Bareback riding hints!!

Cortez said:
....oh I don't know; wide backed, witherless sausages are incredibly easy to roll right off at the slightest deviation from a completely straight trajectory.
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Agreed! My prominent withered JA pony was easy to stay on in bare back scurry classes, but my friends on their rounder types rolled off far more easily.
 
I don't ride anymore or have a horse but I used to enjoy having a play bareback

*The transition from canter to trot is grim. I got to the point I'd try and do a direct transition, would also try and do walk to canter

*I would not under any circumstance do bareback during moulting season, I did once and within about 5 minutes it was like having ants in my jodhpurs due to all the hair, which then stayed stuck in them

*I did a lesson bareback once it was great fun and he went really well however your legs will kill the next day!
 
As children and teenagers we more often than not rode bareback by choice, purely for the craic. I still did a good few times as an adult, but usually for a good reason, healing girth sores, forgot the tack etc.

I can't imagine I would get much further than straight out the side door these days!☺️
 
Cortez said:
....oh I don't know; wide backed, witherless sausages are incredibly easy to roll right off at the slightest deviation from a completely straight trajectory.
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My witherless sausage i was riding bareback 20 years ago had a great trick.
I'm not quite sure how he did it but he'd sort of shrug his back so I moved forward. As soon as he'd shrugged me to the front of where his withers were meant to be he'd drop his shoulder and turn his head and I'd plop neatly onto the floor.
He was an expert at it.
 
Crazy_cat_lady said:
*The transition from canter to trot is grim. I got to the point I'd try and do a direct transition, would also try and do walk to canter
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It’s manageable if you rise for a few strides to regain a sense of rhythm, or do a 5m circle after the transition to stop horse rushing.
 
If you’re planning to ride a lot bareback I’d invest in a nice bareback pad for yourself and the horse!
Lean back and sit on those bum bones
Practice makes perfect trot will feel like hell for awhile!
You’ll feel like a penguin with your feet (or I do) so point them in 😂
It’s different position wise to no stirrups but you’ll fall into it with practice
If you have a jiggly mare such as mine it’s a lot to get used to 😂

I use a thinline bareback pad to still protect the horses back
Absolutely love it
Hacking, jumping literally anything.
 
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I used to ride bareback all of the time when I was a teenager, could vault on a 16 hand horse with no problems, I was quite athletic then. Rode my half TB when I was a bit older and his withers were a problem so I used a sponge with a roller. Rode my next horse who was rounder and found her much more difficult when she changed direction as I nearly slid off… I think it’s a youngsters pastime
 
If you want to do it for any length of time invest in a bareback pad. It'll make it less slippy for you and prevent your seat ones digging into his back and making him sore.

You do need to adapt more of a chair seat which means you can't use your legs properly from the hip and it'll top your pelvis so your back won't be such a good shock absorber.

I do think bareback is good to improve balance and gives you such an appreciation of how much their backs move beneath the saddle.
 
DizzyDoughnut said:
I need to find something tall enough to stand on to try your middle video, the pony can back up well, wondering if this would be an acceptable way to sit on my youngster for the first time 😂

Wish I was athletic enough to try the other 2 ways but my attempts at getting on bareback rely totally on my Saint of a pony being generous enough to stay very still while I climb up the gate and wriggle or slide on with zero grace or elegance.
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The last one took a little practice and a lot of me splatting against him like a bug on a windscreen. He is remarkably tolerant of me for such a sharp pony. I’m not super athletic so I’m sure it’s easier if you’re a bit flexible and have some bounce. I’m lucky BBP is a shorty.
 
BBP said:
The last one took a little practice and a lot of me splatting against him like a bug on a windscreen. He is remarkably tolerant of me for such a sharp pony. I’m not super athletic so I’m sure it’s easier if you’re a bit flexible and have some bounce. I’m lucky BBP is a shorty.
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Mine is only 14.2 I'm definitely a fan of staying as close to the ground as possible!
 
I ride bareback fairly often, also prefer to back them that way.
I find it's an excellent core workout- as others have said, you need to be very mobile in your lower back to move with them. How comfortable they are depends on their gaits as much as their shape IME- the old boy has fairly workmanlike gaits, so is easy to stay balanced/secure on (unless something's wound him up and he's doing his best sewing machine impression in trot), the youngster is rather more flashy- I'll trot a little in the Christ lamfelle pad on her, but not more than a few strides properly bareback, she moves far too exuberantly for that!
ETA- it probably doesn't do wonders for your seat in a classical sense, but it does teach you to read them a bit better I think.
 
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I rode an arab bareback for several hours on various hacks many, many years ago. Their round ribcages in many ways make them great bareback horses and they have that wonderful smooth gait which helps too. That said, whenever we trotted or cantered uphill, I would gradually slide back and would have to hitch myself forwards using their shoulders - not ideal!

My observations were that it's wonderful for improving your feel and your balance, but you have to have a more chairlike position which doesn't translate well to most english riding.
 

I’m not as talented or inventive as BBP nor is my position ideal (think I should be a tad more on my arse) but thought I’d give you all a laugh with some bareback TREC. (Someone had the bright idea for a kind of accumulator class where various daft things earned extra points, bareback being one, the hug & touching your toes being the others… I think there was also the option to carry a glass of water without spilling any). This was on the orange Welshie a while ago & there was no way on earth I was allowing him to go full Welsh trot without stirrups! I used to hop on him bareback when lazy & short of time mainly to prat about doing obstacle practice in walk. Totally DID used to hop on in shorts when I deemed it too hot for a saddle/ proper work. Weirdly I haven’t really been on the fuzzy thug bareback. Did initially back him this way but maybe I should try next time I’m feeling lazy… (although I’d probably be even more crap at it now! His trot is a lot less bouncy at least!)
 
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Boulty said:

I’m not as talented or inventive as BBP nor is my position ideal (think I should be a tad more on my arse) but thought I’d give you all a laugh with some bareback TREC. (Someone had the bright idea for a kind of accumulator class where various daft things earned extra points, bareback being one, the hug & touching your toes being the others… I think there was also the option to carry a glass of water without spilling any). This was on the orange Welshie a while ago & there was no way on earth I was allowing him to go full Welsh trot without stirrups! I used to hop on him bareback when lazy & short of time mainly to prat about doing obstacle practice in walk. Totally DID used to hop on in shorts when I deemed it too hot for a saddle/ proper work. Weirdly I haven’t really been on the fuzzy thug bareback. Did initially back him this way but maybe I should try next time I’m feeling lazy… (although I’d probably be even more crap at it now! His trot is a lot less bouncy at least!)
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That's an impressive piece of riding! I hope you got a rosette 🏵️
It really looked as if he was going to jump that water tray! Such a good boy😀
 
I used to ride bareback to and from the fields as a teen quite a lot, I spent the summer riding this one bareback as the local saddler (rural Galicia) didn't have anything to fit her and she needed to loose weight. My god I miss those thighs and abs they were like steel! I would suggest not gripping with your knees but your thighs, letting your legs hang down relaxed and really letting your lower back swing and go loose with the movement, if you don't want to sit back too much you could try lifting you seat bones gently in time with the movement. Don't lift your heels or try to grip with your lower leg as that will make you bounce (I forget the mechanics of it). Picture of Le Sofa and yes I split the crotch of those jods that summer.Screenshot_20230825-072809-460.png
 
We used to give 10 minutes bareback at the end of a lesson if clients wanted it. A lot of riding school clients never get to experience this. Don't think your allowed to do it like that anymore, but they loved it.
 
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I ride bareback probably once a week , all off road riding so I just put his bridle on and take the dog with me for a quick hack before work
Make sure you don't spray mane conditioner on incase some goes on horses back , that'd be very slippy !
I sit slightly more forward than when the saddle is on , legs hanging down. Use a nice tall ledge to get on from
I would say it's not comfortable for hours and hours of riding , but maybe that's more to do with my age ( 60s ) and a dodgy knee with my legs hanging instead of in stirrups
I'm usually out for around 60 - 90 mins , but do get off and walk as well , as long as I know there is something o can use to get back on 🙄😬
TP is very flexible and it's quite interesting feeling all his movements when I'm riding bareback compared to full tack 😀
I do only walk though , would probably fall straight off in any other pace as I don't class myself as much of a bareback rider

pic of us this morning , no I don't usually have my feet that far out , just playing around 🤣🤣
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I prefer it, with a comfy pad. Stirrups dislocate my toes if not in stiff enough boots, treed saddles hurt…then the treeless ones have funky stirrup bar positions. Much easier to just not! Stirrups are mostly useful for getting on, and if the horse bucks or spooks!

Sit on just behind the wither. Let legs hang down. Balance with your core. Don’t grip unless you are actually coming off the side. For schooling rest legs lightly against the side of the horse. For hacking/playing just relax the legs. Jumping bareback is easier than jumping with a saddle - your body just naturally folds and there you go…

Daughter on Shetland showing basic position. No need to lean back a mile…
 

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I hadn't ridden bareback for ages and when I pulled out a very fat welsh x hackney on Sunday for a little trot around town I got a sudden urge to ditch the saddle.
If you don't do it regularly, the tendency is to over-think it, which goes away with practice and relaxation. 15mins in I had forgotten the saddle wasn't there.

Don't grip. Be a beanbag, not a ball.
 
I have always loved it, but too old and wobbly now! My favourite bareback ride was a Welsh/Arab mare I used to ride for an elderly lady in the New Forest. She was perfect bareback, just wide enough, really smooth and lots of mane if needed. It's a nice feeling, no tack - no problem - just off with a head collar and the dog. My companion pony who has had to step up to be riding pony would probably be very comfy but at 76 I think i would be silly to try it!
 
There is a middle ground. I forgot my breeches for riding after work the other day, so was in shorts. Not fancying the stirrup leather pinch, I put on his Thorn pad over a nice saddle pad (designed for treeless) and left the stirrups off. Had a lovely ride of about an hour in walk, trot (surprisingly easy in the leaning back a little seat) and about 3 strides of canter (we find this difficult enough, but he decided I was a shite rider and refused to canter any more!!).
 
When I worked at the RS back in the late 60's my boss had two properties, the one the RS was run from and another with more land. At the weekend at the end of the day the horses were taken back to the other yard and we usually took them bareback. Some of the people on the last ride would be allowed to 'help' us. We had one, a highland type, who had a very high hard trot. Used to delight in putting a male up on him and going at a good pace. Sadistic but great fun.
 
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