I’ve noticed as we are working on my position that my left hip gets a little angry. Not horribly but it’s definitely tighter. I do think I’m going to have to spring for physical therapy if I want to get over this hump.
My saddle is comfortable but partly I think it aids in how my body wants to be versus how it really should be for riding lol.
I definitely will saddle shop differently next time. It’s clear I cannot just go by feel alone!
My hips are super tight, which makes it really hard for me to get my legs to hang under me properly, and that leads to back pain then. I have been doing Pilates to try and help but I’m not near flexible enough yet.
Do you workout to help the hips? Like squats, kettle bell swings, etc to work on that area?
Like horses, we are all built differently. I have very long legs and tight hamstrings. I spent two years doing stretches and still could not touch my toes. When I do yoga I have to modify some of the moves. It’s ok, find a saddle that works for YOU, it’s not always easy to fix something you were born with. One of my clients has to ride in an all purpose saddle, it works for her in a way a dressage saddle did not.
I do squats but maybe not enough. I have multiple problem areas due to a connective tissue disorder. Sometimes I get focused on improving one thing and let another thing go. I’ve been trying to stretch more and I’ve been doing clam shells but maybe I need to expand.
Yes that’s my realization. I have ridden in saddles I didn’t need to fight for a good position so I know it’s possible. Definitely will be getting something different eventually and I guess until then stop stressing about it, ha! I still will work to improve but I think some of it is what it is!
like jane fonda said: No pain no gain
Indeed. The problem is I have to be very careful stretching and with what kind of workouts I do. That’s why I think I need to spring for physical therapy cuz I think it will probably be more efficient for me at this point.
Since you connective tissue disorder then I’m guess you’re talking HSD/EDS? In which case, I highly recommend a PT who knows their stuff on EDS. In Maryland we have Emily Shields but I imagine there has to be someone out your way know knows riders and/or EDS. Emily was the first to point out to my trainer and I that I was compensating and where we needed to change some things (Including in the thigh block, not taking it away but moving it) to accommodate my floppy joints.
Yep! And yes finding people that know about it is a struggle although I do think awareness and education is becoming a little more mainstream.
I’m not so floppy as I am stiff. My body tends to overcompensate everywhere. I was floored when I got the diagnosis because I would have never thought of myself as hypermobile lol!!!
I will try to be extra diligent of who I pick. I suspect I might have to go outside of my insurance to get the type of person I need.
I’m not sure what the systems are like near you but for me, I have to go to the local/regional EDS groups for recommendations (although with Emily Shields, she was a sponsor at a local show and we had a couple of broken riders at the barn who we wanted her to look at).
But yeah - EDS is that oh-so-fun balance of the floppy ligaments resulting in stiffness elsewhere (my hip flexors especially, which at times results in serious problems in the saddle)
Honestly I didn’t even think about an EDS group being a thing! I will have to look around that’s a great idea.
I also have EDS and have found narrow twists help immensely. A wide twist makes my hip joints feel like they’ve been screwed in too tight, if that makes sense.
That does make sense and I think that is something I’m going to have to look towards. I think my saddle is a bit too wide in the twist for me.
I also have EDS and need a narrow twist. I also can’t ride really wide horses.
Can someone educate me as to what EDS is? I have always considered my shoulders and my hips to a lesser degree to be “double jointed.” I can pop them in and out of my own volition. I also have very tight hips and it doesn’t help that I’m a runner. I do semi-frequent yoga and when I do pigeon pose (my favorite) I never feel the stretch in my lower back. My instructor will occasionally assist (not forcefully) us into a deeper stretch, and when she does I can feel it in my lower back but I cannot replicate this myself. However, getting my leg under my body in pigeon pose is not difficult.
I’ve wondered about EDS because for most of my life (even as a young teen) I suffered from joint pain, muscle pain and tenderness and extreme fatigue. If I press firmly pretty much anywhere on my body it feels like I’m pressing a bruise. I was genuinely surprised when I discovered that’s not normal.
My hip flexors and IT bands are exceptionally tight, despite years of physio. Riding in a wide saddle gives me muscle spasms in my lower back where the hip flexor apparently wraps around.
I also seem to get cornea scratches more than the average person - at least once a year - and read that may be related to EDS too.
But my understanding is there no real treatment for EDS just management of symptoms with anti inflammatories, physio, etc. so I never pursued a diagnosis.
EDS is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which has specific diagnostic criterium (although hypermobility is the only one that doesn’t have an identified gene yet unlike the other variations, making it harder to definitely diagnose). It’s a soft tissue disorder caused by problems with collagen (genetically, dietary collagen does nothing). While an individual may meet most of the characteristics, the ED society seems to prefer doctors use the broad Hypermobility spectrum disorders diagnosis if it’s not conclusive(I have some problems with the society, sometimes I feel they have very specific lived experience expectations for those of us with EDS).
@BigMama1 is right, there is no specific treatment. The benefit to diagnosis is if you are knowing what conditions you have an elevated risk for. Also, weigh if you want to risk passing it on to future generations (I inherited EDS from my mom, and she most likely from her dad).
In addition to what @Knubbsy said, it often runs in families. All the women in my family have it, and my nephew does, too.
I find that keeping myself very fit is the only thing that helps. My muscles have to hold my skeleton together since my tendons and ligaments are too stretchy to do the job properly.
I also visit the chiro monthly to pop back anything that’s popped out. Sometimes I can do it myself, but a monthly tune-up keeps me functioning.
My dad has always had a lot of physical issues. He won’t get checked out for it but I highly suspect I got this from him!
It even affects my eyes (according to my eye doctor) it’s crazy!
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