Equestrian sport is a popular exercise choice for females of all ages, although the links between this exercise choice, health outcomes, and risk to health have not been thoroughly examined. These issues are of particular interest because the female equestrian has the opportunity to ride and/or compete for decades, from early to very late in life, covering almost the full sequence of the female lifespan. Equestrian sports provide physical activity through riding and caring for the horse, and promote positive mental outcomes through tangible practices, such as engaging in physical activity and hard work, goal-setting, acquisition of skills, and participation in a strong community of practice. Equestrianism is an under-researched activity and sport, but increased understanding of female equestrian health and wellness outcomes may contribute to better health and wellness outcomes for female riders. Since equestrian sports participants are predominantly female, with 74% to 80% of the riding population being women, it is important to understand and potentially improve the health and wellness of female riders. This improved understanding may provide their riding careers with increased longevity, comfort, and healthy. It may allow them to enjoy the sport, whatever their age, minimizing or preventing any health issues. A deeper understanding of mental and physical changes from riding will educate and empower women so they are making informed decisions as they ride, talk to their coaches and doctors, and invest in equipment ranging from sport-specific bras to saddles. Manufacturers may also become aware of the potential opportunity to market female-focused products to this community of practice, which has a demonstrated commitment to the horse and accompanying expenditures. Most research is centered on the horse or major equestrian injuries (death, concussion, bone breakage), but it is hypothesized that having an increased understanding of other health issues, ranging from breast, bladder, and groin health to bone density, weight, and body image, may be of great value. The following master’s thesis will review the current literature related to female health as it relates to equestrian sports; report results of a research survey conducted about female equestrian health and wellness, with a focus on breast health and bra use; discuss the survey results; and make recommendations for future research in this area.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojama raitelio apranga – jos istorija, aprangos taisyklės šių dienų žirginiame sporte bei, kaip raiteliškumo bruožai atsispindi drabužių kolekcijose. Analizė buvo daroma siekiant geriau susipažinti su raitelio apranga ir suprojektuoti drabužių kolekciją raiteliams. Teorinės informacijos analizė atskleidė, kad žmogus ir žirgas neatsiejamas jau daugelį tūkstantmečių. Net ir pačiuose seniausiuose išlikusiuose istoriniuose šaltiniuose, praktiškai kiekvienos tautos mitologijoje ar tautosakoje sutinkamas žirgas, kuriam skiriama ypač garbinga vieta kaip žmogaus draugui ir pagalbininkui. Žirgas, kaip prestižas ir mada geriausiai atsiskleidė suklestėjus dvarams. Tuomet, pradėjus naudoti žirgą ne tik karo tikslams, bet ir pramogai keitėsi ir raitelio apranga. Jai kisti sąlygojo žmogaus pasaulėjauta, žirgo naudojimo paskirtis bei žinoma pramonė. Jai suklestėjus buvo pradėta naudoti įvairesnius audinius bei drabužių sukirpimą. Tačiau raitelio apranga niekada neturėjo kliudyti joti, to nesąlygojo jokia epocha. Per visą istoriją raitelio drabužiai buvo paprastesni ir kuklesni nei kasdieniniam naudojimui skirti drabužiai. Daugiausia suvaržymų ir sąlygų yra pateikiama šių dienų žirginiame sporte. Kadangi, tai labai ekstremalus sportas, skirtingai nuo kiekvienos soprto rūšies yra pateikiamas ir tam tikras raitelio aprangos kodas. Drabužiai nevaržo judesių ir padeda geriau justi žirgą jojant. Tiriamosios temos objektas – raitelio apranga – yra savitai patrauklus ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this bachelors work were analyzed clothes of equestrians – their history, nowadays rules of the horseback riding clothes and how designers are interpretating the equestrian‘s image into the clothes collections; this analysis has been made to get more informations about equestrians and to design a clothes collection inspired to them. The analysis of the theoretical partshowed that human and horse are connected for ages. Even in the oldest historical memorials, almost in every part of the world, horse took a big part in human‘s life, as a friend and as a worker. The best period of this relashionship, when horse started to be a demonstration of richness and social power, was the time of the manors. There were a lot of changes in equestrians clothes when the horse started to be used not just for the war, but also for entertainment. Human way of thinking, different uses of horses and industrialization cotributed in a lot of changes in equestrian clothes; because of the industrial progress was possible to make more difficult fabrics and obtain from new materials more elaborated clothes. No matter which period it was, first of all equestrian clothes had to be confortable. Through all the history equestrian clothes were simplier than casual ones. A lot of rules are in nowadays horseback riding sports. First of all, clothes have to be “safe“. In the different disciplines are also special dress codes for the equestrian equipment. Clothes have to protect and at the same time to... [to full text]

En kvantitativ studie genomfördes med syftet att undersöka i vilken utsträckning psykologiska strategier används av ryttare samt om det finns några eventuella skillnader i användandet av psykologiska strategier på träning och tävling och i mellan grenarna inom ridsporten. Vidare undersöktes det om det finns ett samband mellan användandet av psykologiska strategier och upplevd prestation. För att mäta detta användes en svensk version av självskattningsinstrumentet Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS). 185 ryttare deltog i studien, varav 107 stycken var dressyrryttare, 39 stycken var hoppryttare och 38 stycken deltog inom en övrig gren inom ridsporten. Resultatet visade en signifikant skillnad i användandet av psykologiska strategier mellan träning- och tävlingssammanhang, där strategierna användes mer i träningssammanhang. Resultatet visade även en signifikant skillnad i användandet av psykologiska strategier mellan grenarna i ridsport, där ryttarna inom hoppning och annan gren visade sig använda sig av mer automatisering på tävling än ryttarna inom dressyr. Dessutom fanns ett positivt signifikant samband mellan upplevd grad av prestationsnivå på tävling och användandet av psykologiska strategier. Samt ett ytterligare ett positivt signifikant samband mellan upplevd grad av prestationsnivå på träning och användandet av psykologiska strategier. Slutsatsen kunde dras att populationen använder mer psykologiska strategier i träningssammanhang samt de upplever att en hög grad av användande av psykologiska strategier resulterar i en upplevd hög grad av prestationsnivå. / A quantitative study has been conducted with the aim of investigating the extent to which psychological strategies are used by riders as well as whether there were any differences in the use of psychological strategies during training and competition and between the disciplines of the equestrian sport. Furthermore, it examined whether there was a connection between the use of psychological strategies and experienced achievement-level. To measure this a Swedish version of the self-assessment instrument Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) was used. 185 equestrians participated in the study, whence 107 of them competed in dressage, 39 of them competed in jumping and 38 of them competed in another discipline. The result showed a significant difference in the use of psychological strategies in training and competition, where the psychological strategies was used more in the training sessions. The result also showed a significant difference in the use of psychological strategies between the disciplines, it showed that the equestrians who jumped and participated in another discipline used more automaticity in competition than dressage riders. In addition, there was a positive significant relationship between the degree of perceived performance on competition and the use of psychological strategies. There were also a positive significant relationship between the degree of perceived performance on training and the use of psychological strategies. The conclusion is that the population used more psychological strategies in training sessions and they experience that a high degree of using psychological strategies results in a high degree of perceived performance.