Thank you J-Lu I dont think its TMI or I wouldnt have started the thread though being a Nurse I have a tendancy to be very comfortable with baring it all :).
I have never ridden in a thong so I will try that. Lately I have actually been riding in breeches that were a bit big with winter the extra room and accidentally ordering one size too big.
I wanted to add that the saddle I have now has been the best fitting saddle I have ever owned and it puts me in perfect postion it dosnt feel uncomfortable at all and is a used upgrade found for me by my trainer about 2 yrs ago. Fits the mare perfectley the sweat pattern on her back couldent get any better. If it was the saddle I think I would have had difficulty with it when I switched to it not 2years later.
I really do believe it is something that I am doing durring the riding. We are changing and I have changed something as I havent ever consistently had this happen before in the past.
Anyway I appreciate everyones personal experiences and shared ideas.
I last summer really made an effort to improve the swing in my hips while sitting the canter and to loosen up in my pelvis which I think I have really made headway
I would say this is your problem- you are “Wiggling around”. You don’t want to be loose and swinging and wiggly when riding, you want to SIT STILL. Watch the really good riders- they are MOTIONLESS. The horse is the one that moves, not you. First you need to develop some very strong core muscles- the best way to do this is off the horse, doing pilates. Then you hold the core of your body firmly motionless with these strong core muscles. Your lower back should be the exact opposite of “flexible”, it should be like a solid trunk of wood. The only part that should flex in response to the horse’s motion are your hip joints. The pelvis only moves around if you deliberately move it around to cue the horse to say, shift leads.
People learn differently, but I find Mary Wanless’s descriptions of what you are supposed to be doing and not doing with your body while you ride to be helpful. At first people try to “tighten up” the wrong muscles- they tighten their butt checks and bounce out of the saddle, they tighten up their legs and lose their stirrups, they tighten all over and curl into a fetal position and fall off, and then they try the other route- they try to loosen up everything and they start wiggling and flopping around; but eventually you’ll learn how to tighten up your CORE while leaving your hips relaxed. Pilates or martial arts, where you learn how to isolate and engage your core, is your best route to learning this skill.
If you have conquered the “wiggling around” problem and are still getting sores from riding, it’s either poor saddle fit or inappropriate clothing- you don’t want to be wearing any kind of clothing that has seams or wrinkles between you and the horse.
Wendy
Thank you I think you have a very good point. I have lots of homework to do I think. I have a feeling I am trying too hard…
Ewells, It’s quite a while since you posted with no additional comments.
What was the outcome? I am encountering the exact same thing after extended periods of cantering, even with padded cycling pants, and it’s keeping me out of the saddle for days at a time while the abrasions heal.
There’s clearly something I’M doing wrong, and Wendy’s post seems to hit the nail on the head.
I ride with medium to longish stirrups, English saddle and the problem seems to be worse after riding a gelding who is resistant to cantering on the correct leg in a clockwise direction, and the most incredible abrasion ever is now on the right side of my inner buttock. I suspect that I am pushing my pelvis too violently in my effort to get to him to lead with the correct leg, and probably doing the wiggling thing that Wendy mentioned above. I don’t think any jelly, biking or other special save your butt pants are going to work here.
There is very little info on the internet about this problem, presumably because no one want to 'fess that that they’ve worn holes in their butts riding.
My instructors and I speak different languages so I have to engage in a lot of self help. Any leads in solving this especially dire problem would be most appreciated!
Chatette - this happens to me in the desert when the temps are really high. What works really well for me is I first apply Anti Monkey Butt and then I stuff a piece of cloth between my cheeks. This absorbs sweat and keeps the skin from chafing.
[QUOTE=mvp;6781103]
What?
Who clenches their a$$ while riding? Does that really happen to some folks? How? Why?
I kinda, sorta get rearranging the butt cheeks, but no one is really moving those to full, “spread eagle” position.Or maybe I’m missing something?[/QUOTE]
This is a competely common and normal thing to do during yoga practice.:o It helps you get your sitz bones in better position. It’s a bit embarrassing at first.
Saddlebums.com makes affordable shorts with a gel pad that you wear under your regular breeches.
I get this, but not from dressage, from hacking. I guess I just flop around more? Seems fairly trouser orientated. Haven’t tried any of the, er, lubricants, but the bum cheek spreading thing (obviously not dramatically or in public!) does the trick.
My issue has resolved and it’s not happening any more knock on Wood. I can’t say how or why? Glad it’s gone though.
I think it could have been the pants that were too large, imo.
I noticed that with my Pikeurs, which are a bit bigger, my underpants went everywhere and it wasn’t very comfortable. And then I put on a new pair of pants (idk what brand) and boom, underpants stay in place, everything feels nice.
After having experienced this problem for years, only in the summers, when I sweat a lot, I finally discovered that the combination of cotton undies and slightly too-large undies was the culprit. Switching to nylon underwear which fits snugly, and allows my butt to slide in my breeches, solved the problem completely.
When I tried my filly I knew I was going to have to ride her in a western saddle. For some reason, in my infinite wisdom, I wore underwear with the grippy legs, so they wouldn’t ride up into the netherlands. Well, really bad idea. They stayed put alright, but my skin was in shreds! Had to get on a plane right afterward too. Bought the filly but tossed the undies lol. I’d vote for some kind of padded bike shorts. I ride road bikes long distance and they make that little hard seat bearable.
Appropriate underwear/britches matching…
…protect the lady bits and all other problems down there. This thread popped up and is near and dear to my, um, lady parts. I have suffered some awful rubs, wounds, rashes, etc. If the underwear/britches match isn’t good - feggetaboutit! Once the rub starts, almost nothing helps.
IMO - the moment a rub/rash starts, liberal amounts of A&D ointment, at all times when not in britches. Then, I second the jockey seamless underwear. And the type of britches is critical. My favorite are the Tropical Riders. Lambskin is very nice!
[QUOTE=J-Lu;6783060]
I’m going to risk the TMI route, because I just had this discussion with great friend/trainer three weeks ago. Take this for what it’s worth…
WE think that this butt abrasion comes from breeches and underwear that sort of squish your buttcheeks together. Things that help are: thin thongs - your cheeks aren’t squished together, baggier breeches - the skin-tight ones can squish your cheeks together, knee-patch not full seat - the clarino can feel diaper-like and be abrasive to your butt. People sometimes DO ride with clenched butt muscles and that also doesn’t help, either. Each of the above can lead to abrasion when riding.
Sorry if this is TMI for some. :)[/QUOTE]
Totally agree. All this high tech, tighter than tight fabric is the bane of a good dressage seat for lower level riders. They need to learn to shape around the saddle, not be pushed out with rounded thighs and tightly squished cheeks. 
While that may sound like a joke, it isn’t. You need looser breeches to find that uber deep seat when you’re first learning. Later, as long as the breeches aren’t compressing you too much, you can get around that because you already know the feel you need.
^^^
This is an interesting thought. I’ve been competing western dressage this year and have had to adjust to the western saddle. All had been going well. I’ve been riding 4-5 days a week, at all temps and humidity levels, with no issues. Had back to back shows last Saturday and Sunday, and my show pants or underwear/show pants/sweat combination led to a nasty sore on one seat bone. Had I not been working regularly in it, I would have blamed it on the saddle. The above post about tight fabric makes sense to me. My daily ride breeches are pre-weight-loss and a size too big–no issues. The show pants aren’t over tight, but they do fit snugly.
I had a bad episode of chafing last year and solved it by finding the right type of underwear. There are two kinds I use depending on the season. In spring/summer I use underwear that looks like cycling shorts (w/out the padding) and comes to just above my knee. There are no inside leg seams which helps considerably.
In the fall and winter I wear calf length underwear that I got at a riding shop. It is designed to hold everything in, so one looks better in light colored breeches. Although those do have leg seams, they are very minimal, so chafing hasn’t been a problem with them.
Inverness Problem.
One of the original COTHisms.
Thx very much for all the additional comments. This is most certainly associated with perspiring since it’s always hot and I am always soaked through after riding. But it must also be linked to other factors or others would be suffering the same fate.
The cycling pants that I’m wearing have no seams where the abrasions are located so I suspect the injury may be caused by them being too tight and pushing the cheeks together as suggested above. I’ve ordered a larger pair of seamless compression pants that should arrive by the time the abrasion heals (I figure it’s going to be a week or so). Still, I did have some chaffing recently while wearing a larger pair of padded pants so there must be more to it. The monkey-butt powder sounds interesting, but it’s not available here so that’s not a realistic option. Maybe nappy rash cream would serve the same purpose?
But I also think it must have something to do with my position, even though my instructors have told me it’s good, so I’ll work on improving my core muscles in the meantime. Even though I’m frequently praised for my good balance, I suspect I ride with the hollow back that would prevent me from sitting properly on my seat bones. It’s hard to know without being able to see.
Very frustrating not being able to ride for so long because of this. Thanks again for the input and I’ll update how it works out.
I have had many and various painful rubs/sores over many years and tried many remedies. No one “cure” works for all! Things I have found helpful to try:
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Anti monkey butt powder- absolutely great. Order on-line from many sources. Walgreens and Walmart often have in stock. Cannot say enough good things about this. Use the “baby” or “lady” or “regular” type. All helpful
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Bag Balm applied to an actual wound/rub/ulcer combined with padded bike shorts or some not too tight version of “spanks” underware- keep gooping the stuff on until the lesion heals.
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Saddle with really short thigh blocks and wide supportive butt-seat (custom made, Custom Saddlery)
I don’t have a chafing problem… but does anybody else get butt zits during the summer?
I wondered when someone would recognize that this is the Inverness Problem. Go check out that old, hilarious thread. Go to the forum favorites and look for “Get thee to a nunnery”. Too funny
