Perimenopause for Horse Riders: Staying in the Saddle Through the Hormonal Transition

When the Saddle Starts to Feel Different

Horse riding has been part of your life for years. The partnership with your horse, the physical and mental demands of the discipline, the quiet that comes from being in the yard. Then perimenopause starts shifting things. Your balance in the saddle feels less automatic. Your lower back aches in a way it did not before. Sitting trot, which was never your enemy, now feels uncomfortable in ways you cannot quite explain. A hot flash hits during a lesson and your concentration goes with it.

You are not losing your riding. You are riding in a body that is navigating one of its most significant hormonal transitions. Perimenopause affects balance, core stability, joint comfort, pelvic floor health, and concentration in ways that are directly relevant to equestrian sport. Understanding what is happening is the first step toward riding well through it.

How Perimenopause Specifically Affects Riding

Riding looks effortless from the outside, but it requires continuous activation of core and hip stabilizers, precise balance adjustment, and a combination of strength and softness in the body that takes years to develop. Perimenopause disrupts several of the physiological systems that support this.

Core stability is affected by declining estrogen and progesterone. These hormones support both muscle function and connective tissue tensioning through the pelvis and lower back. As levels fluctuate, many riders notice reduced pelvic stability, increased lower back tension, and a tendency to brace rather than absorb movement. This shows up as a less fluid seat and more physical effort to maintain position.

Pelvic floor health changes significantly during perimenopause. Declining estrogen affects the tone and resilience of the pelvic floor muscles. For riders, this matters because the pelvic floor is part of the core system that keeps you connected to the horse's movement. Leaking during sitting trot or canter is more common during perimenopause than most riders talk about openly. It is a real, physical change, not an embarrassment to push through.

Balance and proprioception, the body's sense of its own position in space, are supported by estrogen's effects on joint sensory receptors. When estrogen fluctuates, balance becomes less automatic. Riders may find they feel slightly less secure on a fresh or unpredictable horse than before.

Pelvic Floor Health for Riders in Perimenopause

This topic deserves its own section because it is so often not discussed in equestrian spaces, and because it is both very common and very treatable.

The impact loading of rising trot and canter, combined with the sustained core engagement riding requires, puts real demands on the pelvic floor. For women whose pelvic floor tone has changed with perimenopause, this can produce urinary leakage, discomfort, or a sense of heaviness during or after riding.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is the most effective intervention. A physiotherapist specializing in pelvic health can assess whether your pelvic floor needs strengthening (most cases), relaxing (some cases), or coordinating better with your breathing and movement. Many riders who see a pelvic health physio report that riding comfort improves significantly within a few weeks of starting targeted exercises.

Vaginal estrogen therapy, a low-dose estrogen applied locally, improves the tissue tone and moisture of the vagina and vulva. For riders experiencing saddle discomfort related to tissue thinning, this is one of the most effective and underused options available. It does not significantly raise systemic estrogen. It is a straightforward medical conversation worth having with your doctor.

Managing Hot Flashes and Heat at the Yard

Riding in warm weather, physical barn chores, and the general physical demands of horse ownership combine with perimenopause's thermoregulation changes to create a real heat management challenge.

Layer your yard and riding clothing so you can adjust quickly. Technical moisture-wicking base layers under your riding top allow you to adapt as your temperature changes. Keep a cold water bottle in the tack room and sip consistently throughout the morning at the yard.

If a hot flash arrives during a lesson, it is completely fine to ask to walk on a loose rein for two or three minutes before continuing. Good instructors will not question this. A brief explanation, even just mentioning perimenopause, is usually all that is needed. Attempting a demanding technical exercise while your core temperature is spiking and your concentration has gone is not useful for you or your horse.

Some riders find that early morning sessions in cooler temperatures help manage perimenopausal heat sensitivity better than midday or afternoon rides. If you have scheduling flexibility, shifting your riding time is a low-effort adaptation with meaningful benefit.

Physical Conditioning Off the Horse

Riding fitness is genuinely specific, and riding itself builds some of the strength and balance it requires. But during perimenopause, supplementing your riding with targeted off-horse conditioning produces significant improvements in how you sit, move, and feel in the saddle.

Core strength work is the most direct investment. Pilates is particularly well-suited to riders because it emphasizes the same deep stabilizing muscles that a good riding position requires. Even two short Pilates sessions per week will be reflected in a more secure and fluid seat. Yoga is another option that combines core work with the hip flexibility that aids riding.

Glute and hip strength supports pelvic stability and reduces lower back strain. Hip hinges (deadlifts, good mornings), bridges, and single-leg exercises like step-ups and lunges all directly support the muscles most challenged by riding. Strong glutes reduce the tendency to grip or brace through the thigh, which is one of the most common ways perimenopausal riders compensate for feeling less stable.

Balance training off the horse, single-leg standing, balance board work, or standing on uneven surfaces, sharpens the proprioceptive system that perimenopause is making less reliable.

Nutrition for Equestrian Athletes in Transition

Riding is physically demanding in ways that are easy to underestimate. A full morning at the yard, including grooming, tacking up, riding, and yard chores, can involve several hours of moderate physical activity. Your nutrition needs to support that.

Protein is foundational. Research supports higher protein intake during perimenopause, around 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight daily, to maintain muscle mass and support recovery. This is higher than general guidelines, and it matters particularly when you are physically active.

Bone health nutrition is specifically relevant for horse riders, where falls are a real possibility and perimenopause is reducing bone density. Adequate calcium from food and sufficient vitamin D are protective. If you have not had your vitamin D level checked recently, this is a reasonable thing to discuss with your provider.

Do not skip breakfast before a demanding morning at the yard. Stable chores and riding on an empty stomach, combined with the cortisol of physical effort, is a pattern that worsens perimenopause fatigue. A proper breakfast with protein and complex carbohydrates before you head out makes a meaningful difference to your energy through the morning.

When to Seek Medical Support

Some experiences during equestrian perimenopause go beyond what adaptation alone can address.

Urinary leakage that affects your riding and your confidence should be assessed by a pelvic floor physiotherapist and possibly your GP. This is very common and very treatable. There is no reason to manage it alone. Significant lower back pain that is new or worsening deserves a clinical assessment rather than just trying to ride through it. Balance changes that feel serious enough to raise your safety concerns in the saddle warrant both a medical conversation and an honest conversation with your instructor about how to train safely in the meantime.

Hormone therapy can improve energy, sleep, joint comfort, pelvic tissue health, and mood for many women. If symptoms are significantly affecting your riding life or your wider quality of life, discussing your options with a perimenopause-informed healthcare provider is a very worthwhile step.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.