bareback tips

[Rock's_Peach]

We have 2 Haflingers that our boys have been riding bareback. They basically just jump on with the lead rope. The ponies have strong necks and sometimes stubborn dispositions. I'm thinking about putting together a Bosal hackamore set for each of them to use. Anyone have any thoughts?:huh:

[Cat]

I found with my first haflinger lots of flexing to each side to get him soft and supple really helps. You can do it from the ground and it should help for when your boys jump on to go riding. A bosal can also help. I ride mine in a bosal, but they can still fight it without the training to go with it.

Here is an article that describes what I am talking about:
http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/articles/lateralsoftness.html

[Rock's_Peach]

Great article - thanks! Any thoughts on a bareback pad?

[42many]

I don't generally use a bareback pad (don't even own one!) - part of the benefit of bareback, for me, is less stuff to mess with! I can hop on quick (I also use halter/lead rope), ride for a few stolen minutes, then be back to the ground and letting them go with no-one the wise ;)

The bareback pads DO come in handy when you have a very high-withered bony horse, though (like my big ole TB - he can be downright painful!). Also, they keep your pants mucho cleaner.

I wouldn't get a pad with stirrups, though - not only have I heard that they aren't very safe, I also feel that they also pretty much defeat most of the benefit (riding wise) of bareback! Unless, of course, you have major saddle fitting problems. But if you're riding bareback anyway, you might as well ditch the stirrups and gain the balance!

[Rock's_Peach]

Wow thanks! You said pretty much was I was intuitively thinking about the pads. My oldest son has complained about riding and getting his pants dirty (YES, he is actually a boy! go figure). So I thought of the bareback pads. He also falls off a lot riding bareback. Don't know that a pad will help. He has a good seat in the saddle but I think somethings getting lost in the translation bareback. Plus Kate is strong in the neck and mareish. I do enjoy coming home and seeing my boys out on their horses!

[Cat]

I got a handmade suede pad from e-bay a couple years back and I love it. Mine has no stirrups but did come with a breast collar. Look for one with a suede seat. It will help him stick and help keep his pants clean.

I've heard good things about the Bestfriends bareback pad - especially the western that has a pocket for a water bottle. I may get one when my current one finally wears out.
http://www.bestfriendequine.com/barebackpads.html

[42many]

I'm looking forward to "coming home and seeing my boys out on their horses" myself! We aren't nearly there yet, but anytime I want to take a ride I end up backseat to the terrible 2. They are SUCH horse thieves! My 4yo insists that the horse I raised from birth (now he's 5yo) is his instead of mine :rolleyes:. Last time I tried to ride I ended up leading them both around, one on each horse, for 1/2 an hour with my helmet on instead! I kept hoping *I'd* get a turn!! :)

I think the bareback pad might help him keep from slipping off as much, actually - as long as the pad is snugly in place it will be easier for him to find the midpoint of the horse's back. It's likely that he doesn't realize he's slipping out of position until he's past the point of no return - with a pad smack in the middle, it would probably make him more aware of the middle and more alert to not being right on it!

I've met some nice bareback pads over the years - I haven't used one in some 10+ years, I don't think, but I remember being REALLY jealous of a friend long ago that had a bareback pad like a comfy couch... :D

[AUEquine]

I love my barback pad (despite the fact that it's ugly as sin)!! I used to be a great bareback rider as a kid, but in my older days I've lost some of that talent (aka, guts). I don't have a problem with the balance bareback, my problem is with the horses hide. Usually either one of two things happens. Either the horse is slick coated and it's like riding a greesed pig! Or, and this is a little hard to describe, but it's like the horses hide is loose and slides back and forth across the muscle (more than natural). So a barback pad is great for me! That and it really keeps things cleaner!

[zoel_222]

I really find bareback pads to be such a waste. Sure they keep your pants clean, but they take away from the feel of the horse much like a saddle does. I haven't found one to this day that doesn't slip around. They also take some time to put on. I mean, if I'm going to go through that much time to cinch up a bareback pad and put a breast collar on my horse I may as well just put a saddle on. I also find that the bareback pad doesn't really help with learning to stay seated. In my experience it interferes with the ability to keep centered on the horse and feel where you are. Then if you start to fall off your instinct is to HANG ON so you grab the bareback pad and end up coming off anyways while pulling the whole darn thing underneath the horse. :rolleyes: Oh sweet memories....

[42many]

Hah! True enough, Zoe - you'd definitely learn to stay on better by having nothing to hang onto or keep on top of. Nothing like the incentive not to get dumped on your rear to make you a quick learner, eh? :D

I used to be pretty good riding bareback and do it a lot. Nowadays, I'm so out of shape and out of "horse-touch" compared to way back when that I can hardly sit a bareback trot! Sheesh. I'd probably do better on a pad now, to tell the truth - I'd get back into shape and touch quicker without, but stay on longer with!! (And staying on longer gets much more important as you get older... ;))

[AUEquine]

I think there's definatly an age factor here! When I was a teenager, I never needed the barback pad, nor did I want it! Now that I'm grown, and don't bounce as well... I prefer a little extra security/traction. If I hit the ground and hurt somthing I'm screwed, I'm my own livelyhood! Bareback riding is dangerous enough!

I've never had an issue of a barback pad twisting on me, and I don't have a breast collar! I have one of the old bareback pads though. The ones that are wool underneith, not fleece. So I guess that makes a difference.
And as far as time is concerned, it's quicker to me to grab the pad of the rack than a brush and curry comb to clean off a place to sit!

[AppyLady]

When I was a kid, I rode bareback all the time. I never used a bareback pad, and I could stay on just fine. Now I have to use that bareback pad! It doesn't slip at all, but it keeps me from slipping off. I don't know why horses' backs are so much slipperier than they used to be.

[PatriotsDreamer]

Wow thanks! You said pretty much was I was intuitively thinking about the pads. My oldest son has complained about riding and getting his pants dirty (YES, he is actually a boy! go figure). So I thought of the bareback pads. He also falls off a lot riding bareback. Don't know that a pad will help. He has a good seat in the saddle but I think somethings getting lost in the translation bareback. Plus Kate is strong in the neck and mareish. I do enjoy coming home and seeing my boys out on their horses!

May sound bad, but tell him to spit on the withers as a "marker" then keep his body aligned with it. so he can tell when he starts to get lost.

[42many]

Eeeeew, gross! How about some body paint instead? ;) Or maybe a wet towel....

[Cat]

I really find bareback pads to be such a waste. Sure they keep your pants clean, but they take away from the feel of the horse much like a saddle does. I haven't found one to this day that doesn't slip around. They also take some time to put on. I mean, if I'm going to go through that much time to cinch up a bareback pad and put a breast collar on my horse I may as well just put a saddle on. I also find that the bareback pad doesn't really help with learning to stay seated. In my experience it interferes with the ability to keep centered on the horse and feel where you are. Then if you start to fall off your instinct is to HANG ON so you grab the bareback pad and end up coming off anyways while pulling the whole darn thing underneath the horse. :rolleyes: Oh sweet memories....


Interesting, mine doesn't slip, even without the breast collar. However, it may have to do with the type. I had one from dover and that thing was horrid about slipping around, but my suede one stays put. Also there is a HUGE difference in the feel of a saddle and the feel of a bareback pad between you and the horse. I would be curious to see what bareback pad you have used that took away so much feel that it was like a saddle in that respect. Neither bareback pad I have used took away any feel.

As to the time to put one on - For me its not the time but the weight. Its much easier to grab the bareback pad and toss it on than lug the saddle out there. My tack is stored in the house right now, so I go for what has less weight.

[zoel_222]

Interesting, mine doesn't slip, even without the breast collar. However, it may have to do with the type. I had one from dover and that thing was horrid about slipping around, but my suede one stays put. Also there is a HUGE difference in the feel of a saddle and the feel of a bareback pad between you and the horse. I would be curious to see what bareback pad you have used that took away so much feel that it was like a saddle in that respect. Neither bareback pad I have used took away any feel.

As to the time to put one on - For me its not the time but the weight. Its much easier to grab the bareback pad and toss it on than lug the saddle out there. My tack is stored in the house right now, so I go for what has less weight.

I've tried a lot of different kinds. I've ridden in felt, neoprene (smooth and waffle style), fake suede and fleece and this weird syntheticy material I did not care for at all. They all slipped for me. I agree there is a big difference between the feel of the saddle and the bareback pad, but it's still THERE. It's still another annoyance I have to concentrate on. To me it's just another crutch.

Of course I'll probably be singin a different tune when I catch up to you guys. :p

[medicine hat]

I tried a suede bareback pad that I loved, but my horse hated. I think the suede irritated him...it had a suede top & bottom, I thought it would keep it from slipping & help me keep my position.
instead, he developed a bucking habit everytime we hit a canter, which he kept on doing even after I went back to his saddle! I guess after he learned how he could unseat me, it became a game. it took me a year to get him over it, and I still have to pay attention or he'll get me.
now I either use the saddle or "bareback classic" (no bareback pad).
so like any tack, it's a matter of finding what suites the person AND the horse!

[Rock's_Peach]

Gosh thanks! I'm definitely thinking of the pads as a Christmas present for my 2 oldest boys. The tips are a great help!

[Rock's_Peach]

[quote=42many;46144]I'm looking forward to "coming home and seeing my boys out on their horses" myself! We aren't nearly there yet, but anytime I want to take a ride I end up backseat to the terrible 2. They are SUCH horse thieves! My 4yo insists that the horse I raised from birth (now he's 5yo) is his instead of mine :rolleyes:. Last time I tried to ride I ended up leading them both around, one on each horse, for 1/2 an hour with my helmet on instead! I kept hoping *I'd* get a turn!! :)
quote]

That's funny! I've been in that same position - and sometimes the neighbor kids see what's going on and join in too - but the joy of seeing their happy faces does make up for it