^This, with just enough leg contact to keep leg from moving about, works. Gripping usually raises the leg which can cause stirrup loss.
So what are the mechanics of jumping bareback or stirrupless then? You canāt really just let your leg hang down loose, it has to have some bend for your seat to get off the horseās back. And obviously gripping to hold on and push yourself out of the saddle/off the back isnāt correct. Iām curious to hear the specifics of what people are doing/feeling when they jump with no stirrups, or even post no stirrups.
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When I see competent people jump bareback they follow the horse with their upper body but their butt never leaves the horseās back and their legs hang loose from the knee down. It really is all about balance.
When I post no stirrups I do put alot of pressure on the flap under my knee and I do not get very high. Current mare hates it. Pins her ears and halts. So I do a lot of trot two point with stirrups for extended periods of time on trails and that has done a lot for my fitness. I feel like if you can trot two point without touching the horseās horses neck for say 5 minutes straight your thighs are getting a good workout.
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I think thereās a tendency for many riders to conceptualize riding as being subject to certain kinds steadfast rules.
Certain mechanics of riding obviously have to be steadfast. But thereās a lot of latitude for the rest of what people can do on a horses back, for it to be variable and situation dependent.
Take the average English jumping saddle as an example. We strap it on a horses back using a girth, and the saddle āgripsā the horses back where the flocked panels of the saddle make contact with the horse.
From the horses perspective, thereās a saddle gripping itās back. Some horses object to being saddled, so perhaps wearing a saddle is not the most comfortable experience for some horses.
What you have mechanical, is the saddle as a stable platform with stirrups, that was invented and designed to assist a riderās ability to ride a horse with more comfort, greater stability, and a greater scope of abilities, than without the saddle.
But because the saddle if in a fixed position, and the pressure the horse feels is relatively constant, the horse will become used to having the saddle on itās back similar to the way that people wear cloths, and go about their day without constantly being aware they are wearing cloths.
Horse can also be trained in many different ways. People ride horse in many different disciplines. Horses can pull carriages and plows. People preform acrobatics on horses (vaulting), use horses to herd cattle, and in the past have gone to war on their backs.
Horses are very versatile to adapting to being trained to do different things, and responding to different ways of being asked to do things.
Might a bareback jumper grip with their legs? Yes.
Is that appropriate? If it works for the person doing it then why not?
What might help in a conversation like this is to clarify whatās being discussedā¦ :
ā¦This is about Classical English ridingā¦
English riding is a style of riding that encompasses a wide range of equestrian disciplines. Everything from Eventing to Stadium Jumping to Dressage. The classical methods of teaching English riding are designed to endow students with a range of abilities all centered around the concept of versatility. This is why there are certain elements to teaching classical English riding that are foundational to the way English riding is taught. Rider Balance and independent aids being principle objectives.
A properly educated English rider can usually get on the back of any English trained horse and ride it. Because both English and Western training are both based on similar foundations. Most talented English and Western riders should be able to ride each others horses to a basic degree.
English riding also establishes a foundation for using rider aids that are inherently easy for a horse to learn to understand.
The āBalancedā rider is in the āoptimalā position to apply āguiding aidsā in a manner that the horse can recognize most clearly.
The āBalancedā rider is in the āoptimalā position of āsafelyā to respond to unexpected behaviors from the horse, and provide ācorrectionā in a more effective way than that of an unbalanced rider.
The āBalancedā rider has the position of greatest āsecurityā to assure personal safety.
The āBalancedā rider has the position of greatest āabilityā to use all rider aids to communicate commands to the horse.
The āBalancedā rider has the position that least interferes with the horses own balance, and allows the horse to preform athletically to itās fullest potential.
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I donāt think there is any riding style that relies on gripping with lower legs when done well. Not English not Western not Iberian not Cavalry
not circus and not the various forms of tribal riding Iāve seen flash by on TV.
Thatās because balance and a loose lower leg are key to staying on. If you grip with your lower legs you tend to bounce off. Especially bareback.
So there are basic physical laws at work in staying on a horse.
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This is just anecdotal since Iām not a trainer, nor do I play one on TV. :lol:
But, gripping in any form or fashion just really isnāt something I think Iāve ever done in 20+ years of riding multiple different disciplines. The closest Iāve ever come was really trying to learn to lift my pleasure horseās rib cage, but even that was more of a tight hold and cue with my legs until the horse responded and then the pressure was releasedā¦
Even jumping bareback, thereās a certain hold and steady-ness you have with your legs up to a fence (someone up thread said it best - like having your arm lay in your lap), maybe a slight squeeze to cue a take off, depending on the horse - but once you leave the ground, your legs drop and you follow the motion of the horseā¦ or at least I do. Ha!
Balance on the horseās back and core strength are probably the two biggest obstacles with beginning to intermediate riders. Two exercises I really enjoy are 1) posting trot dropping one stirrup at a time and 2) posting trot with a 1-2 beat (down, up, up, down, up, up).
OP - do you ever take lunge line lessons, or are you ever given the opportunity to ride bareback?
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I always loved to work on leg position and feel on the lunge line. Canter is the easiest, so warm up 1st and then have your trainer or a friend grab a long lung line and put you on it. Knot or remove your reins and cross/drop/remove your stirrups (or be prepared to get rid of them once youāre going).
Also fun bareback
Pick up the canter on a nice, big circle and get into your full seat. Roll your knee open a little and start by just letting your leg hang loose and just flop some. Let it swing a little (if your horse isnāt okay with a little leg movement, it would be great if you could borrow a more tolerant type from someone to practice this on). Once youāve gotten your leg relaxed and loose, your seat deep, and your horse in a rhythm, think about rolling your knee open a little again and draw your leg up & in with your heels down. Almost like your legs are one of those old claw toy machines in the arcade and youāre picking the horse up with them. (This is literally the best way I can think of to visualize it). This will help you put the strongest and most effective part of your leg on the horse. That inside-back calf and back of the inner thigh.
Another good way to see what part of your calf you should be usingā¦find a rider you think does a great job and admire. Get up close to them and check out their boots. See where theyāre most worn/have holes/are dirty during the day/have sticky spray applied. That back of the inside of the calf is where it will be. Itās not the absolute back of the calf or we wouldnāt be putting zippers there. 
And I would say the difference in using your leg in the 2ft range and using it in the 4ft range (or maybe more accurately novice versus more advanced leg position/use) is that when you start itās very focused on weight in the heel and keeping the calf in contact with the horse, so there is some basic stability. As you move on, you donāt even have to think about heels down or calf contact, but you notice that youāre doing more with your thighs and your seat to stay in contact with your horse through tight turns or not get jumped out of the tack.
Does that help?
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