Riding bareback and chafing…

I find myself riding bareback a fair bit these days, usually on trails. If I’m throwing pony on the trailer of a weekday afternoon, it’s so much easier to just chuck a bridle in and not bother with a saddle.

However. I have discovered there is a chafing issue in the more ahem, delicate regions :nerd_face: it’s quite hot most of the year where I live so I prefer to ride in leggings/sometimes even shorts. The issue is less present if I wear jeans or proper breeches (so a thicker fabric) but can still happen.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid? Now yes I could put on a saddle lol, or a bareback pad but both negate the convenience of not needing to tack up, and I do genuinely enjoy the connection without.

No suggestions but I think you mean “bare” not “barr”. I’m like, “what’s William done now?”.

Maybe chuck a small sheepskin square over where your bum sits?

Or do an archive search for “linda parelli breeches” if you want to laugh whilst nursing a chafe. They were designed for bareback riding but the ad was just side-splittingly funny.

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My husband has “padded bike shorts” with literal bum padding for long bike rides. I laugh at the “bum-serts” but maybe they’d be ok for bareback?

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Also consider the horse, some kind of protection, something that distributes your weight over a larger surface than our behind does was invented for a reason, to protect your horse’s back.

Unless you are a real lightweight, of course, then is ok to bomb around bareback for longer than a short ride. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Lol yes I am indeed a lightweight…100lbs or so! Rides longer than an hour get a saddle.

Sounds like a bareback pad would be the most comfortable solution. I mean, it takes all of 10 seconds to put a bareback pad on? If you are throwing a bridle in the trailer you can put the pad in at the same time?

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A pair of fitted, long line shorts will get rid of elastic edges and sliding fabric

I always just chuck a saddle pad on and off we go. I hate getting poked in the inner thigh with horsehair that just embeds through breeches or tights, and getting the horse sweat stain on my bum. I thought it would be slipperier than it actually is, and I’ve never had a problem on my well-behaved horses (I wouldn’t be getting on bare back on the squirrelly ones anyway!) but you could always use a pad with grippies on the bottom if you felt concerned. Yes a bareback pad only takes a few seconds to put on, but there just is something about not having to do anything with a girth that mentally makes it feel so much easier to just up and go.

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I just wandered in here with no advice but saw this and had to leave the below emoji:

:rofl:

:rofl:

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I haven’t ridden in years and never rode bareback for long periods of time (last horse I owned was a narrow, bony OTTB and the few times I sat on him bareback I felt like I was sitting directly on top of his spine. I mean you know you technically are but I meant in the “this horse is BONY” sense.) and when I did I was in jeans.

Would it be worth it to buy some breeches that are maybe good for hot weather but not as thin as leggings if you don’t want to do a saddle or bareback pad at all? I don’t have any suggestions on brand (haven’t ridden in a few years) but there might be something that’s the right balance between “not going to sweat to death” and “doesn’t cause chafing.”

Try a Thinline bareback pad. I put mine on top of a sheepskin half-pad. I enjoy riding bareback, especially in the winter when we are just walking or hacking. I feel the padding plus the sheepskin gives my horse a little more leeway in comfort, while I get to work on my seat.

I would caution you against riding bareback in shorts. These days with all the high tech fabrics for yoga/exercise pants out there, there is really no reason to not try some and see what works for you. In the summer I ride in lightweight yoga pants with mesh sides, they are very lightweight without sacrificing protection. Their only drawback is they can be a bit slick in the saddle.

Ok I’m a little lost as to the cautioning against shorts? Is that just a protect the legs in case of coming off? Maybe it’s different over here lol but riding in shorts is quite common because summer is so damn hot. My usual riding pants are cheapo workout leggings which yes…slick in the saddle but I struggle to come to terms with paying $100 odd for clothes to get covered in horse lol

Anyway thanks everyone, I think I need to investigate some way of either thicker material in that area/padding. I won’t bother with a bareback pad, if I’m going to do that I may as well throw on a saddle! Pony has somehow ended up with 3 so I’m spoilt for choice lol.

I almost lost my leg due to riding in shorts. A horsehair wormed its way through my skin (a common issue for hairdressers apparently) and festered in my right knee. Doctor #1 dismissed my sore knee for a week. Doctor #2 had me in surgery hours after seeing me. The infection was very close to my knee joint.

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Maybe one of those “double back” saddle pads? Cheap, easy to wash, just throw it on no girth etc.

This is what I do. It’s slicker than snot if the horse spooks though, and sometimes the saddle pad tries to work its way out the back and I’m left to try vaulting maneuvers to pull it out from under my ass and forward. :rofl: :rofl:

ETA: I get chafing if I ride too long bareback no matter what, even with a proper bareback pad (I use the Barefoot brand, that thing is badass). I am a big-booty-Judy though, so I think I’ve got more… ahem… flesh down there than the OP does. :slight_smile:

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So update…I went underwear shopping lol. Found some cotton ones that are almost more like tiny shorts. Did an hour long ride with a friend last week bareback, no problems. So…issue solved I think lol. That’s generally about as long as I’ll do bareback anyway, longer and I have a pick of 3 different saddles :rofl:

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