bareback

Aisling(",)

in my horse riding lesson on saturday for the last 10 minutes we were riding bareback and ive been taking lessons for over 3 years and have never done this before.is this common practise?
also any tips on how to get better at it?
i was relaxed but found it very hard to keep my balance and it hurt my tailbone after the first 3 /4 mnutes of it.

ashlingm

Aisling(",) wrote: »

in my horse riding lesson on saturday for the last 10 minutes we were riding bareback and ive been taking lessons for over 3 years and have never done this before.is this common practise?
also any tips on how to get better at it?
i was relaxed but found it very hard to keep my balance and it hurt my tailbone after the first 3 /4 mnutes of it.

ah its just practice!!
it usually depends on your horses back and stride how comfortable it will be...my horse has an extremely bouncy trot..but with practice i can ride it out properly...canter is usually the nicest for all horses as there is minimal bounce and its a rocking motion.
as for hurting your tailbone..probably just means you dont have much fat on your bum :P

Aisling(",)

ashlingm wrote: »

ah its just practice!!
it usually depends on your horses back and stride how comfortable it will be...my horse has an extremely bouncy trot..but with practice i can ride it out properly...canter is usually the nicest for all horses as there is minimal bounce and its a rocking motion.
as for hurting your tailbone..probably just means you dont have much fat on your bum :P

aye i'm the same as one of the horse i ride if horrible bouncy.
im convinced shes part kangaroo so when we're riding without stirrups i always end up grabbin the saddle at least once with her in trot.canter is alot smoother untill shes slowing to walk.

well i wouldnt have a big backside so that would make sense.

bareback riding is one of the best ways to learn proper horse riding.

As a child, when I was learning the basics, I did a lot of bareback riding. It has stood to me well.

togster

It's a great idea to try and start that way or at least try and incorporate it into your development. It develops your balance!

Jen Pigs Fly

I wouln't be able to do it, I barely have any balance when I'm in the saddle and using my stirrups!

I've never personally been to a stables where they allow bareback riding, although they often let us vault up ...

I wouldn't personally do it .. especially not on my mare she's way too bouncy, I'm constantly being told 'sit deep into the saddle' I just go 'you try to stay seated when it's like you're riding a kangaroo during a earthquake!' (she's very very bouncy!)

animan

Omg! Last week people in my stables were aloud go bareback and use jockey stirrups. I wish I was in that lesson.

kick-on

animan wrote: »

Omg! Last week people in my stables were aloud go bareback and use jockey stirrups. I wish I was in that lesson.

Ha i spent about 5/6 years wanting to be a jockey before i realised i was too tall, also came to the conclusion that hunting with jockey stirrups (knee to nose) usually ends in a fall, especially on young horses, i now go by the adage, ride long live long!!!!!!!!!

I find the trick to riding bareback is to sort of lean back into the horses back and stick your legs out in front, helps me balance anyway

AngelicRaindrop

Bareback is a fantastic was to learn to ride, i ride bareback at least once a week, it improves your balance no end, even on a horse with bouncy strides. its hard to get a hang of at 1st but if you can get through that it can only improve the way you ride

kerrysgold

bareback is fun, I think if you can do trot & canter without stirrups and maintain a good secure seat then you are ready to try bareback. I can walk/trot/canter bareback, goal is to be able to gallop & jump bareback. (can gallop with a saddle perfect but jumping is another story lol!)

animan

Ok so I went bareback and ............... fell. Must have been so funny to watch. Now know that this pony drops his shoulder in canter. Still got back up though. Oh and I'm too tall to be a jockey aswell (and I'm only 15.)

Aisling(",)

its fun.but i think i need way more practise and stronger leg muscles to stop me from toppling off.

Punchesnpeaches

The key is to relax, if you grip with your legs, you will bounce off. When I ride bareback, my legs are further forward than they should be, but it's easier to stay on imho.

kick-on

best thing to do when wanting to learn to ride bareback is just fly around the field on a quite yoke, i used to have my pony galloping over jumps in a headcollar and the leadrope for rains, after gettin buried a couple of times youll get the hang of it .

SarahSue

Best thing to do when riding bareback is to just sit into the horse as much as possible & let your leg hang as long as you can. Keep the trot slow, steady & balanced. Try not to stiffen up your back either & maybe keep a little slack on the reins so you're not hauling too much on their mouth when/if you slide about a little.

Its a great way to learn how to lengthen your leg especially if you do a lot of flatwork.
Saying that, some horses are just downright uncomfortable :eek: If you get one of them in a lesson & there's time, ask your instructor if you all can switch for a few mins.

norre

most riding schoold can't do this anymore as it violates their insurance policy. Ba Humbug! My suggestion is get one that will go direct from walk to canter and skip the trot, never got to like it much myself.