It wasn't until I was in my late-twenties that I became interested in horses and western riding. After several rides at two riding stables while visiting in Michigan, I was hooked. While it may have been wise to seek out professional training of some sort, I mostly learned by trial and error and with some additional informal coaching by the patient owners of a local riding / boarding stable just outside of my home town in Ohio.
They sort of kept an eye on me as my confidence level and balance progressed, and allowed me to ride horses of increasing spirit and agility as time went on. There were two of the better horses there which I preferred. One was a large paint horse gelding named Comanche and the other was a black quarter horse mare named Susie. Susie liked to buck occasionally when you prompted her to run, but she was very responsive to neck reining and leg pressure, and had a nice fluid gait.
Comanche was a good energetic mount, but a little hard to stop sometimes, and did not give to the bit and leg pressure nearly as well Susie.
The riding stable was open seven days a week during the summer months, but operated mostly on weekends the rest of the year. It's a good thing that they began to tolerate my showing up to ride on so many of those off-season days. But that's when I figured that my two favorite horses would be available. But since those good folks also appreciated my help when it was time to cut and bale hay that previous summer, they decided to put up with my frequent mid-week arrivals, I guess. So, in the off season, I pretty much had my favorite horses all to myself on those week days, and on many winter days they were mine even on the weekends, weather permitting. We would grab the appropriate bridle and saddle from the tack room, and I'd saddle-up and ride. By the time spring rolled around again, the folks at the stable started to drop little hints that maybe I was ready to own my own horse, and I readily agreed.
As it turned out, one of the former boarders from the stable had a horse for sale, so I headed down to her mini-ranch to check it out. She had named him Dale for some reason. He was a bay-colored gelding with a black mane and tail. I could see that he was well cared for and in good health. After a relaxed ride around the pasture where we went through the usual walk, trot and canter with some short turns and and S-turns, I was pleased with the smoothness of his gait, his response to the reins and leg pressure, and the way he carried his head.
I didn't bother to dicker on the price, and made arrangements to haul Dale back to the boarding stable where we had a stall waiting for him. The woman wanted to keep her saddle, but preferred that I use the bit & bridle that Dale was accustomed to, and threw them in with the sale.
I still needed a saddle, but I soon found an old, but well-preserved, hand-made M.L. Leddy saddle with quarter horse bars. And as my horse was a Quarter horse-Morgan mix, it fit him perfectly. Needless to say, Dale and I put in many hours getting to know each other, and while showing no signs of meanness, Dale had his unique 'moods' sometimes. His occasional bucking was easy to ride through, and he seemed satisfied that he let me know that he was still young and feeling good, I guess. And I was satisfied that he was not able to dislodge me from my saddle. We soon got our collective acts together, and after some long trail rides in one of our state parks, I became even more confident in Dale's sure stride and balance on those extensive rugged trails. Being part Morgan likely gave him that sure-footed ability and maybe the Morgan and Quarter horse bloodlines combined gave him plenty of endurance.
Then it was time to join the bareback world that many of the other horse owners at the stable were enjoying. So, after a few practice vaults up on his back with someone holding the lead rope, I was ready to ride. And here's where I want to inject a few thoughts and precautions to new riders and maybe for some experienced riders also... whether you ride western or English style, if you ride often, you need to take heed to that old adage that says: “It's not a matter of [IF] you are going to fall, it's a matter of [WHEN] and [HOW OFTEN].
I would also advise something a little different here. My suggestion would be for you to get involved in Judo or any of the martial arts that teach you how to break a fall. I'm convinced that this was one of the things that helped me avoid serious injury during my attempts at horsemanship. It was either that, or my reflexes were so slow that I did not have time to tense up before I hit the turf.
After riding Dale bareback for many hours, I acquired a much better balance and a feel for what was going on with that horse under me. We rode the trails in the fields and woods there at the stable for a many weeks, or maybe several months, without me falling off. We even cleared a few low-level jumps over some small logs I had stacked up without incident. And when Dale tried his bucking act, he still failed to dump me. But one day... while we were running along a fence line at a pretty good clip, and a pheasant flew out of the brush in front of us, (and you guessed it) Dale suddenly reversed direction while I continued going through the air in the previous direction. I hit the ground with a thud and a few rolls, but with no injuries. But now, Dale knew how to get me off his back, and used this little move on purpose several times. And there were other times I came off while riding bareback, like when there was a collision with another horse, or similar odd incidents that happened for one reason or another.
But that extra time spent riding bareback improved my balance and confidence in the saddle for sure. And with the proper precautions, I'd recommend it to everyone. If you are a beginning rider, you should be able to find a riding instructor who would coach you on the correct way to safely accomplish this challenging, but rewarding method of riding. For even some of you old-timers who may have thought about riding bareback but never quite got around to it, there should be an experienced bareback rider that you know and trust who could help you get started.
And when you think about it, in some ways, bareback riding is safer than using a saddle. If you do fall from your bareback mount, at least there's no danger of getting hung up in a stirrup and being dragged across the arena or over a dangerous rocky trail where the terrain and the horse's hooves could really spoil your day.
Just a thought.
Happy Trails,
Gary Miller
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