When you are riding a horse...?

Question

What is it called when you are riding a horse normally. Like on a saddle with your legs on both sides. Because there is side-saddle, bareback, and...? Thanks.

Answer 1

western

Answer 2

There are a bunch of terms... English, Western, Millitary... They all have one leg on each side there are probably way more but I havent heard of one term to describe all of them.

Answer 3

riding

Answer 4

I believe it is referred to as astride.

Answer 5

I don't believe there's a general term for riding in a saddle with one leg on each side.  There are many disciplines of riding in which you're in a saddle with one leg on each side, and I believe instead of a general term, we use many specific terms for whatever discipline the rider is doing.

The two blanket terms for riding are western and english.  If you're riding in the big saddle with the horn, it's western, if it's a smaller saddle without the horn, it's english.  But even then there's many many different things you could be doing with your horse.  If western, you might be doing western pleasure, horsemanship, trail riding, running barrels or poles, cattle cutting or some other ranch type event.  If english, you might be doing jumping or just flatting and you might be using a wide variety of saddles (hunt seat, saddle seat, dressage).

Personally instead of saying that I'm riding normally with one leg on each side of the saddle...  instead I say that I'm flatting or hacking or jumping my hunter.  Actually I believe if you just say that 'I'm riding my horse' most people would understand that to mean riding normally with a saddle.  The other two are less common...  most people ride normally with a saddle...  that's why there's no name for it...  it's not really special...  it's not uncommon.

Answer 6

horse back, or english

Answer 7

English and Western style.