5/20/14

English Vs. Western

I would love to end this debate, as would a lot of other equestrians. Being ridiculed for what saddle you ride in is absoloutly stupid and it's time that all of us riders realize something - neither is harder.

I got an english saddle a few months ago, rode in it once and sold it because:
  1. I needed money.
  2. I had no time to practice with it, nor would I unless I got to move them home. (Which happened but not in time!)
  3. I love Western more than anything and until I had time to do both, Western would win over English.
  4. Red prefers western.
Now, when I rode in it, despite Red being cranky because of a new hackamore that I also sold, I enjoyed it. It was comfortable, the perfect fit for both of us and I w/t/c in the saddle, went on the trails, and overall had fun. Was it different? Yes. Was it harder? No. Don't think that I'm trying to say that English is easy, because it's NOT. The only reason I was able to ride in it was either the fact that I've been riding for awhile and had developed a stable seat, or that I'm used to riding bareback and etc so it was easier than that. There were challenges, definitely, but it wasn't all that different. I must say, I liked the stirrups much more and was able to keep better EQ in the saddle.

But, would I be able to automatically jump 3'3 just because I rode in an English saddle? Um, no way. Just like jumpers wouldn't be able to hop on my horse and do some of the crazy things we do on trails. English isn't harder than Western, and our disciplines all take time, effort and hardwork.

We all take pony selfies.

 Why would we judge a rider for what kind of saddle they ride in? If we are going to judge at all (and we shouldn't, let's be honest.) why don't we judge them for their abilities? English people work just as hard as Western people do, they still ride problem horses, they still get stuff done. Regardless of what kind of saddle I prefer at the end of the day, it's just that -  a preference. It's not about what saddle we're in, it's about what horse we ride and how ride him/her. I was able to ride Red in english tack with dare-I-say ease, because I'm used to him. I know how he works. I know how he spooks. I know what makes him click. He's been my horse for less than two years, but he's very easy to figure out. Would I be able to confidently ride, let's say, Simon from SMTT, in English? Um, definitely no. Give me my western saddle, haha! But that doesn't make me less of a rider, it makes me a different kind of rider.

At the end of the day, what matters most isn't if we jumped or barrel raced, roped or did dressage, what matters is that we love our horses and support other riders.

 


11 comments:

  1. Love this! I rode Western for so many years, mostly because that is what goes on in this area and that was the type of saddle I was able to get. I still held on to my childhood dream of jumping and started loving dressage even more and was able this spring to purchase a lovely English saddle that fits me and my horse and can finally get further towards that dream!
    I still like all the Western things... I'll still run a barrel racing pattern if the whim strikes me (my horse was a champion barrel/poles horse before I purchased her).
    We all love horses :D

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  2. I don't think it's english/western that's the issue- but I can say, from trying different disciplines, that some disciplines do require more skill than others. I did hunter under saddle and western pleasure for years and both ended up boring me to death after a certain point. There's a certain skill set you learn and then you hit a wall in your riding. But does that mean jumping is harder than reining? No, both are pretty skill-driven disciplines. That being said, I don't look down on people who do other disciplines or just want to trail ride- that's what they enjoy, and that's totally understandable. (Although I do hate the casual trail rider who thinks they're a pro rider when all they do is sit on a completely broke horse and walk around- but that's a different story haha) Everyone should be able to engage in their chosen discipline, and we're all trying to do the same thing- improve in our chosen discipline :)

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    1. Definitely! And yessss those type of trail riders annoy me as well, haha! Red is dead-broke but he is a hard horse to ride because of his gait, that, and he is ridiculously stubborn for everyone but me 99% of the time. He has his moments but I'm thankful for them because it makes me a better rider.

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    2. Phone cut my comment off^ as I was saying, even though I just trail ride at the moment, I do a lot of tackless work and etc which makes things more interesting and difficult. It just depends on the horse you ride and how you ride it!

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  3. Very good post! I think you are correct. Riders of both disciplines really need to stop criticizing each other. Both english and western are hard but rewarding. We should support other riders, not criticize them.

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  4. Amen! I'm sure even the best dressage rider couldn't easily rope cattle or barrel race. That doesn't make any style easier or better, just different, and that's okay.

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  5. Proper form is key no matter what your tack. Endurance riders go in the saddle that best suits their horse and themselves; western, English, jumper, dressage, endurance, Australian - you see it all. I hate a high pommel and especially a pommel with a horn because I prefer to have mobility in the saddle as I tackle obstacles in the woods. Ducking down on my horse's neck to travel under a low obstacle is far easier without anything in front of me that impedes my maneuver. Additionally, if my horse jumps an obstacle without warning, I don't enjoy getting gutted by a horn if I'm thrown forward upon landing. However, if I'm doing any kind of backcountry travel where I need to pack my horse in addition to any pack animals, I prefer a western saddle. The functionality of this saddle for ranch-type work supersedes all others. There is time and place for each type of tack, but ultimately, whatever the rider prefers that fits the horse well is the best!

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  6. I think riding at a high level, no matter what discipline, takes hard work and dedication!

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  7. I don't know who is saying these things to you but I generally don't see much divisiveness but I'm also not looking for it.

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    1. I'm definitely not looking for it either, ha! It's not even people saying things directly towards me, it's more of when people post stuff about how much easier one discipline is than the other. I know quite a few western riders who are outright jerks to english riders and vice versa, it's just annoying haha!

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