Your experiences of riding bareback

I once rode my pony bareback on a 7 mile ride. It was wonderful, until I got home with a raw patches the size of a decent biscuit on each buttock. They took a while to heal and I sat down gingerly for quite some time but it didn't put me off.
 
daughter's groom said:
I once rode my pony bareback on a 7 mile ride. It was wonderful, until I got home with a raw patches the size of a decent biscuit on each buttock. They took a while to heal and I sat down gingerly for quite some time but it didn't put me off.
Click to expand...

Ouch! :eek3: What caused that? I've never experienced anything like that bareback but have found that I'm the wrong shape or something for a lot of saddles, causing sore patches.
 
I used to ride bareback a lot when I was younger :D Good fun. My current pony is really difficult to ride bareback. He's no withers and a really round barrel with narrowish shoulders. Comfy but it's like sitting on one of those Swiss Exercise balls. His movement makes me slide forward and then when I reach the tipping point he just drops his shoulder a bit and I end up on the floor where I can see him laughing at me.
 
Last edited:
sometimes when I'm being a bit lazy I will hop on and ride up to the field when turning out. but I have a lot of road work between me and the bridleways so don't ride bareback off the farm.
 
Sugar_and_Spice said:
I was taught early on to rise to the trot without stirrups and was told that I should rise exactly the same with stirrups.

If you ride in a fairly balanced position and press on the stirrups to rise, it encourages your lower leg to swing forward a little and back again as you sit, making it almost impossible to keep a totally stable lower leg position.

Novices who press on the stirrups to rise tend to end up in a chair seat, with the legs either permanently pressed forwards and off the horses sides, or constantly losing their balance backwards and landing with a bump on the 'sit'.

To rise bareback, the horses movement automatically throws you up off their back, your "stomach crunch" steers your pelvis in the right direction and you sort of catch yourself very gently with your inner thigh to prevent being thrown up too high/too far forward. Then you use your core muscles to control the decent so you don't sit down with a bump. Apply a little more pressure with your inner thigh on the rise and the horse will step forwards into walk as you sit - useful on a very bouncy horse to avoid sitting trot!
Click to expand...

Thank you for a really good explanation :) I am rubbish at explaining things that I do automatically, but the way you put it makes it sound really simple!
 
I ride my horses bareback, or in a Parelli bareback pad all the time. They prefer not to be saddled.

it's a great way of riding and actually a saddle begins to feel unnatural and too far from the horse.

I do use a saddle for roadwork though.
 
Did lots as a child playing cowboys and indians. No hard hat, shorts, barefeet - those were the days!

Also done a competition called Bareback Dollar where you have a dollar note placed by the judge just above the knee and all competitors go round and round at an increasing pace - walk, trot, canter -and the winner is the one who holds on to the dollar longest. I won it once, my finest hour! At a canter I would like to add.
 
I hacked out a couple of times this summer bareback, while I was having girth gall problems.

I have a fairly sensitive, athletic, chestnut mare so I put on a neck strap, kept off the roads and resigned myself to the fact that if I slipped off the side I'd just need to clamber back on off a fence or lead home.

That thankfully didn't happen. My poor mare was so weirded out by the situation that she was angelic and was very cautious - she didn't so much as attempt a spin or a canter, even in her usually jolly spots! It was very sweet.
 
I used to ride my pony bareback all the time, including jumping, even jumped drop fences and on and off the bank! I ride one of mine bareback quite a bit, and have ridden the other one bareback a few times, although she is a fair bit sharper so am more wary!
 
I ride bareback 90% of the time. I started last year on my tb x mare who was changing shape and didnt have a saddle. I would ride her round the fields bareback and progressed to hacking out. I loved riding her bareback because she was comfy and I trusted her. We hired a local school and did loads of bareback schooling and tackless riding and jumping.
Sadly I lost her in march but now have a slippy little arab. Ive only ridden her bareback.a few times but thanks to this thread I will be hacking out bareback at the weekend :)
I dont think you can beat bareback riding, its great for your muscles and I like the feel of the horse under you, you feel every movement. Bareback trotting is easier than it sounds and is a very natural movement. Plus when its this cold the shared heat of a furry equibe is always a good thing.
Its improved my riding no end and as long as your horse isnt dangerously stupid you should be fine, wear a hat and put a stirrup leather round your horses neck and have.fun! :D
 
I used to ride bareback constantly when I was younger, the pony was a naughty little thing and bucked me off with or without a saddle so I didn't really have any fear and any fall was "just another tumble" - I was very lucky considering!! I also used to help out at a riding school when it was acceptable to let a group of kids take the ponies down to a field which was a 30 minute hack away - we all used to get on a pony bareback, and lead two or more down the country lanes, down bridleways and along the hillside without any form of tack or mobile phone (though we did have hats...!) Never had any supervision and used to trot and canter wherever we could - would never be allowed now and it was only 10/15 years ago! We put the ponies in the far fields and walked the way back, it was great!
More recently I did bareback with my gelding quite a lot over the years, he had his moments but on the whole was fairly safe and I knew him very well. Wouldn't dare do it with my current horse though, she'd have me on the floor instantly!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top