Does bareback riding harm horses?
Bareback riding can hurt the horse just as much as riding with a saddle can. If you are strong enough to keep from slamming down on your horse’s back, then you are doing much less harm than a person with a saddle does who bounces around. Be especially careful galloping bareback – it can be very painful if you’re sitting on his/her back. I would look for signs of pain when riding for a real answer. Any damage done to your pony, he would feel. If he gets tight or tense all of a sudden, pins his ears, throws his head up, kicks out, etc, He probably hurts. From there, you could do stretches or exercises to eliminate the chance of muscle pain. But for the most part, I’ve never heard of a horse suffering issues because they were ridden bareback too much. In fact, there is a trainer in my area who rides her horses to grand prix dressage and works mostly without a saddle, using it only for competitions. She keeps her retired horses in light work, she still has a twenty-four year old gelding wh
