In my last column, I explained how bareback riding was a necessity for me because I did not have money for a saddle at the time.
As a 14-year-old kid, I had to earn money for two horses because my first horse died after six weeks. This got me used to riding bareback before I bought my first saddle.
Fast forward 45 years, and I’m making use of bareback riding in a very practical way. I have been using my horses to help feed my cows in the winter. I usually unroll four days worth of hay with a tractor, and then for the next three days I will ride a horse to let the cows in to the pasture with that day’s hay ration.
It takes me less than an hour of tractor time every four days. The horses save fuel and wear and tear on the tractor, while keeping me and them healthier. My two horses come in from the pasture to get grain and water at 7 a.m. every morning. I let them in their pens and alternate riding one out to let cows into their hay.
To save time, I ride the horse bareback with a halter and lead rope. A fringe benefit from this is the horse’s body heat helps keep me warm in the winter. I usually ride them at a medium gallop alternating to a trot, so they do warm up pretty good. I try to motivate my horse to become a self-worker by letting it eat hay with the cows for about 10 minutes while I walk around and scatter the hay a bit more with my feet and hands.
On tractor day, I unroll the hay in a big circle, lifting and lowering the three-point so I do not have a continuous path of hay. Both of these processes help by scattering the hay around more evenly. This better distributes the hay nutrients and manure to fertilize my ground.
Riding a horse is more efficient than using a vehicle in many ways. I can call my horse back to me, whereas with a vehicle, I would have to walk back to it (I usually have some range cubes in my vest pocket as an extra treat to motivate the horse to leave the hay and come to me). Also I can work most of the gates from my horse’s back. I think one of the most inefficient things in the world is to have to get in and out of a vehicle twice because of a gate. I have spring-loaded electric drive-thru gates throughout my property for this very reason also. I use a fiberglass stick to push the gates aside as I move through them on horseback.
The toughest part about riding bareback may be getting on. My insulated boots are just heavy enough to make it harder to jump on one of my horses. But Missouri has enough uneven ground so I can jog with my horse to a nearby high spot or stump to mount. I also have buckets with lids with mineral in them positioned throughout the pastures that I can stand on if I want. I fill these buckets on tractor day, and on a horse day sprinkle a fresh dose of mineral in portable feeders (also moved by tractor as needed).
In our age of $1,000 cell phones, $10,000 ATVs, and $70,000 trucks and tractors, no wonder it’s hard to save money. Also, we sense that today’s unhealthy habits will have modern generations dying at an earlier age. What’s new? I believe this process has been repeated many times in the last 6,000 years.
But it is a breath of fresh air to use one of God’s most beautiful creatures to help alleviate these empty wallet, and rusted out body woes. Thank God he has created a great partner that can actually help us exercise a little horse sense.
Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot trimming specialist from Raymondville, Mo.
Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.
