bareback riding?

[LittleMouse]

Hi, my pony has been off work for a year recovering from laminitis and rotated pedal bones. he has been given the go ahead to be brought back into work. I don't want to push him too much by putting too much weight on him and hurting his feet so until I lose some weight and he builds up some more muscle I am going to ride bareback.
I was considering using a bareback pad to ease pressure and give me some stability if he gets all excited so was looking for recommendations.
quite like the look of the best friends pad as it isn't too expensive. they also have a comfort plus one which sounds comfy haha.
anyone used this or something similar? I will probably be using it a lot as I like riding bareback so im just wondering if it will be ok for his back.

thanks in advance x

 

[Tickles]

Forgive me for not knowing how to phrase this tactfully... if you yourself are looking to loose some weight, (and maybe haven't ridden in a while?), then it is possible that you won't be as balanced as you'd normally be. For both his unfitness and your safety could you get a light friend/trainer/similar to have a sit up the first few times?

 

[ridefast]

When mine was recovering from lami and still overweight I walked him out in hand, started off short walks then built them up til we would be walking for 2 hours. Certainly got me fit and improved his behaviour on the ground aswell as ridden

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Forgive me for not knowing how to phrase this tactfully... if you yourself are looking to loose some weight, (and maybe haven't ridden in a while?), then it is possible that you won't be as balanced as you'd normally be. For both his unfitness and your safety could you get a light friend/trainer/similar to have a sit up the first few times?

I thought similar but am utterly tactless so kept quiet.

 

[pennyturner]

When I first started riding bareback I used a children's riding pad - you know, the ones with the little handle on the front :/

They're cheap as chips, and give you stirrups for stability. I've still got it, if you're anywhere close.

If weight is an issue, consider long reining to build muscle first.

 

[DreamingIsBelieving]

It may be counter-productive to ride bareback as (I'm assuming) saddles are designed to spread the weight of the rider evenly. So you may feel heavier to your horse riding bareback than you would do riding in a lightweight synthetic saddle. You can buy second hand synthetic saddles dirt cheap off the classifieds ads, so maybe that could be an option?

It's just a theory though; please anyone correct me if it's flawed!