Like many equestrians, you probably have fond memories of riding bareback at summer camp as a kid. But even as adults, going bareback can offer a number of benefits including helping you develop a more independent seat, improving your balance and refining your aids.

Dressage trainer and USEF “S” judge Melonie Kessler answers a reader question about the advantages of going sans saddle every once in awhile, and then we look at eight bareback exercises that your can incorporate into your riding. Plus, going bareback is tons of fun and a great way to change up your regular training routine.

How Bareback Can Improve Your Riding

Q: I watch kids at the barn ride their horses bareback, and they seem to have such secure seats. It makes me wonder if I should start incorporating some bareback rides here and there.

— Becky E., Vermont 

A: Bareback riding has many benefits for both horse and rider. Getting back to basics by developing your balance through effectively following the mechanics of your horse’s gait is invaluable to the discipline of dressage. The blending of two beings into one in order to perform smooth, harmonious exercises is only achieved when the rider has complete control of her own balanced body.

As in other sports, riders must rely on strong muscles and supple joints in order to support their balance, but with horseback riding, one must be constantly aware of the movement of the horse through the most elastic, supple seat and steady, supportive leg aids. This is what is referred to as “feel.”

Developing your feel through riding without a saddle is the easiest way to learn to comprehend the natural movement of each gait. The horse moves differently in the trot than in the walk and canter. Bareback riding can help you learn to catch the beat of the trot (a two-beat gait), which, for many riders initially, is their biggest challenge. If you are able to catch the beat of the trot, you have learned to use the right amount of isometric muscle tension.

An additional way to practice suppling your seat and coordinating your timing is to straddle a large yoga ball and bounce gently to emulate the motion of your horse in a steady, rhythmic trot. Work to keep the ball in motion with the rotation of your hips as you practice “sitting” the trot.

More Bareback Benefits

After successfully being able to sit the trot without bouncing, you can learn to influence your horse’s gait by understanding the principles of a closed seat and thighs to slow or stop your horse, and then to drive the horse forward by opening your hip angle and pushing him with your seat and back muscles. As in bareback riding, there is no saddle to buffer the aids, and you will learn to use smaller aids to achieve a greater response. Remember, this can be a difficult lesson to learn as your horse is a very sensitive creature and your legs without the additional layer of the saddle between your horse and your body might frighten the horse and create a nervous, tight back, resulting in negative tension and bad behavior.

When you are ready to work on the canter, remember it’s based on the same mechanics as the walk. This means that you swing your seat from back to front, and the bigger the swing, the bigger the stride. Bareback riding will open your hip angles and allow you to feel as if you are sitting “in” the horse as opposed to on top of him.

Bareback riding can be a lot of fun and it is a great workout for the hips and lower back. As you learn how to turn, start and stop your horse from your seat, the pieces of the puzzle will start to fall together soon and you will learn why the seat is the number-one aid.

I highly recommend that anyone interested in beginning to learn to ride bareback start on a school horse with experience in this style. If your own horse has not been ridden bareback before, you will want to have a helper steady him until he is comfortable with the feel of your legs and seat. After he accepts your weight without the saddle, he can be taught to understand your muscles’ meaning as they contract and relax, and his response time will become quicker.

Lessons from a qualified instructor with experience is also important as the safety of you and your horse is always most important. As with all sports, it looks easier than it is, so take it slowly and steadily, and enjoy the bonding you will have with your partner as you embark on developing and refining your aids.

Melonie Kessler is a USEF “S” dressage judge and a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist. She is a graduate of Pleasant Hollow Farms Horse Career School in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. A successful competitor and trainer through Grand Prix level, she trains out of Spirit Equestrian in Somis, California.

For Safety & Success Going Bareback

• Helmet: Always wear a certified helmet to reduce your chances of head injury.
• Enclosed area: It’s always safest to ride in an enclosed space while bareback. You might feel more comfortable starting in a round pen and then progressing to an enclosed arena.
• Suitable mount: If your horse tends to be hot-tempered, spooks easily or he’s otherwise unsuitable to ride bareback borrow a more suitable mount.
• Bareback pad: If your horse has pronounced withers, an uncomfortable back or you’d prefer a little added grip for security, start in a bareback pad.
• Start sans stirrups: In preparation for going bareback, practice riding at the walk, trot and canter without stirrups. You might have underestimated how dependent you are on your stirrups for balance.
• Grab mane: Get in the habit early on of grabbing your horse’s mane for balance or consider a neck strap. This will help keep you anchored until you develop a more secure seat.

Bareback Exercises to Get You Started

Bareback demands superb balance from both you and your horse. Your weight and any small shifts in your weight will feel different to him without the barrier of your saddle. When riding bareback, make sure to sit upright and directly in the center of your horse’s back. Maintain a slight bend in your knees and allow your legs to lengthen and drape naturally around your horse, making sure not to pinch with your knees.

The below exercises start off super easy and then get progressively more challenging, and for many, you can increase or decrease the level of difficulty depending on your balance, skill level and progress.

1. Toe-Touches

At a standstill, hold both your reins in your left hand; extend your right arm above your head, reach over your horse’s withers and touch the toe of your left boot. Hold the stretch for several seconds. (If you can’t touch your toes, go as far as you can until your balance and flexibility improve.) Now, reach up with your right arm again and stretch down to touch your right toe. Repeat with your left arm.

• Benefits: You’ll learn how to balance in the center your horse’s back while shifting your weight from side to side.
• Up the challenge: Practice at a walk.

2. Walk

Simply practice walking in straight lines to get a feel for your balance while your horse is in motion. Continue walking straight until you gain confidence.

• Benefits: You’ll learn how to balance and get in rhythm with your horse while he’s moving and you’ll start to understand how your movement affects his balance.
• Up the challenge: At the walk, incorporate wide turns, circles and half-circles to feel how your balance changes as your horse turns.

3. Airplane

At a standstill, extend both arms directly out from your sides and slowly twist your upper body from side to side. Now, place your reins in one hand and extend your free arm forward toward your horse’s ears; then, stretch the same arm back toward the top of his tail. Repeat with your other arm.

• Benefits: Twisting at the waist will help you balance while your upper body moves; the stretches will help you balance as your weight shifts forward and backward—and both will help stretch and relax your lower back, which will allow you more freely move with your horse.
• Up the challenge: Practice at a walk.

4. Paddle & Scissors

Tracking to the left, hold both reins in your inside hand and extend your right arm directly out from your side. Each time your horse’s outside (right) front leg comes forward, bring your arm up above your head. Reverse and practice to the right. Next, instead of extending your arm up when your horse’s outside leg steps forward, bring it directly across your body in front of your chest so the motion is back and forth instead of up and down.

Benefits: The arm movements while in motion will further test your balance.

5. Ground Pole Square

Use four ground poles to build a large square in the center of your arena, leaving around 6 feet between each pole. Walk a large circle around the entire square in both directions; then, practice smaller circles inside the square. Next, circle each pole. You can circle in the same direction at first; then, circle right around one pole, left around the next and so on.

• Benefits: You’ll learn to balance while guiding your horse around circles of varying sizes, and the specific tasks will help you and your horse stay focused while riding in a larger area.
• Up the challenge: Once you get comfortable at the trot bareback, you can also practice this exercise at the faster gait.

6. Trot

Once you’re confident at the walk and are ready for a new challenge, add some speed. To get a feel for the quicker pace, start by trotting a short, straight line, from point A to B (use cones or elements of your arena to mark points). As you feel more secure, trot from point A to C, and so on until you’re comfortable at the faster gait for longer periods of time.

• Benefits: You might feel a little unstable at first, but learning how to remain centered at the faster, bouncier gait will help solidify your bareback seat, preparing you for more challenging work.
• Up the challenge: Practice collecting and extending your trot and try posting to really give you inner thigh muscles a workout. Then, practice trotting wide turns and circles to get a feel for the faster gait as your horse turns.

7. Ground Pole Chute

Place two poles parallel to each other about 6 or 7 feet apart and walk through the middle of the “chute” using your legs to keep your horse straight. After several passes, have a helper gradually move the poles closer together so that each time you have to navigate a narrower space.

• Benefits: This will show whether you’re sitting in the true center of your horse’s back. He’s going to have a difficult time remaining straight if you’re leaning to one side or the other. If you lean left, for example, it will be easier for him to “escape” your weight by moving to the right; as a result, he might hit or step over the pole to your right.
• Up the challenge: You can also do this exercise at a trot or canter.

8. Serpentine

A basic serpentine, this pattern involves walking a series of connected S’s back and forth across the width of your arena. Pick up a walk along the fence line at either end of the arena; if you’re tracking to the right, slightly bend your horse to the right as you approach the end of the arena and then execute a smooth half turn so you’re now walking in the opposite direction. Straighten your horse back up; this time, as you approach fence, bend your horse to the left in preparation for a half turn to the left. Continue until you reach the end of the arena.

• Benefits: Even though it’s crucial that you remain centered on your horse while bareback, this exercise will teach you how to sit slightly to the outside of his back in order fluidly stay with his motion as you execute smooth, balanced turns. It will also sharpen your rein and leg aids, because it forces you to focus on setting your horse up for a new turning point with each loop of the serpentine.
• Up the challenge: Once you master this at the walk—and well after you’re confident trotting bareback—you can do this exercise at the faster gait. At the trot, make your turns wider at first and then challenge yourself by making them tighter

Over time, as you gain confidence and solidify your bareback position and balance, you can progress to canter work and even going over poles or small jumps. However, if you’re still new to going sans saddle, it’s always best to ride bareback under the supervision or your trainer or another professional. Above all, have fun!

For More:

• To check out several bareback riding demonstrations and training exercises, watch this video series on EQUESTRIAN+.
• Learn more about the biomechanics of riding bareback here.