# bareback saddle?



## renee o'neill (May 10, 2002)

I can not find any saddle to fit a new mule.She has no withers at all, my other saddles for the 2 mules dont fit her .I saw a bareback saddle that looks more saddle then a bareback pad,but know nothing about them.She will need a crupper no matter what.Anyone use one?


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I don't think they are safe. Because they don't have a tree or any stabilization they tend to slide easily and you can get hung up in the stirrups. If you do get one, IMO you should cut the stirrup leathers off so that when it turns you won't be hung up. My choice would be a bareback saddle--the kind rodeo riders use. They stay where you put them, have a sturdy handle if you need to hang on and no stirrups. I bought one for my DGK's 10 years ago for 20.00. They used it for a few weeks, until they felt safe, then rode bareback if there wasn't anyone to help them with a saddle.


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## gunsmithgirl (Sep 28, 2003)

I have never used one but have heard from several people who have that the ones with stirrups will slide over the sides of the horse if you put too much weight on one side or when mounting.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

If it's the kind of saddle that looks kind of like a soft stuffed version of a real saddle, they are just bareback pads with some extra stuffing fore and aft to help the rider feel more boxed-in. Like other bareback pads, there is nothing to keep the thing from sliding 'round the horse's back. Used with stirrups, they will spin around the horse's midsection in a heartbeat. A snug breastcollar, a saddle pad with some grip to it, a neoprene girth, a crupper, even a britchen - all those will help keep a bareback pad in place if you are using it with stirrups. One complaint that I've had with most bareback pads is that they can abrade the withers. However, if your mule doesn't have any withers, you might not have the problem!


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

What about a Natural Ride Saddle? Its pretty much a bareback pad but with bar to keep the pad stable. 

They don't turn very easily and I sewed a D ring on so a crupper could be attached.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I've been looking at different designs and wanting one. I don't really care if it has some risk of sliding. I've had more than one occasion where I'm riding along on an excitable bouncy horse and someone points out my cinch is hanging 3-5" under the horse. I also spent my entire teenage years riding bareback pretty much exclusively including doing a few barrel and low jumping competitions bareback although I did have a barrel and jumping saddle I generally used. Sometimes I just didn't want to bother though. I think selling some of my expensive regular saddles I never use or no longer fit well after my health problems and weight gain for a bareback pad/saddle would be useful and save a lot of time and effort saddling up.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

You should check out some of the Treeless saddles. These are very well made saddles and most of them keep your weight off the horses or in your case, mules spine.

Here is a good web site, to learn about Treeless saddles. 

Treeless - The Alternative Horse

Right now I am riding in an Sensation Hybrid, is very stable, solid and safe.


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## Tegerian (Mar 27, 2009)

I ride western for the most part but that treeless looks interesting. Might be a good saddle for starting a horse.

Teg


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

I think they'd be great for short little rides, but cannot see how they disperse the riders weight like a tree does. I've heard some clinicians really down on them for this reason, but I have no experience myself with them. some day I will have to look into something other than my current western, its very heavy. for this reason i do find them interesting, I wouldn't mind not lugging 50lbs up onto a horse!!


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

delete


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I never had saddle problems with my horses, mules, donkeys, but my Mammoth jack was different. Got him as a baby. As he grew, his body kept changing. I kept changing saddles since I don't mickey mouse with pads.

A friend loaned me this thing when we went riding. I thought I was going to die. I always rode with britchen and this thing had no place for it. We went on one of our short rides, only 3 hours, but one of our hairiest. Straight up and down the mountains, short switchbacks, etc. The thing never moved. I bought one that week.

I've been riding the Natural Ride Bareback for over 20 years and have never cared to go back to a saddle. It's not for anyone who needs the security of a saddle.

It has fit high withered, low withered, no withered (my steer) critters.

They've changed the design since I got mine, and I prefer mine!

This is mine:


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