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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 12:18:44 PM
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Hi
I have a pure bred mare who i am only riding out on a hack once a week due to working full time and being pregnant. We both really enjoy going for our Saturday morning hack with another group of riders and usually have one canter during the hack.
My mare will start coughing and putting her head down to the ground during the canter part of the ride every time. It sounds like a dry cough and this has been happening all summer so its not associated with the colder air now.
She is not fit as she is only being ridden once a week so do you think its just a case of her being unfit and the increased amount of oxygen going into her lungs when shes working harder is the cause? She doesn't cough at any other time and doesn't have a runny nose or anything.
She is fat as she is a good doer all year round and she lives out on grass. She is not fed but will get haylage along with the rest of the herd from Christmas time onwards. When the herd all gallop round the field she will cough then too so its not just when im riding her.
I'm sure its just down to her being unfit and there isnt alot that i can do about that as im 5 months pregnant so she will be completely rested soon when i can't ride anymore.
Your thoughts please?
Thanks
Holly x
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Pasha
Platinum Member
England
3622 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 12:32:04 PM
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If she's not coughing at any other time and has no syptoms of it being an allergy, then I would tend to agree with you.
I personally wouldn't be cantering a horse under saddle that's only ridden once a week as I like to rigidly stick to a fitening program (they get injured enough already lol) so I would be inclined to stick to slow hacks if she cannot be ridden more.
I am a bit concerned when you say "She is fat as she is a good doer all year round and she lives out on grass. She is not fed but will get haylage along with the rest of the herd from Christmas time onwards"... I believe horses should follow the most natural cycle of losing a bit in the winter and then gaining a bit in the summer... lots of articles are bieng written on this now as it is widely accepted as the best way to support a normal blood sugar level and avoid metabolic problems.
Is there anyway she could avoid getting the extra haylage unless she needed? |
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pinkvboots
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3290 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 12:47:44 PM
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| I would tend to agree that as she is only ridden once a week, the coughing would be down to this reason, many horses have a cough after a good blow out, your very brave hacking out being 5 months pregnant good on you. |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 1:03:28 PM
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Thanks Pasha
Unfortunately there is no way of avoiding her getting the haylage at the moment as i am on a livery yard where she lives in a herd of 12 mares and round bales of haylage will be put out in the field from Christmas onwards.
There are additional stables being built on our yard at the moment and one will be for me so i may decide to keep her in over night during the winter and in during the day in the summer to controll what shes eating but i know this will make her very unhappy so we will see.
There is a small starvation paddock that some of the fat ponys use in the summer but it is away from the herd and my mare will cause herself injury if seperated from the others as she winds herself up so much. I have tried this already and she slipped and fell over whilst cantering around and i even put my other mare in with her but she is the dramatic drama queen type.
She is fully clipped through the winter to help with her weight problems but despite that and not being fed hard feed she is just a good doer- ive always had this problem with her and probably always will unless i had time to ride her 6 times a week which will never happen.
Regarding cantering out on a hack it is only ever a short approx 100m canter and she is always warmed up before hand. To be honest she canters/gallops around the field with the herd on a regular basis so she would be more likely to injure herself doing that rather than on a short controlled canter with me. Shes not forced to canter she does it because she wants to and i bring her back to walk if she starts coughing. If the coughing carrys on then i will have to hack her out on her own in walk and trot although to be honest i wont be riding for too much longer as my bump is getting bigger.
Thanks
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 1:07:26 PM
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Hi Pinky boots
I did do a lot of thinking about riding when hacking before i made the decision to ride through my pregnancy. Nakeeta my mare is very safe and we have a very good relationship- i like to think that i know her everymove although i know that horses are unpredictable animals my mare is a little super star, not spooky and fantastic in the heaviest of traffic. i do feel safe on her but at the same time i know i am taking a risk everytime i get on. she does look after me though...shes a very special friend. x |
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Pasha
Platinum Member
England
3622 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 2:50:22 PM
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Arabs are highly spirited and love to canter and gallop about - does it mean they are fit enough to do it with a rider on board though? She's your horse so you know her best, but if it were me I would be asking my friends not to canter for the last few rides I had left... like you said you won't be riding her much longer so you want ot enjoy it without worrying about either of you
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taranstorm
Gold Member
Wales
952 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2010 : 9:01:23 PM
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i rode my arab gelding up to till i was 7 months pregnant,did me world good get my body exercise! even went to pleasure ride on him! does you world good rather cooped up in the house waiting for the baby to be born! Enjoy riding as you know her fully as well as i do with my boy!  |
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Kazhak
Silver Member
Australia
352 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2010 : 06:49:40 AM
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when My Arabian Pony mare was a youngster she used to do the same thing, only my circs were different from yours, as back then I rode every day I could, sometimes I suspected she would hold her breath going into the canter & then would have to cough to get air going back in..
now shes an older mare & is much fitter & more balanced & doesn't do it any more.
speaking of pregnancy & fitness (lol its horse related) I rode my girls Dam during her first pregnancy right up until a week before she gave birth, & her foal was healthy & there was no complications, she did a 40km ride a week before the foal was born & was so fit that she showed no signs of distress during that ride, or after it.. we had been training her to do endurance..
so I say, being safe of course that riding while your pregnant is great fitness.. |
     
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TAE
Bronze Member
232 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2010 : 10:23:34 AM
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How old is your mare holly?
This sounds very similar to my old mare. from the age of 16 when we did cantering or harder work she would get a bit out of breath and start coughing, like your girl she had always been a bit podgy.
Due to an unrelated incident a vet saw her and said she wasn't that fat but was carrying fluid all around her body as she had oodema, but surprisingly there was no fluid build up in her legs. However it was causing some fluid on her lungs, barely noticable untill she reached about 21 but just enough to cause some breathlessness and coughing when working harder.
With my girl it seemed to be due to kidney function as a low protein diet helped and being out 24/7 also helped a lot. Though it did get worse as she went into her 20's
If your girls coughing gets worse when she is shut in this could be due to less movement resulting in more fluid retention and therefore more on her lungs.
Even at 25 she would still enjoy a ride jogging and asking to go faster, but i never pushed her on and she would slow down when she had had enough.
best of luck with horse and baby |
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pinkvboots
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3290 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2010 : 08:21:11 AM
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| Well done Holly and the rest of you for riding while you are pregant, and well done to all your well behaved horses that allow you to have a safe ride, a friend of mine also rode her horse right up until she was 7 months, but she stopped hacking as he was a bit spooky and was a 17h Hunter so she didn't want to risk a fall so late on in the preganancy. |
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Coughing when being ridden
