Is Bareback Safe? Please Answer

[horse_crazyae14]

OK. Alot of the horse people i know think that jumping bareback isn't safe. I LOVE to jump without a saddle! There not that high (3ft. and below) I have a 14hh pony ive had for a year and she is green and she gets away with me sometimes. oh well :( but since we trust each other she is pretty good except some rushing issues. But she clears them all. My mother says it improves balance. Also.... I do wear a helmet and give her crest releases and stuff. As long as im not hurting my horse why is this an issue?

:o :o :o :o


p.s- even though my pony is green, i got on her bareback one day and asked my mom to time her speed for one time and she went faster that 35 mph. The fastest a HORSE can go is up to 40-43 mph. Possible racer? Tell me your stories about your fast baby.

~*Ash*~

[Tangle]

I guess you could argue it either way :rolleyes::p:

If the rider has poor balance and relies on their stirrups to keep them on the horse, then asking them to jump bareback would be inviting problems.

Conversly, if you've got good enough balance to jump bareback then (within reasonable limits) there won't be that much in it - plus there's no risk of getting your feet stuck in the stirrups ;)

Personally I'd rather belong to the second group, but fear I still belong to the first :o. If you're mother's happy (and it sounds like she's a fairly experience horsewoman) and you're not hurting your pony then I'd not worry. Only issue would be competitions as most of them have rules that you have to wear tack - very boring :D

[arabianbaby]

i hear you. i also love jumping bareback. so fun.
my understanding is that when it causes problems is if you are unable to get off your horse's back without stirrups(and of course not be hanging onto their mouth). if you can do that my instructor says it's fine. :) yeah!

[spiffyscotty]

well i think it all depends on how you feel, if you feel safe enough to ride bareback then go for it... if you feel unsteady and unsafe then maybe stick to the saddle until you get more confident.

[kedwards]

Riding bareback is wonderful. Everyone should do it from time to time. Enjoy yourself!

On the other hand, safety aside, you may want to consider training goals for your pony. If jumping bareback is setting yourself up for a situation where she more easily gets away from you or you do not have the control to stop her from rushing, then you will be making things harder for yourself in the long run, as you will need to untrain all of these bad habits in her at some point in order to progress (assuming your intent is to train her for competing over courses). It's always much faster to train correctly in the first place than to have to retrain bad habits.

[santana]

i love bare back..... as long as im on my 13.2HH pony :o :D she has never jumped before so i dont know, but when my mum was little she dident own a saddle so she just went everywhere without one (horses where transport to her and her sister- we live very rural here and so did my mum)she would do everything, jump, standing on the horses, enything and she lives to tell me :D , so i would say yes if you have got good balance, :D


rosie

[*Sez*]

I love to bareback on my cob - he tends to be very good and easy going (he seems to know that bareback just means fun, rather than serious schooling :o ) and when he was out at night, I often rode him down to his field at the end of the evening in his bridle and rugs. I feel confident that my balance is good enough to keep me aboard, and he's even bucked with me bareback and I've managed to stay on.

However, my RI's partner (who is our saddler and runs the local saddlery) doesn't approve and tells me horror stories about people that have come off whilst barebacking. But personally, I think there are just as many horror stories of people who have been riding in full tack. Accidents do happen regardless.

I think as long as your seat and balance are good, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to bareback as well as you ride in the saddle. I know there are members of this forum that always ride bareback.

[dcp]

There is a lot more chance of me coming off my horse in bareback. If he speeds up I don't have a chance but I would prefer to fall off bare back than I would with full tack. Twice I've had my foot caught in the stirrup I was lucky but had he taken off I would of really hurt myself. I hear it does improve your balance but if you can jump bareback you must be pretty balanced.

[atillathefun]

I love riding bareback too but I do always wear a body protector.
If you listened to everything about safety then you wouldnt do anything - all riding is dangerous even with a saddle so if your enjoying it then good on you and like your Mum says it will improve your balance no end. :)

[horse_crazyae14]

Thanks guys! that helps a lot! Actually, I have trained her enough that she wont bolt when I get on her. She is eight and before I got her, she was yahooed and did Hackney pony stuff. (somethin about running in certain gaits real fast in a 1 man buggy. i dunno) I am not planning to use her for competitive reasons just for fun becuase she seems to act the best without the english tack on. She is actually scared of it because of her past owner wasnt that nice to her with a saddle on. So, I let her enjoy herself now and be a pony and relax with out all of that competitive life. :) Thanks a bunch yall!!!!


Ash

[Trewsers]

Not wishing to hi jack this thread, but can any of you tell me please, how long had you known and had your horse before you attempted to ride him / her bareback??? I am fascinated by the idea but daren't :p - well, I guess I would love to try it, but haven't ever seen anybody on our yard doing it - would I be foolish to have a go? Perhaps with bridle and OH walking with me around the school???? I'm not the most confident rider nor am I the most nervous if you know what I mean. Any thoughts?? or is it asking for trouble????

[coblover26]

I have TRIED riding bareback twice round a school, one after my lesson on a stallion. He was a fresian but sadly had to be put down about a month ago. :( a and the other after watching my cousin try to lunge her horse. There were two others times when i rode one horse bareback and that was back to her field. Not the safest thing but i had someone walking beside me so what the hell. :D It wasen't a popular yard any way only my cousin's horse and another horse :)

Never tried jumping bareback and probably never while unless i get really confident, but it's easier to try that on your own horse becasue you can tyr it whenever you like the only problem is that i DON'T have my own horse yet! :(

[dcp]

Trewsers if you would like to try it make sure you have someone else there. My horse seemed very concerned that I was trying to climb aboard with no saddle. I eventaully got on and walked for a very short time (high whithered TB ouch!) I had owned him about 6 months.

[Anna**]

I agree with Trewsers would love to give it a go!!

[Bay Mare]

I think that it depends on the horse (and, of course, on the rider). I used to hack out for hours bareback but then that was on a well muscled, well behaved showjumper :) I don't feel that Saff is physically ready yet for me to go bareback on though I do hope to one day :)

[morgan4eva]

i think that it dependse on the horse. you could have a really naughty pony and a nervouse pony and it could be really dangerous. but you could have a safe pony and a nervouse rider, and it would be fine!

i have riden bare back on my little pony. she is really safe. And i enjoyed it!
so if your pony/horse is safe then yer give it a go, but if it is not, then think carefully about it.
:)

[No_Angel]

i ride bareback on my cob sometimes, have tried on my section a but she rears and bucks sometimes (i think this is as she was broken in early and im probably heavy :p ), ive tried on my id x tb with her thick winter rug on, but the withers on her and my tb no thanks! :eek:
I once fell off both my section a and my cob in one day bareback, lol. if you have balance it should be ok, and nice round horses are the best to do it on, no pokey bits to hurt. :D