Riding bareback - harmful for horse's back?

scatty_mare

scatty_mare

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Very interested to hear your opinions.

I have been having trouble finding a saddle to fit my little tb mare since she flipped herself over and fractured her withers last year. She is now 2 inches shorter and with the most enormously prominent shoulder blades and a little flat bit where her withers used to be. Amazingly this doesn't seem to have affected her movement and ability to be ridden so far (although she is still under vet supervision, we are gradually introducing everything again slowly).
Sadly and very sadly my lovely eventing saddle which was made to measure for her shortly before her accident no longer fits at all and the saddler thinks I will need to go down the treeless route (have my reservations) or get another made to measure saddle. Until I know what her future will bring I am reluctant to decide on a saddle.
In the meantime I have been riding her bareback and am really enjoying it! We have been hacking everywhere and at speed, schooling and even a little (and I mean little) bit of jumping. BUT... the village know-it-all (who really doesn't know much - I'm sure you all know the type) told me very disapprovingly that riding a horse bareback can do as much damage as riding in a badly fitting saddle.
I automatically want to disregard this person's opinions as she is a terrible stirrer and also told me that I was irresponsible for riding past a school ("you are selfishly endangering the lives of all those children and all the other road users" never mind it's the holidays and I am no more endangering anyone's life than I normally would be with a saddle!!! Idiot.) and I would far rather listen to my horse who has a lot more common sense and no ulterior motives. She seems quite happy to be ridden bareback - much happier than in any of the saddles I have tried since her accident.
But it has made me wonder if there any truth in this? And if by riding often and for long periods without a saddle I am causing long term damage? I guess that sitting directly on the spine isn't going to be that great...

I am very interested to hear your views on this.
Thanks for reading :)
 
I don't think there is any proof bareback does any damage whatsoever

You cannot sit to the side, as otherwise you fall off. So you weight is more centered, and you are moving with the horse.

I think you will get sore before the horse, so I really wouldn't worry!

If you are using a bareback pad with sitrrups, then yes this can do damage, because the stirrups don't have much to disperse acute pressure.
 
Hi!

Sorry, I don't have any opinions on bareback riding- I would expect that it's probably ok in the short term, but will maybe create pressure points in the long term?

Saddle-wise (for the future) I just thought I'd give Balance saddles a mention. Their whole ethos is about making the horse as comfortable as possible, and they're very knowledgable, and most importantly, they won't sell you a saddle if they don't think it's right for the horse. A lot of the saddles that they do sell are are for horses being rehabbed from back problems etc. Anyway we've found them great to deal with (and more importantly, our ex-racer with muscle wastage is finally building some muscle again) so I thought they might be worth getting in touch with :)

http://www.balanceinternational.com/index.asp
 
I got my first horse from the riding school I used to be at and she had quite bad saddle sores so for ages until her back healed I rode bareback and we did just fine..... and even after that I think she still preferred me to be bareback as I think sometimes she had some remembered pain issues.

I wonder if perhaps you were particularly skinny and had prominent seatbones you could make your horse's back a bit sore (I know a friend who found this) but so long as, like me, you have an ample bottom then I'd be very surprised if it causes your horse any problems (and, just like riding with a saddle, you look out for signs your horse might give you that your bottom doesn't fit properly, so to speak - and if no signs then I wouldn't worry!).

On the subject of treeless saddles, although expensive, I really like the "total saddle solutions" range (google them....).
 
Thank you for putting my mind at rest...
So I conclude that the interfering busybody must just be jealous of my amazing balance (ha!) and ample bottom! (no worries in that department :))

Thanks also for the saddle suggestions - I will look into them.
Someone else mentioned Balance Saddles as a possible because of her weird shape, and I'll look into Total Saddle Solutions too. Thanks for recommendation of bareback pad, may also be useful for a baby horse I'm breaking in!
I'm wary of treeless saddles as the only one I have experienced is a Barefoot Cheyenne - I think, and neither of us particularly liked it. Felt like a bareback pad dressed up for a cowboy themed party! However I've read a lot about others which are a lot more structured and a bit more traditional looking, and which won't give you bruises in the nether regions after 5 mins rising trot!
 
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alesea said:
Hi!

Sorry, I don't have any opinions on bareback riding- I would expect that it's probably ok in the short term, but will maybe create pressure points in the long term?

Saddle-wise (for the future) I just thought I'd give Balance saddles a mention. Their whole ethos is about making the horse as comfortable as possible, and they're very knowledgable, and most importantly, they won't sell you a saddle if they don't think it's right for the horse. A lot of the saddles that they do sell are are for horses being rehabbed from back problems etc. Anyway we've found them great to deal with (and more importantly, our ex-racer with muscle wastage is finally building some muscle again) so I thought they might be worth getting in touch with :)

http://www.balanceinternational.com/index.asp
Click to expand...


YO uses them - her story is on there
http://www.balanceinternational.com/stories.asp?storyID=26
 
I would be wary of insurance using it as an excuse to not pay up if anything should happen. It might say something in the fine print. There are policies that state hi-viz must be worn so I think a saddle may not be too much of a stretch.
 
I once witnessed a situation where a Junior dressage rider was told off by her (top) dressage trainer for riding bareback on her dressage pony. The trainer told her that she has to chose if she wants to have a play pony or a dressage pony that happily works over the back...

I personally love riding bareback and had in the past ridden my horse without the saddle a lot (he had sarcoid in the girth area and couldn't be tacked up for 6 months). However, now that I've learned a bit more abut how the horse's muscles work I don't think bareback is so great for the horse if done regularly.
 
I don't think it really does any harm, and as for a dressage trainer telling off a junior thats so rediculous! I used to do BYRDS and my trainer encouraged it, her theory was I should be able to get my pony going as well bareback in just a headcollar as I could when fully tacked up (and I could! if anything he felt better!).
 
natalia said:
I don't think it really does any harm, and as for a dressage trainer telling off a junior thats so rediculous! I used to do BYRDS and my trainer encouraged it, her theory was I should be able to get my pony going as well bareback in just a headcollar as I could when fully tacked up (and I could! if anything he felt better!).
Click to expand...


I like your trainer! :)
 
The thing about a saddle is that for good or ill it will apply your weight to certain areas consistently. A good saddle will spread the pressure to the areas that can take it. Good fitting saddles are in the minority regretably.Riding bareback , there may be occasions when certain areas of the back recieve a higher than ideal pressure however by the very nature of riding bareback ,the pressure is relieved frequently and circulation is not compromised. A heavy rider eg 16 stone plus could ,I think do harm to a 16 hh plus horse without a saddle.I have to say that I think the trainer who told off the junior dressage rider for riding bareback ,is a tw++ ,On the plus /minus scale ,I would rather have a rider with a sense of balance and core position . Bareback ,you cant beat it for teaching ballance.
 
Well opinion seems to be quite divided on this. I still think that my mare seems very comfortable without a saddle, but I do not want to do her any harm so I am now going to get off my (ample) bottom and hurry up with the search for a saddle. Thank you for the recommendations, I hope we will find something soon!
 
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