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Horse riding is one of the most popular hobbies for animal lovers and adrenaline seekers. This kind of sport enables riders to connect emotionally with their horse, and it can be a strong passion that turns into a way of life for many. However, horse riding is also a strenuous activity, and it requires some strong physical abilities that can be improved with proper training. Also, it’s crucial to understand your and your horse’s body’s needs so you can both rest when needed and create an effective post-riding routine to avoid injuries, pain and soreness that can develop into chronic health issues. However, no matter how careful you are during your riding sessions and post-riding recovery, horses are big and powerful animals that can be unpredictable, especially if you are a beginner in this sport. They can bite and kick when they feel threatened, and a sudden movement of their body could make them fall, resulting in severe injuries. So, if you have experienced a riding accident, in this article, you can find out how to boost the recovery process to get back on the horse faster:

The most common injuries in horse riding

Equitation is a hobby that can serve your need for freedom, and nothing compares to the feeling when you hop on your horse back. However, as amazing as it might be, it can also be dangerous because, understandably, horses are big and strong animals compared to humans, and they can be unpredictable. If you are not a professional, it can be hard to understand their behaviour, and you can get severely harmed. On the other hand, it’s also possible to experience pain due to incorrect riding techniques. For example, these are some of the most common injuries for riders:

• Back pain: this type of injury is something very common for novice and expert riders. It happens because of your position on the horse, because to maintain your equilibrium you put some considerable strength to your body. It can aggravate over time, becoming a chronic issue that has to be managed with physiotherapy and a change in your riding techniques.
• Fractures metatarsal: horses are heavy animals, and if they step accidentally on your foot, you can experience a metatarsal fracture. It can be very sore and painful, and in the worst cases, an operation is required. Otherwise, you will surely need a long break before getting back on your horse.
• Meniscal injury: the meniscus is a cartilage between your femur and tibia, which can be damaged during riding due to the pressure and rotation of your knee. Usually, it can happen from a fall, and it’s possible to turn into a chronic issue, so it’s essential to seek professional advice once you start feeling pain.

Identifying the physical and psychological trauma

Once you start feeling physical discomfort, it’s crucial to immediately seek professional help from a healthcare provider so that you can identify the main cause of your issue and take effective measures to prevent the aggravation of your injuries. Also, it’s crucial to take a step behind and ask yourself if it was your fault, because as a beginner, you might not pay attention to the equitation centre you choose, and the harmful event could be caused by the defective riding equipment or improper training of the horses and personnel. So, in this case, be aware that you can execute your rights and sue to get compensated for the harm. Additionally, when equitation is your main passion, you might feel committed for life to your hobby, and a riding accident could be a traumatic experience from a psychological point of view because, depending on how you perceived the event emotionally, you could experience long-term mental issues such as PTSD, resulting in fear of getting back on your horse and hence, experience a chain of other negative emotions that could stop you from enjoying your hobby. So, if you identify signs of severe mental discomfort, it would be best to consider therapy to cope with the trauma.

Nutrition and hydration

Nutrition plays a pivotal role in your physical well-being. So, after getting injured, it’s essential to embrace a healthier lifestyle, including proper nutrition and hydration. The food you consume has a direct impact on your body, and some foods can help you boost the recovery process significantly. For example, you should focus on the consumption of protein because it has the power to repair the injured tissues and heal wounds. You can get protein from foods like meat and compensate with daily supplement intake. Also, it’s essential to get a variety of vitamins, such as vitamin C, which is an immunity booster; vitamin A stimulates collagen production that helps heal wounds; zinc is important for improving immune functions; iron fastens the healing process of the injuries, and, overall, you can combine them all to serve your body needs. It’s also essential to make sure you drink enough water because fluids maintain your body integrity and minimise the feeling of exhaustion, giving you the strength for a faster recovery.

Therapeutic massage

Therapeutic massage is a step you should include often in your regular post-riding care routine. It’s also helpful during your recovery process because the pressure the professional puts on your body promotes blood circulation, avoiding the development of clogs, and hence, it promotes healing for the targeted parts. Also, by alleviating the muscular tension, you can also feel more relaxed, which is what you need for mental clarity after a traumatic event.

Conclusion

Nothing compares to the freedom and joy you feel when riding your beloved horse, so if you want to get back on their back soon, it’s crucial to find your inner strength for recovering. So, we hope this article encourages you to do everything you can to regain control over your life, and continue to pursue your passion.

Notwithstanding the addition of a furlong or so to the race distance in 2019, the Welsh Grand National has been run at Chepstow in Monmouthshire, South East Wales in more or less the same guise since 1949. Nowadays, the race is what the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) calls a ‘Premier Handicap’, run over 3 miles, 6 furlongs and 30 yards on going that is invariably soft or heavy.

The Welsh Grand National has a long history, having been run at the now-defunct Ely Racecourse in Cardiff between 1895 and the closure of that course in 1939 and making a one-off appearance at Newport Racecourse in 1948 before that course, too, ceased to exist. At its current venue, the race was originally scheduled for Easter Tuesday, in March or April, but was moved to February a decade later and to its current position on the calendar, on the day after Boxing Day, two decades after that.

Unsurprisingly, December is one of the coldest and wettest months of the year in Chepstow, with average rainfall in the region of 2½” and daily average low temperatures around 4°C, making ground frost a distinct possibility. It would be fair to say that climatic conditions, together with the dense, clay loam soil, which drains notoriously poorly, makes life interesting for ground staff, especially during the winter months. Somewhat ironically, despite extensive work to improve drainage in the last decade or so, the Welsh Grand National has been subject to postponement five times since 2010, once because because of frost and snow and four times because of waterlogging, having not previously been abandoned since 1996. Thankfully, on all five occasions, the Chepstow course had recovered sufficiently for the race to be staged the following January, a week or two after originally scheduled.

The late Lester Piggott, who died peacefully in Switzerland on May 29, 2022, aged 86, was, without question, the outstanding jockey of the postwar era and, arguably, the finest jockey ever to ride on British turf. Born in Wantage, Oxfordshire on November 5, 1935, he rode his first winner, The Chase, trained by his father, Keith, at Haydock Park in 1948, aged 12, and his last, Palacegate Jack, trained by Jack Berry, at the same venue in 1994, aged 58.

In between times, “The Long Fellow”, as Piggott was popularly known, rode a total of 4,491 winners on British soil and was champion jockey 11 times between 1960 and 1982. His 47-year career also included a record 30 British Classic winners, starting with Never Say Die in the Derby in 1954 and finishing with Rodrigo De Triano in the 2,000 Guineas in 1992. Indeed, Piggott remains the most successful jockey in the history of the Derby, with nine wins to his name, while his Classic haul also included the St Leger eight times, the Oaks six times, the 2,000 Guineas five times and the 1,000 Guineas twice.

Piggott is not, in fact, the most successful jockey in the history of the oldest Classic. His career total of eight wins is only good enough for joint-second in the all-time list, alongside John Jackson, a leading Northern jockey around the run of the turn of the nineteenth century. Both trail another nineteenth century jockey, William “Glorious Bill” Scott, by one.