# Do you still ride when your sick?



## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

It depends. If my Alleve-D works, I'll ride. If riding doesn't make me feel worse, I'll ride, because it's a cinch I'll feel better riding than sitting on a couch or in the bed feeling sorry for myself.

If I have something that is more serious than a cold, I'd probably skip the ride. Don't want to make anyone else sick...


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

If I'm sick enough to stay home from work, I'm sick enough to make it not safe for me to go to the barn.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

Agree with JustDressageIt. If I stay home from work, the only place I will think about going is the doctor and pharmacy. Other than that, I stay home.

If you stay home for a cold from work/school and feel like youre up for riding, then you should have went to work/school.


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## Haileyyy (Mar 10, 2012)

Normally I don't ride when I feel sick, have headaches or body aches, or if my allergies are bad. I am pretty resilient, so I am not sick often but when I am it is normally worse than a common cold. Also, I won't be able to ride my best while sick, so why risk having a bad ride or getting hurt?

I am in a similar situation, not feeling sick sick but not 100%. Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment for my headaches and will miss school. Free time = horses for me, so hopefully I can get my mom to let me ride 

But, when I stay home from school on those AMAZING days, I end up going out by the horses to "get fresh air". And then normally one needs to be brushed, but since I already have them out, and the saddle is right there.... Just make sure to be finished riding by the time anyone gets home


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## Blondehorselover (Oct 20, 2011)

I just got a pretty nasty cold this past week (still trying to get over it! UGH) I called in sick to work one day then went out one day this weekend. I wasn't really feeling up to riding so I just did some liberty work with my horse then let him graze. The fresh air felt really good but after a half hour I just wanted to go home and sleep. In all honestly I probably should not have been even driving I was so "out of it". 

I agree with others...if I call into work or school then I don't go out that day. I would just focus on getting better


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## BarrelracingArabian (Mar 31, 2010)

Im almost constantly sick so if it isnt horrible like raw throat throwing up or something serious diagnosed by a dr yes i'll still ride.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Riding makes me feel better, even if it's just plodding around...So yes, i do ride when I'm sick. Last year my eyes were swollen and puffy and watering and my nose wouldn't stop running but as soon as I got up on my horse my eyes stopped watering and so did my nose and I felt better, and actually felt alive. Haha.


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## Poneigh (May 25, 2012)

it depends how sick i am! i had a cold this weekend and still rode but then i had an allergic reaction and didnt ride because i felt too horrible and was too out of it from the medicine!!


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

Depends. I have a cold right now and I have been riding. The fresh air does do you good  But last week I had conjunctivitis, tonsillitis, the works so I didn't ride  I didn't even see my horse, apart from our the window.


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## Wild Heart (Oct 4, 2010)

Depends on how sick I am.

If it's just a cold with cold-like symptoms I'll most likely still go riding. But if it is a more serious where I'm too weak to move and just feel like dirt, then I'll stay home and in bed.


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## With Grace (Oct 20, 2011)

I guess it depends on what type of virus I have...if it's a cold I'll still ride (have one right now.) But if I have something that makes me stay home from life, then no I don't ride.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

If it's just a cold, I wouldn't think of not riding. If I'm running a fever I'll ride if something needs to be done.


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## WesternJake (Jan 29, 2011)

If I have a slight cold, I'll ride. Body aches, head throbbing, I might ride, but it depends. But if I'm sick enough that it warrants staying in bed all day long and not making it to work (ie. fever, vomiting, or otherwise dying) then I won't ride.


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## Copperhead (Jun 27, 2012)

When it was a job, I rode with broken bones, a sprained neck, through asthma attacks and a hernia (not all at once!). I've ridden while suffering from the flu, migraines, and through the sniffles.

The only time I had to stop riding was when my sinus infection got so bad, my equalibrium was thrown off and I was suffering vertigo. I literally couldn't say on my horse.

Thats when horses were a job though. I had an obligation to work through the misery. Now that they aren't a job, I just ride whenever I feel like it. My most recent illness was a cyst that had leaked and caused a severe infection on my ovary. I could barely stand up. I spent two days at the hospital then came home and went to work. I made it through work with some discomfort and then went out to the barn.

We only live once, right?


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

I would only not ride if I'm ill enough to be off school (which is 1-2 days a year, if that). I only have one lesson a week and if I don't go to it then I would have to go another week without riding. I don't tend to get ill though, other than an occasional cold.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Nope. I only ride for pleasure now, so if I'm sick it's sure not pleasurable! :wink:

Copper, I'm not sure about the 'you only live once' thing, but I sure as heck don't want to do something strenuous when I'm feeling miserable.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Has many have already said....it depends on what's wrong.
A head cold will never keep me from riding. My sinus clears enough for me to breath again just from the activity of getting the horse ready.

I'll forgo riding for:
fever
stomach or intestinal problem
severe headache

But for a cold I feel worse sitting at home than I do being out doing things. I don't go to work because:
a) I'll feel as bad sitting in my office as I do at home and 
b) no one at work wants me to pass it on to them. 
I'm not going to pay my Dr to tell me to drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest for the next week or two. I'll rest when I'm tired, ride when I'm not :lol: and take an antihistamine to give me a clear sinus and knock me out for the night.

That's just me though. Everyone has to do what feels good for them. I love keeping my sinus cleared with the activity, so it works best for me. I'll even walk the dog in the evening to keep the sinus congestion down.


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## boldstart (Oct 11, 2009)

Yes. I even rode when I broke my wrist and had a huge cast on my wrist for six weeks.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

For those who are saying "too sick to work, too sick to ride", do you often go into work when you are sick with a contagious illness that otherwise leaves you unimpaired? Do you send your kids to school likewise? Because that's not something to flaunt...


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## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

Yep. I've ridden with the flu, a stomach bug, even acute bladder infection (ick). However I won't ride when I have a headache - it's a sure way to get crabby with your horse if he starts acting up and that's just counterproductive. 

I also don't pick battles unless I can see them through so if I'm feeling physically exhausted/fatigued I won't try and work on something if I know the horse will put up a big fight because if I have to quit the argument I've suddenly taught him he can get away with the behavior if he fights hard enough.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Generally yes. I may skip riding my own but those I'm riding for clients are a have to. I won't if I am sick/hurt enough that I won't be on my game enough for it to be productive or if I'm on the no-fly list per Dr's orders.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Foxesdontwearbowties (Jul 9, 2012)

I always go out and at least sit with Bunny, groom her or just lay in her stall. Usually if I'm sick I don't do any serious riding but I still ride her to the neighbors so she can see their horses and around the farm to do my chores.


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## Horsesgirl (Dec 14, 2013)

I feel nauseous all the time. Every single day. For as long as I can remember. But thankfully, I rarely throw up. Like seriously, if you saw me throw up, it would be so rare. I last threw up 4 years ago. Yeah I'm pretty strange. I feel nauseous every day, but it's off and on. I sometimes feel it for the whole day, but usually it hits me and it goes away in 30 minutes and then 2 hours later it comes back, pretty frustrating. I try not to let it get in the way of my riding. I have been riding for a year but I only dismounted twice because I felt sick. If I have a cold, sore throat, runny nose, itchy eyes, mild cough, slight headache, or slight stomachache, then I still ride. But I don't ride if I'm nauseous, throwing up, severe cough, severe headache, or severe stomachache. But if it's a sore throat to where I can't talk, then I don't ride. Also I don't ride if I have a gagging feeling which is rare. I have a severe gag reflex, but I avoid things that make me gag so it doesn't happen extremely often.


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## TrailDustMelody (Jun 23, 2013)

I rarely get anything worse than an annoying cold. If I'm not bedridden, I'll ride, even if its just plonking around or going for a short trail ride. The fresh air usually makes me feel way better. If I stay home from school, that's just so I don't get anyone else sick.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

I made the mistake of riding 3 weeks ago while sick. I had a cold and was real run down after carrying buckets of water due to the hose being iced up. I needed to school my 4 yo mustang and only ground worked the day before due to being sick and the wind having him worked up. So I felt the need to ride him this particular day. My boy was real quiet and soft and the ride went well until just before I quit him. He was playing in the water after getting a drink and when a family member went to correct him he got scared, spun around, and went to bucking. I was too sick to bend him around fast enough and after the 4th buck ended up on the ground and bruised my shoulder real bad and had to go to the ER where they originally thought it may be broke and put my arm in a sling. 3 weeks later and my shoulder is better but still hurts and is still healing. Safe to say in the future, when in doubt, I will skip the ride!


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

I don't believe in the "Too sick for school/work, too sick to ride" thing.

School and work is mentally and physically draining, often with zero enjoyment, around many others who could catch whatever you have, etc.

Not to say that riding isn't mental or physical, I'm just saying that it's a lot healthier for you to be up and moving and doing something you are motivated to do , and like I said in my previous post it always helps me feel much better. School or work has never done that.


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## SullysRider (Feb 11, 2012)

I will say I'm guilty of pulling the too sick to go to school but not to ride card when I was younger. There's been times where I lost my lunch a few minutes before I rode but I still rode and honestly kinda forgot I was sick in the first place.


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## Houston (Apr 15, 2012)

Sick or sore, it usually doesn't stop me from riding. The only thing that might stop me are bad headaches that make just blinking miserable, which aren't too frequently thank goodness.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Nope. If I'm going to ride, I want to be on the top of my game. I'm currently sick with the flu, and I have no desire to be around my horses. I can barely breathe and I'm just so weak... Not a good state to be in around horses.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Only if I have to, I showed one morning at a horseshow with a slight sore throat, by lunch time, it was full blown cold. My coach told me to suck it up, lol. I won high point!


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## picup436 (Nov 22, 2012)

JustDressageIt said:


> If I'm sick enough to stay home from work, I'm sick enough to make it not safe for me to go to the barn.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


This, unless I am chucking a sickie for the sole purpose of riding my horses, then I ride lol!

If I am sick, but not enough to not go to work then I ride, but I don't do any formal schooling, just a trail ride.


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