Equestrians with IBD

[JubeJube]

Hi everybody!

I’m newly diagnosed with IBD (not exactly clear yet which one) (4ish months) and I’m leasing a great horse that I found last summer, right before hospitalization. Since coming back, I’ve had a hard time with riding. I cannot jump a full course and some days just walk, trot is too much. It’s not only the pain sometimes but also coming back from the barn exhausted and just wanting to sleep for the rest of the day.

I just wanted other peoples’ opinion about what to do now. I really, really wanted to have a career involving horses but is it still do-able? (Not necessarily being a pro rider, but somehow around them is fine). What should I do with my lease horse situation too? I really thought he was the one that could take me places but if it’s going nowhere I don’t want to push it or ruin him.

Thank you so much! :sadsmile:

[walkers]

If you are newly diagnosed then you will have a lot to learn about your illness,about treatment options and how you will respond to treatment. IBD has a large range of symptoms so I you know where you’ll fall on the bell curve.
Some people do well with treatment and dietary changes others not so much.
If you want advice then wait to make life changing decisions. You may have been real sick but that doesn’t mean you’ll always feel that way.
Also the good news is lots of new research, look up the micro-biome. Good free class on it on coursera…

Treatment will be changing probably for many chronic auto-immune disorders.
I have struggled with GI Disorder for twenty yrs.,yet still ride, todays a bad day after riding hard yesterday. The tough part is making plans never knowing if tomorrow will be a good day but hey I’m old , had more energy and re-bounded quicker when i was younger. Only took 20 yrs. to get a diagnosis.
I used to think i was lazy ,never knew how healthy people felt. When you are sick like this everything takes will power and thats on the good days.
Good Luck don’t freak out just yet.

[starhorse]

I have Crohn’s disease. Diagnosed back in 2003 during my freshman year of high school after years of exhaustion and weight loss. Tried a lot of treatments and still didn’t really feel any better. I ended up having surgery to remove a really diseased part of my intestinal tract. They also found a lot of abscessed area and fistulas. It was pretty bad.

The good news: after my surgery and recovery, I was able to handle riding and being a barn kid again. I rode several horses a day and groomed all through college. I still require a lot of sleep. I go to bed early and would nap many times a day if I could, but I live a normal life. I work a really demanding full time job and still ride.

It’ll get better once you find a treatment that works for you. Your body is exhausted from fighting itself. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.