# Best bareback pad



## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

I don't think the stirrups are a good idea. A bareback pad doesn't stay in place like a saddle does, and if you're dependent on the stirrups to stay on, it may slide and dump you right off. If you want a bareback pad, look for one with an actual cinch, so you can keep it from spinning around as easily, d-rings to attach a breastcollar so you don't inadvertently end up turning your pad into a bucking strap, and a seat area that is suede or some other grippy material so you don't slide. 

Personally I prefer just a good pair of full seat breeches, and a horse with a good mane I can grab to assist my balance should I have an issue. Good luck!


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## tbstorm (Dec 16, 2010)

parelli has a nice one, its more of a close contact pad but is still comfy and has a nice little handle just in case you start slipping. I have never used one with stirrups, but bareback is very good for developing your seat and helps with balence and im kind of thinking that stirrups may defeat the purpose of riding bareback...? i dont know just my thoughts! But i do love the parelli pad.


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

If your horse is comfortable to sit on bareback I wouldn't bother with a pad. I rode a quarter horse for years bareback and as long as you keep yourself from sliding up on the withers it was fine. I have to use a pad now as my girl is boney and I hate it. I feel so insecure and the pad slips under me a lot. If you don't need it due to the spine I would not get one. It's much safer to ride bareback completely. 

When you start adding a breast collar and stuff I really don't see the point you might as well just use the saddle.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks everyone. Sam will ride bareback he doesnt have any issues The parelli looks like a great saddle but unfortunately it is way out of my current price range. 

One reason I want to ride bareback is laziness. I sometimes talk myself out of riding bc of all the work to saddle him. Especially when I only have an hour at the barn. 

But I am worried I am not balanced enough should he sidestep or trip. I have walked him in the arena bareback but I am worried to do much more without taking baby steps. 

Let's change the question. How does a 46 yr old learn to bareback?


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Well, IMO, you use a pad to help you stick. I am older and have done minimal bareback in my life, but last year started to. I used a Stacy Westfall pad, which I loved, and it really helped me stick better, since it was microsuede. Yes, it is expensive, but there us a HUGE difference in pads. Either you get a good one, like the Westfall or Parelli (which has the handle, so I like better for a beginner), or you just go without. You really do get what you pay for. THere is also a huge difference in the cinches, and the cheap ones are awful, IMO, they slip easily and are not very comfortable for the horse. You can find a used Parelli one on eBay for about $150, Westfalls for around $100. Like I said-otherwise just go without until you can get one.


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks FNB! I didn't think of ebay. I'll give that a looksee.


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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

If you're going to ride bareback, ride bareback!!! Unless your horse has sharkfin withers, then I'd consider it. But, then again, I'm 16 and you're my mom's age! I made my mom ride bareback every couple days for 2 weeks last year. She hated me, but she did like the workout!


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I bought this pad Best Friend Bareback Comfort Pad about a month ago and LOVE IT TO DEATH. Unfortunately so do my friends at the barn as it's usually being borrowed LOL. The underside sticks really well and I can keep Cinny's girth a little looser because it doesn't slide. Cinny has a sensitive back and will balk if I ride him completely bareback or with other bareback pads, but this one he seems to really like. It has some D's so you can attach a strap to hold on with if you choose, or other things like saddle bags. I have even been tempted to take it out on short trail rides.

I wouldn't suggest a bareback pad with stirrups. I had one and well, the stirrups were more trouble than they were worth and I ended up pitching them. They give you a false feeling of support while giving you more of an entanglement danger....trust me on this one as I'm speaking of experience.

Besides, going without stirrups really builds your seat and makes you a more balanced rider because you have to used balanced riding techniques more.


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## cowgirl928 (Feb 4, 2012)

imo, it almost isn't bareback unless it's well, bareback lol  Try a good pair of breeches, or a good pair of rugged and used jeans. I was raised riding bareback, and a word of advice to you dear: make sure to engage your abs in any gait faster then a walk or you may just fly. Make sure you are able to go up and down hills at a walk and do everything at a walk before you move on to a trot. Another word of advice, it is often easier to lope bareback then it is to trot. Trotting can sometimes be the death of a bareback rider! Since my mare is gaited I no longer have that issue, but it will definitely make you appreciate your muscles! Also don't plan on any heavy exercise after a good day of bareback riding. You will feel it the next day if you used your thighs and abs properly, trust me. I learned how to ride bareback, and actually didn't even learn how to use a saddle or even own a saddle until I had been riding for about 10ish years. Saddles still feel weird....but anyways, if you do decide on a bareback pad just to keep your booty clean, get one that has a cinch and rings so you can attach a breast collar. In my experience though it is almost easier to just go bare!  and sometimes those goofy pads just get slippery on the horse


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Seconding the Best Friend's Bareback Pad. I bought one a couple of months ago and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Keeps my seat from getting dirty and adds a little extra padding for both my rear and his back. Avoid any pad with stirrups, they're just very false security.


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## specialdelivery (Jan 12, 2010)

I also have the best friends bareback pad, the comfort plus english style. the best one I've come across by far. I doesn't slip at all, and has just enough padding to protect my guys back from my boney tush


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## Back2Horseback (Mar 21, 2012)

I hear you about loving the "ease" of tacking up to ride bareback! My final horse-experience prior to going horse-free in total for 15 years, prior to this March, was caring for a friend's persnickity mare, whom she had only used for endurance. The mare did not like the arena at all. AS well, she didn't care much for ME, or rather, for anyone other than her mom, (who was starting bed-rest due to a difficult pregnancy, for six months)...thus, she enlisted my help, which I was more than happy to offer!

Anyhow, the Aussie-type trail/endurance saddle she used did not FIT me at all, nor was I comfortable using it, not understanding how it (litetally) was to be put on the mare safely and properly! The friend had had the saddle made for she and her horse, so it had a weird girth, and lots of straps (not likely as many as I remember, as it frankly freaked me out, but enough to overwhelm me at the time)! Thus, mare and I engaged in six months of arena riding with a pad. Ugh.

It was meant to provide some protection for the horse due to my pokey bones; as well, she didn't have the most comfy back in the world, with very pointy withers. In addition, she was just barely 15hh, with a very choppy gait and LOVED TO TURN, SWIVEL, STOP SHORT, RUN OUT whenever the arena gate was opened...basically just loved to make it clear that I wasn't her mom, that she didn't have to listen to ME, and we weren't out on the trails, so she was perturbed to start with.

On top of all of that, having not ridden consistently prior, my core/balance EXISTED, but was far from what it needed to be in order to ride this girl bareback with all the tricks & such she loved to pull...had I had a stronger core and been a better disciplinarian my guess is we would have had a lovely six months. 

This is my utterly (SORRY!) roundabout way of saying a couple of things...

1) core, balance, strength! All are imperative when riding bareback as I learned the hard way!

2) the horse being trustworthy to the point where he or she will not go out of his or her way to "mess" with you will increase the fun you can and will have riding bareback exponentially!! If your horse is polite and without any major vices under "saddle", or in this case, with you on her back, and happens to have a comfy, smooth ride to boot, you are more than halfway there! :0) Knowing what I do NOW, I most certainly NEVER would have ridden this girl without first doing some ground-work with her to establish where she and I were "at", who was going to be dominant (ME) & to begin communicating with one another. I also would NEVER have chosen to ride said horse, with her abundance of discipline issues BAREBACK! (hand palm) but, I was 23 & just thrilled to have any mount to ride and thus willing to put up with a lot...Duh. Under-educated and improperly advised youth...lucky to have made it through, ha! :0)

3) regardless of the pad you choose, I agree one with"stick" will help so much over one like we used...just an English saddle shaped pad with a so-so girth, made of some fluffy, fleece-like material, so there was less impact, but no stick.

4) if you enter the endeavor w/o great muscling/balance, yet can remain ON long enough to work the horse bareback, you will no doubt LEAVE said adventure with excellent balance and core strength!

Truly, best of luck and looking forward to hearing all about what you experience with this...above all, try to have fun, cause that is what THIS is really all about, at least as I see it!


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

Thank you everyone for the wonderful posts! 

I have decided to suck it up and saddle my horse and I am soooo glad I did. The extra few minutes it takes to throw a saddle on him is like paying auto owners insurance. The one time you need it, you are glad you have it.

I have this beautifully tooled saddle that is not lightweight by any means. Maybe what I should do is keep my eyes open at sale auctions and Craigs/eBay for a more lightweight saddle, especially during the summer months.

Again, thank you for your well thought out posts. I appreciate the knowledge!


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

*I rode bareback!!*

While camping this weekend with Sam I rode bareback this morning in the creek. It helped that he couldn't move fast. I had a blast and gained a lot of confidence. I am ordering a best friend pad this week!


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## Failbhe (May 8, 2012)

AQHSam said:


> I have this beautifully tooled saddle that is not lightweight by any means. Maybe what I should do is keep my eyes open at sale auctions and Craigs/eBay for a more lightweight saddle, especially during the summer months.


I love my Western saddle, we've been through a lot together, but it's very heavy. I've wanted to get a lighter one for a while but couldn't justify the extra cost. Now that I have a new horse, my old Western doesn't fit her well at all and so now I finally have reason to get a new saddle! 

I ordered the Abetta trail saddle - it's only 16 pounds including the stirrups. I got the Arab version (I think it will fit my Arab x mare better) but I'm hoping it will do the trick. I've heard mixed reviews (the negative ones were some people didn't find it as comfortable as they'd like, not major constructional flaws) but for the price I thought I'd give it a shot. It should be here next week.


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## hberrie (Apr 28, 2012)

I just rode my horse bareback for the first time yesterday. I wanted to go back to the barn in the evening but I had shorts on and didn't feel like changing. I haven't ridden like that since I was a teenager. I rode all through the pasture up and down hills and even did some arena work and a little gallop up hill and a little trotting down a hill. I slid off once but landed on my feet. My balance and athleticism is not that great, but I am hoping that riding like this will help. My thigh muscles hurt which I take as a good sign. i think being relaxed is key so that you can really go with your horses movement. I am sure that is why I felloff... he started to go down a hill and I got nervous and tensed instead of just flowing with him.


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## RhinestoneCowgirl03 (Jul 4, 2012)

If you want to build up your bareback ridin' muscles without actually riding bareback, practice stirrup-less in your saddle first. Once on the horse I used to ride, me and his owner were sharing him for a show, of sorts, anyway, I had to use her saddle b/c we didn't have time to switch and she couldn't reach my stirrups (and this is my western saddle, whose stirrups have never been changed!), so I had to ride stirrupless in her saddle for a couple hours. Wow. What a workout! LOVE IT! But it's still more secure than completely bareback.


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

RhinestoneCowgirl03 said:


> If you want to build up your bareback ridin' muscles without actually riding bareback, practice stirrup-less in your saddle first. Once on the horse I used to ride, me and his owner were sharing him for a show, of sorts, anyway, I had to use her saddle b/c we didn't have time to switch and she couldn't reach my stirrups (and this is my western saddle, whose stirrups have never been changed!), so I had to ride stirrupless in her saddle for a couple hours. Wow. What a workout! LOVE IT! But it's still more secure than completely bareback.


I did just that trail riding this weekend. I rode as long as possible up and down hills without the stirrups to work on balance. My knees hurt from gravity!


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