Yesterday my husband and I were riding in the woods.   We'd stopped at a stream to let the horses drink.  I was on the bank, on my dressage horse Merlin,  waiting for his mare to finish.    Suddenly Merlin started freaking out and running backwards, thru trees/rocks/bushes.  he was pure panicked and wouldn't stop.  his head was pinned to his chest.  ????  he finally stopped long enought for me to jump off- I discoverred the strap that holds the running martengale was somehow across his lower jaw.  the strap was too tight to release the buckle, he had a wild look in his eye and I couldn't cut it since my knife was on the other side of the saddle, which was pinned against a tree.   I finally bent his head a bit more and managed to undo the snap.    apparently the strap slid down his neck and I didn't realize it until it was too late.  He immediately calmed down and stood quietly.  thank goodness!

this whole incident took about 2 min. but of course it seemed like forever- all I could think of was if he went the other direction we would fall down a steep drop off on the other side of the trail.  

after makeing sure Merlin was OK  I realized my bra strap had broken. how in the world that happened I have no idea.  but riding (or even walking) for me w/ no bra would have been a true emergency.   LOL.   luckily  there was an old dog leash in my saddle bag so Mark managed to tie my bra together with that.  meanwhile several people passed us on the trail.. no telling what they thought we were up to- we're each holding a horse and he has his hands thru the armpit of my shirt- doing something underneath there.  luckily it held together for us to finish our ride and drive home! 

from now on I'm always going to carry dental floss and those little snap tie things in my saddle bag.   even tho we were only out for a couple hrs. something stupid like that would have ruined our ride.   I"m also going to attach something to the strap that holds the martingle so it stays in place. 

Acy, I once had a similar emergency.  While doing the trail demonstration at a clinic my old, mellow App gelding decides to jump the ground pole like it's an oxer.  The saddle horn caught under the little piece between the cups in the front, when he landed and I sat up it snapped.  I found out that you really can ride with your elbows in!  I quickly rode right out of the arena and found my mother and we safety pinned my bra back together.  Only later did I start riding English and jumping on purpose.

Didn't have the horses but, we were out gathering firewood in a remote part of the mountians.  Something pinched my upper lip, looked down and yellow jackets covered my shirt.  I start screaming and jumping up/down, pull my shirt off, at that exact same time hunters drove by on ATV's.  Boy did they get a show, topless and all.  I really didn't care over all got stung 4 times, don't know how the yellow jackets got into my bra but they did.  Good thing I wasn't allergic but oh the welts they made.  To top it off earlier that day fell down a small ravine gave myself a black eye.  On the way home stopped at the store to pick up Benadryl. Got some strange looks, black eye, fat lip, welts.  Looks like I lost a few rounds.  And here Hollywood pays thousands of dollars for that fat lip look, I got it for free and it lasted 3 days.

But a home cure for stings, a new copper penny on the stings will help decrease the swelling but when you take the penny off the swelling comes back.  Used it until I got the Benadryl.

Tobacco also works great to decrease the swelling.  I got stung on the lip by a yellow jacket and we had a few smokers in our group.  One of them gave me a cigarette and I peeled the paper back and took the tobacco and mixed it with a little water to moisten it and help hold it together.  I stuck it on my lip and it really drew out the swelling.

I've heard meat tenderizer also draws the poison and reduces the swelling..  My husband's uncle says coca cola or root beer or any acidic liquid poured over stings of any kind will help to reduce the swelling and to cool the fire.

BTW, I've also had my bra snapped when the front of it got hooked over my horn.. I don't even like WALKING braless, much less riding..It sure cut my ride short that day..

Well, I don't have any good bra stories, I don't have much of anything to keep contained, unfortunately.  But here's a good underwear story.....I got a new roughout billy cook saddle, and I was so excited to try it for a little ride.  We wound up getting LOST, and were out for about 5 hours.  It turns out that the roughout was too rough, and the seat was too large for me, and I wound up with half dollar sized blisters on my bum. The next day I switched to my old saddle, but my butt hurt so bad, and I wasn't sure what to do about the huge, now fluid filled blisters on my hind end.  I wound up sticking two maxi pads to my tush for some cushion! It worked!

Amanda

This all reminds me of the time I was riding with my cousin. I asked her if she wanted to trot and she said 'yes' so off we went. I don't remember the whole circumstance but I remember looking back and there she is happily trotting along with her arm up under her breasts for support. She had somehow caught her bra on the horn at some point and it wasn't doing its job. What a funny sight that was. We had a great laugh over it.

You may want to check this out.  http://www.ladiesonlysports.com/enwhenyouare.html

On Oprah's personal "O List" of a few things she thinks are just great, Oprah says, "Once you get yourself hooked into this thing, believe me they're not going anywhere

 I STILL ride with my free arm supporting my chest.. I am (unfortunately) chesty and  NO bra is strough enough to give firm support at speed..

ridingarocky, I do not suffer from being on the small side either...I can fairly comfortably sit the trot using the Champion Powerback Sports Bra (I like the one without wires). It is also made of a material that is wicking so it dries faster. Before they came out with that one, I liked the Champion Action Shape Bra. I sill like it but it has more cotton and doesn't dry as fast so I wear them when it's cooler. You also don't have to put that one on over your head at all. I introduced this one to a friend who got into riding dressage big time and she hugged me several times for the introduction, =) I also told her to make sure it is snug, snug, snug. Sometimes I buy a size slightly smaller and that really helps. (not so small that it cuts off circulation though) They also happen to be on sale right now on the champion web site. I have tried many bras and these are the ones that worked best for me anyhow. Happy (bounce free) Riding!

Try the Ultimate No Bounce Bra by Title Nine Sports.  You could swing from a bridge by this thing no problem.  I would suggest you try one size up from what they recommend (for comfort sake).  I can also say (and I don't work for them) ~ YOU WON'T BOUNCE!