OK, so I'm 53 and all of a sudden I'm creaky and stiff where I never used to be!  Waaaaaaah!  Am planning to start stretching again, the way I used to when I was ice skating regularly.  I guess this isn't a horse question, but did your body all of a sudden start getting stiff after sitting too long, or did it creep up gradually?  Oh the joys of aging!

Mary

 

You poor thing!    If it makes you feel any better, you beat me by three years.  My body simply disintegrated on my 50th birthday.  No joke!  I got up that morning and practically fell over my own feet I was so stiff.  I've had osteoarthritis in my hands for years, but suddenly I foudn myself unable to get out of the bedroom because I couldn't turn the doorknob!  Thank goodness for a drawer full of wooly sock.  LOL

Seriously, I can also report that the bad stuff doesn't keep increasing.  It levels off.  I'm 60 now and can honestly say I'm only slightly more impaired (physically--we won't talk about impending insanity) than I was at 50.  If you start stretching and working out again, you can really improve quickly. 

 Keep the faith! 

JMFriedman:

My body simply disintegrated on my 50th birthday.

Ditto. Welcome to the world of Rice Krispies, where everything goes snap, crackle & pop. My only working theory is that all the attach points were just hanging by a thread anyhow. Up until my 50th, I'd planned to donate my body to science. But with all the repairs and replacements over the past 10 years, science now already owns it. And it's getting harder to tell if it's my saddle that's creaking or it's me. I still feel like I'm 30 when I'm IN the saddle, though. It's when my right foot hits the ground coming out of it that the time machine goes back into fast forward.

Oooops! I'm late for my physical therapy appointment! ~FH

Here, here.  I am going to be 55 this year and yes, aches and pains seem to be a regular part of life.  I did something to my foot which made me limp for a few days which threw my back out which made me bump into something which made my foot hurt again which made me limp which made my back hurt...  you get the picture.

Personally I am glad my mind is going so I don't have to think about this too much.

FloridaHorseman:

Oooops! I'm late for my physical therapy appointment! ~FH

 

Yessiree Bob!  I have discovered that I can easily forego the new saddle in favor of bi-weekly visits from a massage therapist who makes house calls. 

Horseman, is it just me, or have you noticed a certain growing tendency to put "comfort" at the top of the list of requirements in pretty much every choice you make nowadays?  I never thought I'd own a WP horse.  I have one now.    When bouncing around on my hunter and dressage horse isn't in the cards, I saddle up ol' Dakota and glide around for a bit.  And my  mini driving horse is for the days when I can't even lift my leg up high enough to make it to the top of the mounting block.  When he gets feisty, I can just blow him over. 

reinchick53:

Personally I am glad my mind is going so I don't have to think about this too much.

 

Now THAT'S FUNNY!!!  *LOL*

I have lots of aches and pains when I ride in a car.  I feel fine on my horse, but when I get off all my joints protest. I feel all you pain ladies. Growing old is no fun in that department.

If' it's true misery loves company, you have a bunch!  Going for a 5 hr. ride sounds like a great idea, but the reality is more like 1 to 2 hrs.  Altho I feel like I could ride all day when I am riding.  It's the aftermath that kills me...lol!  My experience has been that if you keep moving, excercising, stretching, whatever..that will help a lot.  I was pretty lazy for a couple of years, and this year started exercising seriously again.  In just 3 months, I am seeing results and having more energy than before, and less aches, altho I gotta tell ya they are not all gone!!  My motivation is getting a new horse last fall who has more energy than my last one had for the last couple of years that I was lucky enough to have her.  I'm tryin' to keep up with the new guy!!  And, thank Heaven for Tylenol Arthritis pills.....

Well, I just turned 40 and the doctor informed me that I just need to be prepare myself.  Years of over work, arthritis, and injuries are coming home to roost.  And to top is off, my eyes are going, too!

I usually just keep going until I am too exhausted to to go anymore, because I know when I stop, I'm going to get so stiff and sore that I won't be able to move the next day.  Better to get it done today.

And here are these fool scientist trying to extend our lives to 150 yrs.  They can't even fix everything that is wearing out in 50-60 yrs.  Lord save us!

OMG!  If you are only 40, better start taking good care of yourself.....you're right, all the stuff that happens to you when you are young does come home to roost  so don't ignore it!  After umpteen times of going off horses, etc. over about 30+ years, I finally had to have shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff in 2000.  Glad I did because it's good as new, but recovery, etc. was no fun at all! 

If the scientists want to live for 150 years, they can go for it.  I'll take vanilla........

 

I'm in your group too! A couple of years ago I switched to Tenneesee Walking Horses...they do everything any other horse does, just smoother. The weather this winter really limited riding, and I wasn't able to ride for several weeks. I'd ride for maybe an hour around home on my TB. When we had a good day, I took my TWH out and rode for 3hours. I was stiff and sore after the hour on the TB and didn't feel a thing after the ride with the TWH. Stretching sure helps, but for riding, I'd recommend a gaited horse if you don't have one!

Dear Mary - I'm 65, and to tell you the truth, I started being stiff as a board after sitting still for a while so long ago, I can't really remember whether it happened gradually or suddenly!  But it still wears off after about 10 steps (at least when I haven't done anything else to make my legs sore).  So take heart, it probably won't be more than a nuisance. 

Getting older is definitely not for sissys.  But I still ride as often as I can, and plan to keep doing so for many years to come.  I find that like many of the other posters I'm fine in the saddle (until the ride get more than about 2 hrs long - then I have to get off and walk a while to ease the pain in my knees, which give me trouble otherwise - then I can mount back up and ride another hour or so ok).  It's when I hit the ground that reality and age kick back in.  And my most usual mount is a thorobred cross whose gaits are not that smooth, except for a great walk.  Fortunately that's what my usual riding partners want to mostly do. 

The next day after that long a ride, I'm stiff and sore, but I usually just say "well, so what?"  Most of my life I've had some stiff muscle or other, mostly from riding, and I learned a long time ago to just ignore it and keep going.  I sure don't let it stop me from whatever horse activity I can arrange!  And yes, thank heaven for ibuprofen when necessary.  Take heart and keep going, the more you do the more you CAN do.  It's when I'm out of the saddle for a while, which I am at the moment due to some health issues of my DH, that I get particularly sore when I start up again.  So keep your spirits up and stay in the saddle!

MaryM43

JMFriedman wrote: 

I've had osteoarthritis in my hands for years, but suddenly I foudn myself unable to get out of the bedroom because I couldn't turn the doorknob!  Thank goodness for a drawer full of wooly sock.  LOL

 

Dear JM - Have you tried using a supplement with Glucosamine Sulfate and Chondroitin Sulfate?  The one I use is made by Solgar, a company known for their products having in them what they say they have.  It kept my osteoarthritis from progressing at all for about 10 years, and still helps a lot, although the last couple of years the arthritis has started accellerating again. And I still notice the difference if I'm dumb or disorganized enough to run out for a few days.  If you're going to try this, make sure the Glucosamine is Sulfate, not HCl like a lot of them are.  A pharmacist friend-of-a-friend told me the human body just doesn't absorb Gucosamine HCl.   Start with a "loading dose" (double the recommended 1000 mg each) for two weeks, then back off to the maintenance dose.  I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

 MaryM43

Hey, MaryM:  I truly admire your spirit, and agree totally.  I will be 65 soon, and don't let that stop me from doing what I want to do.  If I am feeling stiff, usually after walking a little bit (like out to feed the horses in the morning) I loosen up a lot and feel good the rest of the day.  Some days I have to kick myself you know where to keep going, but it always pays off!  I can't imagine not having a horse, or riding.  As long as even thinking about that makes me really depressed, I am not going to stop!  I've been blessed with such wonderful horses, and want to enjoy each day I am given with them, whether we ride, groom, just play, or whatever!  Hang in there, and hope your DH gets better soon!

Lynda

We take Flex A Min and it works good, too.  We use the triple strength and take 2 a day.  I first got that idea from giving my horses joint supplements and it seemed to help them so I thought it might help us too!  Solgar is a good brand, too, and there are lots of them out there.