Horseback Riding

General
1

Hey all,

First off, giant thanks to everyone who has answered my past discussions. I've been wrapped up in school and work lately so I've been purposely avoiding the message boards. I hope everyone has been doing well!!

I was wondering what everyone thought about horseback riding. I've been scouring the internet looking to see if it's safe or not and I've been finding mixed opinions. I was a competitive horse back rider and riding instructor and my life revolved around horses. I had to sell my horse last year because the symptoms of my yet-unknown (but most likely Chiari, awaiting new scans!) were taking up all my time and my horse was suffering as a result. Although I haven't ridden in over a year, I'm still very involved in the horse community and horse things still take up some of my time (when healthy enough).

Horses are incredibly important to me and I always kinda figured that I would get better, then jump right back in. Can I really never ride if it turns out to Chiari? Or would I just have to adjust what I did, like no more jumping/galloping/training young horses, etc? If I did choose to ride anyways - what would the repercussions be?

I'm just looking to gain some opinions...I'm having a very hard time thinking that I'll have to give up my entire life if Chiari is the problem. Thanks everyone. :(

2

Everyone is different. You will just have to see what you can tolerate. If it's something that is that important to you I am sure you will be able to find some way to fullfill your passion for Horses. I would think the motion of jerking when a horse jumps wouldn't feel great if you had Chiari. It's something you'll have to discuss with your doctor.If you haven't already found a NS that knows about Chiari they are the person to ask. Good Luck and let us know.

3

Thanks for the response, wendyanne! I don’t have a doctor yet but this will be the first question I ask! In the meantime, I’m putting riding on hold.

wendyanne said:

Everyone is different. You will just have to see what you can tolerate. If it’s something that is that important to you I am sure you will be able to find some way to fullfill your passion for Horses. I would think the motion of jerking when a horse jumps wouldn’t feel great if you had Chiari. It’s something you’ll have to discuss with your doctor.If you haven’t already found a NS that knows about Chiari they are the person to ask. Good Luck and let us know.