It may be a somewhat taboo subject, but many girls and women wonder whether it’s safe to wear a tampon while on horseback. There are centuries of old superstition surrounding female menstruation and the handling of horses that have helped fuel this uncertainty.
Can you wear a tampon while horse riding? The answer is yes; tampons are perfectly safe to use while horse riding if they are changed regularly to prevent toxic shock or other infection. While some women may have difficulties keeping a tampon in place on horseback because of the pelvic muscles used while riding, it isn’t dangerous.
Being on your period while horseback riding isn’t as complicated as some people might think. Keep reading to learn more about the tall tales that surround menstruating women and horses and how women can safely ride while on their periods.
Do Horses Sense When You’re on Your Period?
The short answer is yes—horses of either sex can smell the blood that is dispelled by human women when they’re menstruating. Horses have a powerful sense of smell that is much stronger than a human’s (though less sensitive than a dog’s). However, the fact that a horse can smell menses blood shouldn’t affect the horse’s behavior in the field or the ring.
Riders should keep in mind that horses have coexisted alongside humans as domesticated animals for over six thousand years, so exposure to female menstruation is nothing new to them as a species. Ancient societies would not allow women to handle stallions while menstruating out of fear that the smell would drive the animals mad, but this was nothing more than baseless medieval superstition.
While the hormones exuded by ovulating women and horses are similar, a horse does not recognize a female menstruating rider as either a subject for mating or as being in any sort of distress since menstrual blood is the uterine lining and doesn’t smell the same as blood that comes from an injury.
Outside of smelling period blood, horses are more likely to notice a rider’s demeanor change while on their period versus smelling differently. Riders on their period can often be uncomfortable, and this discomfort can easily translate to how they interact with the horse while riding. Horses are empathetic creatures, and many who have a close bond with their rider may be affected by the rider’s discomfort.
Is It Safe to Ride a Horse While on Your Period?
Medieval society may have feared allowing women near stallions in case the stallions would try to mate with them, but the truth is that:
- It is perfectly safe to ride a horse while on your period.
- A woman is least fertile during their period, which means even if stallions were attracted to an ovulating human female (they’re not), they would be least attracted to a female rider on her period.
The only primary safety concern with horseback riding while on your period is that tampons must be changed regularly throughout the day to prevent the onset of toxic shock syndrome or other infections. Since horseback riding involves strenuous exercise, tampons may begin to leak or smell prematurely, causing them to require being replaced more often while riding.
A risk of wearing tampons while horseback riding is that the pelvic muscles used to control a horse may accidentally expel a tampon, especially if it is older or saturated with blood. This can potentially be messy and embarrassing for the rider. To prevent this, change tampons early and often while riding.
Risks of Riding Horses on Your Period
Arguably one of the most significant risks of riding horses on or around the time you’re supposed to get your period is that you may end up leaking. Not that serious, right? Wrong – at least when you’re talking about expensive riding equipment.
While riding breeches can usually be washed out easily enough, blood that soaks into an expensive leather dressage saddle may never come up no matter how much it is cleaned. This can ultimately lead to an expensive piece of equipment being irreparably damaged or unfit for competition. A saddle with a period stain isn’t less effective by any means, but it is undoubtedly an embarrassment to be avoided.
It is also essential to manage your mood while on your period during riding lessons since horses are sensitive to even the most subtle changes in a rider’s behavior. If being on your period while training makes you feel ill and snippy with a horse that is already difficult to control, this can lead to the horse acting out even more than usual.
Knowing whether breaking difficult or untrained horses can be successfully attempted on a rider’s period is up to the rider’s temperament and the temperament of the horse. Many female riders can probably accomplish these training tasks without any trouble at all on their periods, while others may not feel up to more strenuous riding activities. There’s no shame in taking an easy day when you feel physically ill or uncomfortable.
Ways to Be More Comfortable on Your Period While Riding Horses
Wearing tampons or being on your period while horseback riding is safe, but there are several things you can do to make it more comfortable, too. These are some of the ways you can prevent discomfort while horseback riding on your period with a tampon:
- Say no to white breeches. Unless you are competing, wearing white riding breeches on your period is a recipe for disaster. Wear darker riding breeches or else plan to use sanitary napkins or pads in addition to a tampon to prevent leaking.
- Take pain relief in advance. Before you go horseback riding on your period, be sure to take some anti-inflammatory pain relief such as Midol or Advil. Do not take aspirin, as this can increase the amount of menstrual bleeding by thinning the blood.
- Buy period-proof undies. While not the stylish of underwear, these leakproof granny panties will do the trick to keep any leaks safely in your underwear rather than your breeches or saddle.
- Try a disposable heating pad. There are menstrual heating pads designed to be placed over the lower abdomen that can administer heat relief for hours and can be hidden under clothing, making them an excellent choice for alleviating pain during sports such as horseback riding.
- Take the day off. Unless you’re in training for competition (and maybe even if you are), it won’t hurt you to miss a day of riding now and then when your period is terrible. While the light exercise involved in horseback riding can help alleviate menstrual pain, don’t be afraid to take a day to binge TV instead if you need to.
- Don’t leave the stables without backup. Always have extra pads, tampons, and some hand sanitizer on hand in case you run into trouble on the trail and have to pull off the trail to make some adjustments.
Riding on your period can be no picnic, especially if you have a heavy flow, but with a little preparation ahead of time, you can avert most of the disasters that might crop up while you’re out.
Wearing Tampons While Horse Riding is Fine
There’s no real reason why women can’t ride horses with a tampon or while on their period other than the fact that it’s not the most comfortable thing to do in the world, but sometimes competition and life dictate that the show must go on.
In those cases, being prepared by having medication and relief aids available to help dispel cramps and other discomforts can go a long way toward making your horseback riding session much less painful.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17943974#:~:text=Horses%20were%20domesticated%206%2C000%20years,in%20the%20journal%20PNAS%20suggests.
https://www.webmd.com/women/features/exercise-eases-menstrual-cramps
https://www.eventingfit.com/rider-fitness/horse-riding-and-your-period/
https://heelsdownmag.com/taboo-topic-riding-while-on-your-period/
https://thehorse.com/152485/horse-behavior-and-womens-reproductive-cycles/
https://good-horse.com/health-management/can-stallions-really-tell-menstruating/