I rode bareback last night
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luckypony71
Posts: 399 Member
So I mentioned my fear in another post about goals. I was so happy to see I am not alone. As I age I have the desire to go galloping through the park or try some small jumps. Then my fear kicks in and says "Do you really want to get on today? What if we get bucked off?"
Most days I don't let my fear win. I climb on anyway. I will not ask for much of my horse though (fear is still there) We go for little strolls around the property. Once in a while I will ask for a trot. (So maybe fear wins a little bit)
Last night I had about 10 minutes of daylight left. Grabbed my quiet old mare and asked her to behave. I slipped on her bridle, got my step ladder and climbed up.
We stood still for a minute. Until I felt like everything was going to be okay. Then I asked her for a walk. We walked around until the sun went down. I slid off and took her back to the barn for a nice grooming and some cookies.
Having to take the time to lunge and saddle is what keeps me off the horse most days this time of year. Now that I know I can hop on bareback and not fall off, I hope that I will climb on a little more often this winter. It felt so good to squeeze those few minutes in.
Just had to share.
Most days I don't let my fear win. I climb on anyway. I will not ask for much of my horse though (fear is still there) We go for little strolls around the property. Once in a while I will ask for a trot. (So maybe fear wins a little bit)
Last night I had about 10 minutes of daylight left. Grabbed my quiet old mare and asked her to behave. I slipped on her bridle, got my step ladder and climbed up.
We stood still for a minute. Until I felt like everything was going to be okay. Then I asked her for a walk. We walked around until the sun went down. I slid off and took her back to the barn for a nice grooming and some cookies.
Having to take the time to lunge and saddle is what keeps me off the horse most days this time of year. Now that I know I can hop on bareback and not fall off, I hope that I will climb on a little more often this winter. It felt so good to squeeze those few minutes in.
Just had to share.
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Replies
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@luckypony71 Fantastic step!!! with each little achievement your comfort bubble shifts into the uncomfortable until your new comfort bubble encompasses that small portion of your uncomfortable.......and then you shift again, always taking small steps into the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable...... always repeating itself! This has helped me so many times!
Have fun and trust yourself! And always wear your helmet!
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awesome job!! Mine is more the time to go out to my horses field and get him ready...I hate the cold. But today I am thinking I am going to grab him and ride bareback in my pad and work on supplying and working on his trot. I would canter, but he is so horrible on his forehand. He would eject me off lol that is another work out under saddle. He is getting better, but not by much 2
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Baby steps forward and before you know it you've gone a mile. You can do it @luckpony711
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that's awesome @luckypony71 Bareback is my favorite when it's cold, although my bareback involves a thick saddle pad, a gel pad and a bareback pad...OTTB's have withers! lol
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Oh, and here's a quote I tell myself when I'm nervous. It might be one particular jump, or I may tell myself I can handle 20 seconds repeatedly over an entire ride
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@crimsongrey I really like that quote. I have a bareback pad, but it never stays on quite right. I figure if I slip off it will be because I slipped, not the pad. Lucky that my mare has a really wide barrel so staying on is easy and comfortable.
Thank you everyone for the encouragement. This mare was sent to me by my niece. She wanted her Auntie to have a nice quiet horse that would take care of her.2 -
I love riding bareback! I do most of my riding bareback. Mostly it's just because I'm too lazy to saddle up and haul my heavy western saddle everywhere. But also because most of the time I go riding without planning it. I go to feed my horses and suddenly feel like popping on and just go for a nice ride. I always have a halter with me, but I don't always have my riding gear. So I just put on a halter on one of the horses and off I go. My two riding horses are super well behaved and they can easily go for months without any riding and then I can out a halter on and they will behave as if I ride them every day!3
