Is acupuncture successful in pain relief from lumbar spinal stenosis

It's great that you have so much consideration for your horse. Animals are wonderful friends.

I'm not a horse rider and fear that it would not be good for my lumbar spine, even just walking. My lumbar spine is really bad. I can't even ride a bike outdoors due to the jolting.

That said, I never would have considered horse riding a good way to work the core, but it sounds fabulous. Thanks for the education, and for being good to your horse!

@heyjoe415 Horses are used for physical therapy and there are a lot of therapeutic riding centers. If you wanted to try it, that may be a good choice and you’d be able to get off anytime. A person would be leading the horse, so you don’t need to worry about controlling a horse. Patients who can’t walk may be able to simulate the same movements on a horse. It is smoother than a bike vibrating on rough gravel.

My horse is also gaited so he has a smooth faster walk and doesn’t trot… that would be a lot of bouncing in the saddle. You can post a trot, but have to keep the timing in sync with the horse. He’s a Tennessee Walker and they do a “running walk.” That’s kind of a rocking motion.

The relationship with the horse is for trust and safety. You are the herd leader and the horse trusts that you will not put them in danger if you have a good relationship. Even though they are bigger and stronger than people, you have to have their trust and cooperation or you are sitting on an unpredictable animal. Horses are prey animals and instinctively run from danger and don’t think about why until they are a safe distance away. Horses are also like big dogs and they miss you when you’re not there and they love attention and grooming. They groom and scratch each other as normal behavior.

I did get hurt on some one else’s horse on a trip. I was with a group of friends who lent the horse because my old horse wasn’t sound anymore. We had gone out riding together for a couple months and it seemed ok. On the trail, a guy had a loose dog that came up behind and chased the horse. She took off at a gallop and eventually bounced me out of the saddle and I broke my ankle badly. That was 4 years ago and I still have trouble with my ankle, but I can ride without pain. I’m still working on building strength back and overcoming limitations of fatigue.

I got this horse a year after the injury and he is well trained. If anything is distracting him for example wind, I get off. They can’t hear predators in the wind and it sounds like one sneaking through the grass. I have stopped bike riders on a trail so I could get off. I tell them my horse is afraid of them and they might get kicked. So many are unaware of the safety issues around horses for themselves and the horse riders. I think bicyclists sound like the wind to a horse and they move fast. That’s why I ride horse trails that are not multi use for bicycles. There are usually a lot more bicycles than horses on these trails.