I have started working full time again in another field aside from horses. I earned a Masters Degree in Computer Information Science and now am working in various IT orgnizational structures to gain valuable experience in IT management so I can someday offer my own consulting services from my own home based IT consulting firm. Hopefully the time missed with my horses in this endeavor will be worth the sacrifice.
What sacrifice? My time is diminished considerably for riding at this time so I must find ways to ride despite my packed schedule. I still must ride for my own well being. But time is so limited. I had to find a way to ride without it taking the usual two hours per ride due to tacking up, riding, taking off tack and cleaning up tack. So how does one do this?
Leave off the tack. All of it! I ride twice a week, my days off with all tack and twice a week with no tack. Basically I ride Baby, my most well trained and favorite horse with his halter and some soft reins that I made which are simply two lead ropes that I made out of lots of braided yarn and two single snaps that snap to the halter on each side. I get on his back for about twenty minutes or perhaps to lead a lesson with my students twice a week. It takes no time at all to pick his hooves and brush him and get on him this way. So a busy schedule does not have to hamper our riding time.
I have found that I can carry on with anything we do with full tack, almost better than I do with tack. He is more comfortable and I am balanced enough to ride him over low jumps and in canter piroettes as well. It took a little practice to get to this point of comfort, but he loved it from the beginning.
It is true, if you have heard, that riding bareback does improve the seat. I would add that it also improves a horse’s ‘throughness’ and ability to collect. I felt so good about it that last week, Baby and I demonstrated barrel racing in the three point pattern complete with flying lead changes and we did a pretty good time to boot. I actually prefer riding bareback now and wish that Dressage shows could be held with or without tack. It would be wonderful to see a horse and rider do Grand Prix with no tack. I know it can be done.
