I know that some people ride bareback, but watching old westerns I often see actors or stunt men dressed as “Indians” riding bareback at a full gallop.
When making these movies was there a trick used, such as small hidden saddles (English saddles are pretty small in comparison to western saddles), or are there a bunch of people capable of riding a quarter horse at full speed while bareback?
Some people can do it after lots of experience and muscle development. Well practiced rodeo riders including two of my cousins can ride that way. You need to have really strong inner thigh muscles plus lots of technique and lots of experiences with horses in general to be able to stay on at a full gallop although trotting would probably be harder. I don’t know they used any hidden aids for the movie shoots but I doubt it. I just takes a really experienced rider. The average person wouldn’t stand a chance of staying on.
Any rider of competence can ride bareback. It’s true it is easier to fall off, but on the other hand, it’s less dangerous since you won’t get dragged by your foot being caught in a stirrup (common way to get really damaged/die from a fall). When I was a kid I did it all day long. Makes the inseam side of your pants get all hairy and smell like horse sweat. A good smell. Those were great days.
Really it isn’t that hard to stay on at a full gallop. A gallop is quite smooth. It’s more tricky to stay on at full deceleration. You do develop strong thigh muscles if you ride a lot.
Also impressive are those people (mostly little kids) who do horse vaulting – gymnastics on horseback at the canter! They don’t work bareback, but it’s really something to watch!
Bareback on a horse with a bad trot is a real PITA. Pun intended. If no mane to hold onto I could not stay on. A good Tennessee Walker was much better.
What we used to call a short lope is the easiest except for a slow walk IMO.
No great talent needed until you get to doing the crazy stuff. But be prepared to fall off occasionaly…
Your Trot May Vary ( YTMV )
Ah, those were the days. My first horse, Star, was a half Arabian, and I probably rode him more bareback than with a saddle. One of my ways of relaxing, forgetting my troubles, was to take him out in the pasture, no saddle or bridle, just a halter with the leadrope tied back upon itself to use as ‘reins’. I would let him gallop as fast and as long as he wanted. It seemed as if I could feel my problems draining down through his legs to be left behind us.
God, I miss that horse.
I remember hearing on the radio that during the 1930’s, they were filming a movie in which a large group of Indians (at least, that’s who they were playing) were riding bareback at a gallop down a hill to attack a farmhouse. The director announced that anyone who’d fall off (as if they’d been shot by a settler) would get a bonus. “Action!”
Every single “Indian” threw himself off the horse. Well, it was during the Depression, and people needed the money.
As already mentioned, riding bareback isn’t really difficult. I did it many times, and was a poor rider. And in fact it’s easier when galloping than when trotting.
So, a film maker wouldn’t have any trouble finding people (presumably competent riders to begin with if hired for horse riding scenes) able to do so.
It’s a common misconception among non-riders that the stirrups keep you on the horse - they help with balance, but they aren’t straps keeping you there and they aren’t necessary to successfully ride… I often rode bareback and even on a saddled horse, I’d often cross the stirrups over the horse’s neck and just keep my balance using my legs. It’s one heck of a workout to try and post trot without stirrups!
I haven’t gone riding in years…I miss it.
Thanks everyone. Ignorance fought.
That’s the way I was taught to ride when I took lessons as a child - I didn’t get stirrups until I didn’t need them.
Riding bareback will put a proper seat on you. All students should be able to ride without their stirrups at all paces. You should be able to keep your balance with no stirrups or one, and be able to get it back on your feet if you lose it, without changing pace or looking down. I consider these basic safety skills.
I used to let my students ride bareback on the coldest days of the winter (its much warmer). Everyone fought to ride Pepper, an old mare with a broad back and a trot that barely cleared the ground. You could sit up there pretty as you please, like riding bareback was the dang easiest thing you ever tried. Then I’d switch 'em to Tootsie, the arab with the lofty, springy trot, and bring their egos back down to earth. 
Over time the students even jump bareback – and these are 14 year old girls for the most part, not hoary trick riders. Check it out:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/264455_229371787086565_100000412354074_857743_7741609_n.jpg
In case you’re not familiar with jumping, that horse will land cantering.
Which reminds me… riding bareback in the summer is awesome because you can keep your shorts on and don’t have to put on warm long pants and you don’t get sores from the saddles on your knees!
This is the kind of post that will make a person long to have a horse, even though they’ve never ridden one.
Thank you. 
Horses have been the very best therapy in my life. I sold my last in 1986 and have have very little contact with these wonderful creatures suince, until this year. I have begun volunteering at a horse rescue on the weekends and feel like I am getting my soul back.
Not riding yet… baby steps.
nm…
