Post by msdani1981 on Sept 6, 2014 1:42:46 GMT -5
I'm SO ecstatic!!! I figured out a safer way for me to ride "bareback"!
I have two steel rods in my back to correct Scoliosis, so there's a greater risk of me getting badly hurt if I fall off...so obviously, I can't risk riding bareback in the traditional sense. That being said, there's nothing like riding without a saddle to improve your position and balance.
Last night I couldn't sleep, so I was lying awake thinking about this "problem" and possible solutions. I remembered that when I volunteered at a therapeutic riding center a long time ago, another volunteer and I got to test a new horse...we had to try to make him spook, so the instructor would know what his limits were. He never did spook at anything we did to him, that horse was amazing. LOL Anyway, we were riding him bareback, with a simple vaulting surcingle.
Like this:
I realized that I have a longeing surcingle, and that I could easily improvise a "vaulting surcingle" by using rope or something to make hand holds. Here is a longeing surcingle and easy adjust side reins, which I ultimately ended up using:
I clipped the middle snap on the side rein to the middle ring on the surcingle, and looped each end snap on the side rein through the rings on either side of the surcingle, then ran them back up and snugged them up tight to create secure handholds on both sides of Cami's shoulders. It's kind of hard to imagine, and I don't have a picture....but it worked!!
I rode Cami "bareback", and my friend first led her around and then put me on the longe line so she could stand in the middle and watch us. It was AWESOME!!!
This is almost exactly what my setup looked like (I threaded the strap through the rings on the surcingle, though...and I was on the horse LOL):
I have two steel rods in my back to correct Scoliosis, so there's a greater risk of me getting badly hurt if I fall off...so obviously, I can't risk riding bareback in the traditional sense. That being said, there's nothing like riding without a saddle to improve your position and balance.
Last night I couldn't sleep, so I was lying awake thinking about this "problem" and possible solutions. I remembered that when I volunteered at a therapeutic riding center a long time ago, another volunteer and I got to test a new horse...we had to try to make him spook, so the instructor would know what his limits were. He never did spook at anything we did to him, that horse was amazing. LOL Anyway, we were riding him bareback, with a simple vaulting surcingle.
Like this:
I realized that I have a longeing surcingle, and that I could easily improvise a "vaulting surcingle" by using rope or something to make hand holds. Here is a longeing surcingle and easy adjust side reins, which I ultimately ended up using:
I clipped the middle snap on the side rein to the middle ring on the surcingle, and looped each end snap on the side rein through the rings on either side of the surcingle, then ran them back up and snugged them up tight to create secure handholds on both sides of Cami's shoulders. It's kind of hard to imagine, and I don't have a picture....but it worked!!
I rode Cami "bareback", and my friend first led her around and then put me on the longe line so she could stand in the middle and watch us. It was AWESOME!!!
This is almost exactly what my setup looked like (I threaded the strap through the rings on the surcingle, though...and I was on the horse LOL):
" LOL So, I had her palpated (the vet came and sedated her, then put her arm up Cami's rear to feel inside). Hooray for no baby!!! 
