# Beginner Lessons, Saddle or no Saddle?



## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

I taught horsemanship lessons at a huge ranch in southern ca, and we had about 70 horses and our summer camps had 75-100 kids per week. We would split the kids up into 4 groups, so we'd have between 15 and 25 horses and riders in the arena for any given class. We taught all of the beginners to ride bareback before they ever got a saddle. It was mostly because it would be rediculous to try to fit that many saddles to horses and riders, so we used bareback pads. 

I have since moved north and now teach lessons at a much smaller barn, we have about 10-15 horses, and I use about 5 of those for my beginners. We have about 20 saddles, so I am able to match saddle to horse to rider pretty easily. I have been wondering though, *should I go back to teaching students to ride bareback first?* It would definitely be out of the norm, as no other trainers at the barn teach bareback or even ride bareback. 

I learned to ride bareback and did loping, posting, rollbacks, you name it, before I was allowed a saddle. I'm proud of that and I feel like it gave me a uniquely solid seat. Yeah, I fell off in the beginning, but falling off enough made me realize it's really not that bad, and made me less afraid of it. I also feel it's safer in some ways, because when you do inevitably come off, you don't have tack to get caught up on, like getting a foot through the stirrup. Regarding my students who are a lot older or have had injuries, I would definitely keep them in a saddle. 

I have ASTM-SEI approved helmets for my students that don't own them (very typical for beginners) and would only be doing this in an enclosed space with soft footing, like the arena or round pen. 

So, anyone have experience with this that can offer some insight or advice? Students that have learned one way or the other or instructors that have taught one way or another? Thank you in advance for any replies!


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

With the lessons I teach (we start off on the lunge line - getting control, etc - they move off the line once they can turn/stop/go confidently) I generally start them out in a saddle but generally have them riding bareback (with a bareback pad) by the 5th ride. Then, I try to have every 4th (or so) lesson be bareback. I find that exclusively bareback encourages slouching and leaning into turns but it also encourages a GREAT seat. So, I keep bareback to every couple of lessons and the kids have better posture+great seats.
As the kids get more comfortable, I have them ride without a pad which makes their seats even better. 

I do have one girl that pretty much rides bareback every lesson (no pad) however, she's been riding with me for nearly 2 years and she's to the point where the things I can improve with her are almost exclusively seat-issues (I'm really only set up for true beginners but she doesn't want to leave! haha). However, my other kids are on the bareback once every couple weeks "program".


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## DimSum (Mar 28, 2012)

Tessa7707 said:


> It would definitely be out of the norm, as no other trainers at the barn teach bareback or even ride bareback.
> 
> ... Yeah, I fell off in the beginning


Just IMO, there's your answer. There is a reason most trainers teach kids using a saddle-kids tend to fall off and a saddle can be considered safety equipment. Unfortunately, we live in a litigious society and I suggest you bounce that idea off the barn's insurance company. 

I know, most places make parents sign a waiver. Got a hot flash for you, waivers aren't worth a lot in a civil trial and a good lawyer will tear one up at trial with one hand while holding a graphic picture of the injury with the other. It's not that I disagree with your idea, it's how I learned too. But I question how a_ small percentage of today's parents _would react if the worst happened and if you would be held liable. When I was a kid forty plus years ago I was told to just get back up there and try again, no way my folks would consider suing anyone.

Nowadays a better idea could be to offer an advanced class that is taught bareback, sort of a step up when the beginning student has reached a certain level and make the student "test" before he/she can take lessons that way.


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## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

Hey, that is awesome Wallaby. That sounds like the perfect solution! Thank you. Not that it matters- just curious - do you teach english, western or both? Thank you again.


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I have a few parents who get overly worried about their child falling and do not like to hear "oh pony side stepped without a saddle on and child fell, sorry, stuff happens." Many will wonder why, during the first lesson, there is no saddle. We love doing bareback with the kids who have been riding for a couple months, are confident and in control, but limit it. Basing an entire program on the idea that falling off can make a kid confident (which is so so not true for everyone) is a very risky plan. 

What I personally have found to be beneficial and safe is to, both on and off of the lunge, do lots of no stirrup work at the walk and trot before eventually introducing it at the canter. On the lunge students are asked to also release the reins for small periods of time to encourage balance that doesn't rely on pulling on the reins. Having the stirrups there and available for pick up is always nice. 

I have allowed, encouraged even, a couple of more advanced students to do entire lessons for weeks at a time bareback. Her riding progressed leaps and bounds! I couldn't have asked her earlier however due to legs being too short and not having enough leg muscles yet.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Tessa7707 said:


> Hey, that is awesome Wallaby. That sounds like the perfect solution! Thank you. Not that it matters- just curious - do you teach english, western or both? Thank you again.


Thanks! I really like it. It helps though that my mare is a "seatbelt in the form of a horse" - she HATES having people come off her so she will do whatever it takes to keep her rider on, including falling down herself. :shock: 
I forgot to mention that in my post - if I had a horse that had an extensive "fall-record" or had some sort of behavioral issue (though, why would you use a horse like that for lessons?! haha) I would not be nearly as comfy letting youngsters on said horse bareback. But since I know that for my girl to let someone fall off there would have to be quite the circumstance, I'm not as worried. In 4 years, only one person has ever fallen off her - a lesson kid who was riding her bareback (lol) and Lacey spooked really tiny AND, on the recovery step from that spook, slipped on a muddy patch. 
I've ridden her weekly+ for the last 4 years and have never fallen off her. I've come really close a couple of times but she had somehow managed to get me back up on her back (including one time where she fell into a ditch and, I have no clue how she did this, but I was coming off -had a bruise from her withers on my KNEE for weeks- and suddenly I was square on her back again...then she picked her way out of the ditch and went on like nothing had happened).
Anyway, yeah, some parents are overly worried about their kids coming off - be careful of that.

I teach what I like to call "general horsemanship" lessons. I use a western saddle for lessons but I don't teach really western-y things. Basically, my goal is to get my kids to a spot where they could go into whatever discipline they wanted and do the "fun" stuff without having to fill in holes. I really work to cultivate good seats, good hands, good posture, good horsemanship, etc.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Well, I learned at 50. As an old guy, I wouldn't handle falling off a lot very well. The one time I did, when Mia bolted during my dismount, is still causing me pain in my back 3.5 years later. I realize kids bounce better than old guys, but you would face liability issues if all the other trainers use 'safety equipment' that you do not...


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

In a true lesson setting I would start with saddles and then offer bareback lessons or an advanced class AFTER the student has developed some skill. Mostly because people are sue happy and also there are kids who need to develop a little more confidence before falling off to learn that it's "no big deal". 

I have my nieces ride bareback for the most part, but I'm not worried about being sued AND they a strictly controlled, i.e. on a lunge line or lead line and generally at a walk for the most part.


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## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

Zeke said:


> I have a few parents who get overly worried about their child falling and do not like to hear "oh pony side stepped without a saddle on and child fell, sorry, stuff happens." Many will wonder why, during the first lesson, there is no saddle.


Firstly, yes, I have experienced lots of parents who are overly worried about their child falling off. What we were 'instructed' to say at the ranch was that "Falling off is a part of riding, and while we do everything we can to prepare your child and prevent it from happening, the possibility is still there" As far as the child was concerned, I would celebrate and make it a positive "Yeah! You're a real cowgirl now!" or "Wooo! You're part of the club now! Good Job!" I probably had 2 students a year come off during my lessons, and that's out of 100's of riders learning to jog, trot and lope for the first time- bareback. 
Secondly, regarding the saddles, it took a brief moment to explain to the students and parents (during orientation) that riding bareback helps you develop a better seat and that because our ranch is so big, it would cost you a lot more to send your child to camp if we purchased saddles to fit dozens of students and horses. 



Zeke said:


> Basing an entire program on the idea that falling off can make a kid confident (which is so so not true for everyone) is a very risky plan.


 I'm not basing my entire program on that at all.  I was saying that for me, it helped. No it's not true for everyone, but in my experience, the few times I did have kids come off, they were surprised by how much it _didn't_ hurt. Yes, falls CAN be very bad, and I know that's probably what you are all thinking of right now. But most falls, if in a controlled environment, in a sandy arena, are usually not that bad. Please don't attack me with horror fall stories. I am well aware of can happen and I am always taking measures to prevent those situations from arising. At the ranch, I was taught that, if you ride long enough, everyone comes off the horse at some point, and when they do it's safer if they don't have a saddle to get caught up on or stirrups to get a foot through. 
Again, about 2 students a year came off out of hundreds. 



Zeke said:


> What I personally have found to be beneficial and safe is to, both on and off of the lunge, do lots of no stirrup work at the walk and trot before eventually introducing it at the canter. On the lunge students are asked to also release the reins for small periods of time to encourage balance that doesn't rely on pulling on the reins.


 Absolutely. In my current program, I start by lunging at the trot without reins (rubber band the reins to the horn!), Then without reins or stirrups, then they trot off the lunge without the stirrups until their seat is solid before they ever reach lope (/canter). 


Again, my current program is of my own making, and I am an independent instructor at this barn. I am not particularly fond of how they other instructors teach (Like teaching lope on the first ride, not requiring or even suggesting helmets, and exhibiting rough 'show-off' behavior with the horses etc.) So I am not too keen on basing my decisions on how or what they teach.


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## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

Nice, Wallaby, horses like that are worth their weight in gold in lessons.


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## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

bsms said:


> Well, I learned at 50. As an old guy, I wouldn't handle falling off a lot very well.


That's why I said I'd keep my older students in saddles  The other instructors are also not using helmets for safety equipment. Indeed the saddle could be counted as 'safety equipment' though. You're right there. I'm just thinking about how much I could improve my students seats by having them go bareback! Sounds like 'occasional bareback' will be the way to go.


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## Tessa7707 (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks for the input Tigerstipes. It's so disappointing how easy it is to be sued, especially involving horses. I makes any equestrian activity, lessons in particular, more expensive and restricting.


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