited_/_silly_/_unpredicible_ 
    grey-wonder.  

    Who am I to listen to sound advice?? ;-)  So I rode.  We were both out
    of shape by then so we'd both be panting after a 20 meter trot circle.  
    It was fun!  I wore chaps over my maternity pants and getting on was 
    difficult.  I stopped in January when T-horse decided to ignore a simple
    request (standing still when halted) by engaging in some serious bucking.
    I did get him to stand still, but afterwards, all my tack when home for 
    the duration.

    You'll know when it's time to stop riding.

					-Caroline

    I just wore sweats when pregnant. I had one of the old-fashioned kind
    (with the string that you tighten) that was really comfortable. I also
    used my husband's. 
    
    I agree with the previous noter about how you just know when it's time
    to stop. If I was pregnant in the summer maybe I would have kept on
    riding. 
    
    This is going to sound strange, but my hunt cap is too small now. I've
    heard of women whose feet go up a size, but head size?
    
    -Andrea-

    I rode for 8.5 months. My baby girl (who is two now) was born 3 weeks
    later. I stopped when the baby dropped. Through most of pregnancy I
    rode only in the ring (indoor in winter). I am not an expert rider:
    I started riding seriously 4-5 years ago, but I had a very steady
    horse: a Connemara. He spooked once but all he did go perfectly
    straight accross the arena at a gallop and stopped at the other end.
    Everyone watching stopped and held their breath. I also wore string
    kind sweats but I never got really huge: I gained 22 pounds total.
    Even though Guiness is 15 2 I used a ladder to get on and off in the
    later months and by the end I was mostly walking. I was pregnant 
    through the winter so I wore my husband's ski jacket by the end.
    
    I had a very difficult delivery (unrelated to riding) and was bed
    ridden for two weeks after but I was back in the saddle two month after
    delivery.
    
    Enjoy, Ania

    ....after listening to your stories....I guess I have to find
    another excuse........ ;^)

    I rode for about 8 months with both my pregnancies. Both my delivers
    were very fast (3 hours for one and 30 minutes for the other from the 
    first sign). My doctor said it was because the muscles were strong 
    from riding. 
    My horse was very reliable. I used a mounting block to get on also.
    Sharon

    Being male, it probably seems unusual that I would reply to this note,
    but...
    
    I can't resist relating a story that really "threw" me.  I was talking
    to the lady who sold us our second horse about riding during the
    pregnancies for her two small boys.  She told me that she rode right up
    til the last month for the first child, but couldn't ride past the
    fifth month for her second child.  When I asked her why ( expecting
    some sort of horse/doctor/health warning ) she told me she couldn't
    because she fell and broke her leg skiing while she was pregnant.
    
    :>) John :}
    

    
    I've no kids, but I used to ride with a woman who rode into her 8th
    month. She said the doc had told her that while it would not be wise
    for a woman to take up riding while pregnant,  if it was something
    that the woman had been doing on a regular basis before becoming
    pregnant than her body should be well accustomed to it and unless she
    experienced unusual/worrisome discomfort that there should be no
    problems.  I can't imagine myself giving up riding for much of
    anything (I'm one of those who was happily riding with a broken
    knee a few years ago after figuring out how to mount single-legged
    from a mounting block), but then I can't imagine myself pregnant,
    either. I'd imagine that Caroline was right, you'll know best
    yourself when it's time to stop. Good luck with your new baby!
    Maybe riding while in the womb will make a good rider out of
    your youngster in the future! :-)
    

    Thanks to all for the replies, I really enjoy reading about other
    folks experiences.
    
    I'm going to ride for as long as I can. I've noticed recently that
    my lessons seem to be going better than ever...could it be I'm so
    determined to still ride as well as I did before I became pregnant,
    that I'm riding even better, or maybe it's just coincidence??
    
    Well, it's funny though...I hope the baby enjoys his mom's rolling
    along at the canter as much as I do....

    I had a neighbor back home who got lost in the woods on a trailride, 
    started having contractions and had to find her way back home before
    she could go to the hospital to deliver her little girl!
    
    That's true dedication! :-)
    
    \Caroline

    My son was born on Sept. 28th 9 years ago.  I rode until two weeks
    before the delivery.  I did not ride alone and did keep the speed to a
    minimum.  Also, as the months went on I did need help in mounting.
    My Connemara mare was wonderful.  We never had any problems.  I'm
    surprised that your doctor gave you the ok to ride.  Mine told me that
    professionally he could not condone me riding since it put me at risk
    and said officially the word was no.  I believe that was to keep him
    from being sued in case of an accident.
    
    PS:  I rode English so the saddle was not a problem.
    
    Kathy