Rider Comfort - Tips needed please

chickflick1066

chickflick1066

Active Member
May 7, 2004
8,292
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West Yorkshire
Can you help me? I like to spend many hours in sun out hacking in spring and summer, often going out for hours at a time - taking lunch with me etc.

But with this I have to deal with a lot of rider discomfort - like achey knees (i've got 2 dodgy knees due to two nasty knee accidents in the past) and often get creaky after 1/2hours of riding. How can I improve my comfort here? :eek:

Also, sore bums - any cheap(er) alternatives to make my saddle devinely comfy?:eek:

Any tips will be great, I'm mainly after info on how to make long times in the saddle comfy for my legs/knees/ankles and my derrier.

Thanks :)
 
For your knees, I'd say make sure your stirrups are really long. You could go stirrupless or bareback. And then of course a seat saver for the achy bottom. :D
 
For the knees.. kick out of your stirrups every chance you get - it REALLY helps my arthritic knees just to be in a different pose, and/or get yourself some of those padded Endurance Stirrups http://www.animaltacker.net/cat13.html like those the padding will take some of the jaring out of your knees

For the saddle, NOTHING beats a sheepskin. the saddle covers themselves are rather pricey, so I went and bought a sheepskin rug from ikea for 30$ canadian, and I just throw it over - it's warm in winter and cool in summer and very very soft! I found the cashel or gel ones caused my derrier to sweat really badly - causing terribly rashes.. that were umm... uncomfortable!
 
yeah it's the change of position - the knee gets sore from being in that one spot to long.. maybe ride a little shorter, and kick out to go longer - then you can pick them back up when you need the change?
 
I really recommend the Sprenger System 4 Flexi Stirrups. They are expensive, but you'd only need one pair in a lifetime and they are cheaper than a rug for a horse, so treat yourself! Because they flex four ways, they remove the pressure and stress usually placed on knee and ankle joints. They do work. I can vouch for it from personal experience.

Don't have any tips for the saddle from personal experience, but sheepskin sounds like a good idea.
 
I get off and walk jog Splash to practice for endurance. I wear my trainers so I can cover the ground better then in riding boots - but this time of year I just can't - cold and arthritis are NOT friends so the landing always HURTS! so I wuss out and stay aboard. I do some stretches or I ride "side saddle" first one side then the other easier in a western saddle to feel secure, but I do it in both
 
I use Sprenger stirrups too. But are they as springy as the endurance stirrups people have been posting about?
Has anyone used both and able to compare them?
 
Stella2 said:
I really recommend the Sprenger System 4 Flexi Stirrups. They are expensive, but you'd only need one pair in a lifetime and they are cheaper than a rug for a horse, so treat yourself! Because they flex four ways, they remove the pressure and stress usually placed on knee and ankle joints. They do work. I can vouch for it from personal experience.
Click to expand...

I have those, people have noticed differences, but i havnt.
I have weak ankles and they still make my ankles ache alot. Normal stirrups also make them ache.

For the saddle, NOTHING beats a sheepskin.
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Ive got a nuumed sheepskin cover for my saddle. It fits nicely, but i didnt actually find it that comfy. I prefer my HM seat saver as its not so big and bulky!
 
Ive got a nuumed sheepskin cover for my saddle. It fits nicely, but i didnt actually find it that comfy. I prefer my HM seat saver as its not so big and bulky!
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I'm suprised you say that. I treated myself to a nuumed seat saver a few weeks ago and its the best £30 i've ever spent!! very warm and comfy. certainly made hacking a lot more comfortable! i didn't find it bulky at all. it looked very bulky when i initially put it on my saddle but once i was on i hardly noticed it.

as for your problems with knees/ankles, a simple and absolutely free solution is just take your feet out of your stirrups!! i've a dodgy knee and find it will totally stiffen up after 40 minutes or so, so every 10 minutes, feet out of stirrups, rotate ankles and move your knee joints. i suppose its not ideal if you do lots of roadwork, but the majority of my hacking is forestry comission land so we are quite safe on there.
 
i have real problems with my ankles aching, i cant ride long as im in an jumping saddle and i need my knee rolls for when maddie gets silly. i bought some hm wide tread stirrups and they are great, i still take my feet out now and then to stretch, but because of the icelandic top they are so eay to get my feet back in. i also had teh problem of the stirrup leathers rubbing the inside of my leg, doesnt happen with the icelandic top.
seatsaver wise, i have a hm sbs seatsaver on my saddle, but still felt the seat through it:eek: so i added a gel seatsaver that weve had for a while to it and it sems ok, ive put it underneath now and put my hm one on the top as it is less slippery and keeps me still, i also stole the sbs seatsaver off my mums saddle and had 2 of them on, but i felt rather high and perched and the cut away bits at the side hurt my leg.
i keep looking at those sheepskin ones with memory foam on ebay to put over my existing hm seatsaver.
 
I would definatly say the endurance style ones, but not just the wide tread ones, this type -
SSA-t.jpg
acctually have a rubber insert to take the shock out of the movement plus the wide padded tread (http://www.performance-equestrian.com/html/cat020500x.html)
I would also say sheeps skin for your saddle, you can get the premade covers but they are quite expensive but I got a small peice of sheep skin and attached my own straps to it and it work fine for very little money. Real sheep skin is far better than all these fake fur one too.

J x
 
Clearly seat-savers are down to individual preference. We are all different shapes aren't we? Personally I have a little too much natural seat padding for my liking!!! :D (still manage to make those hidden bones ache tho from time to time!!! :p )
 
We had a HM and I liked it but my mum didn't :rolleyes: So we sold it after 8 months on eBay for £50!!!!!!
We've got a Nuumed and I find it SO annoying - it comes off all the time :mad:
 
I also get stiff knees and ankles(because my legs *have* to be so still all the time on Skye) and I rub them with Arnica cream or a glucosamine gel while I'm getting riding-fit. Once I'm all toughened up, they don't bother me.
 
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