Cramps while riding + bareback pad suggestions?

[invalidsync]

Hey guys! I have a couple things to ask about. First, I love riding bareback and I wish I could do it more often. However, I have an extremely narrow-built Thoroughbred. High withers, very bony back, impossible to ride bareback. I have tried riding him bareback with a thick pad, but it didn't help much. I'm interested in investing in an actual

Comments

[teadog1425]

I'm no expert, but it sounds to me as though you might be getting cramp in your psoas muscle - it's one of the core muscles that help keep your torso upright on horseback, and it runs deep through the abdominal cavity (ie not a surface muscle). I would try to find a good physio/chiropractor/osteopath and see whether they can find a reason why you are getting these cramps. If it is that, there are lots of stretches you can find to help, but it sounds like it's worth getting checked out medically, just to check what's going on! Good luck! :-)

[teadog1425]

Coincidentally, this link just appeared elsewhere in my friends feed, which you may find helpful!

http://www.happy-horse-training.com/psoas-muscle.html

[invalidsync]

Ooo interesting. Thank you! I'll definitely look further into this.

[glenatron]

A regular stitch is related to breathing, specifically to breathing in time with the body's movements. The typical place to get one is when you are running and you breathe in time with your feet. If you have tried breathing differently and still get the cramp, then it's something else. If it's always in the same area, there may well be some underlying weakness or injury there, in which case a good bodywork practitioner can probably help.

If your horse is uncomfortable for you to ride bareback, consider that it is probably also very uncomfortable for him to carry you bareback. All those parts of him that you are sitting on have feeling too. This is one reason I'm not a great fan of bareback riding- I don't think it's good for most horses. The purpose of a saddle is mostly to protect the horse's back from our weight. If you're finding your horse is bony and disagreeable to sit on bareback then a well fitted saddle might be the best thing for both of you.

[invalidsync]

Does a good pad not help relieve that issue though? I am aware that properly fit saddles are better for it, but I'm not talking about running around on him bareback all the time. My idea of riding this particular horse bareback "more often" means mainly walking, short rides, probably a handful of times a year. I've had this horse about 5 years now and been bareback on him once, the first year I had him. Which was very short-lived because I immediately realized that his high spine digging into my crouch was not going to work for either of us haha. His topline has filled out a bit since then, but I haven't tried it again and I'm sure it would still be fairly bad. I was previously used to thicker-backed horses or ponies with plenty of cushioning I could tool around on bareback no problem, so this revelation was a slight bummer for me that I have never quite let go of, clearly.

[quietann]

I find bareback riding really good for developing a sense of "feel" especially in the seat. That said, when I ride bareback it's about 80-90% walking (and I don't canter at all because my hips are so tight and my good mare goes back to trotting... maybe she knows I might fall off at the canter ;)

I ride bareback maybe 2 or 3 times a month, usually in the evening after work when I am really too tired to have a "serious" ride.

On bareback pads -- lots available. I have a "Best Friends" -- the basic model -- which IMO is the nicest of the less expensive ones. It retails for $70 to $80. If I had the $$$ I would get a Christ sheepskin pad, but at $400+ it's a bit dear! I've sat in one and just fell in love.

That said, if your horse is narrow and "V shaped" in his back, even a good pad might not make that much of a difference. Mine is narrow for a Morgan, but has well-sprung ribs and I barely feel her spine.

[invalidsync]

Yeah, it definitely helped my sense of feel as well. If only I had the money to spend $400 on a pad! haha.

I'm worried about it not making enough of a difference too. I once saw someone who had fashioned their own sort of thing where they put a thick sheepskin pad under the basic bareback pad to boost the effectiveness/cushioning, so I'm thinking I may end up needing to do something like that.

[towerbabel51]

Just my opinion re bareback pad-Unless one has extremely good balance, I feel that the pads with stirrups are very dangerous. The other folks who commented al had very good points. Good luck finding what is causing the stitches and figuring out a way to ride bareback.

[invalidsync]

Yeah I don't like the ones with stirrups either, definitely not going for those. Thank you!

[coleoptera]

Read a bunch on an older thread about how bad/dangerous having stirrups on a bareback pad was, so I'd definitely either avoid those or simply not use them!

[colebaltblue]

I ride my TB bareback somewhat often (and longer rides of a few miles or an hour or so). Usually to ensure that I have the kind of horse that you can show up at the barn, toss a bridle on, and go for a walk without lunging or working first. He has high withers and a prominent spine. If you don't want those things, don't ride a TB

[invalidsync]

Thank you for the advice! I'll have to just try out some of those techniques. Good to know about the pad you tried, since I was thinking of sheepskin against the horse. A long time ago I was riding at a barn that had bareback pads, I can't remember what kind they were but they stuck well, I didn't have that trouble with slipping using them, but they were pretty thin pads(no sheepskin) and I don't think that kind would have enough padding to make any beneficial difference in this type of situation, so.

Ahh the issues of loving a TB haha.

[fishwithfeet]

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Friend-Western-Bareback-Saddle/dp/B00GPE7GTS

This is an incredibly comfortable bareback pad! It's grippy for both horse and rider, washable and has a lot of cushion to mitigate shark fin withers. I've been using mine pretty regularly since november, washed it once, and it still looks brand new. It holds up well!

I've got no advice on the cramping thing, though. I hope you figure it out!