Can I justify spending £170 on a "treat"?

tyllwyd

I'm a bit surprised that you have chosen to start horse riding when you are planning a pregnancy - I thought that with the risk of falling off, while isn't forbidden, it isn't a recommended exercise in pregnancy. Also, your ligaments get a bit softer, and bouncing up and down on the horse and the posture you sit in isn't ideal in pregnancy - and when you are very big I doubt you will want to do it.

Why not join a gym/go swimming instead, and leave the horse riding for afterwards?

LilacPixie

I say go for it.

The way I see it is a properly trained dog is essential when you have kids. The horseriding is a treat for you, once you are pregnant then it may be replaced with aqua areobics which BTW is fantastic but at £6 a time 3 timesa week sure adds up.

firesidemaid

we have spent lots on dog training in the past - even went to the best in the country for £250!

we have the same problems as you regarding other dogs. none of it has worked until recently - we now have a dog trainer in the same village as us who not only does individual lessons for £20/hour (or £10/half hour) but we can also pop in our house if we have any probs.

we had 1 and a 1/2 hours private lessons between the 2 dogs individually, got great new but simple leads for only £5. she is honest, doesn't think she knows everything and inspires us with lots of confidence which makes the training easier and better.

the best bit is that normally we avoid other dogs in the village. now one evening a week for £5/hour we take them to dog training with 6-8 other dogs, and they do training and fun stuff together and all the dogs behave and get on really well - it's not 100% yet but we're well on the way.

if you live in the east mids i'd recommend her. o/wise i'd say you can get through several trainers before you find one who suits/works with you and your dog. for us, having someone close, on hand and with the opportunity to train with other dogs in a safe environment has been the key.

good luck and don't give up on your dog x

tyllwyd

LilacPixie wrote: »

... The horseriding is a treat for you, once you are pregnant then it may be replaced with aqua areobics which BTW is fantastic but at £6 a time 3 timesa week sure adds up.

... but is still cheaper than horseriding, which would be £80 per month for 4 hours exercise, as opposed to £72 per month for 12 hours aqua aerobics. Or joining a gym which would be, say, £25 per month for as many hours exercise as you choose to do.

I'm not saying whether or not to do the horseriding, but I don't think you should try to kid yourself that you are doing it to try to help your plans for pregnancy along. Either do it because you want to, or don't do it because it is an expensive form of exercise - at the end of the day it's your choice.

floss2

tyllwyd wrote: »

I'm a bit surprised that you have chosen to start horse riding when you are planning a pregnancy - I thought that with the risk of falling off, while isn't forbidden, it isn't a recommended exercise in pregnancy. Also, your ligaments get a bit softer, and bouncing up and down on the horse and the posture you sit in isn't ideal in pregnancy - and when you are very big I doubt you will want to do it.

Why not join a gym/go swimming instead, and leave the horse riding for afterwards?

Think Mrs Tine is planning to shelve the riding when she falls pregnant. I understood that it is something that she really enjoys.

floss2

tyllwyd wrote: »

I'm not saying whether or not to do the horseriding, but I don't think you should try to kid yourself that you are doing it to try to help your plans for pregnancy along. Either do it because you want to, or don't do it because it is an expensive form of exercise - at the end of the day it's your choice.

Is this an old wive's tale, like not sitting on a warm toilet seat? I always thought that it took 2 consenting adults.......and in my case with DS1, a skinful of red witch & a tent in Yorkshire!

tyllwyd

floss2 wrote: »

Is this an old wive's tale, like not sitting on a warm toilet seat? I always thought that it took 2 consenting adults.......and in my case, a skinful of red witch & a tent in Yorkshire!

I was just talking about getting fitter and losing weight in order to improve your chances of falling pregnant. I've got PCOS (which a lot of women have without necessarily it being a problem for them), and if you have PCOS and are finding it difficult to fall pregnant then losing weight is recommended. In any case, improving your fitness can't hurt. I just don't quite see the logic of starting an expensive hobby that you plan to stop again in the near future.

floss2

I was just talking about getting fitter and losing weight in order to improve your chances of falling pregnant. I've got PCOS (which a lot of women have without necessarily it being a problem for them), and if you have PCOS and are finding it difficult to fall pregnant then losing weight is recommended. In any case, improving your fitness can't hurt. I just don't quite see the logic of starting an expensive hobby that you plan to stop again in the near future.

I'm not disputing that not everyone can get pregnant easily, it took a lot of practise to get pregnant with DS2 as I only have 1 functioning tube.

MrsTine wrote: »

......I currently have no hobbies (other than MSE) ......Riding has always been my passion and I need to loose a few pounds if the nurse is to be believed and obviously once I get pregnant I can't do excessive exercise so I'm returning to what I know not only works but I will enjoy (and it will be a great de-stresser for me, something I desperately need thanks to my job!).
.......And ultimately both these things are things I WANT to do. ......

Mrs T knows that riding will work for her, she enjoys it and it also de-stresses her, which she believes will help with falling pregnant. Surely it is better to have a hobby that she enjoys & can afford for a couple of months, than not to bother because she would have to stop when she falls pregnant? (which may or may not be as quickly as she would like).

newsgroup_monkey

Sorry, I'm a bit late on this one.

I agree with most of the people here. Originally, my answer would be "Is it necessary?" but then I thought again.

If we don't get a nice work-life-debt balance then why bother? Why don't we just make ourselves bankrupt and let the state pay for everything?*

The reason we don't is because we want extras. We work hard to get what we have (including debt!). I don't care what anyone else says about pets, the dog is part of your family. If your child needed additional tuition to help them get to a certain point would you pay it if you could? of course you would. No difference.

As far as the horse riding is concerned, if you don't do it what could happen? You become depressed, you have no enjoyment and your life becomes dull. You have a breakdown, your husband leaves you, you end up destitute and lonely. OK, that's a bit much, but you know what I mean!

BIG DISCLAIMER:

* This isn't a slight on anyone who is or is going bankrupt. I had 40k of unsecured debt until recently and that was my fault. If you read the bankruptcy forum, you'll know that many people there are in far more debt and often through no fault of their own. I'm talking here about people who don't really need to go bankrupt but see it as an "easy fix".

tyllwyd

floss2 wrote: »

Mrs T knows that riding will work for her, she enjoys it and it also de-stresses her, which she believes will help with falling pregnant. Surely it is better to have a hobby that she enjoys & can afford for a couple of months, than not to bother because she would have to stop when she falls pregnant? (which may or may not be as quickly as she would like).

I've got no problem at all with Mrs T spending her money in any way she likes - it's just that she posted here to ask for feedback on whether or not she should go with the horse riding, and the way I read what she'd said was that she was justifying the expense to herself by saying that it would help her on her road to having a baby. I'm just saying is that if the pregnancy is the top priority, there are cheaper (and maybe safer?) ways to get the same benefit. But if she wants to go horseriding because she enjoys it and she can afford it, then that is totally her choice.