Bareback Dressage Rider Sinners Club; anyone else?

[Fantastic]

This is a spinoff from the thread about Bergamon being ridden in western tack - oh the horrors!

I started riding at about age 4 and had to earn my way into a saddle. That took a good 5+ years to get to that point. Dad bought me a honkin' 75 lb western saddle that I couldn't lift onto my horse's back, so I "down graded" to a jumping saddle. The rest is history! 38 years later, here I am! 22 years of riding dressage and I confess . . . I broke down a rode bareback the other day!

I decided to ride one of my dressage horses BAREBACK the other day! I rode him in a Dually Halter with reins and a western pad and anti-casting surcingle to hold it on (he's way too big for a bareback pad); HORRORS! I wonder if I "ruined" him? Oh, and this is my FEI I1 horse and only the second time I'd ridden him bareback - first time with anything resembling a halter or hackamore!! Of course, he did buck and porpoise at first - hey, that is what the roll bar (as I call it!) it for; a handle to stay on! We did passage, trot S/I and H/P, canter S/I, tempi changes, and pirouette's bareback and w/ halter! Frankly, I was surprised!

Needless to say, I was beyond ecstatic that we could be so connected together, sans any specific equipment!! I was smiling so hard ear to ear, I almost cried; too much fun! Good boy; whata guy!!

Any other Bareback Dressage Riders out there?

[Velvet]

I LOVE hopping on my guys bareback (when they don't have shark fin withers :eek: ). It's much warmer in the winter when you're just hanging out on them. :)

[myvanya]

I do it all the time, but I readily admit my horse is only first level and we jump too :D I love riding bareback! My new horse does have a bit of a shark fin wither though so he is not as comfortable bareback as myold morgan gelding though. I still just love it and I want my barn to include a bareback dressage test in their next schooling show- it would be so fun! I discovered on one of my bareback rides that trying to do a stretchy chewy in a posting trot bareback without squeezing with your knees at all (that makes my horse stop)or touching the horses back too hard (since my new horse is pretty sensitive) was quite the challenge but when I got it right it was amazing!

[GallantGesture]

I hop on mine bareback somewhat frequently. Sometimes with a bridle, sometimes just a halter and lead rope. I like to do it while I'm teaching just to give the horses an extra hour to walk around if they've been in all day due to bad weather. It also keeps me warm. And with my show horse, yes it is fun to try out different things we are working on sans-saddle and see how we do! Sometimes, I'm like "wow, we can do that without a bit!!" and other times I'm like "ow ow ow, please use your back better so I have a place to sit!!" (tb withers!) lol It's fun though, and great for the seat, especially sitting trot! I like my students to do it to, just for fun to break up the routine, but also so they learn more about their seat. And I think the horses enjoy it too, it's good relaxing, bonding time, as is trail riding (my other not-so-guilty pleasure).

[trooper345]

I have a youngster and will often untack after a ride and putter around the ring bareback. He loves it! His walk gets really relaxed and he just swings :) He is broad and "squishy" too so comfortable for me :) sometimes I will just do bareback and do some lateral work so I can really feel what he is doing and he can really feel my aids.

[Foxhound]

I used to ride my PSG schoolmistress mare bareback on occasion, either with the bridle or with just a halter and lead. She had a comfy back for it. Once she retired, I still got on her occasionally in the field with nothing at all. She would let me ride around on her for a bit, then when she got tired of me, she would walk into the run-in shed and refuse to move. As much of a workaholic as she was while in training, she definitely knew the meaning of retirement.
My current horse does not have the withers for bareback riding.

[FancyFree]

I would ride my WB in a hackamore and a bareback pad regularly. I'm not ready to attempt it with her daughter though, but when she's ready I will. It's great for a rider's balance and feel. Plus it's so easy just to throw on a pad. I'm sure my horse appreciated those days as well.

I want to get a western saddle one day to use for trail riding. They're so comfortable. Maybe with some bling!

[Petstorejunkie]

Needless to say, I was beyond ecstatic that we could be so connected together, sans any specific equipment!! I was smiling so hard ear to ear, I almost cried; too much fun! Good boy; whata guy!!

Any other Bareback Dressage Riders out there?

and to think you'd been missing out on it all this time!

Absolutely i ride my dressage horse bareback once a week so that we can both remember what it means to kick up our heels and have fun without so much concentration. I ride in a cordeo. Mine is constructed with climbers rope with incremental knots tied for a more precise signal. A cordeo is basically a rope that goes around the base of your horse's neck, and is used in place of any "head gear" Many dressage horses that are responsive to leg and seat aides adapt easily to use with a cordeo. You'll definitely get lots of these faces :eek::eek: riding around your typica dressage barn with a "piece of string"

[Dressage.For.Life.]

I'd ride my horse (mainly dressage guy who I've been told could do 3rd level with some work) bareback either with a halter and two leads or a bridle. I wouldn't do it too much as he's a TB with massive withers(!) but it was still fun just riding around for a bit. He also goes out on the odd trail ride and lives out basically 24/7! Haven't ridden him at all in a little while as we're working with some mysterious lameness issues.

[piccolopony]

My current horse does not have the withers for bareback riding.

:D:D ROFL

I also LOVE to ride bareback but it's not a good idea right now with my greenie. I can't wait until the day when we can ride around sans bridle :-) Sometimes I do just ride her with a halter though when we are going out on trail rides etc.

[GreekDressageQueen]

The ONLY way I could learn to sit my gelding's trot was to force myself to ride him bareback for 6 months. It was hard, but I knew if I ever wanted to move up I had to find the feel for his trot. I never had any trouble sitting any other horse's trot before, but this is how I fixed it.

Riding bareback is AWESOME! :D

[dressagediosa]

They're both too spiny for me to do any real work, but Clairvoya (my Grand Prix mare) and Victorious (my schooling-PSG gelding) do the bareback thing to cool off in the summertime:

http://www.spriesersporthorse.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/horses-at-work/cleosnorkel3.jpg

http://www.spriesersporthorse.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/horses-at-work/midgeswim11.jpg

[BohemianRN]

As a newcomer to dressage from saddle seat, I never thought twice! Esp since the Friesian I ride has NO withers, and plenty of padding :lol:
I actually thought he seemed smoother bareback, with his HUGE trot.

[DreamsOfGP]

I ride my FEI school master WTC bareback in a halter. He loves it. My 4 year old FEI prospect thinks it's a hoot, too. I just ride her at the walk though. She's not quite balanced enough in the other gaits yet. Being a big mover, I'm thinking I'll fly off if I even try!

[quietann]

http://www.spriesersporthorse.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/horses-at-work/cleosnorkel3.jpg

http://www.spriesersporthorse.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/horses-at-work/midgeswim11.jpg

I loved these photos the first time I saw them, and love them just as much now :)

Feronia is possessed of a lovely broad, flat back and I have a bareback pad on order for her. I am struggling with some seat/leg issues right now and someone suggested riding her bareback for a while... I am really looking forward to it. I've only ridden her bareback once, no pad no nothing, and that was last year.

[Quest52]

I love to ride bareback! I think that it helps with the contact of the entire leg and seat with the horse.

Today I got on my growing 4 year old for the first time bareback... WTC... and lived. It was nice, and I love the heightened communication that happens when you acn feel their entire back under you and they can feel your whole leg and seat.

[Whisper]

I've been riding bareback occasionally lately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVfAHT8Rs1g

[mypaintwattie]

I'll jump on occasionally sans saddle- it's so relaxing!

[HighFlyinBey++]

You're not supposed to ride bareback? Who knew! :D

My profile pic shows Bailey & me on our second ride this year. As in, no one had ridden him (aside from me in a single "pony ride" post-chemo/radiation in October & a short saddle ride in June) in a full year. He stretched for contact, reached out at each gait and gave me one of the nicest rides ever. Sigh :cool:

Two weeks later, we did our first Virginia trail ride around the farm with a barn mate, also bareback.

I actually taught myself how to ride bareback at age 12. My instructor let me take my old western schoolie out and he tolerated me while I figured out how not to bounce around. He was such a gem.

[Kairoshorses]

Forgive me, too, for I have sinned....a lot.

I learned to ride a QH cutting horse bareback as a kid (because I couldn't lift the western saddle!). I still love riding bareback.

I fear I grip too much w/ my knees....but it also helps w/ a more 'independent seat'.

Our local dressage shows have a "bareback dressage" class--you can do any test, but you must be bareback (the horse, not you...!;) ). I love it.

[Trying]

Oh wow a bareback dressage class!!! That i would sponsor!!!! Love being that close to the pony and it is so warm in winter - but a bit slick for an old f$#@. Still do it as I hunted bareback ( no saddle) until I was caught.

[McVillesMom]

OMG, I HAVE to share!!

Used to ride my TB bareback all the time...well, usually with a bareback pad as he has the shark fin. We used to jump and school cross country bareback. I haven't been on him bareback in over 2 years - we moved barns, and I didn't have a good mounting block to get up on him with. He can be a little nervous about things and really doesn't take kindly to me jumping up from the block to get on his back. So a few weeks ago my husband built me an awesome 3-step mounting block using stair risers from Lowe's. It's REALLY tall. I mean REALLY. The horse looked at it a little askance at first, so I've been using it to mount with a saddle.

Well, he is now recovering from Potomac. He wasn't terribly sick (thank God) and I got on him again yesterday for the first time, just to walk. Today I decided it would be fun to ride him bareback, since we're not doing much yet, it seemed perfect. I worked with him at the mounting block for at least 5 minutes, getting him really comfortable, and when I finally got on he stood like a ROCK. Which is very impressive, and not entirely typical. :lol:

But here's the best part: after we went for a little hack outside, I brought him back into the indoor and asked him for a little trot. It was AMAZING. The last time I rode him bareback, he was schooling first level. Now he's schooling second, and he feels like a completely different horse. I can feel how elastic he is through his back, and sitting that trot was completely effortless. I've been having trouble with canter-walk transitions, and now I'm wondering if it would help to school them bareback, since it's so much easier to feel where all his parts are going...

[helent623]

What a timely thread! I used to ride bareback all the time, but recently I've been so focused on my Bronze scores that I'd put it aside. Then yesterday I hopped on bareback and bridleless just for kicks to see what my horse would do. (I'm at a mostly NH barn and I'm afraid it might be rubbing off on me) He was awesome! We even ran through a few training level tests and he did clean, collected changes. What a great feeling :)
I just use a regular saddle pad with an overgirth. I had about six months of not owning a saddle about a year ago. (sold old one before finding new one that worked) I was riding everyday bareback so much that my boy was getting rub marks in the shape of my legs :o , so I got an overgirth and voila, problem solved.

[quietann]

Just got a Baretek English pad on clearance from tackwholesale.com. Not returnable, so I hope it works out. It's nearly dressage-saddle shaped, even has small thigh blocks, and seems very well made... Will report back on how it goes after I try it. Maresy is built to be comfy bareback, so we should be fine.

[faluut42]

I ride my schoolmaster all the time bareback (literally, i currently betweeen saddles), and if i dont feel like putting his bridle on I just throw a rope around his neck!

[Invite]

I am no longer able to get on bareback or safely climb something with enough height to hop aboard. That being said, I am dying to get one of those L'Apogee bareback pads. It is the next best thing to bareback. They are all sheepskin and have a pseudo-cantle and a pseudo-pommel. I sat in one on a fake plastic horse and it was so comfy on my tush!!! Seriously, I didn't want to get off the pad. I don't think my butt has ever felt so good! I just wish they weren't so expensive :( They are worth every penny, but I just have to justify spending so much on a bareback pad. With the extreme comfort, the justification may be easy;)