Have you ever been sore from riding your horse? We’ve all been there and besides rest and time away from your passion for horses, there are ways to help prevent leg and buttocks pain. Extensive riding can lead to muscle soreness and tailbone pain so read on for some helpful to tips to help prevent a sore tailbone when horseback riding.
Rest
Try ice and heat therapy. No one wants to stop riding but sometimes rest is what you need!
Shorten Your Stirrups
When you drop your heels down, you are flexing your calf muscles which helps you lock you leg in place beneath you. If your lower leg is freely swinging around, you lose your anchor.
If a rider’s stirrups are too long, it makes keeping the heels down very difficult, and in some cases impossible. If the stirrups are not adjusted to the proper length, you will be straining to reach them by pointing your toe. That is the opposite of what you should be doing. By raising the stirrups, you will have greatly increased your ability to keep your heels down.
When a rider keeps his or her stirrups too long, it is difficult for the rider to stay off of the buttocks. It starts at the bottom and effects every body part all the way to the top.
It may be somewhat uncomfortable moving your stirrups up a few notches in the beginning. If you are too uncomfortable, just move up one hole at a time as you condition yourself and get used to shorter stirrups. Keep moving up until you reach the proper length.
The bottom of the stirrup should hit you directly on your ankle bone. If it hits you anywhere lower than that, they are too long.
Strengthening Exercises
Maintaining your health is very important in any sport or activity. Strengthening your core will benefit you all around but especially when horseback riding.
A lack of core stability results in excessive movement in the saddle, which can interfere with the communication to your horse. In addition, an unbalanced position leads to asymmetry in the saddle, and places unfavorable loads through the body. This can lead to musculoskeletal pain, such as low back pain, and stiffness.
Some good core exercises
- Planks
- Single arm and leg reach
- Squats
Use A Gel Saddle Pad
A gel saddle pad, along with a good saddle, can go a long way in helping to absorb the shock when riding. There are some very good pads on the market. Read our saddle pad review for some good choices.
We hope some these tips help prevent muscle soreness and a sore tailbone. If it continues then talk to your doctor. You may need a different type of saddle. Happy riding!
