How do I mount and ride my horse bareback?

Question

Hey~

My horse is 15.3 hh.. may seem short to SOME people but I just can't get on her.. does anyone know any tricks on how to mount bareback? Also.. Im good at walking and trotting my horse bareback but how can I lope? I'm tired of falling off or slipping to the side and having to stop my horse to re-adjust myself. please help.. thanks!

Answer 1

They don't have any feeling in their mane remember that. Feel free to pull on that when you are riding.

Answer 2

Ride in an english saddle with no stirrups to get better balance for when you are riding bareback. I've seen people just jump on but I can't do this. You could use a mounting block or just get a friend to give you a leg up. Is lope canter? If it is then canter is more comfortable than trot, just practice in a saddle getting your horse to come back quickly into a slow balanced trot, because the transition down from canter to trot is very bouncy.

Answer 3

Bareback saddles are available in many different places, but I recommend getting a leg-up from a friend, using a mounting block, or the usual fence treatment!

As for loping bareback, try not to sit stiff and tense, but to relax and move with the horse's gait. Move with the rolling movement and lean forward a little bit when you feel comfortable, to keep your balance.

Bareback riding is fun- keep it up!

Answer 4

Do you use a mounting block to get on in the saddle? If so, just use that to get on bareback. You just kinda fling yourself over! If you don't use a mounting block, or don't have one, just get a muck bucket and flip it over to give yourself a boost! Also, loping (I canter =D) is much easier than trotting! Especially loping, because it's smoother than an english horse's bouncy canter.

Answer 5

I guess you get on if you figure out how.

This could mean anyway. O.o

But you should probably use an object to stand on and get on top of her. And if you mount her in a wierd place, make sure you have a friend with you so they can take the object away when you get on her.

Answer 6

a few tricks that i have learned cause my Arabian is 16.5 and im only 5'8".  i cheat and use a log or a friend to "lean on" if on trial or a bucket when im home, but always make sure to have a good grip on its mane.  when your about to lope make sure that you are on her withers thats their center of balance so you should stayed balanced also, another reason that you could be slipping is because of your horse keeping switching leads when she is loping.  you can feel when she switches leads cause you will lean the opposite way which causes slipping.  another thing to try is a bareback blanket.  they are thinner but helps you stay on better when the horse has been sweating.

Answer 7

To get on bareback,  have you tried swinging up? You grab the horses mane in both your hands, fairly fair apart, then take a few running steps, and swing your leg up and over the back of the horse. Hang on until you can get yourself up. [It helps to get your elbow over the neck.] It took me practice, but I finally got it.

Or a fence.

As for staying on, you might need to work on the leg muscles that help you hold on. A bareback pad might help the slipping and such. Just keep working on loping for small distances to get used to it. Then go longer and longer.

Answer 8

i use a mounting block when i get on bare back and kinds put one of my hands on her butt and the other i hold the reins and her mane and just jump on.

i think the lope is the easist to ride bareback ( if your horse is smooth) just relax your body and go with the movement. make sure you stay balanced if its new to your horse to beaucse you might be leaning over without noticing and it might be cuasing her to go off balance to. hope  helped a little bit, good luck =)

Answer 9

you could lead her  next to the fence and get on that way. one of my geldings is sooo gentle i can just hold on to the mane and swing on. you can also buy bare back saddles that are sort of like a saddle blankets with a place to hold on to and a sinch. good luck hope i helped:)

Answer 10

Use a bareback pad...I have one thats suede love the thing, a little pricey but worth it.  Its all about balance, you'll need to practice.  Now getting on...At 15 i could pop up on a big horse no problem, I'm lazy and hate tacking up.  Well at 45, hmmm i cant just through my fat bum up there.  So odd thing dad put this huge rock in the middle of one of our turn out areas, it was for decoration but that darn thing has come in handy...I walk up the rock and pop right up, no need to stop it works great.  Now one day i was working a mare in the round pen and i decided heck I'm climbing on board...Well i climbed up the pipe corral, this was March 22nd...my trainer screamed my name (for no other reason but to see if i wanted a bottled water), i slipped and cracked my bum on the top rail, broke my tail bone.  So be careful what you climb up to get on...My bum still hurts today...Thankfully someone on here emailed me where to buy a pad for my saddle...i bought two LOL hey extra padding doesn't hurt.

Answer 11

use a stool or a fence; a mounting block also works. anything that is sturdy....also if your horse can stand quietly try running up to her and vaulting on her! that is fun, and possible with a 15.3hh horse. when loping, like trotting, you must be in rythm with your horse. just relax and move your hips with the horse's movement. look ahead, don't look down. focus. YOU can do it! and don't lean forward, that will throw both you and your horse off balance. if you must, lean back. unlike what kerengle said, do NOT squeeze or grip with your legs! that is bad and uncomfortable for your horse! good luck!

Answer 12

Umm - there are few answers to help you with this one.

To mount, if you can't swing yourself upon the horse's back alone, you will need a mounting block or another person to help you.  There is no easy way - either you figure out how to swing yourself up there or get help, or you don't ride bareback.

15.3 is not short - that's a fairly tall horse.

Additionally, there are no secrets to riding bareback, either you have the muscle tone and riding ability to do this or you don't.  If you cannot lope bareback, either the horse isn't collected enough to lope smoothly, or you are not a good enough rider to stay on when it does.

You must be very flexible and move WITH the horse - keep your spine very flexible - act like your rear is glued to that horse and your spine and top body must flex to compensate for the jolts.  Not too tight leg muscles other wise you take out the "shock absorption" they offer.  The leg muscles of the thighs should be lax enough to give cushion, but strong enough to create control.  If you are riding with a very stiff back, stiff arms and tight legs, you are like a solid box sitting on that horse.

Start at the walk and concentrate on keeping properly balanced and moving as if a part of the horse, then to the trot and later to the canter.

Trust me, as ya get older it gets harder to do these things.  Thank God for stretch jeans!

Answer 13

lead her next to a fence, use a mounting block, or have someone help you on

you have to keep you legs down and squeezed onto the horse... keep her going as slow and smooth as possible and keep you heels down and toes up

Answer 14

When I mount a horse bareback, i stand on the left side, grab hold of the mane, and throw my right leg over, then slide on. You might need a bit of a running start, so stand back.  When loping, squeeze with your knees, and lean forward, it helps so you dont slip as much.

Answer 15

Theres a trick I use sometimes but you need a calm horse.

If your out in a field and your horse is eating grass, you sit on its neck and your horse will usually throw its head up and you slide onto its back. Also you can use a mounting block.

There are bareback saddles, there just a saddle pad with a girth and stirrups, you don't get the whole bareback experience but it's good for starting.

Answer 16

Grab mane with your left hand and do a run and jump, pulling yourself up with both hands holding mane as you throw your right leg over.  If you can't get your leg over, do the same running jump, but use your right hand on the loin to push your belly up onto the horse's back, then shimmy your right leg up and over.

If you can ride bareback without any leg contact...with your legs relaxed and off the horse's sides, and never need to grab the horse's sides to stay on, and you can do figure eights and circles while your legs stay relaxed, then you are ready to canter.  I think you may not have enough balance yet, by your description of slipping and readjusting...that doesn't happen when you are fully balanced.

EDIT:  I just read through all of the answers, and have to stress again that in bareback riding, you don't squeeze with your legs...you are balanced purely off the movement of the horse and your contact with seat and relaxed upper thighs.

I rode bareback before using saddles...most of us who started that way know this.  I know people who learn bareback in an arena as part of a lesson program are instructed to position themselves as if in a saddle...this has nothing to do with the true ability to ride bareback.  If you only intend to do bareback arena exercises to improve your riding in a saddle, the legs may be used on the horse's sides, however you will never excel at bareback riding unless you can relax your legs and balance with the horse's movements.

Answer 17

I had a 16 hand quarter & I could lead him up to a log, bank, rock (if I'm out on the trail), or I'd have a mounting block or even use a 5 gal bucket...But he was dead-broke...I guess the most important thing was to have your horse trained well enough to hold still when you are mounting from an "odd" object.

BTW - I'm 5' 5" high...but short legs...You may have to lay over his back and swing your leg over. That's how I did it.