bareback pad with safe, usable stirrups

Yes I do. But I'm sure not as much as some people on this forum. I've never owned one myself, but I worked on my grandmothers ranch riding for a year working with the cattle, I've worked with friends breaking their horses and taking care of them while they were unable to....

I may not be as experienced as a lot of people here, but I've never had an accident, and I've been able to handle and ride horses that others couldn't get near.

I seem to have a way with horses that has surprised some very experienced friends.... They said I've gotten their horses to do things that they never imagined possible...

As I also stated though... I don't like to ride with a saddle or pad. I have problems with my tailbone, and a saddle makes it worse, and I don't like blankets or pads because it makes it a lot harder to stick to the horse and control it.

My Niece has been riding for therapy for a birth defect, and has been using a pad similar to what I posted... I'm sure if that type of pad wasn't safe, a place that works with disabled kids wouldn't even think of using them..

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Never let your fear decide your fate!
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I know pads without a cinch and without non slip surfaces have been around, but all the reviews on that pad for people who bought it say it doesn't slip like other pads do...

I guess I'm going to bow out now since I don't have any experience with that pad... I would however NEVER recommend one of the more common pads that has no strap, and doesn't have a non slip surface.. That's just asking to end up under the horse...

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

Most therapy places have "walkers" on either side of the horse (at least the certified equine therapy facilities that I've been involved with have) plus another handler leading the horse. I've also never seen stirrups used in therapy.

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

I wish I had some pictures of her... I've seen pictures of her riding without any handlers near... The place she had been at does what you describe, plus they also teach showing, barrel and jumping for the more experienced and lesser disabled older kids... It's not your typical pony petting zoo...

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

Sounds like you've been reading a lot of horse books like Black Beauty.

Yeah sure... Never read it... Believe what you like...

Many people have been amazed at how I get along with animals.. I've had too many friends call me Ellie May because I can manage to get near and even handle wild animals and their farm animals others couldn't get near... I've kept a lot of exotic pets over the years... One of the last places I lived was on a hog farm, and the farmer kept cattle there.. He was amazed to see his cattle walk up to me to get scratched... he never could get near them... I've got pictures posted on my Flickr site petting a wild deer, and others standing very near in the background... For some reason animals trust me, and I've been lucky to have that...

For some strange reason they do trust me.. and because of that, I've been able to work with some very skitish horses that others had problems with...

Granted, I may not know a lot about traditional ways, but I do know enough to be able to take care of them, and how to get them to do what I want in my own way...

I had a GF who was out looking for her horse one night in a soup fog.. she couldn't get the horse to follow her or move from it's spot.. I finally eased up onto it's back, and got it started towards the barn. Ended up riding it into the barn and into the stall.. .She about freaked because for one, no one has ever been on it without a saddle, and two, if she ever got it near a tree or post while on it, it would try and scrap the rider off... It never did that with me, and I worked with her and the horse for a few months... She said it ended up being one of the best horses she eve had...

Maybe the reason I can do things with animals others can't is because I respect them, and never give them a reason not to not trust me... A lot of patience can go a long way... I've seen too many people try and force their will onto an animal... I think this is why so many people seem to have problems working with animals... I'm also not one who believes in using food to train an animal... You need to make things fun and a game for them...

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

Good gravy.... I can't see the horses for all the woo. You are a regular horse whisperer.

I really don't owe you any explanation... If you met me, and if you saw animals around me, then maybe you would get it... All I know is many people have said they have never seen animals take to a person like they do to me... I never thought it out of the ordinary, until I've really started to watch how animals react with other people and vice versa.....

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

I have an older one. love it for horses but sadly not for my donkey.

CraterCove thank you for posting the HON I just might try that on my donkey!
I planed on getting center-fire rigging from them anyways and just might just get a Hon at the same time =)

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He who thinks he knows, doesn't. He who knows he doesn't know, knows.~ Joseph Campbell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeMrK...AE7062ADE5A19C

Dang woman! I nearly snorted coffee- a warning please.

Simi-steading- just a friendly reminder, horses are big dumb animals and forgetting that can get you killed.

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

I guess you'll have to take your word for it.
I'm heading out to clean stalls. I intend to foist my will upon the horses by muscling their heads into halters and grazing muzzles and beating them till they walk to the pasture with me. No woo here.

One word of warning: the people who know so little that they don't have a clue what they don't know yet....they are a danger to themselves and the horses.

Yes, they are big, yes they can hurt you and even kill you, but no, they aren't dumb... .I've seen many people call cattle and pigs dumb too, but they aren't... Animals just think differently than we do, and survival is their main train of thought.. I think that's a huge part of why many people have problems with their farm animals and pets.. they don't realize the rational behind their actions and thoughts, and the animal is smarter than they are in ways... One thing I learned on my grandmothers ranch was how smart cattle can actually be.. My Uncle had worked with them all his life, and the one thing he stressed with me was never underestimate a cow or bull's ability to outsmart you...

People don't give animals enough credit...

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

A certified therapy facility is hardly a pony petting zoo, and "they also teach showing, barrel and jumping" is called riding lessons not therapy.

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

And we all know that just because someone is giving lessons does not mean they are actually qualified to do so. I've met more unqualified trainers and instructors than I care to say. ANYONE can hang out a shingle and call themselves an instructor.

True, and to add to that a reputable instructor would never ever use a bareback pad to teach. It's just way too dangerous for an older, even intermediate rider on a been there, done that lesson horse.

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

Call me crazy but working one summer on a grandparents ranch when you were a kid doesn't make you a cattleman. Nor does it give you the experience to think you are a horse whisperer. You need to be careful and not anthropomorphize these animals or you will end up getting hurt.

I've been around cattle and horses off and on most my life... I used to work at the county fairs in the livestock pens. I never turn my back on a farm animal.... I will never trust a farm animal. They are wild no matter how domesticated you think they appear... Just never underestimate how smart they actually are. I've also never been hurt other than scrapes and a couple bruises.. . Both sides of my family have been farmers and I've spent a lot of time on their farms, and I've had a lot of friends with farms I've worked on. I spent several years installing and repairing waterers and pumps in cattle yards...

You seem to know more about me than I know... I don't consider myself a whisperer, and actually hate that term. I just have a way of getting along with animals...

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

From your posts here, I was guessing it was more off than on.
I imagine that several posts from now, your experience will be much vaster than county fairs and a summer at Grandma's. Perhaps you ran the pony rides at the fair?

Dearest Simi, don't confuse the animal seeming smart with you not understanding their behavior. lol

Anyway, as I stated, repeatedly... I've never used bareback pads. I've also never lived someplace so dang gum hot as Florida! I was looking for input from people who had experience, not someone who looked at the same pictures I had looked at and come to some conclusion that they are certain is better than my own uneducated conclusion. But some people feel the need to educate people into understanding their superiority. lol Water off the duck's back!

To Grey Mare, thank you, I may come off as cantankerous at times but well... there's a lot of interpretation over the internet, one doesn't get the same feel one does over the phone or in person.

I have gotten a lot of good input here, even the negative can be good. I appreciate the concerns for safety and genuinely thank you for any concern directed at me personally. I will be careful and I have decided that what I want is not really a bareback pad. Full on bareback seems like the only decent bareback option. What I am looking for is one of those bare minimum saddles to decrease weight and heat I now believe.

Thank you to all contributors, even the ones who appeared to have no value but entertainment.... you know who you are 'cause you're angry I said that!

Lisa, maybe if you got to know a person and knew their background and where and what they've done in their life, then maybe you wouldn't jump to conclusions...

Granted, I'm not a life long farmer, or rancher, or herder or rustler or what ever that makes me any kind of expert, but I've spent a lot of time with a lot of very knowledgeable people working with and around livestock... None of them has ever asked me to leave. They have always asked me to come help because I work hard, and I'm good with animals, and they haven't had to sit and watch over me worrying about me getting hurt or harming their animals intentional or by accident. I'd say that must mean I am good enough for them to trust...

You seem to know what I have and haven't done... I don't remember spending any time with you..

__________________
Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit