Bareback Riding

Joyce Kellenberger (joyce@homer.ca.boeing.com)
Thu, 7 Nov 96 17:38:39 PST

On reading the many posts with regard to saddles (primarily the Sport
Saddle) lately, I have a question to pose to the group: Is bareback
riding bad for the horse? The talk about the weight distribution factor
of a saddle with a tree leads me to ponder this. I only started using
a saddle when I started endurance riding. I believe balance is the
most important factor when positioning yourself on a horse and the
next most important factor would be the necessity of using the inner
thigh to "hold" yourself in a proper weight-distributing position. I
still prefer to ride bareback (so does my horse), but I don't have
anything to tie stuff to! All of this ponderance naturally leads me to
the Sport Saddle. I'm counting on it being as close to bareback as
possible with places to tie stuff. I've always kind of thought that
saddles (especially western saddles) are for people who don't know how
to sit astride a horse.

Joyce
Arlington, WA