Aching after riding.

pistolpete

pistolpete

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I’m 62 and until recently rode a couple of times a week. That’s now dwindled to a couple of times a month. Problem is I ache so much after riding. Our hacks are normal WTC and about 2 hours long. Any tips for staying riding fit without riding? I really ache still from riding on Sunday! (Friday).
 
I’d love to go to the Spanish boy twice a week but it’s nearly a two hour round trip. I don’t mind the time it’s just not fair abandoning OH with dog walking etc. maybe I will start going twice the odd week. Can’t be aching like this!
 
FieldOrnaments said:
Maybe find a riding simulator?
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They are great, but expensive to pay for frequent sessions. There's an old thread about the weird riding exercise machines that can be found for a reasonable second hand price. I think the main points were: they don't improve your riding, they can help with reducing stiffness, they aren't that good a replication of riding sensation but they may cause hilarity

I joy ride machine | Horse and Hound Forum https://share.google/wWlunk7vugDp0eBbx
 
I think jogging will help, that’s how I keep my strength up, and I’m 10 years older than you. Don’t need to do much, just a few minutes now and again, when you are out on a walk. Cycling helps too, not the same muscles I know, but it all helps keep legs strong
 
Johnny's Star said:
They are great, but expensive to pay for frequent sessions. There's an old thread about the weird riding exercise machines that can be found for a reasonable second hand price. I think the main points were: they don't improve your riding, they can help with reducing stiffness, they aren't that good a replication of riding sensation but they may cause hilarity

I joy ride machine | Horse and Hound Forum https://share.google/wWlunk7vugDp0eBbx
Click to expand...
I had one, an ijoy machine, years ago. I gave my fellow dressage riding house mate a go on it and she pronounced it was too on the forehand and needed more schooling.
 
pistolpete said:
I’m 62 and until recently rode a couple of times a week. That’s now dwindled to a couple of times a month. Problem is I ache so much after riding. Our hacks are normal WTC and about 2 hours long. Any tips for staying riding fit without riding? I really ache still from riding on Sunday! (Friday).
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I'm not quite at that age, but not far off.

I don't ride frequently, these days. But even so, last year I went off for a week of Équirando after not riding for something like 18 months.

First day, 20km or so in an evening. One of the horses lost a shoe so the next day we had to wait for the farrier until after noon and did our planned 25km in an afternoon rather than taking the whole day for it...

The whole week was peppered with little incidents like that but I had no aches or pains.

Apparently drinking a glass or two of beer after physical exercise helps the body to recover.
 
It's difficult to get riding fit without enough riding!
I'm 68 and have my own so I'm hacking out a lot plus stable work plus yoga plus occasional hill walking. No aches or pains at all.
Prior to this I had a share for 3 years.
Prior to this (I was much younger!) and only rode maybe twice a month for 3 hours at a time, and it always floored me! Terrible backache.

Yoga or Piates every day would certainly help.
 
I think 2 hr hack is quite long - I’d be tacking a flask! Coffee or hip. While you ride could you take feet out of stirrups then twist side to side, stretch arms etc every so often. Might help.
 
I'm a total fan of strength training.
Just a few exercises a couple of times a week have made a huge difference to me .
I drive up to 4 and a half hour stretches and without doing my workouts I think I would cease up.
Its so easy and you go at your own pace using your own choice of weights till you find your level .
 
Riding is absolutely the thing that makes you hurt less when riding, but:

Jogging is good, trail running is better - basically any exercise that adds more side-to-side and abs.

Also - depending on where you hurt, you can do stretches and strength exercises that target those areas. So if your inner thighs hurt, do adductor exercises. Quads = squats. Trunk = core exercises. Personally, I find that if it hurts around my hips, I just need to stretch more, but elsewhere I need to focus on strength, but that will vary a lot depending on your anatomy. Probably it's best to do both at all times! I have never really found a solution for sore butt & crotch after a ride other than more riding... but I suspect that generally strengthening all your riding muscles would result in your weight being supported by muscles instead of just bumping around and getting bruised.

There are a TON of riding-specific exercise programs of wildly varying quality, and I haven't done any so can't really recommend one, but the Activate Your Seat program has been recommended by people who I trust about biomechanics. That said, I'm not sure whether it would specifically target the muscles you'd need to be less sore (vs improving the muscles you need to ride better... obviously there is overlap but I don't think they're exactly the same).
 
Try checking out Dressage Rider Training- they have many different types of exercise on there, I did a 21 day challenge a while ago, and I think it helped (I haven't ridden as often this winter- and am often stiff and achey before and after lol
 
I am also 62 but do ride regularly. I also swim every day, walk the dogs and do circuit training twice a week as well as poo picking and mucking out. I think strength training is good for maintaining core strength as you get older so force myself to do the circuits! Swimming very good for general fitness. Friend swears by Pilates.
 
pistolpete said:
I’m 62 and until recently rode a couple of times a week. That’s now dwindled to a couple of times a month. Problem is I ache so much after riding. Our hacks are normal WTC and about 2 hours long. Any tips for staying riding fit without riding? I really ache still from riding on Sunday! (Friday).
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Literally the only way I have found is to ride more! You are probably feeling it bit more now than you used to..when I am riding 5 times I week I am fine, but when the horse has to have time off for some reason I ache again until back into riding 5 times a week
 
If you don’t already I’d try stretching straight AFTER riding or do something like walk a mile or so after to warm down gradually and see if that makes a difference.

This may not apply to you but I ride very infrequently and find that the type of horse I ride makes a huge difference to aching the next day - narrower horses mean less aching!

Failing that get yourself a rocking horse and ‘hack’ for half an hour every day to keep the momentum up!!
 
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