Teach the Basics -Seat- Part 3
My favorite way for riders to develop their seats is as old as riding a horse -
Ride Bareback
Nothing comes close to riding bareback for developing muscles, feel and balance on a horse. I recommend it for the young and the adult rider but I do have a few guidelines for safety and correct riding.
The Horse for Bareback:
Personality: Horses that are used for bareback riding should have angelic personalities. The should be patient, long suffering and not the slightest bit sneaky. The purpose in bareback riding is not to find out how tough your rider is but to give them the idea situation for a good situation and great seat development.
Size: Size suitability is another requirement. Ponies for smaller children and small horses for larger children and adults. Keep those wonderful 16 and 17 hand giants in the barn during bare back lessons. Most of the time the smaller animal is less intimidating.
And: nice broad back is a bonus, or at least a horse or pony who is in good flesh.
Gaits: the softer and more earthbound the gaits, the better. There is no need to jar your riders. They’ll have enough challenges with balance at first.
Be sure: that the horses are accustomed to being ridden bareback. This should only be a new experiencwe for 1 member of the partnership!
The Equipment for Bareback:
For the horse:
A snaffle bridle
A neck strap (an old stirrup leather works well)
I’m not in favor of bareback pads because they usually slip and because they defeat some of the purposes for riding bare back.
For the Rider
Helmet
Horse worthy footwear
Mounting block.
A NOTE about clothing. Depending on the type of program you’re running, this could be the time for casual clothing. Shorts work for bareback riding, although some people object to the little hairs that attach themselves to sweaty legs. My point is that this is not the time for for students to wear their good breeches or they may not be able to wash out that ring of dirt that develops during bareback riding.
Let’s Do It
Mounting
Mounting is always the first big challenge. And this is where prep work with exercises in previous lesson will pay off, especially one where students lay across the horse on their stomach. Kids usually have no difficulty with bareback mounting while adults always have reservations. It helps to have a spotter for mounting.
It’s like beginning all over again
For first timers, riding bareback is like beginning all over again. They feel less secure because they don’t have stirrups to help with side to side stability. And there is a softness to the horse’s back and movement in the skin that is quite different from sitting on a hard saddle.
Begin slowly.
Let your students get the feel of walking around the arena. Explain how to sit, that the torso is still supporting itself with a slight bit of tension in core muscles but that the legs may hang down with toes dropped in a relaxed manner. Have students also do a little bit of the riding work with heals down for variation and for muscle toning.
Practice halts and starting, just like in a beginner lesson and then add turn. Use your imagination and make the bareback lesson fun with games and challenges. Have riders do all of the basic exercises you would normally use in a lesson such as, toe touches, ankle circle, laying forward, laying back etc. They may even find some exercises easier without the saddle. Before too many lessons your class will be trotting and cantering, even jumping small fences.
Developing balance is one of the big benefits to riding bareback, as is learning to feel the muscles in the horse’s back at work. There are benefits for seat development too. With all of the helps of saddle and stirrups stripped away the rider will feel a more natural spot on the horse. This will automatically help to stretch tight hips and even up crooked seats. The instructor should watch the rider from front and behind to be sure the rider is sitting straight on the horse.
Since riding bareback cause a lot more stretching and involuntary muscle contractions, your adult riders might have a few sore muscles after bare back lessons.
Bareback riding shouldn’t be a one time experience. Incorporate it into your riding program as a unit or choose to have your students ride bare back once a month. The more they ride bare back the more they’ll begin to feel connected to the horse as oppose to just sitting on the horse. And the more they’ll begin to learn and feel through their seats.
This blog post is an excerpt from “Basic and Building Blocks- Curriculum for Equestrians” copyright 2010
If you want to be certain not to miss more good articles from The Riding Instructor, be sure to sign up for updates by filling out the simple red form on this page. And if you’re interested in horsemanship history, please visit my other blog “U.S. Horsemanship” at http://ushorsemanship.com/
Thanks for reading “The Riding Instructor”
Popularity: 100% [?]
Riding bareback is also a great opportunity to teach students how to feel their horses’ footfalls. I have my students look up and tell me, for example, when their horse’s front right hoof is striking the ground. It’s great practice for nailing diagonals and canter leads later on.
One caveat I would mention would be to avoid long stretches of bareback lessons in a row. Riding bareback stretches out the leg (necessarily, of course), which can lead to problems when the student goes back to saddle and stirrups.
Great article, and seriously, the cutest video I’ve ever seen.
Hi Laura,
I agree. Bareback riding allows the rider to feel more through their seats than with a saddle. Footfalls are right up there with how the back muscles work .
Riding bareback also has benefits for older riders, although they will probably be more unsure than their teen aged counterparts. As we age our natural sense of balance tends to diminish. Older folk usually have to work on their balance a little more in order to keep sharp. Bareback riding can help in that area. Also, adding a couple of strides of “eyes closed” will usually indicate whether the person has come to depend on sight for balances, as well.
Hips naturally tighten and lose their elasticity as we age. Bareback riding helps to stretch the hips out a little at a time. But you’re right. Just like riding without stirrups for long periods of time can make the rider feel strange when they retake their stirrups, riding bare back for long periods can stretch and change the leg. If riders need to have extended periods of bareback riding, the stretch can be counteracted by keeping their leg at the length they would have for jumping. Then add posting and riding in 2 point with work over trot poles leading up to cross bars as the rider becomes able.
Another thing leg thing to watch out during bareback riding is the outward rotation of the knee which stretches the wrong muscles and defeats some of the bareback benefit.
Thanks for your good comments. You make well thought out points. I’m always happy to hear from you.
So just to be clear: when riding bareback, you should have the same contact along the inner leg as you do in the saddle, right? The rider’s legs shouldn’t flop about but be held against the horse with supple tension, so that knee doesn’t rotate outward? This seems more secure to me, but I was discussing this with someone else lately who thought this was incorrect.
Also, I’ve read elsewhere when you’re riding bareback, you should ride “more on your back pockets” than normal. Wouldn’t this work against your in-saddle work as well as change your upper body?
Thanks!
Hi Julie,
This would depend on your goal – with the caveat being that the rider always wants to pull that slab of fat (excuse me-muscle!) in the thigh back so the knee would naturally turn in. The “knee in” begins from the hip, which is a very good reason to keep those hips supple with floor work right from the beginning.
Just as there is a difference in leg contact/tension between balanced seat and dressage seat, there is the same difference when riding bareback according to your goal. If your single purpose is to develop a deeper seat and feel the movement of the back etc, then I’d suggest a loose long leg with relaxed ankles, no effort to keep heels down. And as Laura pointed out in her comment, too much of this could cause too much stretching. If on the other hand you will be working on balance and strength, I would encourage a correct leg position with a bend in the knee and heels down. This is the best way to post, jump, two point etc. And if you want to cover the whole spectrum, include some of each, explaining to students the purpose of each.
Fun shows frequently have Bareback Equitation classes which range from a single rider to double riders. Correct leg, hand and seat positions are mandatory for these classes. (So is proper turnout). This is different than ride a buck class in which the whole purpose is to hang on to the money, so any seat/leg combination will suffice. My favorite bareback class is tandem bareback. 2 riders on one horse each doing their best to demonstrate great equitation. Half way through the class they change places without dismounting!
Riding on the pockets is never a correct seat in the world of balanced seat riding, with or without the saddle. Sometimes you’ll run into folk like Robert Dover who teach it in dressage.
As usual you ask great questions. Thanks!