how to train a horse to be ridden bareback without any equipment just voice commands.?

Question

hey,
this is probably not done very often, but i would really like to know how to train a horse to learn how to be ridden without any tak at all of any sort. and your probably thinking "well thenhoe are you meant to support yourself from falling off the horse?" i should think by holding the mane. and maybe i could teach my horse voice commands like "whoa" for stop and other signals for the other gaits. and by making him go left and right, as they do anyways when riding with the saddle and bridle, using your legs for going left or right. i have ridden bareback a number of times without the saddle, but i hyave never ridden without the bridle, and my horse is very calm and he really likes to learn new things. he is a thoroughbred ex racer, 16,3 hh, bay. really loving. and i would really like to have some tips from you guys to help me train him, with just voice commands and leg signals. sounds crazy, but i would really appreciate any tips and advice that you can give to
me!
thnx a lot!

Answer 1

Hello,
Here's the deal. I have been riding since I was little, and have always been unable to afford a horse trainer, and I trained all my horses from books, or just by thinking about it for a little while. I am currently doing with my mare what you want to do with your horse. I've started with just riding bareback, with a bridle. Everytime I ask her to, say, stop, I say "Whoa," and drop my weight down, and if she doesn't respond, I pull back slightly to give her the signal to stop, and keep saying 'whoa,' until she stops. Eventually, they get the point, and now all I have to do to ask her to stop is say whoa and drop my weight, and she stops. Eventually, I want to get her to stop without having to say whoa everytime. Keep in mind, this takes a LOT of patience and time. Until you don't have to use those reigns at all when you're riding, keep them on.
When training to turn and such, the same thing applies. Ask to turn left with a weight shift and some leg, if at first she doesn't respond, use the reigns. With a lot of time and patience, they'll get it. The more you ride barback, the more comfortable you will be witout a saddle. I ride bareback so much, I don't need to hold the mane or anything, at a walk, trot, or lope. It will just come naturally. Also, I like to read Parelli and Rashid to get ideas on making horses respond to light cues, such as weight shifting.
Good luck, and have fun with it, and like I said, I have never used a trainer because I am not blessed with that much extra money, so I figure if I could spend hours in an arena with a book in one hand and my horse under me, then I suppose anybody could.

Answer 2

I would start out riding bareback with just a bridle. Use your legs or seat for all commands. Only use your hands when you need, and then just the slightest amount. Might take time, but I can't think of any other way. The whoa command would be the most important, then just sit heavy in the seat till he stops, then lots of praise when he does well. Always end on a good note.

Answer 3

lunge him using the voice commands. The basics like walk, trot, canter, halt, etc. Try using them with the bridle first. if you can train him to understand using your legs for left right signals then I think it would be pretty simple after that. Like I said also try that is the bridle and see if he catches on to it. If he does then you should probably try it in an arena first, not in an open field so that he cannot take of very far with you. I have never thought of anything like that, but it sounds interesting. I would love to know if it is working or not. I only ride bareback, it would be a different thing to teach my horse, but she is pretty high strung so it might not be such a good idea. Good luck. [e-mail] Email me if you accomplish anything and let me know how it is going. Hope it works!

Answer 4

Ride bareback often and teach your horse to work off your seat and legs.
Get a neck rope and try riding in the arena with it instead of a bridle.
Work on that until you get it down and then move to no bridle or neck rope.
It can be done. I have seen a pony horse at the track that they ride in neck rope only with no bridle. They do not hold the neck rope unless they have a porblem it just hangs there. Most times it is a flowered string thing to match the horses tail flower.

Answer 5

I would start by riding bareback (in a small round pen if possible) untill I could stay on at all gaits without holding the mane or anything-then start dropping the reins on the horses neck unless needed to reinforce commands. Use your weight to guide him, teach him to move away from pressure, even when you are leading him from the ground. Lean forward slightly to increase speed and back slightly for stops. use voice, legs and weight to guide him. When he responds to all commands, start leaving the bridle off. This isn't going to happen in a day, so be patient and repeat, repeat, repeat,....(did I mention do this over and over???) This is a great challenge you have set for yourself,.. but it can be done. Enjoy, and keep a leg on each side and your heart in the middle.

Answer 6

The bareback pad doesn't really have much of a purpose. It's basically there for if you have a horse with shark withers (or is just a very uncomfortable back in general) to give you some padding. And to keep your pants a little cleaner. I've never been much of a fan of bareback pads. Most of them are poorly made and have a tendency to slip around. I'll take a bit of sweat and hair on my legs.

Answer 7

I think it is a good idea to get some guidence from a trainer as well. Doing something like this (as I have myself with my 6 year old gelding) can take a lot of committment, dedication, consistancy and patience.

A horse who has been riden prior, knows the voice commands and basic leg commands is a good start. It is always a good idea to have at least a halter on while riding.

It is very dangerous to a non expert/trainer who hasn't been doing it for many years.

As far as holding on, realiticly suppose to not hold on if have proper balance. Suppose to be able to hold both arms out and be able to stay on. If have to hold onto the mane, then not ready yet since don't have proper balance.

Need to start from square one and not move up the levels until properly mastered each level. Start from basic walk with using leg commands of turning left, ride, forward, backward, voice commands of walk, jog, lope, left, right, back, forward. Proper arena, small enough to not have a lot of space to run off into and big enough to move around in.

I do recommend to get a trainer. Never a good idea to try to do something on your own like this with out guidance of some sort.

Answer 8

Owwwww I hate riding bareback - but each to their own I guess!! Ok Id start off by lunging him first - get him used to the commands from there -after he gets the hang of what each command means, Id get up on him and have someone lead him around, then whilst using the same commands as on the lunge get him to adhere to you whilst having a friend hold him on a headcollar. Eventually when you're comfortable with his reactions to your voice and leg, try riding him in a small enclosed area and for gods sake BE CAREFUL!!!! people take bad enough falls from fully tacked up horses - you're taking an awful risk riding him au naturel!!!!

Answer 9

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Answer 10

It is bad for your horses back to ride bareback.. however seat and legs cues can build a brideless horse.