Bareback riding?

Question

What is your opinion on bareback?

Answer 1

love it!!

it does wonders for you balance and improves your seat no end!

i find that my horse responds better when i ride bareback and i can feel what he is doing much more easily.

jumping bareback is fun! if i have been doing some jumping practice i allways lower the fence a little bit and do some bareback jumping as a wind-down!

Answer 2

There is no such thing as too much bareback riding!  Not only is it a great way to have fun and get to know your horse's movement, but the balance it teaches will benefit your horsemanship immeasurably.  Bareback ROCKS!

Answer 3

I ride bareback all the time..usually the only time I use a saddle is when we go to the mountains because I slip off too much when we have to go really slow up 90 degree hills..haha.  But I have ridden all my horses bareback....spirited..crazy..and calm.  I think that bareback riding teaches you real balance..and if you have to use a saddle after riding bareback you feel like you're on a couch and you're not doing anything.  I ride all my beasts bareback then when I start to train a new baby........with the saddle the antics the little tyke tries to pull seem to never unseat me.  I'm big into that Gwani Pony Boy stuff though too..so..haha I may be a slight hillbilly!!

Answer 4

I haven't done that since I was about 15 to be honest. Mind you both my horses are spooky and huge and I am now at the point where I don't bounce too well - so yeah - I'll stick with a saddle ( although I must admit that I look at Fally's big broad back and feel tempted sometimes.)

Answer 5

it's fun if your horse is calm and comfortable! I only do it occasionally when I'm riding down to the field to turn my horse out x

Answer 6

I  love it. I ride in my bareback pad 97% of the time. I have covered 35 miles be for & never had a sore backed horse! Great way to learn how to find your seat, how to keep it, how to move  with the horse.

Answer 7

well I like bareback you feel more free while riding!

Answer 8

i think that it is fun but i show so i dont do alot of it. but if your horse is a nice calm horse i think it is fun to ride bareback.

Answer 9

Everyone who rides should ride bareback occasionally so they remember how the horse moves and regain your balance.

I think it is sometimes fun for the horse too. You shouldn't overdo it though because of the irritation to the horse's back. But even every day for less than an hour wouldn't hurt.

Answer 10

I love it, on the right horse. I learned how to ride bareback. The place where I started only did bareback.. and it really really improved my balance. Then again, the horse was a big belgian, basically a tank, so he was extremely comfy! .. I hated those days when  I was stuck on the old bony TB!

Answer 11

I used to love it when I was younger.  It is great for short rides and learning balance.  However, you need to be aware that horses do NOT prefer it.  It can be uncomfortable for them especially on long rides, since the saddle does not spread your weight.  A bareback pad helps but should still not be used for long rides.  If you are going to be on your horse all day then get a saddle.  

Also if you are a very heavy person then you really should not be riding bareback.

Answer 12

I rode bareback a lot when I was younger, and I loved it.  It was much better for summer, the horses liked not being weighed down by a heavy saddle, and it was quick--just jump on and go!  All of my siblings would go for evening rides after supper, down the road with the frogs singing in the ponds beside the road, at almost dark...it made a peaceful image in my mind that I think of frequently and will never forget.

Being a grown up busy mom, I don't ride as much as before (am currently enduring a summer of pregnancy and really missing out on the best riding weather here!) and my horses are a little more unruly and unpredictable than the ranch horses I grew up on (mine don't get ridden enough to stay safe!) So I usually ride with a saddle these days.  

On the ranch, Dad would not let us ride bareback to work cattle.  Cattle work requires a lot of speed and action sometimes, and if you don't get the cow turned back quickly it runs through a fence and causes a lot more trouble...You just naturally hang on better and control your horse better if you have a saddle, and so bareback was reserved for "fun rides" only.

Today, I really enjoy those evenings when the horses are peacefully grazing and my two year old wants to "ride Cricket, mom"...and I lift her up to sit on our old mare as she grazes.  Bareback is great!

Answer 13

When I was 12 years old I loved it.  Now that I'm 48 years old - not too much...it appears that as I've aged my center of gravity has shifted and I don't have the balance I used to have.  My hips are painful and my legs dangling down really hurts so I find riding bareback very painful now.

Answer 14

Bareback riding can be the greatest thing in the entire world! Unless you have a horse with a bony back with big withers, but if you have a horse with a nice broad back then it can feel like you are an indian. I think the best place to ride bareback is outside in a green pasture field. Its kind of the dream place to ride. It kind of feels like your an Indian. I mean how many of us have not dreamed of getting on a horse that you love and that loves you and gallop in a large open pasture with your hair flying back in the wind? I know I have! I think bare back represents trust between you and your horse I mean its the most close contact riding you can get. I feel it shows trust and love and if you trust the horse enough its a feeling thats just out of this world!

Answer 15

I personally dont like bareback but if someone is offering me a ride that is only bareback, I will take it.

Pros/Good

*Helps with balence

*Can make you a better rider because your moving more witht the horse

*Teaches you the emergency dismout (LOL)

*Gets you connected with your horse

Cons/Bad

*Cant do shows

*Cant work on normal stuff such as dressage etc...

*More likley to fall off

*If the horse darts or does any fast motion, your gone

Hope this is what you wanted! (How are you going to choose best answer?)

Answer 16

I enjoy riding my horse bareback from time to time.  He's an American Gaited pony, so he's very smooth.  He's going on 11 and so his back is nice and round.  It's fun and easy with him.

Riding bareback also works my thighs and I really need that!

Once, we forgot to take an extra saddle along on a trail ride, so we were 1 saddle short.  I gave my saddle to my friend and I rode bareback!  It was awesome!

Riding bareback will teach you how to keep your balance and will improve your riding skills when you do ride in a saddle.

Answer 17

bare back riding has help my balance and seat

Answer 18

Haha me an my friends always ride the horses bareback when we are tunring them out, Then we always sneek past the xc fences and jump the small ones bare back. I think its really scary but i love it at the same time like the thrill, Even though most the time i end up on tha floor haha.

Answer 19

it helps develop a better seat and is super fun, but its alot easier to fall so wear a helmet! and dont try it on a horse that bucks, rears, etc (for your first time atleast!)

Answer 20

Back in the dark ages...  For the first couple of months I had my first horse, I didn't have so much as a bridle and if I couldn't "borrow" a bridle and saddle I ended up riding my old mare in just a halter and leadrope.  MANY a time this old mare would want to head up the dirt road to the barn at a lope (This mare could TROT faster than she could lope, thank God!) and I'd get run off with.  Yes, I LEARNED better balance that way (I NEVER fell off of her bareback except the day we tried tandem, about 5 years later.).

After those two plus months, I finally got my saddle and bridle and unless I was taking my mare to the ocean to swim, I normally rode with my saddle.

A bunch of years later and 400 miles south of where we started out, I had her leased to a guy who took her out for a "ride" and 3 days later when he came back, not only was she drawn up and several pounds lighter for the wear, but she had a sore on her back from being ridden (Or bounced upon) bareback, that started at the base of her withers and went down about 12" on her backbone.  I'd never seen a bareback sore before and was heart broken to hear her groan when you touched it.  It took me two weeks of doctoring (And not one sign or word from my leasee!) to get her to where it didn't hurt.

The MAIN reason besides the rider's comfort is that the saddle spreads your weight across a bigger area on the horse's back.  If the saddle fits, then no soring.

Later:

I see the little TROLLS are out in force tonight...Sheesh!!!  If you've got a beef about my TRUE answer, then post it you idiots!

Answer 21

My opinion is that bareback riding is 100x more better then riding in a saddle. I think this because you feel free and you move more with the horse instead of siting strait in the saddle. You feel as though you and your horse are connected and you can do anything together! Try it, it's amazing! <   : )

Answer 22

Its fun but you come out of it with a strained arm and whiplash.......OOOOHHHHHHH you mean bareback pleasure riding? Sorry old rodeo responce. Great way to ride, makes you a better rider, teaches balace and if you ride western teaches you not to touch the saddle horn. Luck