Even being a new rider, i find myself more comfortable riding bareback. i feel more stable and i just like the feeling much more. i like being closer to my horse, it just feels like i have more control actually. i trust my horse more than i trust myself i think lol. wondering if anyone else feels this way too? =) is there any thing wrong with always riding bareback? anyone have any tips on safety or anything?
it is great for your seat to ride bareback, i find its more comfortable on some horses then others, but IMO its sorta important to ride bareback, haha it helps with balance so much!
I ride bareback 99% of the time. I am more stable and I can feel what the horse is going to do even more. My favorite way to ride is bareback with only a halter.
If you have a decent seat and a comfy horse then there is absolutly nothing wrong with riding bareback. It gives you a better feel of your horse and improves your riding. I unfortunatly have a very uncomfortable thoroughbred and must stick to the saddle. Posted via Mobile Device
my quarter horse that im talking about it very comfy, my arabian on the other hand isn't quite the same. lol. i think i enjoy it because its more natural. i dont like to pile all that stuff on him. i like the way you can feel all the muscles move too. i need to invest in a saddle, but i honestly don't think it'll get much use. i have a cheap sythentic one that my parents bought but its junk anyway. i was just curious if its kinda of bad idea to only ride bareback being a new rider. but like i said, i feel safer and more in control without the saddle
I totally agree with you! I've done dressage, jumping, and western style all my life but I feel the best bareback. You can tell if your horse will spook because you feel it. Actually, if you don't have a good fitting saddle, you will hurt your horse more by using it than going bareback. Some horse's get back aches so just watch out for that but otherwise it is great. (Just be sure you are wearing a helmet)
PS I always stretch my horse's back muscles before and after a bareback ride. You use your four fingertips and rub under his belly then tap firmly along the middle line under his belly almost to his you-know-where It honestly loosens his back up. (but be careful at first because some horses don't like to be touched underneath)
Good, I thought there was something wrong with me that I can sit a trot better bareback than in a saddle! I adore bareback, although my boy Hoover is about as bony in the back as I am in the bum. Half the time with Gun I'm just to lazy to tack, and he's so good with it. But I love riding our lesson horse Pappy about the best...he's like a Serta Perfect Sleeper Mattress on hooves. ^_^
Me too!! I'm glad I'm not the only one! :lol: I even JUMP better bareback! haha And yes, I have gone trail riding bareback too, it all just depends on your level of comfort!
My 17 year old daughter loves to go out and just jump on her horse bareback with just a halter and lead rope and ride around the property. On nice days, they go to the creek and pond out back and play in the water together. She's been riding bareback for years. She does wear a helmet too. She's getting to where she can even do some low level jumps bareback. She loves it when horse shows have a bareback equitation class.
I loveeee riding bareback! and like im not saying at all that you always shouldnt ride bareback but you know ride in a saddle every once and a while to keep improving your riding skills then you can do even more
I love to ride bareback, but my mare has a spine that is like a saw!! I am looking for a thick pad to use untill she gets in shape and has some muscle on her to see if that helps. I never had "proper" riding lessons, it was just me and my friend playing around on her pony, usually without a saddle of any sort, so I am more used to bareback more than a saddle anyway. A big problem when I switched to a saddle is that I didn't keep enough weight in the stirrups and was bouncing everywhere!! LOL I've gotten alot better, but I seem to digress after riding bareback for awhile. Anyone else have this issue?
Like the girl above me mentioned, if you've got a bony horse I'd invest in a bareback pad! Even if you don't have a bony horse, if you'll be on for hours on end or if you'll need some extra grip...they work well. I use one on a pony that I ride sometimes because we'll go for some long(3-5 hour) rides and I'm not quite used to bareback enough to not slide on steep inclines and declines. haha the pad helps with that and with my but not killing me.
But as for the initial question, no there's nothing wrong with riding bareback a lot. If you plan on showing with a saddle, you'll need to practice with a saddle beforehand to avoid the leg-swinging issues...and any other issue that may come about. I'd put a saddle on every now and then anyway just to make sure your horse doesn't get cranky about them.
because i'm nimwitted and didn't know about saddle fitting i bought a saddle that is too big for my horse. so i usually ride bareback or i have another saddle that someone elses uses that fits my horse so i use it when he doesn't ride. i jumped for the first time bareback and i have fantastic grip and it was quite fun! i also grip better bareback and with a pad honestly. i bought one thinking maybe it would be more comfortable. but by then i was completely used to regular bareback. my horse spooked (bareback with no pad) she reared slightly. spun and ran full speed back to the barn. i didn't slip in the slightest. but when i used my barebackpad. and i was just galloping. i slid right off and ate dirt! so i feel much more safer and comfortable on her back rather than a pad. although saddle is nice. with a saddle i bounce around more than i do bareback!
I go riding bareback down the trails all the time, I love it. Since trail riding is a way to get away from the ring with my horse, I find that riding bareback adds that little extra closeness to my horse and nature. The people that I go trail riding with all think Im crazy.
I would suggest that you get a nice comfy pad, especially if you go on longer rides, it will save your butt, and it will likely make your horse more comfortable too. If you are still a little unsure, or worry that your horse might come across something and spook then you may want to go with a pad that has those stirrups on it, or if you can afford it they have bareback pads that are made of memory foam and are super comfy. I would love to have one of those.
I ride bareback pretty often. When I was younger and my seat was better from constant riding I rode bareback all the time. Now I've been riding in a saddle more often as I'm "spring training" Soda and my legs are weak.
The only caution I have is to beware of balancing yourself with your hands/arms. Especially if your legs/seat is weak. You end up doing more harm than good to yourself and your horse.
The only caution I have is to beware of balancing yourself with your hands/arms. Especially if your legs/seat is weak. You end up doing more harm than good to yourself and your horse.
not sure about you guys. but i would never ride in a bareback pad with stirrups. thats a very bad safety hazard in my opinion. i've heard of stories of people relying to much on the stirrups and the pad turning sideways. as it's not meant to put to much pressure on. just as a safety precaution. but if used the right way i can see it being a good thing.
When I guided trail rides in high school, I had to ride bareback because of having a cyst removed off my tailbone... I couldn't have sat in a saddle all day if my life had depended on it... I wish I could still ride that well...
Even now, I still like to just go jump on my mare without the saddle, but she's got a pretty sensitive back, so I don't do that to her very often....
When I first loped bareback, I had to hold my pont back from going faster, so that helped me balance. I big no-no, but it worked and it was only once in the beginning. That little pony! Slick as a seal and liked to throw in bucks when riding bareback. I kept my balance by griping with my knees and grabbing a chunk of mane in one hand if I needed it.
I've seen those bareback pads with stirrups on them, seems like it would be really bad for the horse's back. Talk about pressure point! I know I've caught myself using my hands to balance myself before. Especially when Soda randomly decides to "bolt" home. So I've been going back in forth between bareback and saddle. Once my paddock is dry I'll be doing way more bareback (next week) and once I'm up to par I'll be back on my usual (almost) constant bareback trail rides.
I lvoe riding bareback. It can be a little unconfortable on my arab cross's funny-shaped back, but I'm getting used to it. I never did much bareback on him until this year, but lately I've been finding myself too lazy to go get my saddle. It's also motivated me to work towards bridleless.
Depending on your horse's coat (my arab's is very soft and slippery) you may want to consider riding with a pad for grip. I need one in the wintertime, or else I'm hanging on to his mane the entire time
Apologies for the off-topic comment, but RiosDad, you're quite the set-in-you-ways arguer. Good debate involves fresh ideas. Maybe what works for you, and what you like, doesn't work for others, and they think differently than yourself.
I'm not going to be so ignorant as to bother getting into an argument with someone who I'll never meet that lives across the country. I hope you have a nice day
I'm not going to get into the whole saddle/bareback debate, but want to get back the OP. My only concern in my case, and I use to ride bareback, is how comfortable is it for the horse?
I have very prominent (sp?) seat bones and feel that must be uncomfortable for my horse. Anyone out there feel this way, or have any suggestions. As far as a bareback pad goes, that doesn't really pad enough over any length of time imo. Maybe I'm just "deformed"! :shock:
I'm not going to get into the whole saddle/bareback debate, but want to get back the OP. My only concern in my case, and I use to ride bareback, is how comfortable is it for the horse?
I have very prominent (sp?) seat bones and feel that must be uncomfortable for my horse. Anyone out there feel this way, or have any suggestions. As far as a bareback pad goes, that doesn't really pad enough over any length of time imo. Maybe I'm just "deformed"! :shock:
that's kinda what I was thinking while reading all these post...
The nice thing about [well fitted] saddles is that it distributes your weight.
While I think it helps your balance to learn to ride bareback, I personally would not do it all the time.
...of course my horse rides like a pogo stick. so I CAN'T. =)
Horse's training NEVER stands still. It is either learning or unlearning. To give a well trained horse to a novice is to have that horse deteriate in training.. Your suttle leg cues go out the window with bareback, your legs are moving all the time, clamping unclamping. To shift a leg slight back and touch ever so lightly is gone. To shift your weight forward is gone etc etc.
An educated pair of hands only require the suttle shift of rein weight, the movement of a little finger. With a halter again that all goes out the winder.
I make well above average horse and DAILY I am watching for signes of deteriation in everything the horse does and correct it before the horse looses the lightness.
You can not accomplish any of this riding bareback with a halter.
you are just kidding yourself.
I grew up on a properous horse/cattle ranch and every morning I would go out with my twine string in my pocket, walk about 1/2 mile to the back pasture, catch my personal horse, put the twine string around his neck, walk him to a fence and crawl aboard and then round up the dairy cattle and drive them in. I know about riding bridleless, bareback or any way else.
That was 50 years ago. I thought I knew it all too back then. I was your age.
Put a good saddle on the horse, a bit and take lessons if you want to learn.
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