Do you at some point question why?

[Hunter_Mom]

As in why do you continue to ride? I sit here tonight with my knees in pain. Part of it is the cold (it was 18 when I went to the barn today), part of it is being on my feet a lot yesterday, riding, and then going to the barn again today to free-jump 10 horses. Ibuprofen/Aleve aren’t enough, I’ve tried others which helped less. The problems I was having earlier this year are still here (frayed cartilage or something but not bad enough to operate yet).

I will go to talk to my doc about other options next week. He’s a hobby farmer whose daughter rode, so he totally ‘gets’ it and will help me to find a way to keep going and riding, but tonight, I need to whine.

ETA - I feel slightly foolish whining on this forum given the extreme things many of you are going through.

[Wellspotted]

Don’t feel foolish.

This year I have been asking myself why I still want to ride. DO I still want to ride? The past couple of months I have even been getting bold and mentioning to my horsey friends that I’m not sure I want to keep on. I am getting older, and I had not been on a horse in over a year, ever since the horse I loved was turned from a family horse into a lesson horse and then retired even from that. Friends’ horses, though I love them, were just not the same. My work situation, housing situation, and horseless condition were all combinining to make me think that if I moved to a different town or state, and found myself with no access to horses, I might just live like that.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I got up on a friend’s new horse. A small green horse. I’ll call him “Sprout.”

Got up on him, and didn’t just sit there, in pain and terrified.

I rode him. True, we just walked around and jogged a few strides.

But.

I rode him.

Now I’m just praying I won’t have to move away and that I will be able to continue to drive out to his barn to ride him some more.

I’m hurting all over these days. Not just achy. Sore. Even yoga hurts.

But when I got up on Sprout (and even more, when I got off him), I had “heard” the answer to my question about continuing to ride.

Why do I want to continue?

Because I need it. I need it physically, and mentally, and emotionally, and spiritually. I lived without it for a quarter of a century, and if I have a quarter of a century left on earth, I want to spend it riding. I need to.

A peaceful holiday, Hunter Mom. :yes:

[Hunter_Mom]

I know I’m not giving up riding any time soon. My Aleve has kicked in now (were out - I braved Walmart tonight!) as much as it will, which helps. I’m headed off to sleepy land soon, under my electric blankie. I NEED to ride. It is definitely good for my soul. Even DH tells me to go ride when I get crabby. I ended up taking November basically off (work, sinus crud, work, scouts, work) and it about did us all in. LOL

Oh, and I, too, am blessed with an amazing horse. Willie is 18 going on 5, and a Jumper in every sense of the word. He is patiently teaching me to jump 3’-3’3", which is getting pretty darned mentally comfortable most days. He still has a junior jumper jock who rides him bigger from time to time, just to remind him he can. But he’s a great schoolmaster for me, too. When I can’t see a distance, feel like a flopping fish or just generally have a bad day, all I really need to do is point him at the fence and grab mane because he’s goin’ over it!

[HannahsMom7]

I question “why” also, esp after having a serious horseback riding accident that resulted in a fused neck (C7).

I identify myself as a “rider/horsewoman”. that means the total package.

I am still debating, after hearing that others do still ride, even fused if I should take 1 more risk!

I have other hobbies, fiber-related that are not so “scary”. LOL and while being laid up, have rediscovered them and some connections.

But still, it would be difficult for me to just quit.

[Donkaloosa]

Yes, you do question why, and the answer is always unique to you. Then one day the question comes to you as to why, is it worth it, what are the alternatives — and you can come up with an alternative. Although I no longer ride, I still think of myself as riding. I may hop on my old mare tomorrow for a brief spin — but if I don’t, I’m ok with it. I have other interests, other hobbies, and more orthopedic surgery scheduled for January.

It may mean you do less work around the horses (yikes, I’m sore just thinking about all you did!), or better pain management, or one of a hundred other things.

Whatever you decide to do is the right thing to do — that is all that matters.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

Lately I have been questioning ‘why’. I am only 20 but have had a number of bad falls that have left me with a permanent (though small) limp and a perpetually small back. And on top of all that, my joints have begun to ache. Some days I can’t even bend my fingers.

It’s terrifying. I work off my board and make a small amount of cash training/breaking/putting miles on horses. I am doing what I have always wanted to do but it may come to an end sooner rather then later, depending on what’s going on with my joints.

I have considered selling my mare but that would be an absolute last resort. She’s of the “heart horse” variety and I enjoy having a horse that is challenging but safe, considerate of her rider and above all, fun. And I have come to realise that I do not care if I ride her or not - she certainly doesn’t care either. I will enjoy my horse to the best of my abilities, whatever those abilities maybe on that particular day.

However, I may be telling owners that, due to health problems, they will have to find somebody else to break their horses.

Do what you can, enjoy what you can do and never give up.

[horsefaerie]

If I don’t ride I stiffen up everywhere.

There is a book called Pain Free by Egoscue. He says we don’t get old, we stop moving well, usually at a very young age and it takes a toll on our bodies.

Before you have surgery, read it.

[BackInTheSaddle74]

When I get up in the morning, sore and shuffling, it’s not so much to wonder why I ride, but how I can get this 74-yr old body into better shape so riding hurts less. Last week I was sent a post titled “Borrowed from an 87 yr. old horsewoman’s handwritten Journal” (Google it for the full text) and one of the lines speaks loudly to me:“I ride…It’s not a sport. It’s not a hobby. It’s what we do and - in some ways - who we are as women and human beings.”

I ride. If one of my replaced knees hurts too much during a lesson in the arena, I stop for a few minutes, get off and walk around, then get back on and finish the lesson. If the combination of replaced hips and knees hurts too much out on the trail, I look for a place I can safely remount, and do as I do in the arena.

I spend an hour in the gym a couple days a week, working on exercises to strengthen muscles without straining joints, so I can ride a couple more days.

Talk to your orthopedist about physical therapy, braces, pain meds - talk to your fellow riders about why you ride - and know you are not alone in pain and doubt. Only you can decide if riding today is worth the pain.

Good luck, and happy trails.

[Hunter_Mom]

I have an appotnment with my GP on Friday morning, so hopefully will get some meds to help manage this. I know the cold doesn’t help, too. I have also decided to cut way back on my cola intake, which I’m hoping will help as well.

[Hunter_Mom]

He gave me some new NSAIDs, which will be picked up today (line at Walgreens was insane last night and they weren’t really hurting then). He also suggested that the stirrups that swivel at the top might give some relief - I will investigate those.

Oh, and my sinus problems are finally looking better. He said they looked the best he’d seen them in ages in fact, and my lungs are now clear.

[goneriding24]

I’m so glad you started this thread. I have so many aches and pains but I just can’t give up the horses. Aspirin is my friend. The middle aged lady stuff is settling down, finally, and I’m a happy person now, now that I’ve let a lot of baggage go. Actually, leeing go of a lot of the past has somehow translated into better physical health. There are other hobbies but being a horsewoman is numero uno.

I figger if my hubby’s 95 y/o aunt can still ride, I can too.

[myvanya]

I know I am later replying to this thread but I really wanted to contributemy .02.

This last year was a roller coaster for me as far as my health. I turned out to be very allergic to the one treatment that seemed to be working. I finally got onto another that seems to be helping at high doses and the other medication I am on started making me sick again. Then theres just getting sick all the time…having no immune system us not ideal :lol: so I ended up sick for most of last month…

Absolutely I ask myself why I ride when it hurts to do anything (If I am honest sitting hurts, standing hurts, lying down hurts, walking hurts…I can’t think of a day in the last year I haven’t been in pain.) and I have to take some strong pain meds just to get to work. BUT…As many have said, horses and riding are a part of me. I know my idnetity doesn’t come from what I do, but I have been around horses literally my whole life; I am who I am because I have ridden horses and learned from them. I have other hobbies and passions too (don’t get me started talking about fiber arts- you won’t hear the end of it until I start talking horses!) but I don’t want to imagine a day that I can’t at least go see my horses.

When I ride I forget for a moment that it hurts. I have more freedom on a horse than I will ever again experience on the ground. Even though I am having to make more and more adaptations to keep riding, it is one of the few things I can do and not feel like everyone else can do it better. My horses don’t care about what illness I have; they don’t treat me differently or look at me oddly because I limp sometimes or can’t do some things that should be easy.

So in short, I ride because it is one of the only moments I can feel like I am still fully who I want to be. The reasons are different for everyone and I think every rider whether healthy or hurting questions why they ride and have horses from time to time, and sometimes we all need a break, but I would encourage you that if it is what you want and what you love, don’t give up. Sending lots of jungles your way and I hope your doc can help you out!

[RMJacobs]

myvanya, you summed it up so well. That is exactly why I continue to push myself with my horses and to do other things–to preserve the feeling of being mobile and “normal” (whatever the heck that is!). And also I hurt no matter what I do, so I find staying passionate about something helps shut the pain in a locked closet for a while.

Rebecca

[rustbreeches]

bumping to get the scammer off the forum page

[Addison]

I question why, but I never fail to feel better once I have ridden!

[red_mares]

I was seriously considering “why” this weekend. I haven’t really “ridden” anything in a couple years. I piddled around on a couple schoolies this year, and it just annoys me. It’s not fun, it’s boring. Somedays it’s ok, but for the most part, not really worth the pain that results. Barely even worth the drive there. I have a horse in training, but am not any where fit enough to ride her, and I won’t be for 6 months or more.

Biggest problem, is that I don’t WANT to ride. I want to drive. My horse and I have gone on different paths. Nobody has successfully driven her in 18 months. I started riding again last fall after the last driving attempt failed, but my heart really isn’t in it. I enjoy watching my mare work, but I’m not doing anything with her, so the sale ad goes in the book this week. Part of it is frustration, part of it is pre-op jitters, and the uncertainty in my future (how long will rehab be?). But long & short of it is, I’m not happy with the status quo.

I’m actually kind of happy to soon have a cast on my foot, it will give me an excuse to stop riding. I think the trainer has a horse I can jog, assuming I can get in the bike.