Riding ‘on the buckle’... minor rant

I think this lady's expertise is needed to tell American and Australian ranchers how to ride. They only live in the saddle and cope with challenging terrain. She'd probably tell them off for not wearing a helmet and hi viz too.
That aside, when passing walkers on a bridleway, I kind of think it's polite to take up your reins, smile and say hello just to reassure people that they're safe. A big horse close up can be intimidating to non horse owners.
 
dogatemysalad said:
That aside, when passing walkers on a bridleway, I kind of think it's polite to take up your reins, smile and say hello just to reassure people that they're safe. A big horse close up can be intimidating to non horse owners.
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This. It’s just general courtesy, really.

I’m not impressed if I’m on foot and pass a horse or horses in a narrow space, if the rider(s) ignores me and carries on texting or nattering to their pal with the horses bowling along on loopy reins. Just pay attention to the damn horse.
 
have ridden miles and miles both off and on road stirrupless on the buckle even hatless at times. i'd have told her to f off and where to stick her ideas, somewhere about her person where the sun doesn't shine.
 
Bonnie's queue that I need her listening and 'working' is when I pick up the reins, 99% of the time she is on the buckle and a hell of alot more chilled than when on a contact. I also drop my feet out the stirrups regularly as I get really cold and achy feet, putting your feet back in is also good practise!

Admittedly she is only a hacker and I have been told by my RI to stop being so nice to her as she is playing me.

My horse, I broke her, I know how to ride her.

EDIT: I pick up a light contact passing walkers or cyclists etc, I need to as she wants to say hello to everyone...
 
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dogatemysalad said:
That aside, when passing walkers on a bridleway, I kind of think it's polite to take up your reins, smile and say hello just to reassure people that they're safe. A big horse close up can be intimidating to non horse owners.
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Agree. Alf hacks on the buckle 99% of the time (I find it quicker to pick up an "emergency" contact from one hand on the reins, than two) but I pick up a light contact if we pass walkers/other horses - for their sake, rather than mine.
 
I'd have told her to do one.

I often hack out on the buckle end (sensible Horse) I rarely ride without stirrups though on a hack. On the odd occasion I will take my feet out on the driveway and plod back.
 
Its up to you. I personally wouldn't as I witnessed an experienced rider do this, her horse bolted (at nothing that I could see) and she flew off backwards and did some serious damage (she had feet out of the stirrups and was holding the buckle.

Because I have seen an accident it would make me wince to see someone riding like that BUT I wouldn't feel it was my place to tell them what they should do.
 
For me, when riding away from other users of byways, the safety issue isn't riding on the buckle, it's how competent the rider is.
An experienced rider senses minute indications in the horses mindset and reflexes are sharper. It's very easy to use your free hand to slide down the reins and control a spooking horse. It's also true that an experienced rider instils confidence in the horse making those whacky moments, less whacky.
 
1st horse x racer - picking up a contact meant gallop time.
2nd horse - quirky but awesome, she spent most of her hacks doing her damdest to get me to pick up the reins as for her that meant she could be an idiot and start spooking , relaxed rein no spooking.
Current horse - western no contact required and a heavy one would cause serious upset.
I tended to keep my stirrups though as dropping them on 2nd horse again meant time to pull some shapes and drop mother on the floor, she was awesome :D
Also picking up the reins a little as someone approaches = que the horse that there is something to possibly be concerned about, kind of counter productive with the above gang. I also note as they were all quite similar they must have been taught it by me ;)
 
dogatemysalad said:
For me, when riding away from other users of byways, the safety issue isn't riding on the buckle, it's how competent the rider is.
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Yup, I'd say any rider who falls off backwards when the horse jumps forwards* lacks sufficient balance and core strength, isn't paying enough attention to the horse, or is riding some kind of fire-breathing dragon which could launch itself into orbit. I think it's safer to address those issues than to never ride on the buckle or take your feet out the stirrups (assuming you're not on the dragon, that is!).

I don't pick my reins up to pass pedestrians. I pull up to walk, I smile and say hello, my horse walks past with its nose below its withers (because it's on a long rein). I don't see what's so intimidating about that - I think that the horse is under control is demonstrated by the fact it's plodding. If for any reason the horse is in a knobby mood (if the hunt are around etc), I'd have a contact because the horse would require it. I think most people are less intimidated by horses which seem smaller, and the best way to make your horse seem smaller is to lower its head.


(*freak accidents aside, and those happen whatever you are doing with horses!)
 
I ride Arch on the buckle as much as I can - he is so much calmer like that for starters. A contact usually means going fast to him! I would pick up a bit more of contact (not a full contact) in that situation just to stop him trying to mug passers by for treats!
 
ForbiddenHorse said:
I do it too.. we all know our horses and can feel if they tense and need more of a contact.
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Sadly this is not true of all riders. Many a time I’ve seen what’s about to happen (spook, whip round etc) before the rider has even sensed it.

The rider doesn’t have to pick up the reins, though I always do so, but they should be paying attention and have the horse on the aids if they are passing other road or byway users.
 
The skills and horse-sense of many riders you see out (not just hacking, also at local competitions and lessons) is pretty frightening. I don't mean that nastily - heaven knows I've done my fair share of stupid things - but it probably is something that could be usefully addressed in the sport, if it weren't so difficult for riders to develop skills before ownership these days (fewer RSs, fewer offering hacks etc).
 
I ride on the buckle a fair bit: we have to ride over dual carriageway bridges here and the other day I - deliberately - rode my youngster over a roadbridge with all the traffic going underneath it, on a nice loose rein. She needed to know that this was "relaxing" time, and it was on a quiet lane and I also had a friend who was riding with me and was looking-out for any other traffic.

IMO the woman OP refers to needs to wind her neck in??
 
I don't really think calling into question a riders capabilities is fair because they fell off! I saw the accident and honestly it was awful and she is a competent rider but having feet out of the stirrups and riding on the buckle its no wonder she came off in all honesty.

As I said, its up the rider what they do and I wouldn't call someone out on it as I would hope they wouldn't call me out on not doing. Horses for courses.
 
Tiddlypom said:
Sadly this is not true of all riders. Many a time I’ve seen what’s about to happen (spook, whip round etc) before the rider has even sensed it.
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Not true for everyone, no. I have a friend and her horse spins regularly, I can see it about to happen in plenty of time but she is oblivious. I can never understand it, but I have never personally ridden her horse so can't comment.

Back to OP's post, its rude for a random lady to walk past and comment on what OP is doing.
 
I'd have told her where to stick her opinion. I regularly ride on the buckle coming back from a nice hack. Relaxed rider = relaxed horse ime
 
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Gosh she'd have a right old rant at me then. Our lane is rarely quiet as the National Trust place down the road tell people to drive down our lane instead of going through the village gggrrrrr. But on the few occasions when you can hear a pin drop and I'm out on my own I will shut my eyes for as many strides as I dare and pretend to wonder what it is like to ride without sight.

I have watched those people on the internet who compete dressage and Karen Law who jumps blind and think they are amazing. It's actually very interesting as you can feel every inch of the horse, you concentrate so much more and can feel the horse move ever so slightly from side to side. I still have feet in stirrups and rein contact but I surprise myself as I have found it getting easier the more I do and less frightening. Of course you can hear traffic much more when you shut your eyes, they say that when you lose one sense you gain another. I expect most people reading this would think the only sense I've lost is common sense! :)

To answer your question OP I think as long as its quiet then riding without stirrups and on buckle end is okay. You need to have your wits about you still and it's the conversation that might one day catch you out. You need to be able to tune into background noise as well as what someone is saying to you. I 'listen' to conversation but I 'hear' background noise if that makes senses.

Background noise as in a fast car accelerating towards you, or horses moving the other side of the hedge are a couple of examples.
 
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Id have told her how disgusted I were with how little control she had over her big mouth.

All my horses have been ridden on 'the buckle' out hacking, unless it was a faster hack, or with a twit of a horse.
 
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No wonder horse riders have such a bad reputation when the initial reaction of many is to swear at a passer by!

Yes all people ride in different styles, different horses like different contacts, certain horses are "dopes on ropes" hacking but it is only sensible to at least look like you have a semblance of control when passing anyone. If someone felt concerned and/or worried enough to speak up then shouting back is hardly likely to appease the situation. A polite explanation or apology would have smoothed the situation over with zero dramas.

I can't say I would be very impressed passing someone slouching along with no contact (even western trained horses ARE ridden on a contact) and feet out of the stirrups. I don't care what they do when I can't see them but if I have to share a walkway with them I'd expect them to be courteous and aware of potential dangers to innocent passersby.
 
Dyllymoo said:
but having feet out of the stirrups and riding on the buckle its no wonder she came off in all honesty.
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You're entitled to ride how you like, of course - but I have no idea why you think not having your feet in the stirrups and having a loose rein means it's inevitable someone will fall off if their horse behaves like a prat. I'm genuinely confused by this, probably because I've spent half my life clinging onto horses bareback, let alone without stirrups, and working horses on neck ropes or on the buckle (not exclusively, I've done my share of dressage too!) and it's simply not the case that people inevitably fall off that way, any more than they would with pedals and reins short.

As I say, freak accidents happen, horses do weird stuff, people get distracted and there's no perfect rider, but that applies equally to people who ride at all times on a contact with their feet in the stirrups. Loose reins is a matter of training - if you're on something which has no training on a loose rein, it would, of course, be daft to do it, but that doesn't mean that with some training it's not possible to work a horse safely and effectively with long reins.

I'm not getting at you, and I'm not saying your friend is rubbish - I did acknowledge that freak accidents happen, and I certainly didn't see what happened - but I think it's important to challenge certain types of risk perception. I've seen loads of people fall off while jumping (and, indeed, fallen myself). That doesn't mean one shouldn't jump - it means you should train sensibly towards the level of jumping you want to achieve. The same is also true for hacking in a relaxed fashion...
 
i Wonder what she’d say if she came to the villages near us... a gorgeous lady rides her gorgeous cob with no shoes, no hat, no reins (just bells on a string) and not even a cloth where the saddle should be. The cob is barefoot, wears a hat with holes cut out for his ears and can often be seen watching the folk bands at the summer fairs....
 
Tiddlypom said:
I’m not impressed if I’m on foot and pass a horse or horses in a narrow space, if the rider(s) ignores me and carries on texting or nattering to their pal with the horses bowling along on loopy reins. Just pay attention to the damn horse.
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same goes if on the road and there's traffic. I am the worst for daydreaming out hacking and have even been deposited when paying more attention to a bird than my horse. I also do different exercises without stirrups on occasion-but if there's anyone about then I at least try to look like I know what I am doing. I expect people to have dogs/children/bikes and cars to be paying attention so I should be too.
 
Just a Festive Troll in the Dungeon said:
You're entitled to ride how you like, of course - but I have no idea why you think not having your feet in the stirrups and having a loose rein means it's inevitable someone will fall off if their horse behaves like a prat. I'm genuinely confused by this, probably because I've spent half my life clinging onto horses bareback, let alone without stirrups, and working horses on neck ropes or on the buckle (not exclusively, I've done my share of dressage too!) and it's simply not the case that people inevitably fall off that way, any more than they would with pedals and reins short.

As I say, freak accidents happen, horses do weird stuff, people get distracted and there's no perfect rider, but that applies equally to people who ride at all times on a contact with their feet in the stirrups. Loose reins is a matter of training - if you're on something which has no training on a loose rein, it would, of course, be daft to do it, but that doesn't mean that with some training it's not possible to work a horse safely and effectively with long reins.

I'm not getting at you, and I'm not saying your friend is rubbish - I did acknowledge that freak accidents happen, and I certainly didn't see what happened - but I think it's important to challenge certain types of risk perception. I've seen loads of people fall off while jumping (and, indeed, fallen myself). That doesn't mean one shouldn't jump - it means you should train sensibly towards the level of jumping you want to achieve. The same is also true for hacking in a relaxed fashion...
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My comment of "no wonder she came off" was the way in which the horse spooked/ bolted and bronced so rapidly. I think even being sellotaped on to the horse most would have found it hard to stay on. I was simply commenting on the situation I witnessed and not everyone else that chooses to ride without stirrups/ loose reins.

I've fallen off with stirrups and a contact so I'm certainly under no illusion that I will never fall off like that and its the only way to ride!

As I said, horses for courses.
 
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