# When did you first ride bareback?



## aggiegirl14 (Dec 22, 2011)

I think I had had about 6 lessons before my trainer gave be a lesson bareback. It was great! I only walked and trotted but it built up my confidence in the saddle. If you have been riding 1 1/2 years, I think you should work towards it! If you aren't very confident, work more with no stirrups first. Ask your trainer if you can go stirrup-less for some lessons. It will help you with your balance and like I said, make you a more confident rider! Cantering bareback isn't as hard or scary as it sounds, I think it's easier than the trot because it is more fluid. The hardest part is coming back down from the canter as that can be a little bouncy!


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## jinxremoving (Apr 6, 2009)

I rode bareback at my old lesson barn after a few months of weekly lessons. Thankfully I have natural balance and was able to confidently W/T/C without stirrups after only a month of riding.

If you've been riding for over a year and can walk & trot without stirrups, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to try bareback with an instructor present. Stick to the walk and trot though, especially if you have trouble at the canter without stirrups. I wouldn't even attempt to canter bareback until you can do it without stirrups. 

Every barn is going to be different. Some more safety conscious than others. I've heard of barns not letting people ride without stirrups for liability reasons. It's a shame really, because I think no stirrup lessons are some of the best lessons you can have. Builds muscle strength, improves balance and really puts into perspective how much one relies on stirrups while learning.


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

I would definatly need to work on no-stirrups first! I feel like i'm going to fall off after a few strides of trotting without stirrups. Its had to get better at it because I am in group lessons and the people that are in the lesson are good at it. I tell my instructor that I struggle with no-stirrups so we do some no stirrup work but I'm clinging on to the saddle and everyone else is fine :s Then we move onto something else because she can't direct the whole lesson around teaching me to do something that everyone else is good at.

I accidently cantered no stirrups one at it was really fun, but scary when I went back into trot!

I will ask about bareback next lesson and see what my instructor says though.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I rode bareback as a kid all the time. My little grade mare was absolutely wonderful and had the smoothest trot and canter. I don't really remember riding much with a saddle after I got her. I had rented horses for an hour at a time proir to this so not really any training. My dad traded my saddle for one he could ride in too...ok...about a 17" slick saddle for a skinny 13 year old. It didn't work so I rode bareback! I would no more ride bareback now than I would fly to the moon. My seat isn't that good!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Is there a way you can take private lessons for a little bit so she can help you with your trotting without stirrups?

I started riding bareback but then I lost it somewhere along the way and haven't done more than a walk with my horse (his first few times bareback EVER) he gets frightened at the trot so we're working it out.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

honestly i think stirrupless is harder then barback. for one, you are clinging to a piece of leather that doesn't move exactly with the horse. and its slick leather. now when you are barback, you have hide and skin and fur to cling to. as well as once the horse getting a little warm, the very little sweat really sticks you to the back, and being bareback gives you the ability to move more with the horse. i went bareback first.. then stirrupless. it was MUCH easier.


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## aggiegirl14 (Dec 22, 2011)

lilkitty90 said:


> honestly i think stirrupless is harder then barback. for one, you are clinging to a piece of leather that doesn't move exactly with the horse. and its slick leather. now when you are barback, you have hide and skin and fur to cling to. as well as once the horse getting a little warm, the very little sweat really sticks you to the back, and being bareback gives you the ability to move more with the horse. i went bareback first.. then stirrupless. it was MUCH easier.


I was gonna say the same thing. I find bareback easier because you can grip onto their body better than you can leather.

vergo, do you ride english or western?


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

When I was younger I rode my cousins horses bareback all the 
time and because I have a physical disability this helped my 
balance, I could walk,trot canter bareback. My therapist suggested 
I ride bare back

I was about 6 when I first rode bareback


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I was 6. The first time I rode, I got thrown on a yearling++ colt and was lounged around the yard. I taught myself to ride, bareback on a less than green broke mare, didn't have anyone to help me saddle her. I still prefer bareback! It's easy, don't think about it as "no saddle" riding, just that you are riding. Make sure it's a fleshy horse and you'll love it!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I ride bareback occassionally & will take 1/2 a lesson bareback. When I was a kid, I always rode bareback, sometimes close to 40 hours per week or more. I developed a boil on my bum that spread to my hip and down my thigh. It it to be frozen, lanced & drained. The doctor advised me not to ride bareback regularly. After that I always rode with a saddle, then I got the kids a pony, I didn't have a saddle that fit her so I rode her bareback, in fact I trained her bareback, I developed the same type boil on my groin. I was older & didn't let it get to the point where I was feverish. So, ergo, my bareback rides are limited


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

I never had a problem riding bare back


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I learned to walk and trot perfectly, and then had a bareback lesson on the lunge to learn to canter.  It was a while until that first bareback ride. Now, I ride bareback once or twice a week. Whenever I don't have the time to throw on a saddle.


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## Thyme (Sep 4, 2010)

I learned to walk and trot bareback when I was 10, it was how we cooled our horses off after a lesson.
Then I learned how to canter bareback on my first horse when she was preggo 
Only time she wouldn't buck (when we first rescued her, her name was Psycho at that point in our relationship) and it was like riding a couch


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I really can't remember how old I was, A lot of my earliest riding memories are bareback. Probably 4 or 5 I'd guess. I ride bareback a lot still, especially in the winter - can't beat having a built in butt warmer :wink: Riding bareback is great for your balance and really getting a feel for your horse.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

My first ever rides were bareback. My godmother had a shetland named Bill and I would hop on him with a halter and his lead rope and walk him all over the property for hours as a little kid. I don't know that he knew how to go any faster than a mosey, but he'd let me turn him left, right, and go when I kicked him, so I was in heaven. Since then, I don't know that I've ever done more than a dozen or so rides without some bareback getting mixed in there. I've never cantered bareback though, just walk/trot. Cantering stirrup-less is no biggie though, not any harder than trotting at least.


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## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

Hmmm I don't remember. Maybe 8 or 9? The only times I've ever fallen off were while I was riding bareback too lol. Even though I've been riding for 8 years, I've only fallen twice. I've been given plenty of opportunities to fall off mind you, but I guess I just have good balance. I've really surprised myself a dozen times when I should've fallen but I didn't (;


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## OuttatheBlue (Dec 8, 2011)

Hmm... I can't remember. Pretty sure it was at the first barn I was at. I was a chicken though, and didn't canter bareback until my second barn when I was... 11? My friends tried to peer pressure me into it at my first barn, but I was absolutely convinced cantering bareback would be the end of me haha.


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## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

OuttatheBlue said:


> but I was absolutely convinced cantering bareback would be the end of me haha.


Haha me too. The first time I loped bareback I started slipping, and I told my horse EASY!! So he slowed down. But he slows down HARD (If you know what I mean...) and I lost my balance even more, and he ducked out from under me..haha oh well. I will be trying again when the weather warms up.


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

I was climbing onto our horses in their pasture when I was 7, haha. It actually shocked me when I was 8 to hear from a 16 year old girl that she had never ridden bareback in her life, or even galloped for that matter... I figured everyone did what I did.

Our horse pen was longer than it was wide, so we used to put barrels in the middle, jump onto the horse's backs from the fence, and take turns making them gallop and jump over the barrels... kinda stupid, I know, but I loved it when I was little and I don't regret anything other than not wearing a helmet...


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## OuttatheBlue (Dec 8, 2011)

xxGallopxx said:


> Haha me too. The first time I loped bareback I started slipping, and I told my horse EASY!! So he slowed down. But he slows down HARD (If you know what I mean...) and I lost my balance even more, and he ducked out from under me..haha oh well. I will be trying again when the weather warms up.


I know what you mean! My horse's favorite word is "woah" so if you say anything that might sound similar while you're on top of him, it qualifies for an immediate halt. Why wait for the weather to warm up? Bareback is so much warmer than riding in a saddle and you'll have extra padding from coats in case you do fall :wink:


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

But if I were to ride bare back again I would in a riding arena 
but I need a mounting block for sure


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## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

OuttatheBlue said:


> Why wait for the weather to warm up? Bareback is so much warmer than riding in a saddle and you'll have extra padding from coats in case you do fall :wink:


Well, riding in the cold doesn't bother me...I kinda worded that wrong. It's crazy muddy out here. One time I was lunging him in the mud and he slipped :shock: scared the crud outta me but he was fine. Did I mention it was because he bucked? lol he's such a basket case on the lunge line. So anyways, I will be trying to ride as soon as the mud gets better. I haven't been able to ride him in 2 weeks ):


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

It would be hard to manage to get private lessons because of the way the lessons at the stables work. I pay £20 for my lessons, and when I turn up sometimes I am in a group of 4, sometimes 3 or sometimes it is a private lesson (rarely!). There is one girl that tends to be in my lesson all the time, but other than that I don't know who will be in my lessons. The stables does private lesssons for beginners but once you know the basics you get put into group lessons. As they don't do different prices for group and private I persume that they want to get everyone doing group lessons. Its a pain being in group lessons beacuse my instructor can't focus on the things I need to learn!

Aggiegirl14 - I ride english

It seems weird asking about bareback because I have never seen anyone talking about or riding bareback, but I will next time I have a lesson (which is in two weeks)

I think I would need to be better at no stirrups first becuse my instructor says that my leg goes to far back and that made the horse I ride buck once and I wouldn't want that to happen bareback!


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## OuttatheBlue (Dec 8, 2011)

xxGallopxx said:


> Well, riding in the cold doesn't bother me...I kinda worded that wrong. It's crazy muddy out here. One time I was lunging him in the mud and he slipped :shock: scared the crud outta me but he was fine. Did I mention it was because he bucked? lol he's such a basket case on the lunge line. So anyways, I will be trying to ride as soon as the mud gets better. I haven't been able to ride him in 2 weeks ):


Oooh I get you now, it's actually been pretty muddy here too but I forget that sometimes since my barn has an indoor arena. Glad he was okay! It always scares me too when they slip. I hope the mud clears up soon so you can ride again!



vergo97 said:


> It seems weird asking about bareback because I have never seen anyone talking about or riding bareback, but I will next time I have a lesson (which is in two weeks)
> 
> I think I would need to be better at no stirrups first becuse my instructor says that my leg goes to far back and that made the horse I ride buck once and I wouldn't want that to happen bareback!


Bareback is addicting  I used to ride bareback too much, and when I would head towards the arena saddle-less my instructor would always ask me, "Where is your saddle?!"
It will help your balance a LOT though! I think starting without stirrups will be a great first step


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

vergo97 said:


> It would be hard to manage to get private lessons because of the way the lessons at the stables work. I pay £20 for my lessons, and when I turn up sometimes I am in a group of 4, sometimes 3 or sometimes it is a private lesson (rarely!). There is one girl that tends to be in my lesson all the time, but other than that I don't know who will be in my lessons. The stables does private lesssons for beginners but once you know the basics you get put into group lessons. As they don't do different prices for group and private I persume that they want to get everyone doing group lessons. Its a pain being in group lessons beacuse my instructor can't focus on the things I need to learn!
> 
> Aggiegirl14 - I ride english
> 
> ...


It's good to talk to your trainer first, but I'd like to mention that bareback riding will help you with your seat and legs TREMENDOUSLY!


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## HarleyWood (Oct 14, 2011)

thats how i learned to ride my uncle was to lazy to put a saddle on i was about 6, now i do it 5 times a week! i dont take lessons. so its more of a fun thing but i also train that way also.


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## Equestrienne92 (Oct 26, 2009)

I first rode bareback when I was in beginner lessons. That was also the day I had my first fall haha. I rode a mare I hadn't ridden before and when I asked for her to trot she went into a canter.. I wasn't balanced enough and fell off her side and into the arena wall. 
My instructor was worried but I laughed it off and jumped back on 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## EthanQ (Sep 5, 2011)

I've been riding bareback since I could walk. We never could find a saddle small enough for me til I was 7, so I rode bareback and that how I learned to stick to a horse.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

When I was a kid I almost never rode with a saddle. 

Now that I'm in my fifties, I wouldn't think of riding without one.

Oh how time changes us......


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## vergo97 (Dec 23, 2010)

soenjer55 said:


> It's good to talk to your trainer first, but I'd like to mention that bareback riding will help you with your seat and legs TREMENDOUSLY!


I just worry that before my legs stay in the right place that the horse I'm riding might buck (some horses do that at the stables I ride at) and I wouldn't want to be bareback if that happened!

You guys are really lucky to have ridden bareback at a young age. In fact, you're lucky to have been riding at all at that age! I started riding when I was 13.


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## outnabout (Jul 23, 2010)

I have ridden my mare bareback for almost as long as I have been riding her, almost two years now. I am still chicken to canter bareback, though. One of these days... (any pointers, anyone?) Many times I ride her bareback to take her back to her pasture after feeding/grooming/riding her. And the warmth is nice in the winter. In the summer it is sweaty though and I don't care for the damp jeans after we are done.


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## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

outnabout said:


> I have ridden my mare bareback for almost as long as I have been riding her, almost two years now. I am still chicken to canter bareback, though. One of these days... (any pointers, anyone?) Many times I ride her bareback to take her back to her pasture after feeding/grooming/riding her. And the warmth is nice in the winter. In the summer it is sweaty though and I don't care for the damp jeans after we are done.


If you want to canter bareback here are some tips:
1) Make sure you have a good seat. If you don't have a good seat with a saddle, you won't have a good one without.
2) Canter without stirrups. This really helps your seat muscles, and you have a saddle to hold onto if you start losing your balance. 
3) Practice! Once you have a good seat while cantering without stirrups, go for it! I would recommend riding on a soft dirt or sand arena though lol :wink:


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## outnabout (Jul 23, 2010)

xxGallopxx said:


> If you want to canter bareback here are some tips:
> 1) Make sure you have a good seat. If you don't have a good seat with a saddle, you won't have a good one without.
> 2) Canter without stirrups. This really helps your seat muscles, and you have a saddle to hold onto if you start losing your balance.
> 3) Practice! Once you have a good seat while cantering without stirrups, go for it! I would recommend riding on a soft dirt or sand arena though lol :wink:


Thanks for the pointers! We have a good layer of sand in our covered arena!


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## Vanesa (Dec 25, 2011)

My first experience riding horse was riding him bareback!


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## xEquestrianx (Aug 30, 2009)

I think when I was about 5? My instructor really imprinted it in from an early age to "feel" the horse and the movement.
Hahaha and now bareback is my favorite way to go. People think I'm crazy because I'll do bareback, what I do under saddle. But it's comfortable for me.


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## Caitlinpalomino (Nov 16, 2010)

I cant exactly remeber when but I would of been about 11? 12? I first rode in an enclosed area but then I started to ride outside. 

I am not a confident rider at all but when I am feeling good and I have been riding often I will always ride my mare bareback. I have cantered on her and my other pony and it is lots of fun! I never ride bareback away from home though just for saftey reasons.


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## henia (Jul 31, 2011)

I was about 9 maybe. It was on my mare but then she wasn't mine yet. I rode bareback in order to be able to get off her quickly. She wasn't very safe horse then. It was the first time I seat on her 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

the first way i rode was bareback, around my aunties ranch on an old mare. then they let me use a saddle, my mom wouldn't let me use stirrups though. i had to work my way up to stirrups! was not very fun, but it taught me how to ride! i would highly recommend riding bareback!


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## Vanesa (Dec 25, 2011)

ridergirl23 said:


> the first way i rode was bareback, around my aunties ranch on an old mare. then they let me use a saddle, my mom wouldn't let me use stirrups though. i had to work my way up to stirrups! was not very fun, but it taught me how to ride! i would highly recommend riding bareback!


Agree, my opinion is that everyone should first learn how to ride bareback, than get in the saddle, or at least without stirrups. That way you learn how to realy balance in the saddle.


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## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

LOL... my parents were old school and we were not allowed to use a saddle till we could ride bareback. So I got to use a saddle I think when I was about 8


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## penny3 (Dec 28, 2011)

I think it depends on the person. If you feel confident enough why not, start at walk for a while first as you may feel quite unbalanced and a bit odd, but once you get the hang of it it'll be great! I rode bareback first at a pony club rally at my stables, so maybe if you can join some sort of riding group, thats always a lot of fun! Or if your comfortable with your instructor then just ask, a lot would be happy to help and like the fact you have goals you'd like to achieve.


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

because I have a physical disability where I had poor 
balance I was required to ride bare back to my physical therapy 
and i loved the feel of the horse under me too


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## ringosmomma (Oct 13, 2011)

Well i have rode horses on and off just ocassionaly when a could borrow a friends or go to a trail riding place. But i got my first horse a year and a half ago but have only been riding him alot for about 4 months before that i was sick so i could only ride him on and off but now i ride about 3-4 times a week. I tried riding him bareback about 2 months after i started ridnig him alot. I LOVE it and im a BIG proponant of riding bareback ocassionaly. Its great for first time riders because it helps your balance so much evern just at a walk it really helps you understand the movements and rythm of your horse and it will help you in the saddle. My horse is also more responsive to me bareback and its a good way to cool them down. I was a little nervious the first time i did it because he had never been ridden bareback before but he did great! I just kept telling myself over and over to relax my body and dont send any tenseness to him. You should try it! goodluck


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

My mom would put us up on Amber, a big buckskin mare when we were probably 2-3 and we would walk around the yard, then we graduated to ponies and never had a saddle. Can't recall when I actually started to use a saddle except I remember hanging on the girth, trying to tighten up, with my feet off the ground! Have never ridden double on my big guy because I can't really hang on around his sides..... love riding our large POA, wonderful canter


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

That's how I learned to ride, bareback. Rarely did we ever use a saddle when we were kids.


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## lubylol (Aug 8, 2011)

I rode bareback for the first time during a free ride at my old lesson barn. I was riding Taxi  I remember asking "How do I get off of him?" Everybody just laughed but I was being serious 

When I first rode Cowboy, it was bareback and he was the first horse I cantered bareback. 

Oh and another time I rode bareback was the first time I fell off. Never "two-point" over ground poles while bareback at a trot. The horse may take off, leaving you in the dust...literally! ;-)

In the summer I usually cool down bareback after riding in a saddle. Who cares if they're sweaty, your pants will get washed anyways! Oh and when we cool down, it's usually a swim in the river ;-)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

Well my trainer's daughter learned to ride in a bareback pad if that counts  Her. Seat. Is. Amazing!


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

I very young when I started to ride horses 
and always bareback
you see I have a physical disability and riding bareback helped 
my balance


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## hannxo (Jan 3, 2012)

First time I rode bareback was when I do was doing some Parelli with a family friend. I much prefer bareback as you can really feel the horse and its movements. However a saddle is comfier , I've even jumped bareback which is scary at first but really fun. My riding school would have never gave me a lesson bareback although we did do a lot of no-stirrup work. I'm lucky enough to have my own horse now, and I'm going to start parelli training with him soon so hopefully more bareback riding soon


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## Appyloosah (Dec 30, 2011)

The first time I rode bareback was to go swimming with my horses. My mare jumped up over a ledge and I slipped right off the back of her! Haha


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## xXHorseKissesXx (Jan 12, 2012)

Aw, its an amazing experience! 
What I did to get confident, is it's really all about balance. You sit up, heels down, toes IN. That is the key to not falling off. I did loads of stirrup less work on a lunge line, before I could walk trot/post and canter confidently without stirrups. 
Then I had my mom lead me around bareback!

If you do it, and you think you're ready, always remember safety first! Have someone experienced supervising, or even just giving you a little "bare back" lesson. 

I would suggest trying it, it's a great bonding experience to share with your horse ; )


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