by Talea Jurrens

Created on: July 31, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

As a girl, I dreamed of owning my own horse. That dream came true with a gentle Appaloosa gelding named Patches. I was so enamored with him that all I wanted to do was ride every minute of every day. This often lead to frustration because at first, I had no saddle and was too afraid to try bareback riding. Even with the purchase of a brand new leather saddle just my size, I still had to limit my riding because I lacked the upper body strength to lift the saddle into place. This is what lead me to overcome my fear of "going natural".

One day after school, I waited for my dad to arrive home so Patches could be saddled for an afternoon ride. As the afternoon grew longer, my anticipation grew more intense. I soon began to realize that I would not get a ride in if I didn't try experimenting with a bareback ride. I decided to be brave and not to wait any longer. I felt a twinge of nervousness as I backed Patches up to the corral fence. He seemed quiet and content as I steadied myself using his strong shoulder. Then, in a leap of faith, I hopped on. He never even flinched. In fact he seemed to enjoy it immensely.

At first we went very slow. Loping slowly around the confines of the inner corral. I mustered a little more courage and guided him to the small outer pasture. This was the area where he grazed freely but I found I still felt secure in the confines of the fence. With a few more larger circles we began to go faster and faster. We were soon galloping round with a dizzying intoxication of freedom and whooping with delight. It was one of the most liberating experiences I have ever felt. I think it was very liberating for him as well.

After that day I no longer feared riding my horse bareback. In fact it became my preferred method of riding. I was then able to ride most days even when no one was home to saddle Patches up. I would often rush down to the corral after school, drop my books and prepare for a fast paced jaunt before hitting the homework. A ride got my blood flowing and energized me for the studies ahead. Patches got so used to it that he would back right up to the fence when he saw me coming. I became so comfortable many times I didn't even use a bridle. We had gotten to know each other so well that I only had to use my knees to gently guide him.

It wasn't long before I had a small audience of cousins who lived in the neighborhood. They were all about my age or a little younger. The fun was irresistible and I soon had them riding around bareback too. We

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