embarrasing problem

[Gemani]

After riding certain horses my private parts gets quite badly damaged (I am a female by the way). My riding instructor says I have a good seat position and that I have a controlled rise in the trot. What am I doing wrong?! SHould I be sitting more on my bum? Any help appreciated!

[nutkin]

it may well be just the saddle you are using doesn't suit you. You could buy a seat saver just for your use. They cost from about £10 for a fake sheepskin one through to £70 -£80 for a real one. You can also purchase suede ones which are very good and priced in between. They will save you from getting sore and the suede ones mould to your shape.

[ucbeaka]

I agree with Nutkin that it's probably the saddle. I have experienced this in the past, but only on certain saddles. A seat saver sounds like a good idea.

[Bay Mare]

Yes, probably the saddle. I used to get weals, bruises and blisters in all kinds of weird and wonderful places :eek: It's also better if you can wear undies made of cotton lycra rather than synthetic as they stretch with you but don't tend to chafe so much. I've discovered boy shorts and they're great. Thongs are fine except when they disappear where the sun don't shine (hungry bum syndrome) and then they HURT and can be difficult to remove ;)

I've not had problem at all since I've had my Flexion SBS. The Heather Moffett seat bone saver is very good (it's one of the more expensive ones, about £45 I think) and lasts for ever.

[lynz+ollie]

could be jods, if they not well designed. but probs saddle.

[Em 1]

You could try 'dressage briefs'. They are 'big knickers' with padding in all the important places!!

http://www.derbyhouse.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?language=en-GB&ProductID=5220032&CategoryID=Rider

I've not tried them myself but they are supposed to be very comfy - my old instructor used to compete in them and swore by them.

[virtuallyhorses]

Most likely to be the saddle on those horses is too small for you, you therefore hit the front when rising or those horses have dressage saddles with deep seats - which can make rising difficult anyway.

[Ryoko]

OUCH!, i can sympathise with you today! i took brenin out with a very uncomfortable saddle today, i so need a new saddle, plus it doesnt fit him so it was moving about in weird ways feeling even more uncomfortable! i think everyone else has suggested the best option, i dont think it would work for me though brenin is huge, bumhigh and i dont need any more lifting up hogher off the ground :rolleyes: new saddle methinks! hope you find a solution!! :D

[Scarlett 001]

Yep, dressage saddles tend to make me sore! Especially ones with a notable cutback. I am suffering from the same problem as I write this response! I am borrowing someone's saddle right now and it makes me a bit sore... :eek: :eek: :eek:

Last time I had this problem (last year), I found that after a month or so of riding in the same saddle, my body seemed to adapt or something. I don't know if the tissues toughen up down there or what (doesn't that sound lovely???) :rolleyes: but it did get better with time. I do also tend to tip a bit too much onto the front of my pelvis, which may not help matters either.

[Bay Mare]

Yep, dressage saddles tend to make me sore!

I'm the opposite, I find dressage saddles to be a lot more comfortable, it's the GP's that get me :eek:

I don't know if the tissues toughen up down there or what (doesn't that sound lovely???) but it did get better with time

Ewww, gross, I'm not sure if I WANT those tissues toughening up :eek:


I did ride in a saddle once (good make, good name) where the stiching around the seat was obviously slightly raised and rubbed me raw, I had open wounds around the top of my leg :mad:

[Gemani]

Thank-you for your suggestions. I got to a dressage riding place so it might be the dressage saddles that a lot of u said were painful! However, how do I now tell my intructor?! :o I don't want to make an idiot of myself!

I have just looked at the dressage knickers-they are worse than granny knickers! :p

[Portia]

Same here, get sore in all sorts of places i didn't think could poss be in contact with the saddle!

dressage knicks with the padded seat have helped (suprised at that - am already gifted with a well padded 'seat!), and tesco's nappy cream to those places that padding can't reach :o .

[mad mare1]

I use Comfy Rumps knickers, and saddle seat jods, no seams, so no rubbing!!!!! And I have a big bum, so I don't have the problems with down there as I used to!!!!

[greeneyes13]

I agree with everyone else its prob the saddle.
last time i was out i was on a different horse than the one i normally ride and even though the saddle(not a dressage saddle) was not small(horse is 15hh) where it raises up just before the withers was giving my crotch a serious beating. :eek:
however i attribute some of this pain to the fact that the horse had very long shoulders and neck and in trying to maintain good contact i was being pulled forwards. i have no idea how you would bring that one up. :o
if you're not very shy id ask straight out because if its a guy instructor im sure he has experienced that sort of problem more often than a girl and might have some good advice.
if you are shy sounds like granny pants are the way forward!
post back and let us know how you get on either way!

[ajhainey]

Oh yes, you are not the only one!! I agree with everyone else - saddle too small :( well no, in my case actually bum too big :D but it's the same basic idea...1 hour lessons are usually fine but I have had horrible trouble with this on trekking hols - 5 hours in the saddle = ouch! Even after 2 hours I can be _very_ glad to get back to the yard! The HM seat saver does help especially with 'deep' saddles - it puts you up further up in the curve of the saddle which is hence longer front to back and can help. Also cycle shorts are less embarrassing than granny pant riding knickers and have very similar padding; I use them whenever I'm going on an all day ride. Experiment a bit with a saver and padded shorts - will work on some saddles/horses and might make others worse!

Do also check your seat - I was sitting slight 'forked' originally which wasn't helping. Try sitting back on your bum a bit and asking your instructor if she still thinks your position is ok. No one ever corrected mine so it obviously looked fine - but once I moved back a bit I could feel it was a better way to sit. It also appears to be more stable (it doesn't feel that way but experience says I haven't come off so much since) which can only be a plus! Also check your underwear has no, erm, poorly placed seams and similarly for your jods..both of these can exarcebate the problem.

Other than that just avoid those horses! And to give you hope, it does improve with time - I think as you improve you just move less generally, which equals less friction. Trekking holiday after 6mths was painful, after 18months was a lot better!

As for talking to your instructor I think it's a fairly common problem so take a deep breath and mention it ;)

aj xx

[Scarlett 001]

Ewww, gross, I'm not sure if I WANT those tissues toughening up :eek:

It is kind of a gross thought. Just a passing thought as to why I may have got used to it. Kind of like how your hands toughen up with work. I have not noticed any differences in those tissues whatsoever, so let's instead go with the theory instead that my riding improved and I was bumping around on the front of the saddle less. ;)

Since we are on the topic of tough skin, the skin on my behind is apparently not as soft as it used to be. :p So much so that one boyfriend earlier this year commented that riding had obviously left me with a well muscled, and rougher-skinned behind! I thought the rougher skin was kind of yuck, but he thought that it showed I was out there riding and doing athletic-type things which he liked.

[Just.Jump]

Well, western positioning is pretty comfortable because your on your bum (This is where alot of people think western saddles are more soft/better formed than an english saddle. Not true at all, your just istting on a more padded area of your body, western saddles are actually very rigid)

English saddles have you place more weight on your crotch, to be perfectly forward ;) If you look at a western rider up top a horse, you'll see that it definately looks like their sitting down, where as alot of riders, if you didn't look at the legs (because of the short stirrups), look like their almost standing up. I was VERY sore after a few english lessons, but as I always do, I've gotten used to it or my body is adapting to the newer position.

I'm used to riding bareback though, so I suppose that could be a cross between the two. However, when a horse with those nice, mountainous bony withers comes along, I'm again left sore. I think that in most cases, unless there is rubbing -so sore muscles, not chaffing/blistering- it is just you trying to get used to a new position. Remember that every saddle is different, so a new saddle can put off your posture. Give it some time if your just sore.