Bareback Riding!

[eeyore]

hi, i'm just curious about bareback riding and such..

is it good for the horse? are horses more or less comfortable bareback riding?
are there any sort of "bareback pads" you can buy to make bareback riding more comfortable for horse or rider?
i just want to know as much as i can about it really!

all advice and suggestions appreciated! :)

[Naturally]

I'm sure that opinions on this will be many and varied.. :p

I don't think bareback is a problem as long as you are a balanced rider, but then, that pretty much applies even with a saddle !

If you're wanting to start and don't have the confidence, I suggest starting in a small arena or yard and just keep it at the walk until you are comfortable..might take a few sessions. If you are comfy at the walk and your horse seems positive (ears forward, head low etc) then ask for the trot. You might want to grab a little mane first up if you're not sure.
In my experience Canter is infinately easier bareback than the trot.

You can get bareback pads at saddlerys in Australia, I assume it's the same world over. I have a parelli one which I love. It is made of suede and has a little "panic bar", which saves having to grab the mane in an "oh no" situation.

Some horses I've seen get a little skittish if they have never been ridden bareback before. It might pay to have worked with the concept initially. Three things that spring to mind are:

Teach your horse to mount from a fence
Postition yourself so you can lay across your horses back, without gettting on...do this a few times before throwing your leg over.
When you get on, just sit there don't ask for anything straight away, just let the horse be comfortable.

Having said all of that, I don't know you or your horse, so all of this is assuming that all other things are equal, i.e. you can ride OK, have a good natured horse and are wearing a helmet ;)

Have fun

[eeyore]

yeah i was just doing some walking in the arena since my horse went barefoot recently and thought he could do with some weight off his feet! :D

strangely, i actually mounted from the fence o.O and he didn't even seem to notice me trying to crawl on, lol

i think it's more uncomfy for me than him though! he's podgey at the sides and underneath, but has got a rather boney back - ouch!

i think i'd only do it in the arena though. if i was going out hacking i would use a saddle anyway. i just thought it would be good for both of us in different ways.
for him would take some weight off and i can feel him better, plus it would probably teach me to balance better.
since barefoot is going well for us, i thought i'd have a look at other 'natural' methods and test 'em out!

when i did it before, i actually found it easier to stop him.
maybe because i could feel him better?
he is actually a bit big for me so it can be difficult to use your seat to stop when using a saddle, and i hate having to just squeeze my reins so much.

[Naturally]

when i did it before, i actually found it easier to stop him.
maybe because i could feel him better?

Yep, he could probably feel you better is more the point.

Good for you. I don't think I personally know many/if any people that ride bareback outside of an arena or home paddock. I have done a small trail in a bareback pad, but on a quite highly trained horse that I had a fantastic relationship with. We didn't venture far, trust him as much as I did, I was too nervous. :p mostly of coming down the hills. :eek:

Good for you on the barefoot factor too. Just heard about a friend of a friend who completed an endurance ride barefoot. Horse checked out great at every vet stop. :)

[eeyore]

Good for you on the barefoot factor too. Just heard about a friend of a friend who completed an endurance ride barefoot. Horse checked out great at every vet stop. :)

cool! that's what we like to hear! :D
i actually just stuck the link to our barefoot transition photos in my signiture if anyone wants to see ^.^
after 3 weeks he's already had TONS of extra growth! i'm worried his feet will grow really long before we can get the trimmer back! :p

[Foxfold]

[QUOTE=eeyore]hi, i'm just curious about bareback riding and such..

are there any sort of "bareback pads" you can buy to make bareback riding more comfortable for horse or rider?


Hi Eeyore
I have a 'best friend' bareback pad, it's like riding on a duvet, it's great.
So comfy and very stable.

[jUmPingIsLifE]

i love bareback riding, its great for the rider and for balance.

[**Tia**]

i love bareback! on my holiday we were allowed to catch the ponies and ride them bareback back to the yard. it teaches you great balance! :D

[jessie123]

I have noticed when I ride my 2 with the bareback pad they seem much happier and more comfortable, they stride out much better and generally much more responsive and better behaved, my boy especially likes his bareback pad, he seems to groan inwardly when I get the conventional saddle out of the tackroom :rolleyes: :D

[soph jones]

well i always ride my ponies dwn to the felid in just a headcollar barebac!!! lol and they dont sem very bothered its fine!!

[eeyore]

sounds good! :) how much are bareback pads ususally? :/

[Jacquie]

I have a 'best friend' bareback pad, it's like riding on a duvet, it's great. So comfy and very stable.
I agree with you Foxfold. I've also got a 'best friend' bareback pad. At around a third of the price of a PNH pad I find them exceptional value for money. :)
link:
www.barebackpad.co.uk

[Skib]

Eyore
Just lately I rode bareback again in my riding lesson, because in America I bought this book on Native American horsemanship (Horse follow closely by Gawani Pony Boy) which describes the way Indians rode bareback. How to sit so as to fit your legs in the natural hollow behind the horse's shoulder.

I was very keen to try this out. When I first rode bareback a year ago, I didnt know this. I had never read anything on bareback riding and rode the same as usual.
I'm nothing like the athletic young author. But I tried to remember what he said in the book and sitting the way he described, my thighs/legs were resting on the horse's rib cage. I wondered if this might hamper her, but it didn't and it probably distributed my weight over a larger area, away from the top of her spine. He says you can do rising trot like this, but I did not try (being an old lady).
You dont need to be a wonderful rider or perfectly balanced to ride bareback. My teacher uses it to improve her students' balance. I am 65 and I did it with her taking care of me. It is no problem to this particular horse who hates having a girth round her and I have a soft seat.
GawaniPony Boy doesnt recommend bareback pads. Nor expect most riders to abandon the saddle altogether. (As the museums show, Native Americans adopted the technology of the Western (Mexican) saddle and stirrups.) But for anyone interested in bareback riding and closer contact with their horse, it is a good guide to the adjustments you need to make to your riding and to the pleasure of riding that way.
If anyone has discovered any others, perhaps they could post on them?

[Jacquie]

GawaniPony Boy doesnt recommend bareback pads.
:eek: I bet GawaniPony Boy doesn't ride a TB with very high withers. :o :D

[Awakening_09]

hey, eeyore

I've been riding bare back for the last 13 months. I use a bare-back pad I got form Saddleworld [australia]. Before that, I used to ride in a western roping saddle, so it was quite a difference, but after about 6 months, we sold all but one of our saddles, and now all of us [mum, sister, and two of our friends, and myself] all ride with bareback pads.

I'd like to think I've got a natural seat, as I have taught/teaching my two palouse mare's to rear on command, race my friends, and jump. :p

Anyway, I think both rider and horse are more comfortable bareback. It increases a riders natural balance, and you are more incontact with your mount. You can feel what it is about to do before it does it a lot better than in a saddle. I believe that bare back riding is much more ... um, word.... can't think of it o.O lol


Off topic a little:
Both my horses are trained differently, though they are almost identical [both are 13.3hh Palouse mares] Tiki [leopard] is trained in Prellie, and spins on a dime, though she has a high opinion of herself, and walks all over me. I'm turning her traning to the Monty Roberts methods, as the other have responded so well to it.
Kitty [bucky blanket] I used Monty Roberts on, and she nows follows me around like a puppy... A name stuff up, I think ;)

www.montyroberts.com <- he is really great. I scoffed when my friend told me about his meathods, but they work really well, and it is such a great feeling, when the horse responds!