Hello, I'm hoping for some advice. I'm now 58 YO and I currently weigh 15 stone.
I was having lessons to learn to ride about 10 years ago (a lifetime ambition) and had an accident and ended up being catapulted into a fence, unconscious, ambulance to hospital with concussion. Never got over it really. Lost all confidence.
I later bought a lovely 14.2 Connie to have at home and ride but never really got started. He's a great personality and I won't be selling him but he has some soundness issues. He has a large bone chip in one joint of a front leg (a very old chip, prob from when a foal) and the vet says his other front leg has club foot, prob due to having to carry weight because of the bone chip. He's pretty fit but he does have this odd limp when he's trotting, due to the bone chip. He is on arthritis meds and vet says I should be right to ride him. He's now 16 and has had an easy life, started under saddle at 7 and owned by me since he was 8 and had little riding at all.
I've had a few rough years recently (and my weight has ballooned) but aiming to retire soon and hoping to lose weight and get back in the saddle.
Now do you think it would be ok to ride him, walk only, for say 15-20 minutes at a time? That's all I can manage anyway and I hope it would be ok for him. He gallops around etc in the paddock. I feel bad about wanting to ride him but I really would like to be able to just get on him sometimes and go for a short walk. No ambitions to do anymore than that. Do you reckon that would be alright? I'm really just itching to get back in the saddle.
Opinions please.
I was having lessons to learn to ride about 10 years ago (a lifetime ambition) and had an accident and ended up being catapulted into a fence, unconscious, ambulance to hospital with concussion. Never got over it really. Lost all confidence.
I later bought a lovely 14.2 Connie to have at home and ride but never really got started. He's a great personality and I won't be selling him but he has some soundness issues. He has a large bone chip in one joint of a front leg (a very old chip, prob from when a foal) and the vet says his other front leg has club foot, prob due to having to carry weight because of the bone chip. He's pretty fit but he does have this odd limp when he's trotting, due to the bone chip. He is on arthritis meds and vet says I should be right to ride him. He's now 16 and has had an easy life, started under saddle at 7 and owned by me since he was 8 and had little riding at all.
I've had a few rough years recently (and my weight has ballooned) but aiming to retire soon and hoping to lose weight and get back in the saddle.
Now do you think it would be ok to ride him, walk only, for say 15-20 minutes at a time? That's all I can manage anyway and I hope it would be ok for him. He gallops around etc in the paddock. I feel bad about wanting to ride him but I really would like to be able to just get on him sometimes and go for a short walk. No ambitions to do anymore than that. Do you reckon that would be alright? I'm really just itching to get back in the saddle.
Opinions please.
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