Galloping in a Treeless

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CobsGalore

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Absolutely love my new Barefoot saddle and so does my pony. Took me a while to get used to rising trot with it, but got the hang of it now.

However, at the weekend, we had a little blast across a field and my god are my legs hurting today!

It was extremely difficult to stand up in my stirrups, and I felt so unstable!

I don't gallop that often so it isn't a major deal, but I would like to enjoy a good blast when we get the chance! I can hardly walk today!

Anyone else have this problem? Any tips?
 
You're sitting in a new position, so using different muscles. My treeless has no rolls, so you hold yourself on rather than just digging in your knees & relying on the saddle. As such you use more muscles, but the plus side is you can feel so much more of how the horse is moving. Practice will help with getting your muscles used to it. If your ego can cope, consider some endurance stirrups to go with it, these will spread your weight in your foot through a wider area, increasing stability a bit. You may find until your muscles are stronger you may need to come up a hole or two, again to increase the width of your base improving stability. Once you don't ache after a gallop, start to put them down again.
 
Thank you for your reply!

I will put my stirrups up a couple of holes and try again soon! Hopefully as my muscles strength I can put them back down again as you suggested :)

It was just such a different feeling to what I am used to! It surprised me how difficult it was!!
 
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