Intimate question about saddle chaffing

[Ecks_Marx_The_Spot]

Please excuse my TMI post, but I am desperate for help. I am an eventer, but this only started when I was riding on the flat in my dressage saddle.

I am having huge, HUGE issues in my neither regions. For about a month now I have been having chaffing in my lower inguinal area. Basically right where my under wear line is. It started suddenly , for no apparent reason about a month ago.It’s so painful I can not ride at the canter for more then a few seconds.

Here is what I have done to no avail :
Changed breeches( 4 different styles/kinds
Changed underwear( different fabrics/cuts)
No under ware
shortened stirrups
used Anti chaffing powder

My trainer approves of my saddle fit to me( have ridden in it for a year)
Says my position is very good, if not improving from mos ago.
She sees very little movement in the saddle.

I ride only in this saddle, except for jumping . I don’t have this problem jumping because I am in a more forward seat and a 3 point position so off the saddle( tho to be honest It was bothering me last time i jumped because I had just ridden the day before so I was still sore from the flat work). AND i only jump once or 2 times a week. Sometimes less due to weather.

After several days of not riding it improves only to come right back with a vengeance as soon as I start canter work. ( i don’t do a lot of sitting trot).

My mother has lichen sclerosus but still manages to ride with out pain. I have no symptoms of that disorder, but I am wondering if I need to go to my GYN for a consult for thinning or weakening of the skin in my genital area.?!?!?

I think my position HAS changed in the saddle sitting more upright and not leaning forward, and I am more relaxed ( not clenching my butt) at the canter… could this be the issue? My trainer is thrilled with this improvement but is it causing my pain?

Please anyone who has had any issues I would love some help. I am worried I might have to give up eventing and become a trail rider! I am not above riding thru pain I am 40 and have shoulder arthritis among other age related aches… But this is excruciating feeling like burning and tearing. I can not bite the bullet and ride thru this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[flight]

I wonder if the twist of the saddle is wrong for you?

[lorilu]

Did you try undies with longer legs - like bike shorts? Look for ones with no seam… http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/291027959070?lpid=82 or http://andiamounderwear.com/shop/unisex-skins-unpadded/

[SugarRush]

Maybe it’s because in a dressage saddle you have a more “active” seat than when in a close contact saddle? In a cc the motion of your seat could be more up/down and lighter in general, whereas in a dressage saddle the motion of your seat would be more forward/backward and much deeper. It could be worth getting checked out by your gyno for LS, sounds like common age of onset is around 40’s/pre-menopause? Also, have you tried a silicone spray? They do work really well for chafing, used to use it for swimming in a wetsuit and never had a skin issue (and I have eczema and psoriasis to begin with!).

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

It is certainly worth a visit to your GYN or PCP to see if you have lichen sclerosis. But it sounds likely to be positional as you’ve changed your position for the better.

Can’t help you with saddle fit/position as others here can, but I can help with the rest perhaps.

I ride in spanx-type undies that extend down my thighs a few inches - 4-6? they have a center panel instead of a seam down the middle. I also rode in breeches with a panel instead of a center seam for a while but when I fixed my position I could then again ride in regular breeches.

Use astroglide or some other lube. If you have any yeast in the area, that will make it worse and likely to not heal. Use a Critic-Aid type product and keep the area very clean and dry before applying the Critic-Aid, which is a barrier and anti-yeast.

I’m sorry - I went through this as well with chafing in different areas. It stinks. I remember the days very well.

[Peggy]

Google Inverness Problem.

Or, just follow this link:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?35083-Practical-Protection-for-Private-Parts-or-Get-Thee-to-a-Nunnery

[Right_on_Target]

Maybe double check to see if your saddle is pitching down or up in front and needs reflocking. When my saddle needed reflocking in front it caused a major difference in how it fit me. The saddle looked fine before I got on, but it settled down when I was riding and it needed flocking.

[PNWjumper]

I recently had this problem, and I tried different breeches, underwear, and even no underwear as well to no avail.

It finally occurred to me that in 30 years of riding horses I’ve never had this problem and the only recent change is that I started riding my no-stirrups horse in a new (to me) saddle. The saddle fits me well (technically speaking) and fits my mare well, but for whatever reason the twist of the saddle causes the problem to start. And once it starts it carries over to my other saddles and other horses as well.

It may be that your saddle doesn’t fit your crotch conformation, despite fitting everywhere else. I think mine, because the balance is tipped pretty far forward, leaves me sitting on that underwear line on one side or the other (it never happens to me on both sides at the same time). I’m curious if it would change if I added stirrups to the saddle, but I always forget about it until I’m already on.

[ArabDiva]

Are you sure it isn’t, uh, jock itch?

I had the same problem last year…same saddle I’ve always loved, I tried changing breeches, undies, etc. Lotrimin AF cured it.

[RubyTuesday]

I wonder if the twist of the saddle is too wide for you. I have had one saddle that several other people, including the trainer, swore by just about murder my nether regions…it had a wide twist. One ride was enough.

Can you try several other saddles and see if they all affect you that way? I would NOT “ride through” the pain…I’d go to the doctor.

[Velvet]

Saddle fit is a good place to start, as is your position. Often a coach will think something looks good, without having a full understanding of the rider’s conformation. Not everyone can or should sit exactly one way. Often the “look” will put a rider with a slightly tilted pelvis too far on to their crotch. Try on thing in your own saddle first, and on your own. Ride so that you are sitting more on the seat bones and less on the pubic bone. Feel like you are tilting your pelvis so you are scooping with your butt and even lean back slightly since you say you have shoulder issues.

It could be you just are not truly aligned and going to a slightly extreme feeling position on your seat bones will help you know if that is part or all of your problem. It should at the very least show you where it starts to happen, then you find out if the position that feels more centered so you don’t hurt is one that can be more easily achieved in a different saddle.

It’s worth a try. Over the years I’ve trained and ridden other people’s horses in saddles that made me look like I was correctly balanced and yet I was never truly comfortable. Yes, I can do a ride or two in them, but I feel I am actually fighting the saddle and the discomfort grows over time until I have pain in my back, hips, etc. Crotch pain falls into this category too. Thus the reason so many are suggesting it is the most probable cause after insuring it is not a medical problem.

[SnicklefritzG]

Chafing can lead to breaks in the skin which can eventually become infected. Some people end up with Jock itch this way. If the skin along your underwear line is “weepy” then try Lotrimin and if that doesn’t improve in 1-2 weeks then go to your doctor.

[Ecks_Marx_The_Spot]

thank you for all the input. My husband thought it might be jock itch too, so I am trying the Lotrimin .

I have the saddle fitter coming out tomorrow to look at the saddle, but i don’t think she fits people to saddles, but saddles to horses.But I will ask her .

My next step is to try a different saddle, how do I know the size twist a saddle has? anyone have recommendations for a narrower twist? ( I am riding in a Custom brand saddle now)

My only concern about it being the wrong saddle is that I have been riding exclusively in this saddle 4-6 days a week for 12 mons… and I have been moving more onto my seat bones. Perhaps now that I am on my seat bones it doesn’t fit?

thanks again for the input!

[REDesign]

Been there, done that. I went through the same thing. Couldn’t figure out why either.

Anti-chafe powders didn’t help. What really worked for me was “Body Glide Anti-Chafe.” This is the stuff that runners use. You can find it in athletic/sport stores and online. It looks like stick deodorant. Works great!

[alicen]

Who was the poster who posted the bikini pictures of the differences in the spacing of women’s pelvic floors and the relationship to saddle twist?

Also, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8TGprmjdLs

[Miss_Dior]

All other stuff aside ,I had this very severe problem too. No magic underwear solved it. Body glide helped a great deal. However I realized that while my deep seated saddle appeared level, it was in fact too compressed in the front from riding. I felt a bit tipping forward in it. Had the saddle fitter raise it quite a bit in front. Problem resolved in ONE DAY !!! And I have one of the biggest moving, swinging back horses on the planet to sit. Now I still use body glide because he is swingy but can really do without it. Worth a try. FYI another rider in our barn had same problem. Our trainer was essentially in our saddles more than us and apparently he has a tendency to smoosh the flocking down in front. He is very long legged. Good luck. Had nothing to do with the twist at all.

[Cindyg]

Is it possible it’s just from the cold? I speak from personal experience, just this week. I swear I got wind chaffed. LOL.

I’ll be following this thread.

[pony-girl]

Through trial and error here is my preventive routine:

Moving comfort bikinis
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GS4X180?cache=1391051091&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70#ref=mp_s_a_1_5

Summers Eve powder

Butt butter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000HZGTUS?cache=1391051376&pi=SX200_QL40#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

Butt Shield (haven’t tried this yet but am intrigued)
http://www.Pelham-saddlery.com/giftguide/ButtShield.html

If you have an ahem issue now, A&D CREAM (like what you use on babies) and sleep with nothing on. Mine healed up in a day or two.

Good luck!

[Well_Worn_Bridle]

Better than A&D, Calmoseptine. Most pharmacies, like Target and CVS, stock it… Just ask the pharmacist. It’s a pink paste that is rather sticky and smells like camphor. It knocks other rash creams straight out of the ballpark.

[Gayla]

I am a bit concerned that it hurts so badly while you are riding. I would have it looked at if the Lotrimin doesn’t work. Have your husband take a look at the very least, he will be able to tell if it is just run of the mill chafe or something more sinister lurking below! :lol: And he will enjoy it to boot.