Can I ride a horse if I'm pregnant?

Can I ride a horse if I'm pregnant?

That's a question a lot of women ask their doctor if they are avid riders and pregnant. Seeing how we are waiting to see if a little accident results in my needing to know whether I should be worrying about this or not in a few months, I looked it up. The answer varies with who you ask.

Most everything I've read so far says it is ok if you are an experienced rider on a steady mount. Of course, you shouldn't be jumping large jumps or anything like that as your center of gravity shifts with your body changes. You'll find yourself eating dirt.

The opposite side of this debate is that riding a horse is considered a risky sport to begin with and risky sports are off-limits while pregnant because you can fall off. You can get kicked. You can get jarred a bit while riding.

I am not an experienced rider and my horse is not a dead head to ride so the answer, for me, would be no. I am also a bit clumsier when pregnant (I've managed to fall during every pregnancy on my own feet). I am also highly neurotic about safety so I wouldn't ride whether I was experienced or not. That's just me. The risks aren't worth it to me because no matter how experienced you are, accidents happen. I just read of one on a forum where an experienced rider fell off her horse and was kicked while in her second trimester. Others enjoy riding until they aren't comfortable to do so anymore.

If you are pregnant and wondering if you should be riding your horse, check out Obgyn.net here and do a search with your question. You should definitely check with your own doctor! I'm not sure if I am going to need it yet. We had a hard time getting pregnant with our other kids, but like my husband said, it'd be our luck when we weren't trying to get pregnant. Oh well. If it happens, he or she would be welcomed with lots of love.