Recommend me anti-chuff chafe jodhpurs

kaiserchief

kaiserchief

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When I had my own horses I rode in treeless saddles and this was never a problem. Now I've got a share and ride riding school horses, I'm finding my downstairs to be rather delicate 🫣...I'm getting round the issue with my share horse by sticking a seat saver on his saddle but don't think I'd be allowed to this at the riding school. Soooo...can anyone recommend me a pair of jodhpurs or riding tights that either has extra padding in that area, or doesn't have a seam down the middle, or is just more comfortable? Ideally not too spendy as I'm not riding every day. Thank you! 🙏
 
Caski said:
A pair of padded cycling shorts perhaps, not much vpl....
Click to expand...

I resorted to cycling shorts for a while when I was really struggling with treed saddles. Without them, I was fine for up to about forty minutes but hacking out for hours was really painful. They did help but eventually I bought a treeless saddle and the problem went away!

So maybe don't expect too much from them, but they do help.
 
Yep, cycling shorts. They did make padded dressage undercrackers at one point but no idea if they still do. If your seat saver doesn't affect the saddle itself I would strongly request you use it, sound like you have a wide pubic arch which many treeless (and other wider saddles) suit.
 
You can buy an anti chaffing cream called Lanacane over the counter at the chemists. Cyclists use it and I used to use it when I did a lot of long distance riding. There is also a product called Chubb Rub which works quite well. Kerritts do a range of riding tights that have a thin fleece finish inside and are really comfortable. Not cheap but worth the extra spend
www.comfyhorse.co.uk

Kerrits Fleece Lite Tights

Kerrits Fleece Lite Tights are lightweight winter tights to keep riders comfy in the colder seasons in ink shades of herringbone jacquard pattern
www.comfyhorse.co.uk www.comfyhorse.co.uk
 
Thanks :) I've ordered one pair of Equetech plus pants and a cheaper pair of cycling shorts to compare. Hopefully they'll both arrive by the New Year so I can put them to the test and whichever performs best, I'll buy a few more then. I can't wait to enjoy riding without chafing again :D
 
I take it very seriously, not enough saddle seats actually fit the pelvis of their rider, understandable when it's riding school saddles (although they're worse than average, generally!) but it is frustrating when riders are in pain or otherwise compromised by the fit to them of their saddle. There's a small movement in the saddle fitting world towards this approach but the approach IS different, and, as yet, certainly not for everyone. In the meantime we need fixes!

And when I started on that line of training I knew I'd had serious pain issues, and that many women do, but the stories of top female dressage riders who could only remove their underwear in the shower after riding as it's dried on 😕 (we won't get into generic saddle design, cantles, blocks, balance points AND the way horses move as the result of their training.....)
 
@sbloom it does seem absolutely bonkers that saddle design takes so little notice of the shape of the people riding in them. Though I believe the fit for the horse is of paramount importance, surely riders that are in pain cannot ride as effectively and will hinder the horse almost, if not as much, as a poorly fitted saddle would.

Would a saddle that doesn't fit the rider also cause hip pain? I'm now wondering whether my newly acquired left hip pain is compensation from trying to subconsciously "lift" my undercarriage to prevent chafing as I've also noticed that I tend to grip up on that side (particularly on a slower riding school horse) and lose that stirrup.

I rode on Monday for over 3 hours on a very forward going horse (coincidentally also taller and narrower than my usual mounts) and though my bits were raw when I got back, I hadn't lost a stirrup and my hips didn't hurt.
 
The saddle affects the rider massively. If the saddle drops us into anterior tilt lower back pain is almost a certainty, many top riders notoriously survive on painkillers. If we are even tense, having to use the wrong muscles to not tilt the pelvis (as we should be in neutral as a base, almost a "resting place"), then we're not fully allowing the horse to move, and we both end up with dysfunction and possible pain, as well as it being much more tiring.

I've been immersed in this approach for nearly 4 years and it's really hard when you keep getting told by the old guard that everyone should be on the lunge for a year (not going to happen!) and that it's about equitation, put everyone in an open seat with no knee blocks and it'll all be fine once everyone actually learns to rider.

Whereas actually, a "gold standard" saddle fit that at least extrapolates pelvic shape, and then works on stability for said pelvis (or, as I and a few others can do, actually MAP the shape), it can be transformative. Not only do we get more comfortable, more functional, better aligned, but we are no longer sat back against the cantle, relying on that cantle and big knee blocks to create our position. We are sat in a better place on the horse's back, where they can carry us most easily, pushing up in front rather than compensating for the weight of the rider. So many saddles are designed in a way that sit us to the back of the saddle on part of the horse's back (and I'm not talking about beyond T18, I'm talking the effect on biomechanics/tensegrity, the whole horse but especially access to controlling their OWN pelvis) where they are ill placed to carry us.

Moving to a more forward balance opens up a world of opportunity for a better functional fit for horse and rider, but it can feel odd and take some getting used to, and really hunting down those saddles and fitters who can provide it. And trainers, vets etc who learn more about healthy movement and can back us up, instead of sending everyone to their local fitter for yet another bog standard mid to rear balanced saddle. I will only work with brands that can do this for riders.
 
Thanks so much, that's really interesting. I've got a riding lesson tomorrow (couldn't ride my share today as he's pulled a shoe) so I'll ask about using my seatsaver in the New Year and in the meantime not be too hard on myself when I don't ride as well as I remember doing on my own horses in a saddle that fitted me as well as the horse.
 
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