Hey Collective! Was wondering if there are any other fellow

Hey Collective! Was wondering if there are any other fellow equestrians on here who have a chronic illness, disability, or autoimmune disease?! I have Grave’s Disease, or chronic hyperthyroidism, that went undetected for YEARS and severely impacted my riding. I had it treated through radiation in fall of 2021 and my riding significantly improved (and life in general) once I had my levels under control. I was once a tense and anxious rider who couldn’t do much aerobic work. Thought I was just out of shape but after years of complaining and being put off as a lazy college student, turns out there was something that was causing this! Wish I knew about this before I did my first few recognized shows since I could maybe have broken a 60 for first level towards my bronze 🫣 the anxiety and tension was not helping. If you’re open to sharing, drop your story below and we can show each other some support and find others in our little community 🩷

Rider Question

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K H

Equestrian PRO

@Caitlin Allen I totally understand that! My horse underwent significant trauma to the point she was dangerous and likely to unalive herself or others. Luckily our traumas compliment one another and despite how she is with others- she's very safe with me so my trainer agreed to take her on. Ive managed to teach her a bunch of groundwork basics and we'll be starting ridden work soon. ♡ It's so cool that you got a chance to speak publicly on the subject- hope it resonated with readers!

01/20/24-22:28

Caitlin Allen

PS Squad

@K H the barn significantly improves my mental health. I also deal with anxiety, C-PTSD, and depression. Being around horses just significantly improves those. I actually had an article in Your Dressage with USDF where I talked about how a horse that I share a birthday with, who also dealt with some trauma in his early life, significantly helped me and taught myself so much. They’re just such amazing animals!

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01/20/24-21:36

Keep exploring the community!