For our Female Posters: Female horseriders who fail to wear sports bras could be st

Sarah Knapton, science editor

Female horseriders who fail to wear a sports bra could be causing distress to their animals, a study by Porstmouth University finds.

A survey of riders discovered that fewer than one in five women regularly wore a sports bra for riding even though it can lead to poor posture and musculoskeletal problems which are sensed by the horse.

Previous research has shown that horse heart rate increases in response to tension in the handler or rider.

Dr Jenny Burbage, of the Department of Sport and Exercise Science said: “A correctly fitting bra for exercise is essential, as an incorrect fit can contribute to upper body musculoskeletal problems, poor posture and deep bra furrows in the shoulder caused by excessive strap pressure.

“The physical application of cues to the horse relies on good postural control by the rider, which can be negatively impacted by pain or discomfort leading to postural asymmetry.

“The ridden horse is trained to respond to subtle cues given by the rider’s body, but as a species can detect and respond to physiological changes that the rider may be unaware of.”

Co-author Lorna Cameron added: "Bra issues such as poor fit or insufficient support for larger-breasted riders may negatively affect rider posture, which has implications for dressage performance, as the horse is trained to respond to subtle cues and maintaining a relaxed and upright riding posture can be crucial."

The study found that thousands of women could be experiencing breast pain while horse-riding because of poorly fitting bras. 40 per cent of the 1,324 female riders surveyed said they had experienced chest pain while riding.

The in-depth survey, completed by 1,324 female horse-riders, showed that breast pain and other bra-related issued increased with cup size and body mass.

Previous studies have investigated breast pain and bra issues in the general population and a marathon-running population, but this is the first time researchers have looked at the horse-riding population.

The research, published in the Journal of Sports Sciences found that breast pain was experienced most frequently during the sitting trot, and that 21 per cent of participants with symptoms reported that pain affected their horse-riding performance.

Previous research has suggested that 70 to 100 per cent of women are wearing the wrong-sized bra.

A previous study has shown that horse heart rate increases as a direct response to tension in the handler or rider.

Around 90 per cent of horse-riders are female, with about 304,000 women in England taking part in equestrian activities at least once a week.

Over half of symptomatic participants described the severity of their breast pain as discomforting (56 per cent), with eight per cent describing it as distressing, horrible or excruciating.

Only 14 per cent of small-breasted riders and 19 per cent of large-breasted riders opted to exclusively wear a sports bra when they rode a horse.

This compares to 82 per cent and 91 per cent of marathon runners who reported always wearing a sports bra when they took part in moderate or vigorous physical activity respectively.

Dr Burbage added: “Perhaps this is due to the vast majority of sports bras available for purchase being marketed towards runners, leading to the perception that sports bra use during other sports such as horse-riding is not important.”