Question for the men!

[eventamy]

My husband has asked me to ask you a question!
He's been taking some lessons with my trainer to prepare for the hunt field. He took his 2nd lesson today. He's ridden with me before but only trail rides etc. I got to watch part of his lesson today and I was very impressed! He's already mastering the posting trot and started cantering only after his 2nd lesson!
Anyway, to the question! It's about the male "parts". He's a little sore tonight after a little bouncing etc getting used to the canter and posting. What do you guys suggest he do to stay comfortable in the saddle? Is there certain underwear?
Thanks for the help!

[Beverley]

I can relate to you that when my husband took up riding soon after we were married, his issues were resolved by proper saddle fit.

[pegasusmom]

Ah - funny how this thread comes up on a regular basis. My husband rides in bicycle shorts for the compression aspect. Son rides in boxers and arranges. Both would agree with what Beverly posted. Guys take a seat that is a bit roomier/larger than a woman of similiar height/thigh length do.

[Tiempo]

Ok...I've resisted posting this before..but I'm feeling cheeky tonight.

X rated..so if you're sensitive read no further.

Here is the Haiku my SO composed afer his first ride on my bouncy morgan...

Posting trot, the pain
unprepared, wore boxer shorts
B@!!s now in my @$$

[eventamy]

LOL!!! Thank you, needed that!

[Cattail]

I was trail riding with my husband ,a novice, he complained of certain pain -- I grabbed my cell and call my friend RIchard W in Arizona---his instructions were to pull his testicles forward-- and wear shorts tight enough to hold them there! Hope this helps!! Helped Ron
Oh did I say how embarassed Ron was --- LOL--- we horse woman are not shy

[Tiempo]

I was trail riding with my husband ,a novice, he complained of certain pain -- I grabbed my cell and call my friend RIchard W in Arizona---his instructions were to pull his testicles forward-- and wear shorts tight enough to hold them there! Hope this helps!! Helped Ron
Oh did I say how embarassed Ron was --- LOL--- we horse woman are not shy

:lol::lol::lol:

Shortly after the boxer shorts incident, we were at the local park for the 4th July fireworks, we got into a conversation with a lovely mail mounted policeman and my SO related his problem.

Officer's advice was "Upwards and forwards dude...upwards and forwards"!!

[Tiempo]

Another tale to tell...

My ex decided while we were out at the barn one day that he wanted to ride my old horse (that I don't own anymore), but he was concerned that his underwear was not sufficient, so we went into town to purchase him some tightie wighties.

Problem was, it's a small town and none were to be had, so he decided on a pair of women's panty hose (in black), he cut the feet off and put them on under his jeans.

Out in the back 40, ex and horse were descended upon by a swarm of biting insects and my horse took off with him across the field bucking up a storm, a rein snapped and ex landed winded and coughing up blood.

Off to the ER...forgot about the undergarments until the nurse asked him to strip down to his underwear.

She left the room, but came back to see why we were laughing SO hysterically :lol:

[Petstorejunkie]

i posted a thread not to long ago i think in the dressage section about equitation differences between men and women, you may find some helpful info there.:)

[bookwormdude]

I have to say that boxer-briefs have worked great for me. Riding in plain boxers the few times I've forgotten that I was riding that day when I got dressed was most uncomfortable, due to them bunching up and....chafing. :no:

Also, tell your husband that the good news is that as his legs get stronger and his seat improves, he'll be more balanced, and it won't even be an issue! Now the only time I ever get a painful reminder is when my balance falters from a bad jump or if my horse is acting the fool. Otherwise, the anatomy difference is a moot point. Best of luck to him! I had one bad "pop" last year and had to pull over and think about life for a while, so I definitely can appreciate his apprehension!

[SLW]

Another tale to tell...


Off to the ER...forgot about the undergarments until the nurse asked him to strip down to his underwear.



What are the effin odds of falling off hard enough to require a trip to ER the one time your cross-dressing for a non-pervert related activity??? I bet they still bring this story up in the break room at the hospital. ;)

[Elghund2]

It just takes practice and after a while it is a non-issue. In the hunt field you will got popped from time to time (horse sees something and hops a little) but its rare.

[armandh]

why do you suppose they call them jocky [as opposed to boxer]

[Thomas_1]

Tight underpants which hold everything in! They're even called jockey pants so you have a clue ;) Or something like speedo swimming trunks or bicylcle shorts. In winter lycra tights are great but watch out you don't end up in hopsital where they think you're some sort of weirdo transvestite!

NEVER EVER EVER boxer shorts! Unless of course you want to sing soprano!


Withers and pommel....... the reason men don't ride bareback :winkgrin:

[Equine Senior]

Upwards and forward is right on! Tight enough underware to keep them there and you don't need a different saddle fit. Get a seat first and much of the pain is eliminated. Have fun!!

[Black Rider]

A few years ago when I started learning how to ride (at an eventing barn), I had this problem. I found the answer in the Dover catalog. They're called Homeys (such a great name). A cross between a jock strap and boxer brief underwear. Unfortunately, I don't think Dover carries them any longer. BUT...they do have a website...
http://www.canadiantack.com/USA_pages/USDclothing1.htm

Also, when I did a low level dressage show, the Homeys showed through the white breeches, so what I did was use black Champion boxer briefs over a jockey strap. It worked beautifully!

Good luck...

[Mudroom]

...they do have a website...
http://www.canadiantack.com/USA_pages/USDclothing1.htm



Is that you in the picture?

[brokenarrowdj]

Hubby is a cowboy, so wears snug Wranglers. When not commando, he wears snug boxer briefs. On the few occasions he has ridden in my english or dressage saddles, the saddle definitely made a difference. He HATED the super deep seat dressage saddle, but could deal with the flatter event saddle.

[Hotspur]

High and Tight for male riders is not a hair style, but a survival technique!
Saddle fit for the rider is also most important. Like a lot of guys, I learned to ride in my wife's tiny saddle. I came to believe that the saddle was the reason that there were so few guys in english tack!

When I finally ordered a custom saddle for my lovely gelding and I, the difference was very apparent!

Tell Hubby to hang tight, and hang in there! It gets better and it's all worth the effort.

Hotspur

[Outfox]

+1 boxer-briefs

However, they don't work well for breeches. Even tried mini-briefs (aka man panties) once.

So the "Good Ol' Whitie Tighties" work good, just make sure they are younger than your horse.:lol:

[eventamy]

An Update:
I found men's riding undies (they call them liners) at Dover Saddlery and ordered them on Wednesday night. I just tracked them and they're already at my house! So he'll be ablet to wear them in his lesson on Sunday! So I'll let you all know how it goes!
Thanks for the input! It was great hearing all the funny stories too, we read it together and had a good laugh!

[goodhors]

My husband and son both ride, are good riders on the flat or over fences. They both wear briefs, under breeches and jeans. They ride saddles that have a wide twist. Narrow twist saddles are a real bad choice for the male rider, english or western. Flat seats seem to be more comfortable than those with a rise to the front, like the Western Equitation seat models. Deep seat is OK, as long as the rear is not downhill from pommel, on English saddles. This would probably be considered a good fitted saddle on the horse. Lots of folks don't seem to notice good or poorly fitting saddles on their animals, always posting uphill.

There was a hysterical article in a UK horse magazine a number of years ago about the beginning male rider. For some reason he only had female trainers who DID NOT cut him any slack on doing the sitting trot, at speed, for LONG periods of time during the lesson. It was crippling him, but he REALLY wanted to ride well. His story about finding helpful riding underware was very funny, but certainly eye opening to me. Stuff I never thought of!! He ended up with an athletic supporter to go with his briefs, considered it the only way for men to ride comfortably, safely.

I did think that the article should be mandatory reading for riding instructors who will teach any boys or men!

My husband learned from male instructors, gave son much of his riding lessons, so they didn't have any "male" problems. Males do tell each other the tricks needed for their gender to succeed well in the saddle.

[4cornersfarm]

So how do I get my son to wear his special undies? My ten year old son is obviously uncomfortable, we (Daddy and I) took him out and bought him a jock strap, and compression shorts, and boxer briefs (so he could choose which he wanted to wear.) Daddy explained why he shouldn't wear his boxer shorts (not to mention how bunched up they get under his jods) but son is stubborn. :rolleyes:

I know, nobody has the answer, I guess I just wanted to whine! I wish he would listen, I know he would be more comfy in the saddle! Daddy rides off and on, and does use a jock strap.

[thelwellian]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was about to start a similar thread for my boyfriend who is having issues...

I gave him his first "proper" lesson this weekend and he's a natural...but afterwards he said I was killing him with the trot.

I think we'll be shopping for some jockey shorts, wranglers, and some less "girly" gear (helmet, saddle pad).

[BridalBridle]

Have a friend that had the same problem. Saddle size. He was in 16 and needed a 17.5 and all the problems went away. This guy is not big. About 5'5" 130lbs. He asked around and no one had an answer. This was a total cure. GO TEAM GO>

[enjoytheride]

4cornersfarm, I suppose you could just reassure yourself and your husband that there will certainly be no unexpected grandchildren if your son continues to wear boxers!

[sirena_chaucer]

My husband learned from male instructors, gave son much of his riding lessons, so they didn't have any "male" problems. Males do tell each other the tricks needed for their gender to succeed well in the saddle.

Every time I see a western (film) I wonder about the American Indians riding at full out gallop bareback...how would that feel? :eek: This thread immediately made me think of the buffalo hunt scene in Dances with Wolves- those guys are sitting as humanely close to their horses' backs as possible, arms free for their bows, backs as straight as can be...in their split skin leather loincloth things...imagine trying that for a day's ride.

So glad I'm a girl. ;)

On second thought- I guess the trot scenes are more painful to watch than the galloping ones. lol

[mbd]

Glad I found this thread. The DH doesn't really ride and has ZERO body fat so I was concerned about this *ahem* "issue" when he wanted to do some trail riding. So I asked around and got some great referrals from the male of the species -- gel seat that velcroes on a western saddle.

Plus the good ol' boxer briefs and *cough* telling the poor guy to adjust himself accordingly. It's worked wonders and he enjoys a nice long trail ride occasionally.

Funny story to add: my youngest stepson has ridden with me since he was 10. Fearless, great seat, no balance problems and a speed freak of the highest order.

The oldest stepson asked if he could go along this past spring for the first time at 15. I put him in a beater western trail saddle, lots of padding, on a nice bombproof mare, ditto on the padding. We get out an hour or so and the youngest wants to trot, mostly to show off to his older brother how well he can ride. With everybody's consent, off we go. I've ridden the mare I have my oldest on, she's smooth as glass.

But, about 200 yards down the trail I hear all kinds of bellowing from the kid. When I stop and trot back to find out what the emergency is, he informed me that 'we have to walk, my ba**s hurt like hell!' (at 15). I laughed so hard I almost fell off. His younger brother has never let him live it down and still rides regularly with me. The oldest hasn't asked since ....

[lddowler]

So how do I get my son to wear his special undies? My ten year old son is obviously uncomfortable, we (Daddy and I) took him out and bought him a jock strap, and compression shorts, and boxer briefs (so he could choose which he wanted to wear.) Daddy explained why he shouldn't wear his boxer shorts (not to mention how bunched up they get under his jods) but son is stubborn.

Buy him a pair of each, slip them into his drawer, and don't mention it. He was probably more embarrassed than stubborn and this way he'll have options for relief when his choices fail him. He'll soon figure it out, not many people enjoy self inflicted pain!

[Frecklefacedfrannie]

My son resisted underwear change when he was 10. That all changed when puberty really set in. And then finally we got him a 19.5" saddle. He had always ridden in Wintecs. The saddler we found mentioned that saddles built for men really make a difference. We found that to be totally true. His form also improved as he quit anticipating discomfort. My son is 16 and 200#.
So 4cornersfarm. time will take care of the resistance. And if he starts not wanting to ride any more, consider this as a culprit and help him address it again.
FFF