The Art of Natural Dressage

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:57 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:03 am
Posts: 760
I have decided that I want to start riding bareback with a bareback pad for short periods of time but have a horse that can occasionally jump sideways when something worries her. Therefore I decided to buy a vaulting surcingle to give me something to hold onto if I should suddenly need it. It should get here in a couple of days. Does anyone here have experience using one? I'm planning to use it with a thick wool western saddle pad. I'm not planning to do lunge work with it, my horse does not do well running in small circles, esp. because she has some arthritis in one hock, I'll just use it for light trail riding.
Any input greatly appreciated. :f:
Birgit


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 4:29 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:10 am
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Location: Pacific Northwest U.S.
Novel -- and creative. I like it.

Keep us posted, and if possible, pictures please.

I think you are starting something with this idea.

Donald

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:33 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:03 am
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Donald,
I have to admit this was actually not my idea, but someone mentioned riding with a vaulting surcingle on another online horse group. It made a lot of sense to me. Since my daughter loves to try all kinds of vaulting like things when riding bareback I thought this would make her games a little safer, too. :yes:
I'll share how we are doing with it in word and pictures. :smile:
Birgit


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:25 am 
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Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:20 am
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Location: Dresden, Germany
Over here that´s very popular in riding schools, especially for beginners. What I really loved about it when I was a child was that you feel super-safe: you can always grab the horns if you are scared. What I did not like was that it does not let you rest your legs comfortably - either they hurt because of the hard edge they are being pressed against or they are pushed backwards and your overall posture gets changed.

That´s why I never bought one for myself but chose a smaller lunging surcingle. The problems are the same, but less, because it´s not as big (and often not as hard). I rode with that surcingle and a western pad most of the time when I was still riding my horses (I never found a saddle that fitted Titum), even on long trailrides. Very comfortable and you really feel close to the horse. Now I have the same good feeling with my barefoot saddle, though - so even if I rode again, I would most likely not use the surcingle anymore.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:18 am 

Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 4:27 pm
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Location: Corneto di Toano, Italy
I have absolutely no experience with it, but am sure interested in your findings!

Keep us posted please!

:love:

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AnneMarie

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You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make'em drink...


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:47 pm 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:03 am
Posts: 760
Romy,
thanks for your input.
Quote:
What I did not like was that it does not let you rest your legs comfortably - either they hurt because of the hard edge they are being pressed against or they are pushed backwards and your overall posture gets changed.

I was wondering about that. Given that I'm typically more tempted to have my legs too far out in front of me that could turn out to be a good thing for a while. Hopefully it will also remind me that my horse's back will get sore much more quickly than with my treed western saddle.
I'll probably have to play around with the amount and type of padding I use. Fortunately I have a fairly large number of all different types and materials of saddlepads lying around from all my experiments with saddle fit in the past. :funny: :funny: :D
I'll will share how the experiment goes.
Birgit


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:05 am 

Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:19 pm
Posts: 69
Location: Estonia, Tallinn
I've been thinking about the same thing. Whether to buy a surcingle or the barefoot saddle. Btw..barefoot also makes surcingles...not that different from usual ones as saddles, but still.
I might actually end up buying both of them, as they carry different purposes.
Or then again...have to think about it.
Oh my, what a content-rich post it turned out to be. :blush:

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 1:23 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:03 am
Posts: 760
It seems to happen in about every other topic :rofl: and I'm often guilty :blush: , but then we have such wonderful moderators who usually notice these things way before I do. :applause: :applause: :f:
The one reason to get the surcingle first might be the cost. I only paid about 120.00 US $ for the vaulting surcingle and it is consider an entry level one, so I'll have to see if it's any good. I'm not sure, but there probably aren't any good treeless saddle on the market under $ 1000.00 that protect a horse's back better than a bareback pad, meaning you can ride for longer periods of time.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:45 am 

Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:19 pm
Posts: 69
Location: Estonia, Tallinn
You are probably right. And I won't be riding any long distance with her anyhow, before she's strong enough and willing.
The surcingle has another good trait in it actually...(i'm thinking about the future now...2 years at least or so)...as my niece and nephew are growing up and my goal is to introduce them to the world of horses if they wish so, the surcingle is a safe way for a child to gain an understanding about the movement of a horse.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:14 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:03 am
Posts: 760
I have shared our first experiences with the vaulting surcingle incl. photos and a short video in my diary.
Birgit


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