Trying to Get Riding Fit with MS at the Speed of a Snail

[RMJacobs]

I’m so sorry you couldn’t do a lesson today. I completely empathize, as this is my life with disability as well. I was so excited to start taking driving lessons again a year ago, with the same approach as you take of using it as an opportunity to just get out there and do horse things in a safe environment. But then I crashed and burned again in the spring, and haven’t come out of it yet. I have a feeling this is my new normal.

As for you, I hope this is just a bump in the road for you, and you can take your lesson the next time you have one scheduled.

Rebecca

[Jackie_Cochran]

I suspect that it will take me less energy to ride a horse in my Spanish saddle.

Because of the sheepskin I won’t be sliding around in the saddle. Because of the high pommel arch and cantle my body will be more willing to relax and rest when we move.

Last Sunday I was talking with Shannon about the Spanish saddle, she said she would not have any worries popping over a super low jump in it because the pommel &/or cantle would keep her on the horse’s back. Apparently many years ago her mare Cider decided that a pole on the ground was a 2’ jump, Shannon did not fall off but she lost her seat being thrown around on Cider’s back. Yeah, in an emergency I would not feel too paranoid in that saddle over a 2’ jump, of course the horse would probably not be very pleased with me!

[3PonyFarm]

I’m sorry to hear you weren’t able to ride and felt so tired. I hope you can rest up and get your strength up. Good luck with the Italian!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I WAS going to get to ride in my Talavera Potrera Spanish saddle on a real horse for the first time today for my lesson with Debbie.

It rained all night. Debbie called me at 7:00 AM. It had POURED on the stable at 5:00 AM and we were still getting periodic sprinkles/rain. She said that MJ’s back would be wet (he lives outside 24/7), plus the wet MUD she would have get out of his coat, the Universe was not smiling on my desire to ride in my new (to me) saddle.

We do need the rain since we are borderline on drought down here.

We set it up for next week’s lesson. Debbie agreed to get up on MJ first so that she could deal with MJ’s “but it feels STRANGE” reactions before I get on. I will also be using my Alupro safety stirrups for the first time. After two weeks of not getting into a saddle due to a major exhaustion episode I wanted to ride!

Since I had already struggled and got my Spanish saddle on my wheeled walker, plus the saddle pad, 2 quarter sheets and my grooming tools, we just left them on the walker in the living room for next week’s lesson.

I had also stopped drinking coffee since my bladder ended up being super irritated and it was also affecting my digestive system. Since all our coffee is imported and will get more expensive it is a good time to quit, but I MISS my coffee!

I got my DH to put my Crosby PDN on my Home Horse. I rode my HH for 10 minutes today. I did not do much because I did not want to trigger another exhaustion episode. I just sat in the saddle a lot balancing (successfully). Then I got ambitious, got up into 2-point and just balanced for a minute or two.

Sitting back down I “walked” for maybe 3 minutes, then I went back to resting and balancing.

Then I got super ambitious, I “walked” for 10 strides using my gut muscles to move my HH. Then I rested again. To balance out my front core muscles I them moved the HH with my butt muscles for another 10 “strides”.

I lasted 10 minutes, then I quit. I do not want to get too tired right now.

[3PonyFarm]

Im sorry you didn’t get your lesson! This much needed rain is a blessing but with the shorter days it gets dreary.
I can’t wait to hear about your ride next week!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon came by yesterday.

Since my Spanish saddle is on my wheeled walker (that saddle is rather heavy and awkward to move around) I put my old Crosby PDN Wide Front on my Home Horse. Luckily Shannon finds that saddle comfortable.

I lasted 20 minutes, with the usual work. The HH still tilts forward a lot when I get up into 2-point in this saddle, and posting using the stirrups is rather interesting and tiring.

Hopefully I will get my lesson on Wednesday on my Spanish saddle. After I get my lesson my Spanish saddle will go back on my Home Horse unless Debbie thinks that I ride much better in it. Either way it will be my “little old lady saddle”, for use when I am uncertain about my ability to stay on the horse’s back, then my husband or I will wrestle with it for when I end up using it again on a horse.

[3PonyFarm]

I hope you get to ride!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I had my lesson today, and I got to ride in my Talavera Potrera Spanish saddle on a real, live horse.

My husband had some difficulty in getting my saddle into and out of the car today. It is heavier than my jumping saddles and it has a more awkward shape than my jumping saddles.

I had my stability leathers and Alupro safety stirrups on it. MJ needed my 26" dressage girth (his normal girth for my jumping saddle is 46".)

Debbie rode MJ first at my request. He is over 30 years old and I was not too sure how he would react to the new saddle that looks so different from my jumping saddle.

Debbie had to figure out how to get off, she ended up literally vaulting off. I also had some trouble getting off, I usually hold onto the little flap over the stirrup leather buckle, but the Spanish saddle has no such thing. My husband had to help me get my thigh over the rather high cantle both mounting and dismounting.

Debbie’s first reaction was that I was NOT going to be falling off of this saddle. She found the saddle tight, but I think part of that is that this was developed as a saddle for colt breakers, and it wraps around the rider pretty tightly, holding the rider on.

I did one short posting trot. Maybe my stirrups need to be longer for trotting because the ends of the WIDE pommel ran into my thigh when I posted, when I got up into two-point, and since the seat of the saddle slopes down to the rear I ended up posting off the cantle instead of the center of the saddle. There is no way that I can ride Forward Seat in this saddle, the really high (for me) pommel prevents me from leaning forward much.

At no time did I feel insecure in this saddle. Because of the sheepskin cover I was not sliding around the saddle seat and because the pommel and cantle sort of wrap around my pelvis I felt
quite secure. Debbie’s granddaughter brought a really nice TB she is re-training (OTTB?) into the ring doing walk, trot and canter and I did not worry about MJ’s reactions at all because I would be able to ride them fine.

MJ was not too sure about the saddle. He did not misbehave at all but he was totally reluctant to extend his stride at a walk even heading toward the gate with my legs active and me giving him tiny taps with my crop. He did not seem to like that the saddle had my weight pressing down the middle of his back rather than the front part of his back.

When I tried to turn him using my inside thigh I had no reaction at all. I was not surprised because the flocking in the panels is rather thick and the panels come down to cover the top part of his rib cage. The poor dear just did not feel that aid. He did obey all my other aids but I could tell that his 30 year old brain was trying to figure out why in the world I was riding him so oddly.

I lasted 30 minutes today.

I won’t be using this saddle at Debbie’s again unless I become unusually weak and unbalanced, like I told Debbie this is my little old lady saddle for when I can’t ride in a jumping saddle safely. In the Spring I will try it out again on one of Shannon’s horses, Cider, a Arab-Welsh mare.

Right now it is back on my Home Horse so I can practice trying to clear the cantle with my right leg both mounting and dismounting.

Debbie basically told me that it would be very, very hard for me to fall off the horse when I use this saddle. I don’t think she would mind me using it if I ever go on a trail ride again.

But I finally got to ride in it on a real live horse!

[3PonyFarm]

Im glad you got to try it out! MJ was a good sport to go along with it too.

[Jackie_Cochran]

My initial reaction is:

Introducing the horse to saddles and the basic ABCs of riding on the flat, including over poles and other very low obstacles in the ring or on the trail, YES I would use this saddle. I could see using this saddle for the first 3-6 months of basic training if training for a horse that will jump obstacles.

For horses that will just go on the flat with no specialized training YES, I would use this saddle for about a year then consider changing saddles for one better suited for the horse games/sports I want to do. I would be able to use this saddle for the SEROUS dressage training, up to airs above the ground, for many years.

This is for a person who will not show since as far as I know this saddle is not accepted for the majority of competitive riding. I could see using this saddle for competitive trail riding but that really depends on the horse-rider combination. As the horse and rider get more physically fit I could see buying another type of Spanish saddle that feels less restrictive for the rider.

These saddles are SO MUCH CHEAPER that the traditional leather English, dressage and Western saddles. I can “see” a possibility that riders who have just gotten their first horse using this saddle and having a lot fewer rider falls off the horse. Yes the saddle would have to change for specialized horse games, but for basic ring and trail riding this saddle is a very valid alternative to all the other saddles on the market.

[Jackie_Cochran]

This Wednesday it was 19 F in the morning, so I did not get my lesson. My DH helped me ride my Home Horse using my ancient Crosby PDN Wide Front with regular stirrup leathers and my ancient Eldonian regular stirrups. I lasted 15 minutes before I got too tired to go on, doing my usual stuff with my feet on the platform and using the stirrups.

Yesterday, tired of lurching forward every time I picked up the stirrups, 2-pointed or posted, I used an old local Yellow Pages local phone book which is rather thin on the floor under the front of the HH. I spent some time getting the HH with just the saddle on it centered according to my bubble balance. I finally got it centered with all three of the bubbles using the book as a floor shim, moving my saddle back a tiny bit, and moving my 700 pages veterinary dictionary on the rear of the platform around half and inch forward and a little bit to the right.

Today Shannon came out. Today I lasted 30 minutes riding my HH.

I was able to mount without any help getting my right thigh over the cantle, and when I sat in the saddle I felt more balanced than I had before. For the first 9 minutes my feet were flat on the platform and the HH did not lurch forward as much as usual when I 2-pointed or posted. I still had to get my seat way forward and have my upper body in the proper Forward Seat position with most of my weight off of my seat bones to get so the bubble balance show me being balanced in the saddle front-to-back as well as side-to-side, sitting down and in 2-point. Of course when I posted the HH moved a good bit under me but not as much as it does without the floor shim.

Then I picked up my stirrups. For the first time the HH did not lurch forward so much that I felt like I was going down a really steep slope with my feet in the stirrups when just sitting in the saddle, 2-pointing or posting. I could not get my seat bones completely out of the saddle but I did not have weight on them.

I mostly walked. I got up to posting 15 strides while posting, and I did some walking while in 2-point. It was a relief not to have the HH lurching all over under me. Until I can get something on the HH that my lower leg can rest against there will still be some lurching because I cannot stabilize my lower legs very well when they are just floating in the air with nothing under them to rest them against. It was a relief not to go from sitting in balance to all of a sudden feeling like I am riding down a really steep hill when I got up in the stirrups. Because the HH was not lurching as much under me I felt a lot more stable in the saddle and my body relaxed more.

I also had no problems with getting my right thigh over the cantle when I dismounted.

Then Shannon got on. She agreed with me that the HH felt more stable under her. Shannon uses the HH to help her to get her core muscles fitter and she sits further back in the saddle than I do since she is not trying to get her muscles fitter to ride in a Forward Seat. She keeps her feet flat on the platform mostly, rarely picking up the stirrups, so she has not gotten as much lurching under her as I do.

Having that front floor shim really helped our feelings of stability when riding the HH. She lasted around 35 minutes of always exercising her core muscles.

Now if I could only get on and off the HH without someone keeping the HH steady it would mean that it would be sort of safe for me to ride the HH without someone else helping me, then I could ride it by myself without any help. I do not know if that will ever happen though, and in general it just seems a lot safer for me to have somebody help me get on and off.

My HH will never replace riding a real, live horse but when the weather does not cooperate with me it helps my mood so much to still be able to sit in a saddle and ride.

[3PonyFarm]

I am so happy for you that you got in a workout! I hope it warms up so you can get your lesson!

[Jackie_Cochran]

It warmed up, but the rains came. When I woke up during the night last night I finally heard rain though it had been thundering around me all evening.

So I rode my HH with my DH helping me.

I made it 30 minutes today!

The first 9 minutes my feet were flat on the platform with me trying to keep my weight in my heels and my ankle cocked. All during my ride I was trying to keep in a proper Forward Seat position from head to toe with my face vertical and centered, my heels and knees down, my shoulders back, my spine straight, and my hands following the motion of the HH bridle attachment.

I posted for 40 strides, both with my feet on the platform and with my feet in the stirrups. Using the stirrups it probably did not look like posting since I could not get my seat bones to clear the saddle completely, my posting consisted on rocking forward from my seat bones onto my upper thighs. I also threw in some shorter posting trots too.

I did a lot of walking both with my feet on the platform and in the stirrups. I did several times of walking for 20 strides both sitting down and in 2-point, then resting, then 2-point, then posting and back to walking. I was able to get my seat bones barely out of the saddle when I two-pointed, and I balanced in 2-point and walked in 2-point.

Most of the time I had my side-to-side balance correct, and my front-to-back balance was pretty good, sometimes I got into perfect balance both ways!

I wish I could have ridden MJ today but at least I could get into a saddle and ride my HH. The ground at the barn would have been super soggy, MJ’s back would have been WET, and I would have tracked all types of mud and wet sand into my house.

Between 30 minutes on Sunday and 30 minutes on my HH I got a full hour in the saddle this week, more than I have been able to do for a few weeks.

Next Wednesday the weather forecast looks pretty good, not too cold and dry!

[3PonyFarm]

Your hard work is paying off!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got to ride a real live horse today!

At first the long range forecast looked fine for today. Then the forecast changed to rain in the morning. Last night a lot more joints than usual were hurting, usually a sign of a bit rainstorm in my future.

But this morning it was clear and sunny. It was a little chilly at first then it warmed up quickly. Going out of my house I had my coat and hoodie on, by the time I got up on MJ I had taken off my coat, and then 10 minutes into my lesson I got hot and took off my hoodie.

I lasted 30 minutes. I just walked, doing my usual exploration of how sound MJ felt. He had 3 weeks off and he was feeling sort of stiff and reluctant to move out for me. His left knee seemed to hurt the most as determined from turns on the hindquarters.

So I did not do anything fancy, no 3 speeds of the walk, I just backed up once for 3 strides, most of his turns in place were not in place, he was not resistant, he just felt like he had no extra energy at all.

So we puttered around the ring enjoying the warm breeze and sunshine, walking at a moderate pace while he slowly warmed up some.

Yeah, I rode a horse today!

[Alterwho]

I’m so happy you got to ride It’s an early Christmas present

[3PonyFarm]

I’m so happy you got to ride!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Shannon was too busy doing her family Christmas preparations to come over and help me today. So my DH helped me ride my HH.

I did an experiment today with my Far Infra-red Radiation BOT and Fenwick gear. The last few rides on my HH I had forgotten to take off my BOT neck collar and I had been able to keep my balance fine though my hands were not as good as usual (thank goodness the HH is not a real live horse.) Today I also was wearing my usual daily BOT and Fenwick gear, the Fenwick Neck Gaiter, the BOT neck dickie and neck collar, and the BOT Ankle brace on my right ankle. I just wanted to see how all of this would affect my balance.

It DID affect my balance. The HH was lurching under me much more than usual and it was rare for me to get the bubbles on the bubble balance centered. My times of perfect balance were extremely short and rare and then I started to sway this way or that way. It was an interesting time of learning that yes, holding my right shoulder more tensely than my other shoulder DOES move the HH to sway out of balance.

I was already tired and I only made it for 16 minutes. I rode in my Crosby PDN Wide Front saddle with my Eldonian Prussian sided stirrups.

As usual the first 9 minutes or so I had my feet flat on the platform. I checked where my toes were, leaning forward slightly I saw that I could only get into any sort of balance if my toes were a little bit forward of my knees, angled out and the toe area of my boot angled off the platform. That was totally necessary for me to get both my front-to-back balance and my side-to-side balance. Today I was mostly out of balance.

To get my front to back balance sitting in the saddle I had to “lead with my waist” ala the Duke of Newcastle. Fortunately this automatically helps move my shoulders back so I do not hunch forward as much. My face had to be vertical, if I looked down the HH lurched to the front, and I got plenty of practice keeping my head centered, looking straight ahead into the distance. I concentrated on keeping my weight in my heels. As usual I was only perfectly balanced when I perched in my saddle, teetering desperately trying to stay centered.

I walked for 10 strides, using alternate gut muscles to move my pelvis forward. I rebalanced and rested for a while. Then I got up into 2-point for a slow count of 10. I posted 10 strides and then I walked in 2-point for 10 strides. During all this movement the HH was lurching under me more than usual and I had to concentrate to get back to center when I “rested”.

Then my DH helped me get my feet into my stirrups. I immediately lurched forward and if my head, shoulders, gut, legs and feet were not exactly right the balance showed me leaning too far forward. My side-to-side balance was not quite that bad but I had instances of lurching to my left side and having difficulties getting back centered. I repeated the exercises above except for walking up in 2-point.

During my brief moments of being in balance I felt like I was teetering on the point of a needle and any muscle movements would send the HH lurching under me.

My conclusions from this experiment is that my balance is WORSE when I wear the FIR gear. The added heat, however mild it may be, affects my spinal neurons and the neurons at the base of my brain.

When riding horses I do not wear the FIR stuff. This is why, I just cannot keep my body in balance and that affects whatever is under me.

[3PonyFarm]

Interesting observations!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I WAS supposed to get my riding lesson today, but Debbie called and she was too busy running around in preparation for tomorrow.

So I had another exciting ride on my wonderful Home Horse.

I lasted 20 minutes with DH’s help.

I started off with my feet on the platform. I am trying to do “logical” exercises, starting off with getting in balance, then 10 “strides” of the walk, then staying up in 2-point for a count of 10, then I “posted” for 10 strides. The next set I increased to 20 strides of the walk and posting trot, then very tired I balanced for a while.

Then I put my feet in the stirrups. I basically did identical exercises, 10 strides at first then 20 strides. I STILL cannot get my seat bones all the way out of the saddle when I post using the stirrups so again I was rocking from my seat bones forward onto my thighs. I can sort of get into 2-point but at first my HH pitches forward drastically.

Then I played with the walk when sitting in the saddle, first I used the muscles in my abdomen to pull my seat bones forward, then I pushed my alternating seat bones forward, then I walked by opening and closing my hip joint, 10 to 20 strides each time.

All this got me TIRED and my DH had to help me get my right thigh over the cantle of my saddle.

Getting tired on my HH is much better than being in bed depressed because I cannot get up on a horse. At least I am keeping some of my riding muscles with somewhat fit.