For riders with arthritis, horseback riding is a challenge that requires adjustments in practice and mindset. This guide provides insights into how riders with arthritis can manage pain by modifying how they ride for a more comfortable experience.
Below, we look at key strategies, such as adapting your riding technique and choosing specialized equipment and gear. Hopefully, these tips will help minimize your discomfort and make horse riding fun again.
Yes, you can ride horse with arthritis.
Important Notes
- Adapting riding style, using ergonomic gear, or maybe participating in lower-impact activities like pleasure trail riding can help those with arthritis maintain their passion for riding while managing joint discomfort.
- If you’re reluctant to downgrade your riding, the various arthritis-friendly options, such as supportive apparel or specially-designed tack and accessories, can relieve riders, enabling them to continue what they love.
The Right Gear for Arthritic Riders
When riding with arthritis, the right gear can provide essential support and pain relief, from knee braces that stabilize the knee to therapeutic riding gloves that soothe achy, stiff fingers.
Equally important are your saddle and tack accessories, including reins, stirrups, and other equipment like seat savers and saddle pads.
Opting for designs that reduce joint strain can make each ride more enjoyable. Let’s look further into these arthritis-friendly riding equipment components.
Stirrups and Reins for Sensitive Joints
Your stirrups can significantly impact comfort during horseback riding, which is why ThinLine developed The Ride Right Stirrup Wrap™.
The Ride Right Stirrup Wrap is a non-slip, shock-absorbing stirrup pad for English or Western stirrups.
Designed and patented by Dr. James Warson, a spinal surgeon and life-long rider, each wrap includes a thin wedge that attaches to the footbed of your stirrup and is held in place by the wrap.
The wedge is slightly raised on one side, and that side should be on the outside of your stirrup footbed. The wedge placement and shock-absorbing wrap help to relieve pain often caused by knee and ankle angles inherent to riding and associated with saddle construction, stirrup length, and stirrup design.
The wrap’s non-slip surface also increases foot stability in the stirrup, minimizing foot and lower leg movement.
Maintaining steady rein contact with your horse is difficult enough, so arthritic fingers only complicate matters. ThinLine English Reins helps riders cope with this unique challenge.
Wrapped in ThinLine foam, these reins provide a secure grip without a rigid, stiff, or heavy feel. The foam practically molds to your fingers, and the reins don’t get slick from sweat or rain.
Knowing you can still maintain rein contact with your horse even if your fingers hurt is a confidence booster!
How Seat Savers and Saddle Pads Lessen Arthritis Pain for Riders
Minimizing the amount of shock that joints absorb is critical to making riding more accessible for arthritic riders, and riders know that shock absorption is a significant factor in many riding disciplines.
ThinLine recognizes this fact and created its Seat Savers line.
Constructed with ThinLine’s thin, shock-absorbing, non-slip, breathable foam Seat Savers fit over your saddle’s seat.
Riders who ride in a Seat Saver experience significantly reduced back pain and also find that they bounce less and feel more stable in the saddle.
Less bounce and rider movement relieve the pain in your arthritic joints since the jar of your horse’s motion is less pronounced. It also makes the ride more comfortable for your horse!
Whether you ride English or Western, there’s a Seat Saver for both.
ThinLine saddle pads also enable arthritic riders to enjoy riding due to the open cell foam the material consists of.
When spinal surgeons, veterinarians, and master saddle fitters endorse these saddle pads, there’s little doubt that they work at absorbing shock and reducing motion, enabling the horse to perform its best.
But the shock absorption and motion reduction benefit the arthritic rider, too, as it provides a quieter, more secure feeling in the saddle, minimizing the impact on achy joints.
Riding Despite Arthritis
When arthritis becomes part of your horse riding journey, adaptation and understanding your body’s limitations are essential. But how do you do that? It starts with a comprehensive understanding of arthritis and how it affects riders. From there, you can begin customizing your ride for comfort, exploring low-impact horse riding disciplines, and making other necessary adjustments.
Remember, arthritis doesn’t have to stop you from doing what you love. With the right approach, you can continue to enjoy horse riding while managing your joint pain and ensuring your overall health.
Understanding Arthritis in Riders
Arthritis is a collective term for a range of joint disorders that involve inflammation of one or more joints. This can impact horse riders’ mobility and comfort during horseback riding activities, especially in the affected joints.
Low-Impact Horse Riding Disciplines
Certain disciplines, such as pleasure and trail riding, are practical options for riders with arthritis. Trail riding at a slower pace over easy terrain benefits riders managing arthritis.
Exploring these low-impact disciplines can help you balance maintaining the joy of horseback riding while managing your joint health.
Exercises for Riders with Arthritis
Exercise plays a vital role in managing arthritis for horse riders. Tailored exercise programs designed by healthcare professionals can help strengthen muscles, improve flexibility, and reduce joint stress during riding. Trying different exercises and tracking your fitness can help identify the right amount of riding that does not exacerbate your daily activities.
Tailored Warm-Up and Cool-Down Routines
Appropriate warm-up and cool-down routines are important in managing arthritis in horse riders. A warm-up routine with gradual, light activity can help maintain muscle mass around arthritic joints, potentially reducing discomfort during exercise. After riding, upper body stretches can alleviate muscle stiffness and maintain flexibility.
Cool-down routines, including gentle stretching and breathing exercises, ease post-ride muscle tension and promote relaxation. Be mindful not to stretch cold muscles.
A personal physiotherapist trainer can also help design routines specific to you.
Regular Low-Impact Activities
Consistently participating in low-impact activities like swimming, cycling, and yoga can enhance joint flexibility and strength without causing joint stress. Swimming and water aerobics provide natural resistance for muscle building while relieving pressure off the knees and hips. Spinning or bike riding supports the rider’s weight and reduces joint stress.
Even walking, with proper footwear for support and cushioning, is an accessible, low-impact exercise that helps maintain joint health.
All these activities will help you ride regularly and well into later life.
Nutrition and Weight Management
Maintaining a healthy weight is a cornerstone of arthritis management. It allows riders to manage symptoms by reducing the extra strain excess weight places on joints.
Coping with Flare-Ups and Bad Days
Arthritis flare-ups can significantly increase symptoms such as joint swelling, intense pain, and fatigue. Preparing a ‘bad day plan’ beforehand provides a strategy to handle flare-ups, helping you retain control despite the unpredictability of symptoms. Adapting a positive perspective on bad days can allow you to view them as chances for dedicated self-care and to acknowledge your resilience in dealing with arthritis.
We will explore the recognition and response to increased pain and the adjustment of riding schedules and expectations.
Recognizing and Responding to Increased Pain
Recognizing an arthritis flare involves being aware of symptoms such as morning stiffness, joint pain, and swelling. Arthritis flares can manifest differently across various types.
Recognizing your limits is vital during a flare-up to prevent further joint stress and help recovery. This knowledge allows you to respond quickly and appropriately, ensuring you manage your condition effectively.
Adjusting Riding Schedules and Expectations
Managing your arthritis also involves changing your riding activities and establishing realistic expectations. This could mean
- Reducing the frequency or duration of rides
- Allowing for flexible schedules to accommodate fluctuations in joint pain,
- Developing a proactive plan for arthritis flare-ups, which includes knowledge of when to take breaks and modify riding activities.
This ensures long-term engagement with horse riding while managing joint health.
Keep in mind it’s vital to listen to your body’s signals and take necessary rests during flare-ups rather than ignoring pain, as this can exacerbate your condition as the disease progresses.
Final Points
Horse riding with arthritis can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. With the right knowledge, tools, and strategies, you can continue to enjoy the sport while managing your symptoms. Remember, it’s crucial to understand your condition, make necessary adaptations, choose the right gear, cope with bad days, and partner with health professionals. By doing so, you can balance your love for horse riding and the necessity of managing your arthritis.
Popular Questions
Below you can see some of the common questions were asked about this topic.
Is horseback riding good for arthritis?
Yes, horseback riding can be good for arthritis as it provides unique movements that can improve pain, range of motion, quality of life, and outcomes in balance, strength, and mobility.
Can you ride with severe arthritis?
Riding can be challenging for individuals with severe arthritis due to the joint pain and stiffness associated with the condition. However, it’s not necessarily impossible, and with proper management, adaptations, and support, some people with severe arthritis may still be able to enjoy riding.