I’m getting old!

pistolpete

pistolpete

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I rode the delightful share horse Smokey today he’s so lovely! I adore him!
Problem is my inner thighs felt like bricks. I am only doing one or two rides a week so not really riding enough but my inner thighs felt really stiff and weird today while riding. I wish I was young again! Any ideas? Saddle woes again?
 
I have felt stiffer over the last few weeks I might start taking some glucosamine or something I'm already on hrt, I have been riding a bit more as well so it could be that.

I don't think the damp overcast weather we have had has helped although this week has been sunny and dry.

My oh takes a dose of olive oil everyday and swears by it but I couldn't eat it from a spoon 😬
 
Do you do much exercise other than riding? I swear by Aligned Rider Academy by Meg Parkinson for pilates/yoga specifically for riders. It's helped tightness and stiff bits no end and isn't expensive either! I really notice when I've not done it.
 
MuddyMonster said:
Do you do much exercise other than riding? I swear by Aligned Rider Academy by Meg Parkinson for pilates/yoga specifically for riders. It's helped tightness and stiff bits no end and isn't expensive either! I really notice when I've not done it.
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I walk miles! I do aerobics once a week. But I’m not bendy!
 
From a real 😉 oldie. I can keep aches and pains at bay by riding very regularly but only half an hour at a time and using very light aids on a pony who never leans on my hands. Perhaps not possible with share horses though. I also make sure I am dressed in such a way that I never feel the cold. I will also take a couple of preventative paracetamols if I am already a bit stiff before getting on. Once I get on I will spend the first ten minutes systematically relaxing all my muscles until I can feel the horse's movement softly moving mine. Awareness of any tightness is a more useful skill for me than exercise. I do not do any extra exercise apart from walking as I find it too easy to over estimate my abilities and cripple myself instead. I foolishly tried some pelvic floor 'relaxation' exercises the other day and gave myself a really sore back for the next few days! I do hope you find a way of keeping comfortable and still enjoy your riding.
 
planete said:
From a real 😉 oldie. I can keep aches and pains at bay by riding very regularly but only half an hour at a time and using very light aids on a pony who never leans on my hands. Perhaps not possible with share horses though. I also make sure I am dressed in such a way that I never feel the cold. I will also take a couple of preventative paracetamols if I am already a bit stiff before getting on. Once I get on I will spend the first ten minutes systematically relaxing all my muscles until I can feel the horse's movement softly moving mine. Awareness of any tightness is a more useful skill for me than exercise. I do not do any extra exercise apart from walking as I find it too easy to over estimate my abilities and cripple myself instead. I foolishly tried some pelvic floor 'relaxation' exercises the other day and gave myself a really sore back for the next few days! I do hope you find a way of keeping comfortable and still enjoy your riding.
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Very sensible advice. Especially the preemptive paracetamol! Especially as it seems I’m just riding in walk once a week and doing faster paces just once a week.
 
I get very tight calves. I now take a good joint supplement and do stretches every morning. I started them seperately and both have really helped.
 
Pilates or yoga. You can get books and YouTube videos on sessions designed specifically for horse riders and there are different levels for the exercises, depending on whether you are experienced and bend like a slinky or are a beginner and feel like concrete - I'm now slightly bendy concrete!

I was hugely sceptical about doing any of this but am a convert. It's quite relaxing too.
 
Compression running shorts/tights. Keeps you super warm under jods too.

Used a lot in rugby football by professionals where you get hot running then cold standing as they protect muscles.

With of course yoga - that is brilliant for keeping you flexible and balanced.
 
Yoga? I do something called ROM (range of motion) by coach Eric Wong - give it a google. There is a daily ROM thing of 3 exercises & I am also following the back programme which was a different 5 exercises a day. You can get it on your phone & do it 'with' him. It's quick & convenient & you can do it whenever suits you. I don't want to say it in case I jinx it, but my lower back has never been better...!
 
planete said:
using very light aids on a pony who never leans on my hands. Perhaps not possible with share horses though.
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My experience is that one can teach a share horse to go exactly as one wants and to respond to the very light cues one likes to give. My current share did lean on my hands so I removed her rubber reins and replaced them with thin, smooth leather reins which slide through my fingers if she leans on them. As we leave the yard to hack (solo) I tell her to use her hind legs and that takes her weight off my hands.
The new reins I bought her were supposed to be just for my rides, but they proved so hard to buckle up and unbuckle that they were left on her bridle and no other sharer complained.

The cues question needs to be put in context. Before one cues, the horse has to be going in a way that is right for the transition. It is all in the preparation. My current share recognises the preparation and trots if one shortens the reins. I am so idle that I use voice cues. I tell her, "Just trot, trit trot", or "Yes, you can canter".

I rode a previous RS horse that thought the word OKay meant to canter.
That was because RS staff who took me hacking in those days would always ask if I was ready for them to canter and I replied OKay.
 
Off the top of my head the saddle may be too narrow for you under where you are stiff and sore. Take along something you could stuff under the skirts, around 10mm thick with a bit of give (a little triangle of exercise mat is what I used but you can improvise) and see if it helps. Place as far back as possible under where your thigh drapes.

If your tendons there aren't supported (and to an extent the same is true lower down where lack of support can lead to gripping with the knee) then the wrong bits work too hard to stabilise us.
 
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