Bareback....

Sol

Sol

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Just wondering about peoples general thoughts & feelings on both benefits of riding bareback, and also bareback pads!

I've done a fair amount of bareback riding, and always have loved it
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For lots of reasons - the closeness and connection with the horse, the improved ability to feel what the horse is doing, and the fact that I find it improves my balance and aids hundred fold every time I do ride bareback!

So, I've considered doing more bareback riding recently, to improve my riding and horses way of going hopefully! However I'm not sure my YO wouldn't be too impressed for safety reasons. So thought about getting a bareback pad. At least it gives me the choice to put stirrups on, yet still gives the same feel as riding bareback. And in all honesty, I think for the first few times I'd want those stirrups! xD
Anyone use any decent bareback pads they'd recommend? Have looked on ebay and stuff, some of them aren't cheap!
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Any random comments, I'm curious
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IN A VERY NON-RUDE WAY AS IT THIS IS AIMED AT THE PRODUCT NOT YOU!!!!!!!!
What is the point of riding bareback though if you are going to use a pad which has stirrups bareback is about learning balance but surely stirrups defeat the object because you can balance on them instead!!!!!!!!1
 
Because riding bareback doesn't just take away one part of what you balance on anyway - think, we have knee rolls, pommel and cantle effectively holding the rider central in the saddle. When you ride bareback, you have NOTHING! And you shouldn't be balancing on your stirrups anyway
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Plus, you don't -have- to use stirrups with a bareback pad. Often it just provides a little extra comfort for you and the horse (ugh, bony backs are no fun to sit on really xP) but with stirrups, you are still a LOT closer to the horse, and still have a lot more work to do as far as balancing and thinking about the horses movement. Plus, if you aren't strong enough to do lots of sitting trot work, then it certainly gives you a break! Really, how many people who don't compete or ride seriously and very often could hold sitting trot for the amount of trot work you'd do in even a 30min session comfortably?

My last point would be that well, my last horse had a slight hissy fit about the fact that I used a different type of saddle on her - she was wary of her dressage saddle at first as my legs were a lot closer to her and she was not used to it. If I had to get on a horse bareback for the first time and it was a little ... funny... then I'd probably quite like my stirrups as back up! xD

Yeah, I think bareback pads AND stirrups do have their uses
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if you are going to use stirrups, use a saddle.
sorry, but the whole point of a saddle is to have a tree to lift off the spine the pressure caused by the very concentrated downward pull of the stirrup attachments. this is why most treeless saddles (perhaps all) aren't great for horse's backs either.
the Parelli bareback pad looks good and comfy, but is £££s.
i have used a thick polypad with a surcingle over it, without problems, on a horse with a very high wither that was agony to ride bareback.
please don't put stirrups on a bareback pad though, for your horse's sake.
 
I do see your point, in a sense.
But also do have to wonder... I guess though when it comes to it, there are issues with every way we saddle or don't saddle horses, so it's hardly worth arguing about.

Though in that case, bareback rollers? Look like something designed to cripple riders. Ouch. And I don't think squirming around on the horses back trying to get comfortable does the horse any favours either...

I learned to ride on a bareback pad though, complete with stirrups, so I guess my like of them goes quite far back xD
 
Personally I like riding bareback, it makes you feel a connection that with a saddle you do not feel in my opinion, I also believe that it is good for the horses back, obviously I dont ride all the time bareback, but I do the odd schooling and jumping bareback and Twix seems to enjoy himself
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I have tried riding in a bareback pad and had to stop using it after five minutes as I felt it was very uncomfortable and you feel more unbalanced using it than you do without it! Also it can sometimes be very tight on the horses withers :/

Just my opinion
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I have often thought of using something simular on my daughters pony as we cant find a saddle to fit (no withers and barrel shaped), Robinsons had one at about forty quid so might try it .to those that dont agree with them i would say riding bareback is great but i hate getting a sweaty ass from a sweaty horse, you get some odd looks getting of and walking like john wayne while trying to unstick your jods from your bum.
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Oooh, I'd forgotten about the ones in Robinsons!
And the combination of sweat and hair is also something I'd forgotten about xD I have found though that jeans are actually better for bareback than jods - the hair doesn't tend to stick through them quite the same!
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As for them not fitting... guess we'd just have to see. Even if it didn't fit my horse, pretty sure one would fit my pony...
 
As others have said, the real problem is that there is no protection for the horse's spine when you ride bareback. You might enjoy it but I'm not sure a horse would in the long term. Have a look at a diagram showing the horse's spine/skeleton and you can see the damage you might inadvertently do.
 
My horse, at 24, has a dipped back and is hard to fit with a conventional saddle. He does have one, with a rear riser underneath, but really doesn't like it.
My daughter, who rides him, has been riding him bareback, and now we have one of these which gives her a bit of support, stops the hair/sweat on her bum and is really comfortable. She doesn't attach stirrups, although there are loops provided so you can, as I believe that there would be pressure points created.
My horse is far better with this than with a saddle, and I cannot see that it could harm him in any way.

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I bought mine second hand from a friend, and I was delighted with the quality of it. It needs a dressage girth - I believe new ones come with a girth, but ours didn't. I haven't needed to wash ours yet as I put a poly pad underneath, but I can see that you'd treat it just like a sheepskin numnah and it would wash very well. I love it! and I think it would be well worth the money.
 
Ruscara...what is it called pls.
My daughter rides her pony bareback now but it makes a right old mess of her jods and jeans...
 
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I learned to ride on a bareback pad though, complete with stirrups, so I guess my like of them goes quite far back xD

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were you a kid though? because if so, the downward force on the stirrup bar area would have been tiny compared to that an adult can do (from their physical weight as well as secure leg position etc)
i'm not trying to argue, just pointing out the inescapable physics of what you do if you put stirrups on a bareback pad with an adult rider on.
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Honeypots I put a link in my previous reply (the one with the photo) - It's a 'Christ Bareback Pad'
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Ooops
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...so you did..thanks
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To OP:

I've been trying a little bareback on the Unsuitable Chestnut Arab and when he stretches down or round I can easily feel the movement of his individual vertebrae - makes you realise how sheltered you normally are from them and just how delicate the saddle area is.

I've been warming up on the lunge or under saddle so he is already in a listening frame of mind before hopping on bareback. The first time I was terrified he'd freak (has been known to rear over backwards when having his girth done up so def on the sensitive side!). Did lots of stroking with hands (and boots!) all over so he'd get used to my ungainly clambering on but actually was fine after a few minutes and with a much freer walk. If you had any sense you wouldn't (like me) be trying this at an isolated yard by yourself the first time though :-)

Could you get a surcingle and just use that with ordinary saddle cloths? Would help with the sweat and hair issues, provide a little extra padding for your sensitive areas but shouldn't risk damaging your horse.

If you start with a jog more than a proper trot it is surprisingly comfy sitting on even Arab whithers and once horsey is used to the idea you can of course go rising without the stirrups (again, much easier than you'd think if you practice little & often!).

Have fun!
 
Sure, but considering I now weigh around 46kgs I would think my weight to my horse is about as significant as my weight to the pony I rode then
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(Except I'm probably less likely to fall off randomly, and I think my bony seat-bones might be more of an issue to him than anything!)

Though I just have one thing that comes to mind. I'm talking about using stirrups maybe 3-5 times for around 20-30 mins (and a fair bit of that being walk, which would mean either not using or putting weight on stirrups anyway) and obviously not mounting from the stirrups. Yet how much more damage can be done by using a saddle so easily? :/ Surely safety for both horse AND rider has as much importance as just that of the horse?
 
Definitely wouldn't be trying it on a quiet, isolated yard... haha, that just doesn't tend to happen
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There's always someone else riding or watching or just wandering past!

Don't know if I've tried rising trot bareback before, but definitely done it without stirrups
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Don't know why I don't just shut up and get on the horse - rode him bareback before and have happily jumped bareback on other horses xP Guess I'm just being a wimp as usual....
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