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I started my daughter bareback on her pony when she was
three. For months she rode in the round pen with a halter/leadrope and
bareback. she fell off a few times, but kept getting back on and was
doing great. then, one of my friends though she needed a saddle and
talked me into buying one. that was a mistake. Now, three years later, I
have a hard time getting her to ride bareback. I try to make her once a
week, but then she wants me to do it too, which I won't do.  She
looks terrible. She won't keep a long leg in the trot and she's never
tried to canter bareback. I hate the way she flops her hands and that's
when i make her ride without a saddle, it keeps her honest.

At 08:50 AM 4/8/04 -0700, you wrote:
> When my son got his first horse, he
> was not allowed to
> use a saddle until he could trot and canter his horse
> bareback.  Not only did he quickly learn to canter his
> horse this way, but did the "watch this, Mom!" as he
> jumped his horse over a fallen tree.  Now, when his
> current horse spooks, he doesn't even reach for the
> horn (he rides western, obviously), just goes with
> her. I believe learning bareback riding is one of the
> most useful tools a rider can have.

Alice Yovich,
NATRC Reg. 4, Texas
www.equi-threads.com