Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ann Hatfield on July 15, 2009 at 6:39pm

The cross training is great. Evidently those of us who do not play any sports where quick decisions and moves have to be made really lose this ability. (Ahem-note to self.)

Considering that we all have to: remove our toes from under horse hooves coming down, duck so as not to get smacked on top of the head by some horse trying to bite a fly and generally cope with lightning fast, unexpected horse-behavior, we should all be playing some sport, or doing marshal arts or something along those lines.

Permalink Reply by Janet Ortega on July 15, 2009 at 5:00pm

Hi, I am taking calcium of course, glucosamine with MSM, a regular multivitamin for over 50, omega 3 & 6, vitamin D at 1000 mg, quercetin which really helps me breathe in this dry arid climate and keeps my immune system tuned up and finally I take bromelain once a day on an empty stomach to take away the back pain I suffer at night while in bed. It works fantastic, it really works! As long as I take one a day either with or without meals (it's better for your back if you take it on an empty stomach) I have no back pain from osteoarthritis. I also try to use the treadmill at least 5 days a week but I'm not really consistent about this.

Permalink Reply by Ann Hatfield on July 15, 2009 at 6:43pm

Bromelain, that's interesting. What does it do? I mean what is the physiology behind it reducing back pain? If there is a-one of us at this age who doesn't have some back pain, I'd be surprised.

Permalink Reply by Janet Ortega on July 15, 2009 at 6:53pm

I'm not able to give you technical specifics on it but what I was told by my chiropractor was that it destroys the protein that builds up in your back due to osteoarthritis. He had read about some trials done by a chiropractor and recommended that I try it. I have gone to my chiro for many years with lower back pain esp when riding endurance but about 3-4 years ago it started to bother me when I went to bed. I could not sleep a whole night through because of pain. When I got up in the morning though after I worked it out I was fine. I told him this and he said it sounded like a classic case of osteoarthritis starting in my back. So I took his advice and tried the bromelain. I get the stuff from the health food store depending on who has it and I have also gotten it at the vitamin store at the mall (GND or something like that). I can give you the specific brand if you like and they come in either tablets or capsules. Capsules definitely are easier to swallow but the tablets are cheaper.

No kidding, we went out and bought 3 different beds because of my back and I hated to go anywhere because my back always hurt and I was miserable. Cost us a lot of money for the beds too.

Permalink Reply by Janet Ortega on July 15, 2009 at 7:21pm

Ann, a second thought here on Bromelain. It is really a digestive enzyme. When you use lime to marinate meat as I do, it breaks down the tissues. I think it's something like this with bromelain as it is also an enzyme (pineapple). It keeps the digestive system working well when you take it with food as it was explained to me.

Permalink Reply by Ann Hatfield on July 15, 2009 at 6:56pm

Omega 3 is good for horses and humans. Here is a site, one of many, http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm.

Feeding organic ground flax from the feed store is a cheap way to get it into your horses, donkeys, mules. It will go rancid in hot weather though so I almost quit feeding it in summer.

Permalink Reply by Mary Ann Algeo on July 16, 2009 at 12:43pm

Hi! I have been riding again for about 8 years since my children left home, and I've found the glucosmine chondroitan and MSM supplements helpful for myself as well as my horse. I use aspirin probably every day since I am allergic to the non-steroidals such as Ibuprofen etc. Seems to help and the more I ride the better I feel. I am still working though and it is hard to get to the stable consistently. I do try to take a scheduled lesson at least once a week and ride 2 other times with friends. M.A.

Permalink Reply by Marti Langley on July 28, 2009 at 1:34am

Mary Ann, good for you, back in the saddle again. The only thing that will keep me fit, besides alot of riding and horsey work is doing Tae Bo. I put in the Billy Blanks video and work out, when I am being very good and disciplined. But my hippie gypsy soul won't let me be good too often, lol. My knees hurt sometimes, from 17 years of concrete floors stocking liquor and bread for a supermarket. I take Omega 3, 6 & 9 lately. Anyone know of anything to help the knees?

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on July 28, 2009 at 10:19am

Hi:

Ann - you might want to try Meloxicam, which is really easy on your stomach. When I injured my back 5 weeks ago I couldn't walk, let alone ride, and the Naproxen I took originally helped a lot with pain and mobility but cooked my stomach in 3 days. Ibuprofen and aspirin did nothing, so the doctor recommended the Meloxicam (the human version of Medicam). It's been fabulous, and I am pain free and back riding 3 horses per day, coaching, etc.

I take 2000 mg. of calcium/magnesium per day (which really helps), along with 2000 mg. of Vitamin D, 200 mg. of B-complex, and a multi-vitamin. I eat really carefully, which also helps to keep me moving and energized.

I have no doubt that daily outdoor chores make a big difference in our fitness levels and mobility. My grandfather broke horses, changed sprinklers, hauled hay, chased cattle, etc. into his 80's, and then put in a huge garden and workshop and worked on those. He had little to no loss of mobility or balance until his death at 89 from pancreatic cancer. My mother has fibromyalgia, and is still competing at Fourth level at 70. She rides every day, goes to the gym every day, cleans her bran and paddocks ever day, mows her lawn, etc., and the weight-bearing movement helps hugely with managing the pain and her mobility.

There is also a drug available in Canada now for fibromyalgia - you might want to look into that.

Permalink Reply by Ann Hatfield on August 5, 2009 at 5:35pm

Thanks, Jan, those are very useful suggestions. I will follow up on them.

It gives me such a lift to hear of people like your parents who are (were) so active for so long and therefore create so much in their lives and the lives of others.

I am going to write a series of short articles and submit them to Saddle Up or BC Horse Council's mag' or... on interesting backyard riders who are still active many decades on, and on other people in the BC horse industry. Jan White, I think it was, did a compilation on notable people in the equine industry, and had it published as a book some years ago. I would like to bring to people's attention some of the interesting and (persistent!) among us. If you can think of people to interview, and if other BC-readers can send me names, it would be most appreciated.

My mom, an artist, Frances Hatfield, is 85 and still supporting herself as a painter, driving all over BC to hang shows, being juried into prestigious shows in other places, volunteering for environmental causes and other causes, hosting friends who come to stay from far and near, maintaining her house and garden, and helping others, too. I am trying to take a lesson!

Permalink Reply by Marti Langley on August 6, 2009 at 12:44am

WTG, Frances Hatfield!!!

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on August 16, 2009 at 10:39am

I concur, Marti!

I do think it's essential, at least I'm finding it so, to go as few days as possible without saddle time. I have a good friend who's a busy judge, and she has found that the judging really cut into her time in the tack, resulting in so much body pain when she did have time to ride that she's pretty much given it up. I find that I am really sore after being away teaching for too long (now I'm limiting clinics to 4 days maximum), and was VERY sore after returning from this summer's trip to the UK for the 3*. I worked through the soreness, but in my 20's, 30's and 40's I wouldn't even have noticed a change, but now I can't help but be somewhat crippled after that long an absence.

Trail riding works well to keep you loose, and one of things I've learned to do is to adopt the hard/easy principle with my horses and myself - we school hard one day, stretch only the next, then school hard, then stretch, etc., which helps to keep me functional and them keen.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page