Riding accidents aren't always avoidable -- after all, everyone falls off at some point -- but there are ways to be pro-active both in preventing injury and getting back in the saddle.
Riding is both a hobby and a professional interest for Dr. Naomi Betesh, who was inspired to take up the sport again when she watched her daughter, Raquel, take lessons Naomi Betesh, a physician with the Union County Orthopedic Group, has developed a protocol called Saddle Up: Equestrian Injury Rehabilitation.
"Most of what I'm finding is that riders ride forever, and as they get older, chronic injuries they kind of ignored they have to address and it's affecting their riding, or getting irritated by their riding," said Betesh, whose practice is in Linden and Clark.
"One of the messages I've been trying to get out to people is to at least get a diagnosis. Don't ignore it until it's so bad you need to do so much more."
The doctor added, "We find if people have a deficit somewhere, they tend to use another part of their body more. If you have a problem with your knee, you may end up bending your hip more to compensate. then you end up with a hip problem on top of that."
She sees a lot of back and shoulder trouble among riders, but certain steps can help improve their situation.
"A lot of preventing injury while you're riding has to do with your core. It affects the stability of your back; if your posture is wrong, it's often related to a weak core, so if you strengthen your core, you're taking some of that wear and tear off your back," explained Betesh, who is board certified in pain management and physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Making sure your saddle fits and wearing the proper equipment isn't enough for a safe and fulfilling riding experience.
"We can take care of ourselves to help the horse," observes Betesh
Exercise off the horse is key, and in improving a rider's balance, it can make things more comfortable for the horse.
"If you haven't ridden in years, you're not going to put yourself in the right position and have a greater chance of having an injury," she said.
Betesh described the core as "mainly your abdominal muscles, your obliques, your rectus abdominis. When you cough, you can feel what it's like to activate the core and see what those muscles feel like. It's not the same as pulling your stomach muscles in."
She explained, "when those muscles are activated, what happens is your core is taking some of the vibration, so it's not a concussive force on your back. An active core helps get you in the right position." Betesh laughed and added, "using your core is the solution to everything."
She's a big believer in simple yoga to help stretch the body and and make it more supple.
"When you're doing yoga, you can do a lot of full body work, and most people can do yoga," she said.
"I'm not talking about crazy positions. You don't have to stand on your head. I'm talking about downward dogs, planks, cobras. Those position do a lot for your core and your balance at the same time."
While pilates is a favorite of many big-name riders, Betesh warns, "pilates is great, but the top equestrians are also in different condition than somebody starting out. That's why I recommend beginning with yoga. Age-wise, people can do it forever."
Although she rode as a child at a farm in Oxford, where she also was into stall cleaning and raking the aisles, like many people Betesh had a long hiatus from the sport as she focused on her education, marriage and children. She started riding again two years ago at the age of 42, inspired by watching her daughter take it up, so she is particularly conscious of the needs of older riders as she works with her quarter horse mare, Jersey Girl.
During the autumn, Betesh gave a program on injury prevention at the Somerset County Park Commission's Lord Stirling Stable in Basking Ridge.
"We definitely will have her back," said Margie Margentino, Lord Stirling's manager, noting the facility is working on having her present a series about safety.
Betesh got the idea for her program because people would get hurt falling off their horses and then come to her practice.
But once the other doctors treated the patients, "they didn't know what to do with them. All they want to know is when they can get back on a horse. They don't ask, `When can I walk?' They ask, `When can I ride?'"
While the mantra for those who fall off has always been to get back on the horse immediately, Betesh advises against it unless the rider simply slid off and landed on his feet. It can be difficult for someone who fell to know whether they suffered an injury and their judgment may be impaired if they remount immediately. And obviously anyone who hits their head in a fall, even while wearing a helmet, should be checked out for concussion.
When the day does come to ride again, she commented, that if "fear is involved, go back to the basics. Don't canter the first week. Walk and trot and do it in a safe environment. Have a trainer there, take a lesson, do it at a time when no one else in the ring so there are no distractions."
ON THE RAIL -- Mylestone Equine Rescue will be on hand with merchandise and information from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. today at Horsemen's Outlet, 37 Molasses Hill Road in Lebanon...
The fourth annual First Day Horseback Ride will be held Jan. 1 on the Paulinskill Valley Trail. The ride is 5.5 miles and there will be separate sections for gaited and non-gaited horses. An RSVP is needed for parking. Contact Janice at gldg@embarqmail.com or call (973) 600-5997. If conditions are icy, the ride will be cancelled...
Olympic course designer Michael Etherington-Smith, who also handled that job at Rolex Kentucky for years, will be making an encore appearance in the U.S.
He has been signed up to lay out the route for the 3-star CIC at the Plantation Field Horse Trials in Pennsylvania this September. Since taking over as executive director of British Eventing, he has put designing on the back burner, which makes his commitment to Plantation Field a real coup.
Denis Glaccum, president of Plantation Field Equestrian Events Inc., said the organization's committee believes having Etherington-Smith design the course "is a natural step in Plantation Field CIC’s dedication and commitment to providing the highest competitive experience to American eventers."
ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE
Today: CJL Farm Show, Hunter's Crossing Farm, 121 E. Valley Brook Road, Long Valley.
Saturday: Dream Park Holiday Show, Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Logan Township.
Next Sunday: CJL Farm Show, West Milford Equestrian Center, 367 Union Valley Road, Newfoundland; Hunter/Jumper Show, Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Logan Township.
Nancy Jaffer may be reached at nancyjaffer@comcast.net.