Ridecamp: Re: [RC] there is no way that young and small a body can ride astride a horse that many hours without damage

On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 18:57:43 -0600, "Heidi Smith"
<heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>>    A snippet from that one:  "Coaches and parents should remember that
>> children are not small adults. A child's bones, tendons, muscles and
>> ligaments develop unevenly increasing the risk of injury."
>
>And what a great alternative endurance is to running sports that are
>concussive, contact sports that have such potential to cause trauma, etc.
>Sorry, Joe--horseback riding is often used as therapy for people who CAN'T
>participate in other sports, precisely because it is NOT traumatic to them.

I'm well aware of the benefits of theraputic riding.  Theraputic
riding is generally in a ring, and for short periods of time.  Not at
all comparable to a fifty or 100 mile endurance ride.

>>   The book "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of
>> Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters," available on amazon.com
>
>Again, endurance does not put the extreme pressure on kids to spring higher,
>harder, stretch further, etc. the way that the above sports do.

Just ride for 8, 12, 18 hours at a time.

>>    A snippet from that one:  "Overuse injuries occur from repetitive
>> actions that put too much stress on the musculoskeletal system.

>Key phrase there--"that put too much stress on the musculoskeletal system."
>The beauty of riding is that it does NOT do that.  In fact, riding is a
>great asset to developing sensory integration in kids who are challenged in
>that area, precisely because it does NOT stress them.

In short duration, no.  We're talking about ENDURANCE rides.

>> Although these injuries can occur in adults as well as children, they
>> are more problematic in a child athlete because of the effect they may
>> have on your child's bone growth. Any child who plays sports can
>> develop overuse injuries, although the more time your child spends on
>> the sport, the more likely your child is to experience an overuse
>> injury."

>Please tell me what part of the anatomy (with possible exception of skin) is
>subjected to overuse in riding....  Kids are for the most part relaxed
>riders--the ones I've observed doing endurance are far more apt to get hurt
>in the football game they get up with the other juniors after the ride than
>they are on their horses.

The main concern is bones and joints, and they are stressed by far the
most when a small rider is on a horse, with the legs spread wide and
the calves unable to properly grip the saddle.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@xxxxxxxx
http://www.rnbw.com




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