# Tips for riding bareback?



## ClaimToFame32 (Jul 9, 2014)

Does anyone have any tips for riding bareback? And what are your favorite bareback pads, if any?


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## danicelia24 (Jul 16, 2013)

Go slowly. Work on walking, turning, stopping etc.. then work up to other gaits cause even if you have awesome balance you'll realize you have nothing when riding bareback cause there is nothing holing you securely to the horse other than your legs. I dont ride bareback with bareback pads so I wouldn't know about that.


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I ride bareback 90% of the time and it takes a lot of time to get it 'right.' Make sure you are not sitting too far forward, and that your leg is in much the same position as when you're in a saddle. It's very easy, when riding bareback, to get into the habit of having your leg pretty much on the horses shoulder. Relax your body but keep your back straight. I personally liked having a neck strap to wrap a finger around when I started doing bareback, especially at the trot c:


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## mlkarel2010 (Jan 27, 2008)

love bareback! I have a few things I have found helpful.

Teach your horse to mount from a fence. There is a lot of training information available on this. If you are interested in how I do it then let me know!

I bought a REALLY cheap pad, but modified it. The "girths" that they put on them are NOT SAFE AT ALL! So I cut it off except for the two top D rings and put on two long latigos and a western cinch. Then I put the bareback pad on a saddle pad to make sure there is enough padding. I also use a cheap breastcollar to help keep it from twisting since there is no tree to keep it in place.

If you start losing balance push on the withers with both hands. It sounds counter-intuitive but it actually puts you back on your balance point. The usual reaction is to lean forward and try to grip more with your legs. This will make your balance worse and will probably make your horse go faster. Because you push with both hands to get your balance back, you may want to do this in a round pen or small arena first.


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## evenworld (Jan 21, 2014)

falling said:


> I ride bareback 90% of the time and it takes a lot of time to get it 'right.' Make sure you are not sitting too far forward, and that your leg is in much the same position as when you're in a saddle. It's very easy, when riding bareback, to get into the habit of having your leg pretty much on the horses shoulder. Relax your body but keep your back straight. I personally liked having a neck strap to wrap a finger around when I started doing bareback, especially at the trot c:



Unbelievable!!!!!90%,bareback. I like the feeling of riding on a saddle.I am so interested in different saddles like Horseware Saddle, Harrison Howard,Weatherbeeta,etc.Whatever,All kinds of saddles......I really enjoy them!!!!!:lol:


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Honestly, I love it so much I can hardly ride in a saddle any more. I love the feel you can get from bareback- I can feel immediately when my gelding is having one of his bad days because of the tenseness (like a rocket), but in a saddle I am all but lost  Good luck in your adventures! I should warn you, unless you want to make bareback a very regular thing like me, use it in moderation. It really is very different from a saddle and I have found it extremely hard to change back to one now I have one- I'm having to learn how to rise trot all over again! And stirrups are such weird things hehe


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