Do you see a clear line between English and Western riding?

Question

Everyone always asks me what discipline I ride. I don't know, I get on a horse, I see a log, I jump over it. i switch between neckreining and direct reining on the same horse in the same ride, he doesn't care. i post when its comfortable to post no matter what saddle or lack thereof i'm using. I guess I just don't understand what people mean when they say "I hate western" or "I only ride X style" Or people get into fights over which discipline is "harder" because i don't know what guidelines they use to cleanly differentiate between styles and lock in to one or another. Isn't horseback riding "I push the horse /here/ and he goes over /there/" with style somewhat arbitrary? I'm just curious, what do you guys think?

Answer 1

I think most people see English riding as jumping, eventing, cross country, dressage, and the like.  They see Western riding as roping, cutting, reining, barrel racing, pole bending, and such.

However, there are people who are simply referring to what kind of saddle you use.  And there are some who are referring to both the saddle and the ehadtsall style you use.

I'm a pleasure trail rider.  My main trail horse wears what I call a work bridle (no noseband but with brow band) and an English saddle.  I prefer the English saddle because it is lightweight, shows off more of my horse, and is easier for me to handle when I ride a bigger horse.  My horse will direct rein, but I prefer to neck rein him on trails (most of the time).

As for which is harder, I can't say because it depends on exactly what you are doing with your horse, cross country or reining, etc.

If you're talking about which saddle is easier to sit, I'd say the Western saddle.  English saddles don't have anything that gives you the feeling that you're "in" the saddle and won't fall off without a huge amount of effort.  That's not to say you can't fall out of a Western saddle, either.

People who are snobs on the style of riding they participate in and cannot see the enjoyment of other "disciplines" are not real horse lovers or real horse people for that matter.  A REAL horse lover, a REAL horse person can see the beauty in all disciplines and can appreciate all horses for what they are most capapble of or most talented with.  I ride gaited horses because I like to cover a lot of ground relatively quickly and without the jostle of straight gaited horses.  I don't like to post.  However, I love to watch the jumpers and the barrel racers and the reining horses.  I can appreciate the endurance of the Arabian, the speed of the thoroughbred and the raw power of the draft horse.  That's how a REAL horse person sees things.

You just keep doing what makes you happy and don't worry about the horse snobs of the world.  They are pretty much ignorant when it comes to horses.

Answer 2

Yeah I hate it when people do that too. Some people are down right ignorant when it comes to riding disciplines. Neither is harder than the other.

There is a clear cut line between the disciplines but that doesn't mean that you and your horse can't cross that line any time you please.

English is traditionally done in an english saddle, there are many different types, and is always done with direct reining. There are a lot of things about english riding that involve the position of the rider and the frame of the horse that are challenging for both the horse and rider. Some types of events or sports you would see in this discipline are hunter, jumper, dressage, polo, eventing, endurance etc.

Western is traditionally done in one of many different forms of western saddles and can be done with neck reining or direct reining. This type of riding was originally done, and is still done, on cattle operations. The saddles and horses were designed to be comfortable and something you sit in all day. Some types of events or sports you would see in western are competitive trail, roping, reining, working cow horse, mounted shooting, as well as the great horse race (which includes jumping logs), penning, cutting, and many others as well.

The two disciplines require a great deal of horsemanship and skill. Some sports may be more challenging than others. You wouldn't expect to see most reining cow horses jump a 5ft wall but then again most dressage horses would not know how to cut a calf from a herd if its life depended on it.

One of my favorite new sports is called the great horse race and it was created by Craig Cameron. Horses are required to jump over things, cut cows, jump up and down hills, and go through water and all kids of other things. The course is always different and the horse and rider both need to be very versatile and highly skilled.

What you chose to do with your horse is your choice. Your horse can be anything you want it to be and a lot horses are skilled in both disciplines. Sounds to me like you have a good all around pleasure horse. So when someone asks you what discipline you ride I would tell them that it depends on your mood and I wouldn't worry much more about it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion no matter how stupid it is.

Answer 3

I don't see a really clear line.  Of course there are differences between not only english and western, but every sub-discipline in each, but a good horseman in one can easily adapt to another.  I think the people who are fiercely loyal to only one style (and usually only one discipline) have not had that many years of experience and haven't done a variety of things with horses yet, so of course, their way is the best way.

Answer 4

i am a working rancher and horseman.i ride a western saddle that is heavy and also direct rein and neck rein,i post sometimes to give my horse a rest and jump everything from ditches to calves and have been known to jump a fence once in a while.we dont have trails where i live just cow paths and we ride in pastures that sometimes are several sections long.as long as you are not in a show it really doesnt matter how you ride as long as you are riding and the more you expose your horse to different riding styles and things the more relaxed your horse will become and the more you will enjoy riding.i mean isnt that what horse riding is about ?

when they ask you what discipline you ride just say you ride "ranch"and walk away.

how about "equestrian pleasure riding"

Answer 5

Well, what kind of saddle do you use, it might help you answer your question. Tack, and simply the way you ride are biggies. Also the 'events' that you do. Jumping, Dressage and X-Country are all English sports, where as Reining, Barrel Racing and Cutting are Western. It's mostly preference

Answer 6

people shouldnt get into fights over a riding style..i mean i ride western and have hardly ever ridden english, but i am not against english, i actually think that it would be a bit harder then western since you have to have a little bit more balance cause there is no horn and the stirrups are different...but i wouldnt get in to a fight with someone over it, if they want to be stuck up and fight over it then they can but i dont see a reason to since riding is riding and its your horse, your life and your style

why should you change it cause of some one elses opinion

EDIT:: loves the ponies---> that is so true, i never really though about that before until you mentioned it about s****. people not being real horse lovers...you made a great point, if they were real horse lovers they wouldnt be so stuck up in the air all the time thinking they are perfect and everyone else sucks

Answer 7

You have a very good point.

I neck rein too and sometimes post and sometimes not etc etc.

It's just riding.

Edit> John - Ranch I like that, does that mean I have to say farm ?

Answer 8

it sounds like you ride. you pleasure ride.

I have always thought of the style you are riding ie english western on the type of bit you are  using. But he saddle doesn't really matter but it's more the bridle are you riding in a snaffle were you hold contact the whole time when expecting your horse to work or is it a curb bit where you only apply pressure when asking the horse to do something?

But if your not showing then it doesn't matter

Answer 9

I think the same thing, although I do see a line between English and western. I post in both English and western, tho I post more often in English. English I direct rein, and western I do both. I'm more of a western person, but I do better in English. Great question!

Answer 10

well if your horse is fine with it then who cares? i've always thought that english riders are rich and s****., no offense but it's because of all the movies with rich riders in them. i ride western myself and have tried english once. its alot different in the saddle but basically the same. but my two cents, bareback is the best because it's the same. well except for the Biddle or lack there of. lol  

Answer 11

your right, and as many times as i've tried to answer saying there isnt much difference between the riding styles, i get thumbs down ect. ive even gotten hate mail over styles of riding, go figure.

i ride english, i ride western, i ride bareback and there isnt much differences. like you said you get on and go. but people in general like to point out the differences and there's misunderstands from not knowing.  

but that's just my short opinion on the matter. ride is riding, you do it cause you love it.

Answer 12

I think that horsemanship is horsemanship, no matter what discipline you are riding.  I further believe that the more you open your mind to all disciplines, the more rounded you become in your personal skills.  It's all good, and the more variety that your horse is introduced to, the more expanded their skills become as well (Just my personal opinion)

Answer 13

well wat ur doing is just pleasure riding not a particular dicipline like english for example we will pick a dicipline such as hunter/jumper and train out hearts out in prep for a big show and same for western so yes there is a big difference...rule wise...horse wise...atmosphere wise...etc etc

Answer 14

I think you've got a sound mindset on what horsemanship is.

I work at a tack store and I hear it all the time - I only know how to ride english - I only know how to ride western - I can't do that with my horse, he's an english horse.

Although there are certain styles of riding, like jumping, dressage, hunter that must be done using English tack, and some like reining, cattle work, or roping that must be done using western tack, all these disciplines really use the same communications to ride.

I know a person that had a western pleasure horse, the judges like to see these horses move very slowly with dropped head (which I disagree with because it's unnatural, but no matter) - her horse was too quick a mover for this, so she moved to hunter classes and won.  The horse's manner of carrying himself and all was just a better fit for what the judges look for in a hunter.

But the basic principles of riding and the commands given are essentially the same - it's a human on a horse.  We post when riding english - the theory is to assist the horse in unencumbered movement - so why don't we do this western?  Some people do for the purpose of a more comfortable ride for both horse and rider.

My opinion is that if one person thinks what they do is best for everyone else they are being selfish and short-sighted.  It is my opinion that only the wisest of people are so because they've walked a mile in as many people's shoes as they can - they've tossed out their judgements and opinions and tried to experience all they can to help them make the best decisions for what's right for them.

There IS a way of riding english or western properly for showing, but really on the trail to communicate with a horse, the best way is the way that results in the desired outcome.

You see, each person is an individual, each horse in an individual, together a horse and human pair are unique.  Each one of these will have opinions about fit and feel of tack and riding discipline.  One is not more wrong than the other.

So the next time someone says one way of riding is better or harder or easier, ask them why they think that - make them THINK about why they feel the way they do, then judge the value in their response and take it for what it is.  Are they a young person with a young person's ideals about what's "cool" that drives them?  Have they had the advantage of experiencing other styles or anything outside of what they know?  Unfortunately this seems to be the case with many people - what they know HAS to be the best and if you don't agree you're just wrong.

To me, I enjoy western tack when riding because I have grown up with it and feel secure in it.  I often have people who've ridden english come in wanting to get into western either for show purposes or because it seems much more relaxed than english.  They don't feel safe in a western saddle, they feel trapped.  I usually suggest they start with a wade or slick forked tree - one without the wide pommel that can make them feel trapped in a saddle.  For me, it's the opposite, but I've found I might be able to learn english - and I want to because the tack is so much lighter and easier to throw around - using a synthetic saddle with rough seat and fenders (not sure what these are called on english saddles) which I can "stick to" and feel safer from coming off.

I hope this helps you gain some insight - you get frustrated because so many people have so many general statements they seem to tout as the gospel - which doesn't really leave them open to a wide range of knowledge or understanding.

Keep doing what you're doing, you are learning more about interaction with a horse than how to use one type of tack over another - one should have a good use of communication tools (bits, saddles ,etc) of all types to have a successful interaction with horses.