My Personal Experience Horseback Riding While Pregnant

I’m going to preface this post by saying that I am absolutely not a doctor, nor should you take medical advice from me! I’m simply sharing my personal experience about horseback riding while pregnant, since I know I had so many questions of my own about what riding would look like during this season. I realize that choosing to ride or not to ride while pregnant is a very personal decision. Everyone has their own comfort level and you should do what is right for you and your situation. Anytime you swing your leg over a horse you are at risk to fall.

When I got pregnant, I had two of the nicest horses I have ever owned - a Hunter Derby horse and an A/O Jumper. Literally, my lifelong dream. After assessing my personal situation - a low risk pregnancy with no complications - I quickly decided that it was important to me to continue riding for as long as it seemed reasonable. I would take one day at a time and listen to my body.

While I certainly wouldn’t recommend someone that’s pregnant take up horseback riding for the first time, it is something I’ve been doing all my life. Staying active was good for my own physical and mental health. At that point, I had been riding both of my horses for years, they were seasoned show horses, and even my Jumper, while a sassy mare, was very predictable. Had that not been the case, my decision to continue riding may have been very different.

However, right away, I did decided that I wasn’t going to risk riding any other horses but my own. (Before getting pregnant, I spent so much time at the barn and would always jump on any “extras” that needed a hack.) While a freak accident is always a possibility no matter how seasoned the horse, I felt that I had just as much chance of getting in a car accident as I did falling off, that the baby was fairly sufficiently protected in amniotic fluid, and that I would listen to my body and stop riding when it became uncomfortable (luckily that didn’t happen until the bitter end of my pregnancy).

Fairly early on, though, I began to get cramps when trotting so I did modify my rides to mostly walking and cantering for the remainder of my pregnancy. I also had to double up on my sports bras to make riding more comfortable in that regard.

During my first and second trimester, I continued to show in the Low AO Jumpers. Everything had finally “clicked” with my mare and I was finally getting to enjoy the years of hard work we had put into her. It was a great Spring & Summer circuit.

Then, the Fall arrived. September, October, and November are my crazy season at work. 2019 was my busiest year ever with a ton of large scale production events that kept me insanely busy (and exhausted!) on the weekends so, while I had plans to try to get a show (even if it was just jumping in Open Divisions during the week) in when possible, I ended up throwing in the towel a bit earlier than I had anticipated on showing.

I continued riding and lessoning at home on my Jumper (but by the end of the Fall, my trainers began setting the jumps much lower).

~12 weeks here, Low AO Classic

Here I am, hacking in the field, at 33 weeks.

The week after I wrapped up my last Fall event with work, I packed everything up and headed to Florida as fast as I could. Florida is always my favorite time of the year; it’s my slow(er) season at work, the weather is usually decent, the farm in Ocala is peaceful, and having the opportunity to show consecutive weeks really helps to get in the groove. So, I was completely bummed that I would be missing out on the Winter Circuit this year and I convinced my husband that I needed to at least spend December in Ocala since, you know, I was going to be birthing his child. (Which, by the way, is a very good leveraging point.)

I spent December (~7 1/2 - 8 months pregnant) hacking around the farm, soaking in the sun, and napping.

Zara stayed in Ocala for the Winter, a “maternity leave” of sorts for her. After a great year, I knew that some R&R and turnout in a 10-acre grass paddock would be good for her. I felt confident that with lots of turnout she’d be easy to bring back to work in the Spring and we’d be back in the show ring in no time.

Last ride at about 37 weeks!

My last ride, pre-baby, was in January, about 3 weeks before I gave brith. I drove down to Florida with my husband on his shoeing rotation (he’s a farrier). I felt great while riding. But, when I dismounted, I could barely walk. The baby had dropped and after a few hours, I was pretty sure I was going to go into labor soon and told my husband that he needed to hurry up and finish shoeing his horses so that we could get on the road back to Virginia. (Little did I know, I still had 3 weeks of waiting for baby to arrive.) The next morning, when I could only waddle, I knew that had been my last ride and spent my last day in Ocala on the ground, giving my horse a spa day.

I had so much anxiety about giving birth (like…a complete irrational fear, I would cry just thinking about it - update: I survived!) that I didn’t really consider what the few weeks postpartum would look like. Well, I’ll just tell you I was glad my horse was still enjoying vacation in Florida for first few weeks. Because, between healing physically and my mental state (I found breastfeeding to be very hard with continuous (and painful) duct blockages), I didn’t even miss riding the first couple of weeks (plus, they flew by in a blur!). I pretty much spent every waking moment focusing on establishing a milk supply, feeding the baby, changing the baby, on my computer prepping for [what was supposed to be] a busy Spring season with work (no paid maternity leave when you own your own business!), and crying in the shower trying to unclog ducts and avoid mastitis. Fun times.

First ride back at 5 weeks/pp!

After two and a half weeks, I was anxious to get back on a horse (and even threatened to borrow a school horse) but ended up waiting to ride my own horse when I went back to Florida [just less than] 5 weeks postpartum. Good news for expecting mamas, I totally felt good enough (physically) to start riding sooner had my horse been home.

The first time back in the saddle, I was so weak. My arms and legs were like jello. And, it’s taken awhile to gain strength, particularly because I’m not riding as much, or as many, horses as I’m used to.

First Show Back!

I remember being warned by a new amateur mom about how much more difficult it was to prioritize, and allocate time for, riding once her little one arrived. I’ve definitely found that to be true. The only way I’ve been able to continue riding [somewhat] regularly is because my husband is super supportive. Most afternoons, after work, we all head to the barn where he watches the baby while I get a hack in. At this point, I am super thankful for my horse that knows her job and comes out of her stall the same horse everyday, even if I miss a day or two in the saddle.