From: Kim Hedrich
Hi Jessica This could end up a long story , but I will try to keep it short.
I used to ride regularly, around 1 hour per day, when I owned a horse. I had to sell him because my life changed and I had no room for him any more. That was around 1987. I had no physical problems with riding then. I should mention that I had no "official" instruction, and was taught by a combination of other riders and myself. We did well enough to win and place in novelty events like bending and other novelties, as well as handling trail riding with other riders pretty well.
A few years back, I was diagnosed with mild scoliosis (curvature of the spine). I went to the doctor with back pain, and the X-ray showed the problem. Physiotherapy exercises helped a lot, altho they couldn't say for sure that the scoliosis was a direct cause of the pain. I am also not sure how long I have had a curved spine. Someone told me it was normal for everyone to have a slightly curved spine, mainly because we sit a lot, and use one side of our bodies more than the other.
Today, if I sit for too long, stand for too long, or lift something heavy, I get some pain. It is fairly mild, and resolves itself. If it doesn't, I do the physio exercises and its ok again.
I mentioned to a friend that I intended buying my own place and keeping horses on it. They knew of my spine problem, and said I might not be able to ride forever with this problem. I hadn't really thought of it until then, and it started to worry me. Do you know what effect riding will have on it?
Sorry to load you with this difficult question, but any information you can provide would be useful.
Kim
I know a number of persons who have scoliosis and ride daily -- they consider it an essential part of their physical therapy. If you're worried about the possible ill effects of riding, I suggest that you consult with a back specialist, and go in armed with information about the physiological effects of riding, riding therapy programs, etc. Doctors tend to be conservative, and if your doctor knows nothing about riding, or imagines that "riding" means what he sees occasionally on TV (racing, rodeo, or Grand Prix jumping), his first (and understandable) reaction will be to say "No, I don't think you should ride." If there's a genuine medical reason for you NOT to ride -- and there ARE such reasons -- you need to know what it is.
If you contact any of the therapeutic riding centers, you'll find that riding is considered to be wonderful exercise for strengthening the back muscles and the abdominal muscles. It's also excellent for improving your posture and developing your body more evenly. Whether you ride or not, you must develop those back and abdominal muscles -- it's their job to hold your spine in place and support it. Too many people end up with back trouble simply because they have neglected their muscles, and expected their spines to do the work that the muscles were designed to do.
EVERYONE is one-sided to one degree or another -- and everyone who wants to ride well and stay balanced needs to fight the tendency to one-sidedness. You do this exactly the way you would fight the tendency in a horse -- you make yourself more aware of the things you do that contribute to one-sidedness, and you work to develop both sides equally.
Riding doesn't have to mean galloping and jumping -- it doesn't even have to mean trotting. Just sitting on a horse while it walks is enough to stimulate and strengthen your muscles, because they will make tiny movements in response to the horse's movements. If trotting is painful or prohibited, you can walk -- or you can ride a gaited horse! A smooth-gaited Tennessee Walking Horse or Missouri Foxtrotter can make riding pleasurable again.
There are other things you can do, and they are things that any rider should do ANYWAY. Always warm up before you ride, either by vigorous grooming, by handwalking the horse for fifteeen minutes, or both. Use a mounting block -- it's better for your back, for your horse's back, and for your saddle.
Instead of worrying about RIDING, I would worry much more about the amount of physical stress that's involved in maintaining even the smallest farm. Even keeping two horses on a few acres means a LOT of crude physical labour on a regular basis. You can choose not to ride for a week or a month, but you can't choose not to feed or mow or fix a fence, even for one day.... and just one session of pushing a wheelbarrow over stony ground can hurt your back more than a week of riding. If you have weakness, pain, or severe physical limitations, it might be better to have someone else keep your horses, so that you can just enjoy your riding, without being personally responsible for maintaining the property and facilities.
As for the possibility that you won't be able to ride forever -- let me point out that not ONE of us knows for sure that she (or he) will be able to ride forever. I wouldn't let that particular concern stop you. ;-)
Jessica
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