any rider issues with riding a wide horse?

[Jnhuk]

I know this may be a daft question but my youngster looks to be a lot wider than my current horses and a throwaway comment made by a friend that she hoped that my hip flexors were loose has got me thinking.

What effects have folks especially those getting a little older found with this?

 

[Goldenstar]

MrGS has two ID's they are just to wide for me I can ride them but not hunt them .
I could hunt them but it's not comfortable .
I have had a hip replacement which does not help.
A physio can show you exercises for your hip flexors which it is worth doing if you find it hard .

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

Pilates is excellent for mobility.

 

[happyclappy]

i have hip an lower back problems and do find riding my husbands extra wide cob sometimes causes pain.

 

[w1bbler]

My husbands knees suffer on a wide horse.

 

[skint1]

I have a wide horse, she is so comfortable to ride though, very smooth! I am lucky that I am pretty flexible having practiced yoga to some extent for most of my life so it doesn't particularly hurt my hips or anything, I think the biggest problem I have is having the core strength to really sit deep and get my leg on, I am doing a lot more standing postures in my yoga now to see if that helps!

 

[JillA]

I am 66 and have a really wide horse. I don't struggle too much with my hips if I ride at least every other day, but what I do find is it is hard to keep my legs off him - they are just on the widest part of his barrel and the spring of his ribs, so I have to consciously keep my heels dropped as low as they will. And I can never wear spurs, they would just be too close to his sides the whole time. Buying saddles was an experience too - but then my horse is super sensitive and opinionated if he isn't 100% comfortable with his tack.

 

[Nicnac]

Sprenger bow balance stirrups have really helped my hips, knees and ankles on fat boy (he's ISH but more ID than TB) Oh - and he's not fat that's just a nickname compared to the ex-racehorse.

 

[MrsNorris]

I'm older and have a wide horse in a treeless saddle. I do struggle a bit, have a lot of hip pain after about 2 hours + hacking, but it is improving gradually with lots of stretching exercises. Might be an idea to start preparing now by working out a daily stretching routine, mine only takes about 15 mins.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I'm hypermobile and my hips do struggle with a wider horse. But since ours is very well schooled off seat and tiny leg movements it's not so bad as if I had to keep kicking

 

[JillA]

This is what I mean about mine, it is really hard not to keep nudging him with my heels, and I am 5ft 6ish. Worth thinking about

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have a Draft horse who is a very comfortable ride and have recently been told by a physio that I have a very stiff right hip. A bit of a surprise really, as I thought that the problem was the left ankle, which I broke a few years ago. I do occasionally find that I get discomfort in right hip/thigh after tightening the girth. I am now doing the exercises which the physio gave me to loosen up the hip.

 

[Jnhuk]

Thanks all. Have a ID 17.1hh who I manage to ride without any issues even if out for several hours/half day but he is narrower than the youngster when you compare the two. Have been looking up hip exercises on YouTube so probably won't do me any harm to make a start with them.

I think I am going to have fun getting a saddle to fit as well.

 

[Lolo]

Lower back, hips and knees for me on horses that are too wide. I'm short though, 5', and even then it's only if we only walk- trotting seems to shake the clunky feeling from my hips off and cantering helps my lower back.

 

[Jo1987]

I've never really noticed a difference! I've recently bought a proper traditional cob after 12+ years of tb and tbx's and I find it no less comfortable, my right knee hurts just the same after an hour's amble!

 

[Red-1]

I used to be fine.

Now I am older it is not fine any more. A lot of pain after an hour hacking, and schooling my left leg is useless in wider horses.

I guess the above replies and mine are not what you wanted to hear, sorry :-(

 

[carrots68]

I ride my IDxConnie in a treeless saddle, she is a 'great ol' girl' and at 69 in a couple of weeks the only problem I have is getting off!!! Have to sit there and swing my legs backwards and forwards a few times so that I can get my leg over, so to speak!!

 

[Wiz201]

my 17 hand share cob is wide, but he's a sensitive forward going schoolmaster so I don't need to use a lot of leg. I haven't ridden him for two weeks until yesterday so my back is hurting today. Also my arms are aching because riding him in company makes him want to go faster lol.

 

[indiat]

I'm 41 and have a tank of a Highland. I don't find it an issue but I am long in the leg - perhaps him being a pony rather than a horse makes it easier? I also ride in a treeless saddle and find it very comfortable. But I've always ridden wide horses. I got up on a finer riding school pony a few weeks ago and I felt so uncomfortable - he felt way too skinny!

 

[Skib]

I have a bad lower back (common with age) and learned to ride in my 60s, I definitely found it hard to sit straight on a wider cob type horse - a wide flat back makes it even harder.
The ABRS handbook at the time even warned instructors that older learners might find it difficult to ride a wider horse. But none of the people teaching me seemed to know that. One common solution is for RIs to shorten one's stirrups so one is riding with one's knees spread, almost in a squat.
I was saved by a very experience judge who came to teach for one weekend, advised the school to switch me from the Exmoor pony I was riding to horses, and to let down my stirrups. From then on I realised I was normal and avoided riding cobs. Thus my long term favourites and share were Irish mares who were comfortable for me to ride.

 

[Equi]

I hurt my hip after a fall and ever since that have had problems with wider horses.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I ride my IDxConnie in a treeless saddle, she is a 'great ol' girl' and at 69 in a couple of weeks the only problem I have is getting off!!! Have to sit there and swing my legs backwards and forwards a few times so that I can get my leg over, so to speak!!

Ohhh, I'm so glad its not just me that has to do this!!!

 

[Honey08]

I have a Draft horse who is a very comfortable ride and have recently been told by a physio that I have a very stiff right hip. A bit of a surprise really, as I thought that the problem was the left ankle, which I broke a few years ago. I do occasionally find that I get discomfort in right hip/thigh after tightening the girth. I am now doing the exercises which the physio gave me to loosen up the hip.

That's interesting. I get pains on doing the girth now and again (in winter mainly or after a long ride). I reckon I've always been stiffer in the hip riding than anywhere else.

Would you mind me asking what king of exercises you have to do?

Oh, forgot to say, I rode with a lady who has two draft horses and had hip pain until she started riding in a western saddle..

 

[Wiz201]

I don't tighten the girth when mounted if I can help it. I'm having pains today because I tried (and failed) to mount from a 2ft high steel bench but my hip couldn't take the stretch it took to get to the stirrup so had to stack a milk crate on top of it. Usually I get the high wooden block but sometimes its blocked by the owner's car. So the horse owner has agreed she'll make sure its clear next time.

 

[oldie48]

Just like horses we are all made differently and move differently. I'm more comfortable on a narrower horse as my hip flexors, despite doing loads of pilates etc are a bit tight. Only you will be able to tell if you feel comfortable or not but i do think as we age, most of us lose some flexibility and are more likely to struggle with a wider horse. With regard to treeless saddles, I've had friends who have bought them and found them to be less stable for schooling ie more likely to slip to the inside but perhaps they weren't fitted properly.

 

[Echo24]

Watching all these replies with interest as my youngster is a chunky fjord and I rode a TB ex racer before him and hope I won't struggle to ride him when he's backed! I've gone back to having lunge lessons to get my balance and I'm hoping this will help in preparation to riding him!

 

[mandwhy]

My haffy is like XXXW but I'm 5'10 so I like the fact she takes up my leg well. It is harder on the hips definitely and can be harder to get into a good position depending what you wanted to achieve. I personally like to keep a shorter stirrup length on her and find it hard to ride with my normal long length even though it's more comfortable as I find I get unstable. When I first got her I set my stirrups to normal length, went out for a hack and when it came to trotting I couldn't rise haha!

 

[dorito]

I ride my IDxConnie in a treeless saddle, she is a 'great ol' girl' and at 69 in a couple of weeks the only problem I have is getting off!!! Have to sit there and swing my legs backwards and forwards a few times so that I can get my leg over, so to speak!!

ditto this, I ride a big warmblood x mare who is quite substantial. The longer I'm in the saddle, the more my right leg/hip and ankle go to sleep. The pain comes later as sciatica (well, what I assume to be sciatica), but mostly in cold weather.

 

[pip6]

I've got FAI, can't ride wide horses or my femur jams against rim of hip socket. Found a solution, I have arabs!

 

[KEC]

When people are talking about hip flexors do they just mean general muscles around the hip or are they talking about the four major muscles that flexes the hip?

It would be worthwhile to stretch all the muscles around the hip not just the flexors. As riders we focus so much on 'fixing' around the pelvis and core for stability we forget we also need flexibility in that area too.