Hello I'm Sami. my horse patty was trained western but i want to train her English. how do i do this? plz help

Question

i have the saddle but need to know what bridle to get. she uses a tomb thumb bit but what bit should she have for english? i used the saddle today and i couldnt get it positioned right if you hay a horse with high withers dos that effect how tight the saddle should be? i have a year to train her but i dont like rideing in the winter so i have very little time is this posibble!!!!!!! please help!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Sami ,, it is really easy to change to english your horse should not have many problems with that.. I am thinking you ride in smaller shows !!,, you will just have to have her move more forward,,and learn how to post ,,



I think your biggest problem is getting a saddle to fit her ,, Thats a problem .. Yes, its a big deal if it doesn't fit right ,,

That,,, you do need some Help with,, someone to find one for your horse,, and that fits you both Her first

IN all if you have already shown western  ,, you  will be just fine ,,

And for the bit you will be fine with a full cheek snaffle,,

Answer 2

I don't think its possible to switch a horse trained in western to do english.  Its two different gaits....

Answer 3

It is possible to cross train horses to both disciplines.  However, you will not be able to do this yourself, if you cannot answer these questions yourself you do not have enough knowledge to retrain your horse and you won't gain that experience talking to people here, sorry.  Your best bet would be to contact a professional riding instructor and trainer to work with both you and your horse.  The proper saddle fit and what bit to use for your horse are subjective things that I cannot help you with without ever having seen your horse or your tack.  Please seek competent advice from a seasoned professional.  A trainer needs to be ready to instruct their horse, teach and mold them to their purpose and again, I'm sorry, but I don't see that dedication in your words, a professional rides year round, no matter the season, utilizing whatever advantages they can, such as an indoor riding ring when it is raining or snowing and getting up and working before dawn in the hottest months of the summer to avoid overheating their animals in the noon sun.  Most trainers will work with you to help train you as they help you retrain your horse, beware instructors that want to secret your horse away to their own farm where you are not welcome to join in the retraining process.  In simple terms, when starting a young horse or retraining one, I use a simple snaffle bridle with a loose ring snaffle, and yes the shape of your horses back will affect the fit of the saddle and with an english saddle this can be even more important than with a western one, bad saddle fit is often responsible for poor performance undersaddle.  An instructor can help make sure your saddle is adequate but you will need to call a saddler to adjust the fit if needed, you can get in touch with one of these by calling your local tack shop and asking them for a recommendation.  The placement of the english saddle is crucial as well and again, a riding instructor or saddler can help you with this.