'Ladies' problem !!

Dougal9

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15 October 2015
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Hi - I have been diagnosed by my GP with vulvadynia ! It is extremely painful, has anyone on here ever had, or has this condition and if so have you been able to continue riding. I have proper padded riding underwear and I'm also waiting on delivery of some aderma pads - I've done some research and these pads seem to be very successful. I am of the opinion that my Wintec saddle has caused the problem. I returned to riding in February after sudden onset of a frozen shoulder the previous August and had only bought the saddle a couple of weeks beforehand so not really had the opportunity to do much riding in it until this year. It suits my boy perfectly - but I didn't have this problem when riding in a leather saddle. I've got the saddler coming out on Monday to see if we can get a saddle that suits us both, but I'm really quite worried that I may have to give up - the pain is incredible. Doctor has given me an antidepressant that numbs the nerve endings and has given me some relief but I don't want to have to stay on them for the rest of my natural, it even hurts to sit down for any length of time never mind ride :( . Any help/suggestions would be really appreciated.
 
You could make sure you are sitting on your seat bones not your fork. Make sure you tuck them underneath you.

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I had a horse on loan a couple of years ago and it came with a godawful Wintec saddle. I can only say that riding in it practically crippled me! I put my own saddle on the horse and had no problems thereafter with my ladyparts. It may be that the saddle is tipping you forward, as the above diagram. Anyway, much sympathy and good luck with getting it sorted.
 
That sounds nasty op and I'm sure is very painful.

Different riders find different types of saddle comfortable / uncomfortable and it's worth sitting in a large variety of types and brands if you can, even within brands there can be large differences between different models.

The shape and size of the seat including the rise of the pommel, the rise if the cantle, the width of the seat, the width of the twist, the width of the pommel, the height of pommel and cantle all should ideally fit with the riders conformation.

For most off the peg saddles that is frankly impossible but in your situation I would probably avoid cut back heads, wide pommels, pommels with a sharp rise, solid trees (such as plastic adjustable headplate ones), seats with very deep foam or very small amounts of foam.

If your horse has enough room you might also try a saddle 1/2 inch larger than normal and look for saddles that have a good flat section in the middle of the seat to give you a little room front and back.
 
I had a horse on loan a couple of years ago and it came with a godawful Wintec saddle. I can only say that riding in it practically crippled me! I put my own saddle on the horse and had no problems thereafter with my ladyparts. It may be that the saddle is tipping you forward, as the above diagram. Anyway, much sympathy and good luck with getting it sorted.

oh god yes, to say Wintecs rub me up the wrong way would be putting it mildly. Sorry to hear you're suffering OP, sounds miserable.
 
I haven't googled it to know exactly what it is but an Isobella werth wintec gave me the most uncomfortable unpleasant ride of my life in the area I'm assuming you've got a problem and I sold it immediately. Hope you feel better soon!
 
So sorry to hear about your pain! I have a Wintec 2000 which I find throws the rider forward onto the pommel but I also have a Wintec Wide Cair on my other horse which doesn't and is comfy. In the past where I've had horses on loan with uncomfortable saddles I've used a suede covered Heather Moffat seat saver and that was brilliant.
 
not a problem for me. But I do remember returning to the saddle after childbirth (with a lot of stitches down there!) and a seat saver was brilliant (I have a sheep skin one) Also you could try padded cycle shorts- my husband does long distance cycling on a horrible looking bike saddle and remains comfortable!
 
another who often struggles with a wintec - both a 200 and an isabel. I think part of the problem is the increased friction compared to a leather saddle. ... however I do get on ok with a HM seat saver so not sure that theory works ;).

Can I suggest you perhaps try some women's cycling chamois cream, I'm having good results with paceline's butt'r her.
 
Another unsure what the actual condition is but sounds very painful!
I kinda liked a Wintec 2000 that came once with a horse?! (Apparently I'm the only one)
I am a little prone for some reason to being a bit sore on long rides though and found a proper sheepskin seat saver quite good.
 
I would recommend a real sheepskin seat saver, not synthetic but real wool.

The shape of some saddles doesn't always suit and try wearing 2 pairs of cotton or bamboo knickers - I did this for a riding holiday as I knew it would be long hours in the saddle and didn't want any rubs.
 
Thanks everyone. I do find the winter pitches me forward and I used a sheepskin devastated last night which did help along with 3 pads in my underwear !! Hopefully the saddler will sort me out on Monday if not I've heard wow saddles are good for ladies who have issues although on the downside not all horses like them 😁
 
Thanks everyone. I do find the winter pitches me forward and I used a sheepskin devastated last night which did help along with 3 pads in my underwear !! Hopefully the saddler will sort me out on Monday if not I've heard wow saddles are good for ladies who have issues although on the downside not all horses like them ��

I do find my Wow very comfortable and you can also have a modification to the seat to alleviate pressure in the area. Kind of opposite end of the budget to Wintecs though you can get some good deals on second hand ones :)
 
I had a wintec cripple me-and the loan horse I had had a specially made Barrie Swain that was just awful. Never had a problem in my Wow (love my wow, just wish it wasnt so darned heavy) and I am currently riding in a T4 Endurance (nice low pommel and cantle-can't be doing with deep seats). agree with sheepskin saddle saver and hope you find something that suits soon.
 
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