Help! It hurts to ride...

[BrightonBrass]

Trigger warning: mention of lady parts and personal injury.

Long story short: after a couple of years as a happy hacker, have been learning to ride 'properly' for the past three months.

Progress is slow anyway but also hampered by pain from persistent chafing (sometimes to the point of drawing blood) in lady areas. I've tried a sheepskin seat saver and padded cycling pants with limited success. Certain horses /saddles are worse - the pommel hitting me rhythmically in a sensitive place at the rising trot being a personal favourite.

Joking aside, it's getting me down and playing havoc with my efforts to apply what I'm being taught.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Speak to your instructor, it sounds as if you are sitting tipped forward. Thousands of women ride without similar problems, so your RI should be able to see why this is happening to you and suggest a remedy.

 

[GinaGeo]

Sounds like a saddle that is out of balance on the horse and/or that doesn’t fit you.

I have issues with some saddles on certain horses.

 

[BrightonBrass]

Thanks. It's true that tipping forward is my latest problem - perhaps an over-correction from my former 'chair' position. Maybe that's why it's been worse recently. ?

 

[Orangehorse]

Sit on your seat bones.

 

[Pinkvboots]

It's not normal to be hitting the front of the pommel Orangehorse is right you should be sitting on your bum.

 

[Alwaysmoretoknow]

Trigger warning: mention of lady parts and personal injury.

Long story short: after a couple of years as a happy hacker, have been learning to ride 'properly' for the past three months.

Progress is slow anyway but also hampered by pain from persistent chafing (sometimes to the point of drawing blood) in lady areas. I've tried a sheepskin seat saver and padded cycling pants with limited success. Certain horses /saddles are worse - the pommel hitting me rhythmically in a sensitive place at the rising trot being a personal favourite.

Joking aside, it's getting me down and playing havoc with my efforts to apply what I'm being taught.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

First of all - good pants! Cotton, wide gussett, high rise, no scratchly lace etc.
Next make sure your instructor is putting you in the right position and not allowing you to be 'hollow' in your back as this will you pitch you forward onto your mons pubis which is ouchy and also bring the 'lips' into a grinding position. Think of wearing a very short skirt and no knickers so that you are tucking your bum under you and sucking your tummy muscles up. I sometimes find it helpful to advise people to hold out an arm palm up in sitting trot and 'drop away' from it to straighten the back and tilt the pelvis in the right direction to absord the horse's movement. Imagine a three pointed seat with two seat bones and an imaginary tail but be cautious to not drop to much behind the movement. Could you have some lunge lessons maybe to help you get a really balanced position?

 

[BrightonBrass]

First of all - good pants! Cotton, wide gussett, high rise, no scratchly lace etc.
Next make sure your instructor is putting you in the right position and not allowing you to be 'hollow' in your back as this will you pitch you forward onto your mons pubis which is ouchy and also bring the 'lips' into a grinding position. Think of wearing a very short skirt and no knickers so that you are tucking your bum under you and sucking your tummy muscles up. I sometimes find it helpful to advise people to hold out an arm palm up in sitting trot and 'drop away' from it to straighten the back and tilt the pelvis in the right direction to absord the horse's movement. Imagine a three pointed seat with two seat bones and an imaginary tail but be cautious to not drop to much behind the movement. Could you have some lunge lessons maybe to help you get a really balanced position?

Thanks for the tips, they sound really useful. I have had a few lunge lessons but focused on other issues. Time for some more, methinks.

 

[Equi]

Agree with everyone saying work on your seat and the tipping, but also Sorry for getting very personal and tmi (and please don’t feel the need to respond to this on the forum) but do you find you’re quite dry? Would some lubricant help ease the chafing? Drawing blood is very extensive chaffing for horse riding.

 

[ycbm]

I've had this problem on one or two horses, with the blood, and for me it's a sign that the horse is not properly going forwards and carrying me.
.

 

[satinbaze]

Just to look at it from a different angle. Is it possible you have a slight prolapse? It maybe worth getting your GP or practice nurse to check if problems continue and also do your pelvic floor exercises 2-3 times per day. There is a very good free app for your phone to help it is called mypff

 

[ycbm]

Just to look at it from a different angle. Is it possible you have a slight prolapse? It maybe worth getting your GP or practice nurse to check if problems continue and also do your pelvic floor exercises 2-3 times per day. There is a very good free app for your phone to help it is called mypff

I don't think the rubbing of the external bits, certainly not mine anyway, would be in any way affected by pelvic floor exercises and is definitely nothing to do with a prolapse. The blood is from an external graze. I sure it doesn't help that I'm not well padded around the bum ?
.

 

[ester]

I second the lube comment . I've never had an issue in my own saddles but do sometimes in other peoples and avoid wintecs as much as possible as they are the worse for it.
I cycle too, similar issues.
So I have been known to use my cycling lube (paceline chamois buttr her) when riding other people's horses. They do single sachets so you can try it.

Using cycling pants can depend a bit on the pants, because if there is too much padding up front that can mean increased pressure from the padding- the same for the seat saver. I do sometimes use a heather moffett seat saver because the cut of it means that it tends to just make the saddle more shallow and the pommel is therefore a bit lower.

For both riding and cycling I think we should talk about it more as it can really put people off and we are all structually a bit different. I blame my genetics as my mum has issues too ?

 

[Orangehorse]

Check that the saddle fits you, it could be too small.
When I bought mine from a saddler I had a 17.5" apparently I have long thigh bones.

I tried a Heather Moffat Saddle Saver and it was agony, just didin't suit me, although I know they are much liked by people.

I found a sheepskin saddle saver is right for me if I am doing very long rides.

Also - Bum Butter!

 

[BrightonBrass]

Thanks everyone. Gonna work on my seat position in lunge and get some kind of lubricant for starters...

 

[Catbird]

Mary Wanless does a good podcast and explains how to check you're sitting properly - she explains it in a way which a simple person like me understands!

 

[Widgeon]

Check that the saddle fits you, it could be too small.
When I bought mine from a saddler I had a 17.5" apparently I have long thigh bones.
I tried a Heather Moffat Saddle Saver and it was agony, just didin't suit me, although I know they are much liked by people.
I found a sheepskin saddle saver is right for me if I am doing very long rides.
Also - Bum Butter!

Agree with all that, I used to get the same problem quite badly when riding for more than an hour or so. Turned out that while the saddle fitted the horse, it didn't really fit me. I bought a new saddle and it's much easier to ride in, as well as not making me want to cry!

 

[Widgeon]

avoid wintecs as much as possible as they are the worse for it.

That's interesting - my offending saddle was also a wintec. Shame because I really liked it for lots of reasons...but I couldn't carry on as I was! I used to get the same problem cycling too, but I just put up with it because I assumed it was my fault. I probably needed a different bike saddle too but there we go.

Anyway please don't assume it's all down to your poor riding position OP, it might well be a combination of factors.

 

[Skib]

It helped me to be taught that the movement of the horse in both walk and trot is side to side, one side up and the other down as the back legs move. You may need to close your eyes (in the school) to feel it, Sitting trot became easy after that.
I ride in M&S cotton pants with a Carefree panty liner. But in my early riding lessons, I didnt know these things and I did bleed a bit. Thats why forums are so helpful.

 

[Fjord]

You're not alone OP, I had similar issues when I started riding, thinking about it I was using a Wintec, so saddle may well play a part! It does get better, I think we toughen up a bit!

 

[ester]

That's interesting - my offending saddle was also a wintec. Shame because I really liked it for lots of reasons...but I couldn't carry on as I was! I used to get the same problem cycling too, but I just put up with it because I assumed it was my fault. I probably needed a different bike saddle too but there we go.

Anyway please don't assume it's all down to your poor riding position OP, it might well be a combination of factors.

It took a bit of time to sort my bike set up as well as it is now but if I were to buy a fancy new one I'd go somewhere that does saddle pressure testing too.

I did presume the OP was at a RS, therefore if the saddles doesn't fit her she doesn't really have the option to change that.

OP hope some of the ideas help a bit.

 

[BrightonBrass]

Yes, thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Nice to know it's not just me!

It's true, I am RS so saddle change is not an option. Interestingly, its rising trot that gives me the most trouble now. (It never did before, when I was hacking *except * on one particular horse/saddle.) I actually find sitting trot less chafey, which is weird.

I think I'm struggling to match the rhythm of the current horse (very long, with a long neck and stride). My 'new-improved' seat and balance just isn't established enough to 'go with the horse' , so I feel like I'm 'flapping around' a lot. And landing on YKW...

 

[ester]

I'd suspect that when sitting you're forced to sit on your seatbones a bit more, but you go a bit perchy in rising.

 

[Skib]

I learned to ride as an adult and rising trot was the hardest thing. There are so many different styles of rising trot and on a long hack, by the time it has begun to hurt, it is almost too late. I was taught to have my hands low and steady and to roll my hips forward between my hands, that is a forward motion rather than up and down. But I think that this low rising makes the rubbing more likely.
Then there is the idea that a high rise trot creates a speedy active trot in the horse. I think that is true. I trotted a brisk one hour circuit in December after Christmas when the horse was fresh. My legs were pretty tired afterwards but I wasnt at all sore.

 

[BrightonBrass]

I'd suspect that when sitting you're forced to sit on your seatbones a bit more, but you go a bit perchy in rising.

Yes, that's exactly it!

 

[fiwen30]

You might also try both stretching but also actively training your hip flexors - there’s lots of vids on YouTube to help with this. It’ll help loosen and strengthen through the hip, and enable you to open your leg more - less pinching.

I feel your pain though, I once *skinned* a particularly delicate part, riding in a saddle with an incredibly wide twist. Horrible stuff.

 

[BrightonBrass]

 

[pistolpete]

Never had an actual injury but did once own a saddle that became known as the crotch grabber! Sold it!!