Horse saddles, particularly leather, may last you a lifetime with proper care. Synthetic saddles last up to ten years, depending on use and quality. Your saddle’s longevity depends on its quality; high-grade leathers that are well-tended will last decades while low-grade leather has a short lifespan.

The longevity of your saddle usually comes with a price, both in a monetary and maintenance sense. Synthetic saddles are less expensive, and although they may not make the lifetime mark, they have their specific benefits. If you are trying to decide between leather or synthetic saddles and what you should expect to pay, please read on.

How Much Do Horse Saddles Cost?

Much like car makes and models, saddles come at different prices, from entry-level synthetics to top-quality leather. Synthetics are usually a great entry-level option, and you may find a quality saddle for a fraction of the price of a high-level leather saddle. Even though there are low-cost leather saddle options, it is wiser to choose a synthetic saddle over a low-quality leather option that often degrades faster than synthetics.

New saddles can be found for under 500 dollars, but generally, they are not good quality saddles, especially the leather and fittings. Mid-to-top range leather saddles will cost anywhere from 1500 dollars to 8000 dollars and above, depending on the customization. Used saddles are always an option for the budget-conscious as long as you are cautious about the item’s condition.

For your interest, here are some price comparisons between mid-level leather and synthetic saddles.

• Wintec 500 Flocked all-purpose saddle is a good quality synthetic saddle that is under 500 dollars.
• Thorowgod All purpose Saddle is a well-trusted choice in high-quality synthetic saddles for under 1200 dollars.
• Circuit® by Dover Saddlery® Premier Special EQ Saddle is a great quality leather saddle for under 1300 dollars.
• Bates All-purpose SC Saddle is another top-quality premium leather saddle widely recognized as superlative in the mid-range leather saddle market. It retails at under 2000 dollars.

Are Leather Saddles Better Than Synthetic?

Leather saddles are aesthetically appealing and can conform to a horse and rider over time. Also, leather has an organic quality and feels that synthetic materials cannot mimic, and with the proper care, a leather saddle may last a lifetime. That being said, synthetic saddles do have their advantages.

Price

A new quality leather saddle costs you between 1500 to 8000 dollars, which can be a sizable investment. There are less expensive leather saddles on the market, but they will often not have their premium counterparts’ lifespan. Synthetic saddles are considerably less costly than even their medium-range leather counterparts and are significantly lighter, saving you on shipping fees. 

If your budget is of concern, it would be better to consider a good quality synthetic saddle rather than a low-quality leather option. Inferior quality leather is prone to weakness and becomes brittle and dry fairly quickly in use. However, good quality leather saddles’ resale value is higher than the synthetic variety, so a leather saddle is an investment.

The Fit

Although your leather saddle will conform to you and your horse’s shape beautifully over time, this may have its disadvantages. One person’s saddles tend to conform overly well to your shape and lose their versatility and may not interchange between riders and horses well once properly broken in.

One of the synthetic saddles’ key selling points is the synthetic saddle tree’s interchangeable gullet plate. Gullet plates are u-shaped bars attached to the underside of the pommel arch or head of the saddle. This interchangeable gullet allows riders to change the widths to accommodate horses of different sized withers with just a few screws.

Traditional laminated beech wood springs are expensive to alter, and alterations can only be safely made once or twice by a professional saddler. Also, one synthetic saddle can accommodate various horses without much effort, making the synthetic saddle more versatile.

Durability

It has been noted that adequately cared for high-quality leather saddles last longer than their synthetic counterparts. This fact fails to take into account the ability of synthetic saddles to cope with inclement weather conditions. Unlike leather that can be damaged by soaking, synthetics saddle can easily be drenched and suffer no real consequences.

Generally, synthetics are a lot tougher than leather and hold up well to heavy outdoor use with a fraction of the time spent on care relative to leather upkeep. 

Longevity

High-quality leather saddles cared for with diligence will last a rider a lifetime. Synthetic saddles have not yet accomplished that feat, and generally, riders find that the synthetic saddles do not last as long as leather saddles. However, opinions differ on the subject of synthetic saddle longevity from 10 years to a forum member claiming 20 years’ use of her Wintec synthetic saddle.

Care and Maintenance

Leather saddles are a beauty to behold and become even more so over time with proper care. However, maintaining an organic material such as leather is a time-consuming commitment. Synthetic saddles can be hosed down and soaped with no real sweat, unlike the thorough cleaning, conditioning, and oiling needs of a leather saddle.

Multiple Horses and Beginners

The cost of a leather saddle is a large outlay for riders new to the sport. Children significantly benefit from the lightweight and relatively low-cost synthetic option when starting their riding adventure. Many of us were introduced to riding in leather saddles that we would grow into, and we can all attest that they were heavy and unwieldy for smaller children. 

Moving from a pony to a larger horse often entails the cost of a new leather saddle. In contrast, synthetics can be altered via the interchangeable gullet or replaced without the charge of a new leather tack. Beginners can get a feel for which saddle style most suits their riding style with the synthetic saddles without having to discover their leather saddle does not accommodate changes in riding interests such as jumping or eventing.

Weight

One of the best points of a synthetic saddle is that they are lightweight and infinitely more portable than leather saddles. Synthetic saddles weigh in at an average of half the leather weight and are a hands-down win in the weight division. Not only are the synthetics easier for you to carry, but they lessen the weight on your horses back, which is always a good thing.

How to Tell if a Saddle Is Synthetic or Leather

With the advances in synthetic saddle design, it is not always easy to tell a synthetic saddle from a leather one. Many synthetic saddles incorporate leather and suede into their saddle flaps, making it easy to become confused. Here are some ways to tell the difference:

• The weight. Leather saddles generally make use of a wooden tree, unlike the synthetic saddles, which make use of carbon fiber or fiberglass. Because your stirrups add weight to your saddle, take off the stirrups and feel the weight of your saddle. It should give you a clear indication of whether your tree is wood or fiber.
• The underside of your saddle flaps or the leather closest to your horse on a saddle will generally have a rough leather finish. The feel of the leather fibers is distinctive and not flat or uniform, as in a synthetic saddle.
• Quality leather saddles should bear the manufacturer’s mark or brand name stamped in the leather or on a small metal plate. These are commonly located under the skirts of your saddle on the flap. 

Conclusion

Your saddle may be a lifetime investment, so you should choose wisely. If you are the kind of person who hates maintenance, the synthetic is made for you. If you are a traditionalist and are willing to put in the hours to keep your leather saddle like new, expect to pay a bit more for a great quality saddle. Either way, always remember to choose a saddle to fit your horse first and then yourself, because your horse deserves the best care.

Sources

• Master Saddlers: Saddle safety
• Five Star Ranch: Synthetic saddle vs. leather saddle – Pros and Cons, what is best for saddles?
• Equisearch: Try A Synthetic. We Bet You’ll Like It.
• Horse Forum: Leather VS. Synthetic saddles

Horseback riding will only make your bum bigger in terms of muscles and definition. Much like aerobics, weight training, or spinning class, your muscles will increase during exercise. Riding engages your gluteus muscles, decreases fat through burning calories, and creates a toned, firm behind.

A clever response to the question of whether your bum will get bigger when you ride is, “Have you ever seen a fat jockey?” A large behind is more the result of genetics or excess weight than riding a horse. If you are interested in the multiple benefits of horseback riding on your physique, please read on.

Can Horseback Riding Help You Lose Weight?

It has long been known that Horseback riding is an excellent means of exercise. In a peer-reviewed scientific survey of 40 adults using a horseback riding simulator, the exercise potential exceeded jogging. Most noticeably, the study found increased activity in the:

• Biceps brachii 
• Transverse abdominis 
• Abdominal oblique 
• Adductor longus muscles

Studies have shown that horseback riding causes physical fitness in multiple ways, such as:

• Muscular strength
• Muscle mass
• Cardiorespiratory endurance
• Agility 
• Balance

Dr. Dennis Sigler, horse specialist and professor in the animal science department at Texas A&M University, did a scientific study on the amount of energy expended in horseback riding.

Dr. Sigler pointed out that a 45-minute riding session with a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories. Horse activities such as cutting and reining increase this calorie consumption up to nearly seven calories per minute for the entire 45-minute training session. 

A 2011 study by the University of Brighton and Plimpton College demonstrated that horse riding and its associated activities used enough energy to be defined as moderate-intensity exercise. This definition means that horseback riding fulfills the requirements of 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week for physical health set by medical standards for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Horseback riding has increasingly been a point of interest in treating people suffering from obesity as an alternative exercise. Studies show that obese subjects showed a marked decrease in body mass index after eight weeks of riding and improved gait.

What Else Does Horseback Riding Do To Your Body?

Strengthening Your Core 

Your abdominal muscles, such as the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and the transverse abdominus, work with your spine to help you develop your core. Riding requires our hips, pelvis, and lower back to move in coordination in response to our horse’s movements. 

Your transverse abdominis is particularly involved in stabilizing between your hips, ribs, and pelvis as it wraps around your center and protects your spine. Muscle activity during riding significantly activates core muscle groups for full-body muscle development.

A study on simulated horseback riding for stroke victims for eight weeks showed improvements in balance and thickness in the subject’s abdominal muscles in a scientific survey.

Strengthening Your Muscles 

You will never miss an arm, leg, or core day in your exercise routine with horse riding. Your legs take full benefit of your riding activity, particularly your adductors, your inner thigh muscles used to bring your thighs together. While your thighs squeeze to keep your seat, your core engaged in protecting your spine, your obliques, and abdominals help you maintain balance.

Your quads, hamstrings, and glutes support your thighs’ work and engage in the forward and lateral leg movements to signal your horse. Along with these actions, the arms and biceps are involved with turning and keeping your horse on the bit (not to mention mucking out or carrying feed bags.) All these actions combine to give your body both strength, muscle definition, and tone.

Increased Flexibility

Horseback riding significantly improves flexibility, which increases your range of motion and improves your overall health. Riding in the correct position with your heels down lengthens your hamstrings and promotes a ‘long leg,’ which is crucial to proper riding. The heels down position also lengthen your hamstrings and Achilles tendon when riding in the correct riding position. 

Oblique muscles are used both in riding and mounting your horse, and the shoulders back and spine straight riding position encourage your posture and balance. Pelvic and hip flexibility develop as your movements become synched with the horse’s gait.  

Does Horseback Riding Make Your Thighs Bigger?

Much the same way as aerobics, cycling, or exercise machines, horseback riding will cause your thigh muscles to become more muscular and defined. If your thighs were underdeveloped when you began riding, you might have a more noticeable increase in your thigh muscles. In contrast, if you were overweight, the calorie consumption and activity of riding could recuse your thigh size and define your muscles.

Your thigh muscles are active in the action of riding, particularly the adductors in your inner thighs, which help you maintain your seat on the horse and signal action. Thighs are put into good use with a rising trot, and if you mainly aim to build your thigh tone, a rising trot without stirrups should have you fit with super thigh muscles in no time (if you don’t mind not being able to walk properly after exercise.)

Does Horseback Riding Make Your Bum Bigger?

If muscular growth and toning can be defined as ‘bigger’ THEN horse riding could make your buttocks bigger, much as gym exercise and aerobics would have the same effect. Like squats and lunges’ physical exercise, horse riding will increase a rider’s size if they began with underdeveloped glutes. In contrast, overweight riders may find a decrease in their buttock size from the calorie-burning effect of horse riding.

How Does Riding Affect My Behind?

Riding has effects on both the Gluteus Maximus and the Gluteus Medius of the horse riders behind. The gluteus Maximus muscle is the most superficial gluteal muscle that forms most of your buttock region. This muscle controls the front-to-back movement of your hips, while the medius controls the hips’ inward and outward motion. 

These are the muscles that a rider uses to maintain balance while riding, and squeezing the glutes is used in halting your horse. The squeezing action of your glutes allows you to use your saddle to control your horse, and as you ride, your glutes will flex to keep you in your seat. This repetitive action is what builds up a rider’s buttock area. 

Often, this muscle becomes neglected in our sedentary lives and causes it to become soft and lose tone. Riding causes your glute muscles to expand and contract and become engaged during your ride, increasing firmness and muscle tone. 

Conclusion

Horseback riding is one of the most holistic ways you could ever decide to exercise. The open air, the bond between horse and rider, and the sheer joy of being on a horse in full stride are only a few of the pleasures of riding. The riding activity is physically demanding but offers a range of health benefits, including building up your muscles. Riding won’t create a big behind; on the contrary, a well-toned and muscled should be a point of pride.

Sources

• NCBI: The effects of horseback riding simulator exercises on the muscle activity of the lower extremities according to changes in arm posture
• Digital Commons: Rider energy expenditure during high-intensity horse activity and the potential for health benefits
• Horse magazine: Riding from the Inside Out
• BodyBuilding: 4 Ways to harness the Fitness Benefits of Horseback Riding
• Dressage Rider Training: 8 Key Muscles Involved When We Ride
• AgriLife Today: Study examines the health benefits of horseback riding
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
• NCBI: The effects of horseback riding on body mass index and gait in obese women

You will know if your horse is cold by signs of shivering, huddling for warmth, standing with a clamped tail, and increased appetite. Factors that increase your horse’s sensitivity to cold are age, breed, coat, and condition. Horses with winter coats tolerate cold better than clipped horses.

Each horse’s winter requirements should be determined by their individual conditions, and there is no set rule for when the cold becomes too cold for your horse. If you would like to understand how the cold affects your horses and how to know when you should intervene, please read on.

Do Horses Feel Cold?

Horses are warm-blooded mammals, much like us, and certainly do feel the cold. However, horses have adapted over their evolution to tolerate a greater range of temperatures than we have. Horses grow a winter coat and have specific physiological responses to survive in a range of climates.

If your horse has a decent layer of fat, a well-developed winter coat with a good fluffy loft, they should be able to cope with weather that we would define as extreme cold. However, underweight horses, horses with a clipped coat, or are senior or health compromised should not be exposed to critical temperatures.

Care must be taken when horses are wet. Their cold threshold drops considerably because their coats no longer provide the loft to insulate their bodies. When a horse becomes cold, it will exhibit certain behaviors to alleviate the low temperature. 

How to Tell if Your Horse Is Cold

Your horse will give clear signs if the temperature has become too low for their comfort that will alert you to possible problems. You should look out for the following behaviors:

• Shivering: Shivering is a natural response in horses to the cold. These muscular contractions aid the horse to generate heat in their bodies. 
• Adapting their body posture: Horses tend to place their rumps towards the wind and form huddles with other horses when they are cold. Often they will stand downwind with their tails tucked in close to their bodies.
• Piloerection: A cold horse will raise its coat hairs to trap warm air between the coat and its skin to keep themselves warm, much like our arm hairs rise when we feel a chill.
• Seek shelter: Horses will naturally seek shelter when their body temperature drops. If they do not have a designated shelter, they will gravitate towards a treed area or natural cover areas in their environment. 
• Increase in appetite: Horses generate a fair percentage of body heat by the act of eating and digestion. In particular, hay generates a large amount of internal heat in the digestive process. It is believed that chewing and the increased action by the smooth muscles in the intestine walls during digestion increase the horse’s body temperature.
• Their body temperature is below 99.5℉ (37.5℃): If you are still unsure if your horse is cold, you may take their rectal temperature. Readings of a temperature lower than the above are reflective of hypothermia in horses. Often horse owners feel their horse’s ears for signs of cold, but often that is not an accurate gauge of body temperature.

How Cold Is Too Cold for a Horse?

A body’s ability to cope with a temperature range in the short term without any further energy expenditure is called a thermoneutral zone. Unlike humans with a narrow thermoneutral range of 28°C and 32°C (82.4℉ to 89.6℉), a horse’s thermoneutral range if relatively broad and is between 5°C-25°C (41℉ to 77℉ ).

Without the effects of harsh wind and moisture, horses can withstand temperatures of below -17.78°C (0°F) and even up to -40°F (-40°C) if they have adequate shelter. However, the temperature range that suits horses most lies between 18°F and 59°F (-7.7°C to 15°C) depending on how thick their coat has grown.

For a clipped horse or a summer-coated horse, the cold’s critical temperature is estimated to be below 40°F (4.4°C ). In contrast, thick winter-coated horses’ critical temperature may even be as low as 18°F (-7.7°C). The long winter coats trap warm air next to the skin, which provides insulation from the cold.

If your horse’s coat becomes wet, the critical temperature increases from anywhere between 10°F to 15°F (-12.22°C to -9.44°C.) The influence of wetness on temperature is such that a dry horse can remain warm at 18°F (-7.7°C). In contrast, a wet horse would begin to feel the cold at 33°F (0.5°C). These effects highlight the importance of factoring in wind chill and moisture effects when evaluating the equine environment’s temperature.

How Do You Warm Up a Cold Horse?

The very young or old, thin or unacclimatized horse is more at risk than healthy horses with a good layer of body fat to protect them from temperature drops. The critical temperature for horses is around 40°F (4.4°C) with a thin summer or clipped coat length and 18°F for (-7.7°C) for horses with a thicker coat grown in winter. If your horse shows signs of cold, there are various ways to ensure that your horse is warmed externally and internally.

Increase Your Horse’s Nutrition

With temperatures plummeting in winter, your horse will need extra energy provided by an increased diet to keep its body temperature. Experts suggest an extra 1.3% energy per degree celsius below 0℃ (32°F) with a daily increase of 0.7% to maintain weight levels.

The best type of food to warm your horse is forage, typically in the form of hay. Grain feed does not create the heat increases of hay, which raises body temperature through microbial fermentation. 

An average 1000lbs (454 kgs) idle horse’s daily intake of hay should rise 2 to 2.5 pounds (0.9 to 1.1 kgs) to 18 to 18.5 pounds (8.1 to 8.4 kgs) if temperatures drop below 0°F (-17.7℃). This amount should increase further if the horse cannot benefit from a shelter in the winter months.

Provide a Shelter for Your Horse

Horses should be provided with some form of protection from the elements in the winter months. You should ideally provide covered protection or at least allow your horse trees if you cannot provide shelter. If your horse is not exposed to wind and moisture, a healthy horse can tolerate temperatures as low as 0°F (-17.7℃).

Shelter increases your horse’s ability to tolerate low temperatures even up to the levels of -40°F (-40℃) if their condition is healthy and they have a proper winter coat. 

Blanket Your Horse

Blanketing your horse is an option to warm your horse if it is suffering from the cold. You should seriously consider blanketing your horse if:

• No shelter is available, and the temperature is less than 5°F (-15℃)
• Your horse has a good chance of getting wet 
• Your horse has a clipped coat
• Your horse is not acclimatized to the cold
• Your horse is very old or very young
• Your horse has a poor body condition or is underweight

Can Horses Get a Cold?

Yes, horses can get the equivalent of a common cold, an infectious upper respiratory infection called a URT caused by viruses, bacteria, and stable pathogens. Although cold temperatures do not cause these cold-like symptoms in horses, the time spent indoors in winter may make your horse more prone to infectious diseases. 

Horses may react to several pollutants in their stables, such as ammonia released from bedding, mold spores, and dust. Application of good hygiene, ventilation, and stable management techniques are vital to prevent respiratory disease in your horse. Keeping up to date with vaccinations is also crucial in preventing diseases common to horses.

Symptoms of a URT include many similar symptoms to a bad human cold, such as:

• Coughing
• Nasal discharge
• Lack of appetite
• Fever

Conclusion

Although horses have evolved to cope with climatic conditions that we could hardly survive, care must be taken that your horses do not suffer from the cold in winter. Your winter solutions must consider your horse’s age, condition, coat, and environment to be effective. If you properly consider all the potential factors that may affect your horse, you may easily create a solution to keep your horse from becoming too cold.

Sources

• UNM Extension: Caring for Your Horse in Winter
• AAEP: Cold Weather Care
• Science Direct: Exploring the human thermoneutral zone – A dynamic approach
• Science Direct: Caring for the horse in a cold climate
• Science Direct: Thermoneutral zone and critical temperatures of horses
• Vetstream: Hypothermia
• The Horse: Does My Horse Have a Cold?
• NCBI: Markers of respiratory inflammation in horses in relation to seasonal changes in air quality in a conventional racing stable
• Equisearch: Prevention and Treatment of Respiratory Infections in Horses
• MSD: Equine Respiratory Disease

When you consider if a horse with arthritis can still jump, it will depend on the severity of arthritis, overall health, and figuring out if the exercise is helping or hurting. Horses can still jump with arthritis. But learning more about their condition first will help you understand just how much jumping they can handle.

Because arthritis is an inflammation of the joint, the pounding element of landing a jump can cause arthritis flair-ups. But the health benefits horses receive from daily outings are also instrumental.

At What Age Do Horses Get Arthritis?

The age that horses start to get arthritis can vary widely based on the horse breed and their daily activity levels and uses. Like humans, there are plenty of risk factors that can affect the age that a horse may or may not get arthritis.

Many horses will begin seeing symptoms of arthritis around 15 years old. This is due to a metabolic shift, according to Equisearch. This shift causes faster cell death in their bones, fibrous tissue, and cartilage. Around that age, and for a few years after, they also lose some elasticity in their ligaments and tendons.

While cartilage thins and bones lose some of the density, it can easily lead to arthritis from the constant pounding that is no longer being cushioned as well.

There are still plenty of horses who get arthritis much younger. So, don’t be alarmed if your horse begins experiencing arthritis even as young as 4 or 5 years old. Many horses will see early-onset osteoarthritis around this age, especially if they are used to excessive jumping or labor.

How Conformation Can Affect When Your Horse Gets Arthritis

Your horse’s structural deviations can have different impacts and implications on when they may experience the early signs of arthritis. With better confirmation comes a better chance that they won’t get arthritis or get it very late in life. It could also mean they just have a minor form of it.

Whereas, if your horse has a poor conformation, this could mean they will get arthritis earlier or will, unfortunately, have worse symptoms, which would further affect their ability to jump.

Even standing can cause minor joint degeneration in horses due to their size. Their conformation is so important because it will either help delay those deteriorations or escalate them.

Horses with Arthritis Continuing to Jump

Horses can continue jumping if they have arthritis. But you will want to consider their age, severity of arthritis, and how they are reacting to jumps. If they seem to be in pain or have trouble clearing a small jump, you will want to ease up. Continue getting them daily exercise but keep it less stressful on their joints.

If they seem to be having an easy enough time with jumps, continue letting them do them, but monitor and make sure you are listening to your vet with treatment plans and anti-inflammatory measures.

How High Can Horses with Arthritis Jump?

This question will best be answered by your vet. Most likely, smaller jumps will be all your arthritic horse should try to conquer. But you will need to understand the severity of arthritis before being able to determine just how high those little jumps can be.

It will also depend on the conformation of the horse, their weight, age, and other factors that your vet will want to advise on before deciding to let them continue jumping.

But plan for smaller, easier jumps than they were once used to.

Exercise and Arthritis

Exercise is key for horses of any age or condition. But a horse with arthritis will greatly benefit from additional exercise. Regular walks on easy trails, riding, and small jumps will help their circulation and muscles stay in strong shape.

The increased circulation helps to promote healing, and a continued routine of smaller jumps or exercise will help build stronger muscles to help keep their bone structure in line.

And above all, the exercise will be most helpful in keeping extra pounds off. If your horse has arthritis, the last thing they need is to put on unnecessary weight.

What Are Signs of Arthritis in a Horse?

Understanding the signs of arthritis will help keep the symptoms at bay for longer and can even lead to early prevention, which we will talk about a bit more later in this article.

According to VCA Hospitals, joint inflammation increases fluid in the joint when arthritis is present. This will typically cause a bulging in the joint capsule. But keep in mind, that is not a definite sign that it is arthritis. There are other reasons the joint could swell, which could be as simple as a strain.

When the swollen joint is also causing pain when bent, that is typically a good indicator that the horse is suffering from arthritis. In cases of acute arthritis, the joint may also feel warm to the touch.

You will also notice a limited range of motion in many cases. There is surface damage caused by the bone due to the thinning cartilage. New bone will form over the area, and it won’t be protected by cartilage anymore.

The absence of a protective layer can cause a range of motion to be slightly limited. So, you will most likely notice discomfort from the horse during certain movements, but you will also see a smaller range of motion.

With that range of motion is limited, you may also notice stiffness. And with older horses, you may see them having issues standing for long periods, as well as having a hard time standing up after sitting for a long time.

When you see these symptoms, you can still allow the horse to jump but only if it seems to not be causing too much pain. Listening to what your horse is telling you through their body language and actions will help you determine if they should still be jumping or not.

Should You Buy a Horse with Arthritis?

When it comes to buying a horse with arthritis, you should ask yourself why you are getting that horse. If you are hoping to have them for jumping or labor, you will want to consider how advanced or severe their arthritis is. While they can still do these things with arthritis, it can be more difficult, and they may not be able to do it for as long.

At the end of the day, horses can still do a lot with arthritis, and they would love and appreciate a good home. Even if they are dealing with some pain or stiffness from arthritis, they will still appreciate the exercise and will be able to complete many tasks.

If you want to have a horse to ride occasionally and not do anything too strenuous, you can still buy a horse with arthritis.

Keep in mind their age. If it is an older horse with arthritis, you shouldn’t expect vigorous jumping or exercise from them. But if they are younger and have a more mild arthritis case, you can still expect to get some good years of jumps as long as they are easier jumps, and you aren’t pushing them too long or too hard.

How Do You Prevent Arthritis in Horses?

Through healthy exercise, avoiding repetitive pounding on their joints for long periods, and supplements, and a healthy diet, you can help prevent arthritis in your horse.

According to The Horse, a study done at Texas A&M University suggests that prevention is very doable if you are paying attention and being very deliberate in your decisions for your horse.

When exercising your horse, make sure you don’t push them too long or too hard. Exercise will help them prevent things like weight gain, causing additional pressure on the joints, leading to arthritis. So it’s important to keep them active, but always consider the wear and tear you are inflicting on their joints during a certain exercise. 

Any anti-inflammatory supplements or treatments will help minimize swelling and help keep their joints in health condition, which will help to prevent the possibility of arthritis.

Arthritis and Jumping

Your horse should still be able to jump if they have arthritis. But you want to speak with your vet and have a full picture of their arthritis stage and understand their specific situation.

Your horse will need to do smaller, easier jumps with arthritis, but that will be perfectly fine for most horses. Jumping will help them keep off weight, invigorate circulation, and build strong muscles, which all help a horse with arthritis as well.

A combination of lower body position, feet position, and ankle position during riding can cause knee pain in equestrians. There are, however, simple posture changes that can prevent knee pain during horse riding.

This article will not only address the proper lower body, feet, and ankle positions horse riders should know; it will also provide information on knee gripping and exercises that focus on strengthening these parts of your body.

Does Horse Riding Damage Your Knees?

Many horse riders report feeling knee pain akin to walking up the stairs or having a prolonged hiking trip. Improper horse riding has the potential to cause this pain.

The correct posture is important when you are riding a horse. Every part of your lower body, legs, and feet needs to be set in a certain way to avoid causing pain.

The damage that you incur from horse riding is usually not severe. In more cases than not, knee damage requiring corrective surgery is due to a direct impact from a fall of some sort. So, you do not need to worry about needing knee surgery from improper horse riding.

How to Treat Your Painful Knees at Home

If you are experiencing knee pain while riding your horse, and it so painful you feel you cannot ride, you should get off your horse. You will need to take steps to heal your knees so you can get rid of the pain.

Usually, ice packs and rest are good ways to help the pain subside. Pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen will help with pain too. Keep your knees elevated for a long time and maybe take a nap. Keeping pressure off your knees for a while should help a lot.

If the pain persists, however, it would be wise to visit your doctor and get professional advice on what you can do to cure it. If you do visit your doctor, you will likely be told to set up an appointment at a physical therapy center nearby to help strengthen your knees.

How Do I Stop My Knees from Hurting When Riding A Horse?

There are three running themes when it comes to knee pain in horse riding: lower body position, feet position, and ankle position.

The key is to remain in balance with your core muscles, your seat, and your horse.

Check Your Lower Body Position

One of the most common causes of knee pain is a bad leg position. There is a sweet spot that all equestrians should try to achieve when riding a horse.

While riding a horse, your hips are always meant to be directly below your shoulders. If you are doing a sportier event and your horse jumps, your ankles need to be directly below your shoulder as well.

Of course, all of this will be taught to you if you have a good horse-riding trainer, but having an online guide is still good for those who are experiencing knee pain.

Change Your Foot Position

Stirrups should be placed underneath the ball of your foot (the section of your foot that is right under your toes). This is to make sure your ankle flexes with the movement of your horse. However, if your saddle is not secure, your feet will slide forward, which makes the bar of the stirrup rest on the arch of your foot rather than the ball of your foot.

Your ankles lose the ability to flex when the horse moves, and the entire leg will slide in the stirrup with each move the horse makes, causing incredible pressure and pain on your knee.

To prevent your arch from sliding down on your stirrups, you need to be secure on your seat. Your body needs to be balanced, and you need to maintain control of your horse.

Fix Your Ankle Position

As mentioned earlier, you need to have your ankles directly below your shoulders while your horse is jumping. But it is also important to focus on your ankles.

One early lesson you may have been taught as a horse rider is to keep your heels down while riding. This lesson is taught early so you can maintain control of your seat. If your ankles and heels go up while your toes point down to the ground while riding, the seat becomes unstable, causing you to bounce like crazy while riding your horse.

Also, when your heels are up, they can hit onto a horse’s side, which causes background noise that the horse does not want to hear. Horses will become confused by the sudden noise caused by your foot.

Part of being an equestrian is being flexible enough to keep your ankles and heels where they are supposed to be as you ride your horse. Check out these exercises from theridinginstructor.net for information on how to improve your flexibility when you ride your horse.

Should You Grip with Your Knees When Horse Riding?

You may think that you need to grip onto your horse, but to grip while horse riding is a bad idea. This can cause a variety of problems for you and your horse.

If you grip your horse with your knees, you will end up pushing roughly against the horse, which causes a restriction of the horse’s movement. The horse will become jittery and jerky, and you will be tossed around in no time.  

What Should You Do to Maintain Seating on Your Horse?

Maintaining your seating is simpler than what you’re thinking. There aren’t any secret techniques to keep a steady grip on your horse while riding. Just don’t grip your horse.

Think of it as a church song with a call and response framework. The horse moves. As your horse moves, your seat and your body move with the horse naturally, flowing like the wind.

Whiteroseequestrian.com has a few exercises that can help you maintain your seating better on your horse and build up your strength.

Exercises to Help Strengthen Your Knees

Having strong knees before horse riding is possibly the best way to prevent your knees from pain and possible damage. As I’m sure most of us know, physical therapy is costly. There are, however, some exercises that you can do at home to help strengthen your knees.

Bridging

While lying on your back, bend your knees and push your heels into the floor. Tighten your glutes and abdominal muscles while lifting your hips off the floor. Hold that same position for 5-10 seconds. Repeat 15-20 times.

Clam Exercise

Think of the clam exercise like a sideways bridge. Lie on the side of your body with your knees and hips bent together. Raise your upper leg (not with your foot) slowly, keeping your feet touching each other during the process. Hold for a few seconds and lower your leg slowly. Repeat for about 20 times.

Quad Sets

While on the floor, keep one of your legs straight. Bend your other leg. Press the back of your straight knee on the floor by tightening your upper thigh muscles. Keep this position for about 10 seconds, and then let go. Start again and repeat about 20 times. Then, do your other leg.

Conclusion

Now you know why your knees hurt after horse riding and many ways to stop the pain! We hope that the tips and information in this article will help you move toward a pain-free horse-riding experience.