Does bareback schooling help your position?

[CobsGalore]

I've been schooling bareback a lot recently, mainly because when it's cold and dark I can't be bothered to put a saddle on.

Does doing a lot of bareback riding help or hinder your position long term/when you are using a saddle??

 

[olivia x]

I rode bareback about 90 per cent of the time as a kid-- I think it helps improve your feel and balance. Not sure if it helps with things like leg position in a saddle, as it is a different way of riding. I rode bareback with my toe pointing down, as the foot falls naturally. In a saddle, you want the opposite, with the heel down. I am very happy riding without stirrups, but I always have to watch out that I don't drop the toe, as I would naturally riding bareback, and keep the heel down in work without stirrups. Growing up most of the time I could not be bothered with a saddle as it was too hot, too cold, too heavy. I don't think bareback riding would hinder you in any way-- it is just a different position than when you are in the saddle.

 

[CobsGalore]

Thanks

 

[Antw23uk]

I also grew up riding bareback most of the time ... Half the time we didnt even bother with a bridle! I think it made me a much better, more confident rider and as long as your are'nt banging about on a sore back I cant see it doing anything but good for you.

 

[McCauley]

I too grew up riding bareback half the time as a kid...

I still to this day do the majority of my 'winter monday to friday riding' bareback!! I love it and it keeps me warmer too! It's a great way to exercise them in the darker months of the year and my boy is happy to work in the arena like this. It saves time too after a full day's work to just pick out feet, quick flick of the brush and pop a bridle on!

I find it helps to keep my balance in check and also i always think you can 'talk' to your horse (aids wise) much clearer than you can with a peice of leather between you and your horse

 

[CobsGalore]

I still to this day do the majority of my 'winter monday to friday riding' bareback!! I love it and it keeps me warmer too! It's a great way to exercise them in the darker months of the year and my boy is happy to work in the arena like this. It saves time too after a full day's work to just pick out feet, quick flick of the brush and pop a bridle on!

This is what I've been doing It saves so much time and I actually prefer schooling bareback in the winter!

 

[Brightbay]

This is what I've been doing It saves so much time and I actually prefer schooling bareback in the winter!

I prefer bareback in winter too I think it *can* improve your balance and position, but it's not guaranteed, as many people will either grip up to stay on or assume a slouchy chair seat.

I do try to think about my position and how it can be improved. I imagine I'm a Spanish Riding School cadet with no stirrups The horse seems to like when I do this, he often drops into a nice outline when I do the mental SRS Cadet

 

[Cortez]

No, I don't think it does, quite the opposite in fact - but it is a great deal of fun and good for kids to get them to feel the movement of the horse's back. ALL riding cultures have "invented" some form of saddle eventually, even those which rode without stirrups (Romans, Greeks, Gauls, Irish). Without a saddle the default position is to grip with the leg, toe down and round back - not what is considered "correct" for any modern riding discipline, and not one which will foster a strong seat with which to influence (and help) the horse.

 

[McCauley]

I beg to differ.... riding bareback in my younger years is what gave me a good seat and to be quite honest,...if i hadn't 'sat up' on the pony i rode then,...i'd have come off!! I agree with you Cortez that it's great fun and a fantastic confidence giver too in my humble opinion.

It helped immensley with my balance, taught me to keep my hands as a pair and pretty still (within reason as they weren't every so still so as not to be able to 'give' a little or 'take' a little when needed), and i could speak to the horse much more clearer than with a saddle on.. just my take on it you understand.

It taught me not to grip with the knees, but to just let the leg relax and 'hug' the horse if you will, while at the same time i concentrated a heck of alot on keeping my feet where it should be and not dangling down. Hard to do i grant you that, but i can say that i do not ride bareback with toes pointing to the floor.. i endeavour to remain as knee to a riding position bareback as you do when on top of a saddle.

 

[CobsGalore]

I imagine I'm a Spanish Riding School cadet with no stirrups The horse seems to like when I do this, he often drops into a nice outline when I do the mental SRS Cadet

Thanks I'm going to try this!

 

[Sol]

I love riding bareback Probably for the best as I haven't had a saddle, again, for about 7 months (new one arrived today, woooooo! Still waiting for girth though, agghhhhh!). I wouldn't say it necessarily helps my position, but does help how I interact with the horse. ie. if my hips lock up or my lower back tenses bareback, I KNOW about it, even on Dan who has very small movement & is really smooth to ride.

 

[olivia x]

I think one of the great things about bareback riding is that it can teach true balance and feel, in a way I think is very different from riding with a saddle. That in turn can give you an independent seat and hands, which are things that can transfer to riding in a saddle. When I rode bareback, it was doing trail rides ( hacking) through open countryside and woods-- I have not ever tried it for schooling. But whatever its use, I think it is a great way to get that feeling of being "one" with the horse.

 

[Booboos]

No, I don't think it does, quite the opposite in fact - but it is a great deal of fun and good for kids to get them to feel the movement of the horse's back. ALL riding cultures have "invented" some form of saddle eventually, even those which rode without stirrups (Romans, Greeks, Gauls, Irish). Without a saddle the default position is to grip with the leg, toe down and round back - not what is considered "correct" for any modern riding discipline, and not one which will foster a strong seat with which to influence (and help) the horse.

By all means do it if you enjoy it but I would agree with Cortez 100%. Riding bareback leads to all sorts of poor habits which are difficult to break afterwards. Many horses are so uncomfortable bareback that the rider has no choice but to grip with the leg and collapse the back.

The Spanish school rider is clearly not riding bareback, there is a substantial numnah under there, clearly visible in the photo. If anything he is riding more in a treeless saddle with no stirrups that anything else. You can see the numnah clears the withers and creates a more comfortable area for the rider to sit on. Also worth noting that he is riding a well schooled horse, on the lunge and with side-reins which will help create a round back which is much easier to sit to. So in this case the horse is helping the rider sit deep and the rider is helping the horse work round. In bareback the opposite happens, the horse makes the rider stiff and the rider makes the horse hollow because the withers and spine make it impossible for the rider to sit down.

 

[Auslander]

I'm another who doesn't think it helps with position at all. Sure, it can be good for your balance (although it always bothers em a bit when I hear people say they ride bareback to help them improve their less than perfect balance - the poor horse) and it is fun, but there is no way that anyone can sit consistently in a perfect classical position on a horse with no saddle on. Too much powerful muscle/skeletal movement going on - you'd have to set against the movement to hold yourself in position - riding bareback naturally slides your leg forward to the narrowest point, just behind the shoulder,with lower leg in the girth groove.
I can't think that there's anyone here who rides as well as Isabell Werth - and just look at this video. I love that she's playing around with the old boy, but I reckon she'd be the first to admit that her position has gone to pot! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMo-w69I0WA

 

[RLS]

Bareback riding helps me FALL OFF!
not sure if it really helps my position, but it is fun (apart from the falling off bit).

 

[McCauley]

Ha ha RLS,... that made me chuckle

I do enjoy BB riding though,...keeps me warmer in the winter months and makes me really think about what we're both doing. I have in the past popped a numnah on and a circingle for a little extra padding (and to keep my jods a bit cleaner too!!).

 

[Goldenstar]

Bareback ridng makes you brave and it's great fun for kids but if it was good for your position I would have been a grand prix rider at fifteen and I was not.
It teaches you to grip with the leg .
Riding under instruction in a saddle with no stirrups is a different matter that really helps your position .

 

[xTrooperx]

People have been riding bareback since the dark ages and Many cultures still do, I believe there is benefit to both horse and rider, even native Indians choose to ride bareback who were known as horse ppl even when having access to saddles they choice not too.

 

[Mince Pie]

I think it can be, if you are crooked then riding bareback will really highlight where you are not straight. However as others have said it really puts you in a chair seat!

 

[Hackie]

Yep, not amazing for position, but I'm sure all the years I spent riding bareback as a kid have helped me with balance as an adult.

A genuine question through - some people are saying they do it to save time. Exactly how long does it take you to tack up? I'm 5 - 10 mins, and not putting the saddle on would probably save me less than a minute.

 

[NellRosk]

It's good for the abs Can always feel my stomach the day after riding bareback!

 

[Cortez]

People have been riding bareback since the dark ages and Many cultures still do, I believe there is benefit to both horse and rider, even native Indians choose to ride bareback who were known as horse ppl even when having access to saddles they choice not too.

This is quite simply not true. ALL riding cultures ride with saddles (but not necessarily stirrups), even the native Americans (who came to riding very late and for a short time span; their saddles were constructed from deer antler); please name the culture you refer to?

The reason for this is that riding bareback for any extended distance or period of time will make the horse's back sore, and also the rider's. Direct pressure on the spine will eventually cripple the horse.

 

[Lolo]

And actually, people generally slide into really bad habits riding bareback- it encourages a chair seat, a slumped back, gripping with either your seat or legs, balancing on the hands or on the horse's neck... It's fun, it can develop bravery and give more of an idea of what the back is doing at different points. And generally, if you ride well the lack of saddle shouldn't change that.

My sister rarely rides bareback, and never to school. She'll potter to the field if she feels lazy, or maybe go on the occasional hack. And she looks about the same as with the saddle. It's why in the photos of pros doing bareback chase me charlies their position is still perfect- the feel and skills are the same as with as for without.

Essentially, I don't think it improves your riding at all. And I'd rather not sacrifice my horse's back to improve something like blance and feel, which come from good riding not how close you are to their spine.