I read that some people, horse whisperers, can communicate with their horses by simply acting and thinking like horses. It's interesting to think about, that people can just bond with their horse and gain the horses trust, by behaving like one. I read that some people never use whips or spurs or anything like that on their horses, that can go both ways, bad and good, depending on your horse. There was an article about this guy that just went in a pasture with this wild, untamed horse, and all he did was act like a horse himself, he would follow the horse around (while it would be trying to kick him) and then, somehow it eventually decided it could trust this guy. The guy then saddled this wild horse and rode it without any trouble. I'm not quite sure that is real, it sounds like something that would happen in a movie, not real life. The point is, people have to gain the trust of a horse in order to have a good bond with it, that's what I'm trying to do with Elliott, then he will trust me more and I will trust him more when I ride him bareback.
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I have done more research, and I discovered an article where a veterinarian on horses talks about the benefits and consequences of riding your horse bareback. Some benefits include, gaining better balance, bonding with your horse, creating less pressure points on your horses back from the saddle rubbing, and gaining better muscles in your legs. Some cons to riding your horse bareback include, some horses have high withers (a horses withers are where their necks meet with their shoulders on their backs, it's where the front of the saddle lays) and if you ride a horse bareback that has high withers, it is more painful for the rider and less effective if you are trying to prevent yourself from being hurt, and, I read it can also be dangerous for your anatomy. Also if you have thicker thighs or if you have a wider horse, your legs will get pushed out more and your lower legs will be hanging. You then can't use your legs to cue the horse properly and since our hips joints can't widen beyond a certain point, your pelvis gets rocked back and forth, pulling you from your balance. I have done some research and I found that if you ride your horse bareback to much, or for a long period of time, your horse can get sores on it's back for the weight not being distributed the right way. When I fully train my horse bareback riding, I will not ride him bareback all the time since it can be bad or painful for the horse. Some things you can do while riding bareback to help spread out your weight is to use a bareback pad, they are softer on the horses back and more comfortable for the rider.
I rode Elliott (my horse) bareback for the first time!! He was such a good boy! One of my friends held him for me and then walked him around while I was on him! I was so happy and proud of him! We just walked around for a while and he was so good, I could tell he wasn't that sure what I was doing because he had his ears pricked up and he was holding his head up higher than he normally does when I ride him. I'm not going to trot him bareback yet because his trot is bouncy and I still need to work on my balance more while riding him bareback so when I do try to trot him bareback I can maintain good balance so I won't fall off.
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