A) I'm super short, my horse is not. Mounting without stirrups, even with a block is no small feat. The last time I tried it with Kachina, I sort of kicked her in the rump, and she freaked out with me only half on and it ended with me hitting the dirt twice (my second attempt didn't go much better)
B) Both Kachina and my last horse are/were hot horses and staying slow is far from a guarantee
C) Both Kachina and my last horse have/had very prominent withers and aren't exactly the most comfortable backs to sit on.
D) I'll admit it, I'm kind of a chicken and don't want to fall off.
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| Her topline has filled out a bit since this photo, but still, look at the withers |
But, I want a more secure, independent seat, so I want to ride bareback to help me develop one. If I know I have a strong seat, that should help me with D), as well as pretty much every other part of my riding.
I've been considering buying a bareback pad for literally years, but I couldn't justify the cost to myself. Also, most pads I saw in person had at least one feature I didn't like, and the shipping for buying a bareback pad online is generally ridiculous, especially to Canada.
On Friday, I was passing by a local store that sells tack on my way while doing other errands and figured I would just stop by to grab some more treats or look around. This is a bad idea. Never go to a tack store without a definitive plan of what you will or will not be buying. I know this, yet I did it anyways. This store generally sells nothing in the way of Dressage tack or attire so I figured that would help keep my wallet in check.
I walked in the door and was immediately told by a smiling saleswoman that it was "Customer Appreciation Day" and everything in the entire store was 20% off, that day only! Danger Danger! I immediately knew I was in trouble and was going to end up spending more time and money than I had planned...
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| It wasn't my intention, I swear! |
I walked to the back of the store, and right at the entrance to the tack section was a bareback pad... I looked at the bareback pad, I put it down.... I looked at other stuff, I looked back at the bareback pad.... I picked up a dressage saddle pad that was on clearance, and with the extra 20% off was dirt cheap (one of the only dressage pads I've ever seen there, probably why it hadn't sold and was on clearance).... I looked towards the bareback pad again, but walked the other direction and grabbed some treats and a bottle of Quick Braid spray..... I took a long look at the bareback pad, but decided that I wasn't happy with the "girth", a nylon strap that was sewn onto the pad on one end and had a weird clamp thing on the the other side. I convinced myself that even at 20% off, it wasn't worth buying a bareback pad that might slip off because it had a stupid girth. I was safe, I was going to make it out of the sale mostly unscathed!
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| Lettia Coolmax Pro-Series Dressage Pad |
... of course you already know that's not what happened. At the last minute, I saw another bareback pad hidden under some saddles. This pad was same as the other one, except it was $20 more and came with a removable neoprene real cinch, and would connect to my normal western cinch if I wanted to swap it out. I couldn't argue any more, and made my way up to the front to pay.
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| Triple E Deluxe Bareback Pad |
I know using a bareback pad isn't the same as riding truly bareback, but it's sure a lot closer to bareback than using a saddle is. Also, see point C) above, padding is required.
This particular bareback pad also comes with stirrups. I know that makes it even more like cheating; however, the stirrups are easy to completely remove. My plan is to ease into bareback riding by first using the stirrups as a bit of extra security, and then taking them off once I gain some confidence. Buying a pad with stirrups was important to me because of point A) above. Even once I get to bareback pro level (someday, maybe), I'll probably still need to connect the stirrups to get up. (Note - the pad will slide to the side if you put your full weight in the stirrup, but you can still use it as a half step while jumping off the block if you support with your hands on the withers and off-side)
Now if only I can figure out a feature that will solve issue B)....
Do you ride bareback? Do you use a pad or prefer to go au naturel?
I love bareback and I've never used a pad. Well that isn't entirely true, I have ridden with a normal pad and lunging thingy (I can't spell it). In general I just hop on and go but I grew up doing that so I don't even think twice about it. Plus I'm super tall and have long legs, so I feel pretty secure. I would start in the ring after you have already worked her. Also the first couple of times she might be a little WTF is going on because it feels different for them too.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a friend that is comfortable bareback that would hop on first? That might help with B. Good luck and remember it is supposed to be fun (if it isn't don't push it)!
I'm jealous of your long legs and bareback skills, that's awesome! I'd like to get to the point eventually where I can just hop on bareback without a second thought.
DeleteThanks for the recommendations, but I'm actually almost a week behind in posting stuff so I've already survived my first bareback ride! I'll post about that next :-)
When I was a kid, I rode bareback on my fat QH/Arab cross all the time; I used to reenact that scene from The Black Stallion lol!
ReplyDeleteMoe is like Kachina in that he has prominent withers, so riding him bareback is NOT appealing! I do not trust Gina enough to ride her bareback. I end up working on my seat by riding without stirrups for a few minutes almost every time I ride.
Good luck with the new pad- it is super snazzy!
The pattern doesn't look quite as vivid in person as it does in the picture, but I still like it!
DeleteRiding without stirrups is another thing I should definitely do more of, props to you for doing it so often! That leads to an interesting question though... which gives you more stability, stirrups or a saddle tree? Is it easier to ride bareback with stirrups, or in a saddle without stirrups?
I find saddle with stirrups the easiest, then bareback, then saddle no stirrups. I have not tried bareback with stirrups and I have no explanation on why I feel more comfortable bareback than no stirrups.
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