We know that living with chronic illness is never fun, but trying to enjoy our 4 legged friend on top or work with them can be the tricky part. Like how on earth can a person ride or work with horses and have a chronic illness it’s just not talked about.

I am a warrior…… I have Chrons disease and Coeliac disease and in a 5 star rating I would be giving both 1 star review and wouldn’t recommend to a friend!

So what is chrons disease and coeliac disease and how does it affect me you may ask sure all I have to do is watch what I eat and take my medication … WRONG!

Crohn’s disease is a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed and when paired with coeliac disease a disease in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food it’s a recipe for disaster as not only is my auto immune response heightened so is my inflammatory response and both are dilapidating at the best of times especially when I am in flare and can often end up in hospital and how bad you say my disease caused me to have a cancer scare last year and by luck they found it just in time.

I was diagnosed at 26 years of age but had spent that length of time with no answers and constantly unwell and being investigated for everything but the obvious at one point even having repeated kidney infections for years which was causing similar symptoms to the two C’s but despite my questions I was told I was prone to kidney infections instead of looking at other things I was passed from consultant to consultant with no answers and my poor mother driven demented that she was an anxious mother and she was pushing her anxiety onto me and making me sick with anxiety which when I look back, it only would have taken one doctor to actually listen. Unfortunately, as I had been left so long without proper treatment it had wreaked havoc on my system and made me susceptible to other infections and as a result I got meningitis which damaged my hearing.

It was then during that stay I was chatting to the resident doctor on my ward and I was telling him all about my medical history that we agreed to give me a piece of white bread and then let me flare up and then scope that I FINALLY GOT MY ANSWERS ! CLEAR AS DAY I had Chrons disease and coeliac disease MY PRAYERS HAD BEEN ANSWERED! 

How I am mainly affected is I can randomly full body bloat, be extremely tired even though id had a full nights sleep, pain in my joints, feeling cold and hot weather more, migraines, nausea, immune system can be hit and miss I get every bug and flu, bouts of vomiting and Diarrhea (yes I said it but yano we are all human) and extremely painful cramping after eating AND how I constantly need to bring the guts of a pharmacy with me everywhere I go and having to take medication every few hours which can make working with horses very tricky and complicated as it can hit me out of nowhere.

Staying away from triggers such as stress, gluten, and spicy food can help with symptoms but unfortunately even when these triggers are avoided my body can still go into flares. Most Recently I had a 5 week flare triggered by stress and having an understanding employer helps because not being able to work can be stressful in itself aswell as dealing with the stress of the flareup .

 Then comes the part that causes the most issues – getting people to understand why it’s necessary, how to do it properly and what tips and tricks you can use to make things easier.

This can affect

• employers , 
• colleagues 
• yard managers
• grooms 
• daily life

and why you might need understanding in regards to 

• extra time to do tasks
• extra bathroom breaks or rest periods
• extra time off or flexibility depending on each day 
• always why you are always sick 

the list goes on…

I have been lucky and unlucky with clients and employers alike but I have always found the more upfront and honest I am at offer stage making them aware of my condition the more understanding I have received and more flexible approach to my working conditions can be made but at the same time I have been unlucky and have lost employment due to my condition as employers didn’t understand how best to support me and felt at times I was “pulling a sick day“ or “not pulling my weight “and phrases such like even when I would be lying in hospital hooked up to IV medication “I wasn’t a team player” as I was always on sick leave.

So how do I manage to ride out when I not feeling myself, that’s the easy part… believe it or not riding helps ease the symptoms of a flare as the movement of the horse encourages relaxation of the body and as a results 9/10 I will generally feel better afterwards.

Exercises I find help a lot and have huge benefit 

• no stirrup work in trot and letting the body go loose 
• standing in stirrups
• raised trot poles 
• hill work 

Then there is the mental health part which no one talks about which is triggered by the fact that you must always plan where you are going, what you need to bring with you, where the toilet is, how long is the commute to where you’re going, will there be GF food available (will I need to contact the venue to check or check the menu) and the inevitable the spare change of clothes.

The whole lot makes you feel so down in the dumps and can often affect social circle especially at competitions and other outings as GF menus are rarely considered. But with forward planning and a decent packed lunch you can get the best of the situation with supermarkets now upping their game in regard to stocking GF food options that can be taken anywhere and with places like amazon stocking handy thermos lunch boxes 

To conclude horses and chronic illness is possible never give up on what makes you happy and once understanding is in place the world is your oyster! GO GET EM CHAMP!