7/18/14

My Horses, My Teachers

I've got to admit, I've kind of suffered some backlash from people when I announced that I got another English saddle. Whether it be from people saying, "Didn't you already try that once?" to people who are strictly Western and sad to see me come to the Dark Side. My reasoning for selling my English tack awhile back is because I was never 100% sure that the saddle fit well, it wasn't the style that I wanted and I had no time to work on English. I needed some cash and the English saddle was collecting dust, so I put it up for sale and sold it the day that I posted it on Facebook. I made money off of it and I was, and still am, happy with that outcome. Because I spend so little time at the barn now, I had to make a choice - it was either English or Western. Western will always be my first love and I didn't feel comfortable ditching it completely, so I sold English...Then, a few months later, we bought 20+ acres and I actually have time for training and lessons. I told mom that I was planning on getting another saddle soon and she wasn't the happiest because she's a Western person all the way, but she knows that it'll help me with EQ and etc, and she knows that I'm stubborn. Not to be confused with,"I'm spoiled and get what I want." I work a lot around the house and earn my keep quite well along with doing odd jobs and working for extra cash and I typically buy all of my tack unless it's a birthday gift, and this saddle will be paid with my money as well. There's really no reason to complain other than the fact that....ew. That's not western.

When I posted a photo of it on Instagram, though, I didn't expect that many people to comment and demand a reason behind why I had bought a saddle. Um, to ride? Apparently, some people believe that once you pick a discipline, you MUST ride only in that discipline.
Love the brown+green combo.
 

That, and Western people pick on English people and think they all do Rollkur and have no fun. True story.

Somebody commented in my defense and told the barrel racer that was hating on English that, "She's not changing the way she rides, stupid. She's just changing what she sits on." and I actually told her that I was going to steal that quote. How cool is that idea. If all Equestrians thought that way, I bet we'd be a much simpler and happier sport full of Equestrians who got along a lot better. The saddle, in the end, is a seat for the comfort of horse and rider. Just like some people need different types of seats for their comfort - do we judge them for sitting in a different seat? Probably not. Am I going to have to learn some new tricks? Yes. And I plan on taking lessons later on. But all of those things, they won't change the kind of rider that I am in a Western seat. I'm a Natural Horsemanship kind of girl and that won't change because I chose to use a different saddle that day.
 

It's so important, I think, to be versatile when you have a horse. I want to be able to say, Yes, I ride English and Western. I want to learn more because I love this topic, no matter what kind of horse it is. I want to have better EQ, not to "look" good, but to become more skilled and versatile. I want to learn things because Red has a lot to teach me and I think he could teach me more, different things in another saddle as long as I let him. I just entered this horse world less than 2 years ago and I want to take it by storm, even if I don't show. I want to be as skilled as I possibly can. I fail to see how that's a bad thing. There are pro's and con's to both disciplines and I want to learn those thing and improve myself!

There are things that I really need to improve on, whether it's Western or English, and I think that riding both ways will really help me in the long run. With English, I can focus more on EQ and getting my body on track with my horse, which I can use when I go back to Western, with Western, I can focus more on getting confident and using the more secure seat to my advantage as I grow along with Red. There are so many reasons that I want to begin another chapter in my horse life as they move home and while I'm not leaving my Western saddle behind, I'm excited to give English another try, because I liked it and I want to learn.
http://www.thewarmbloodhorse.com
 

It makes me sad how close-minded and almost clique-like the Equestrian world is. In so many riders minds, there's a one limit per person. An Western rider can't wear breeches and an English rider can't wear gaudy spurs. Maybe part of the reason that I want to try English is to knock out that line that so many of my close friends and family think exist, that there's something wrong with it. I won't lie, other than a couple cousins, I'm the lone lover of English and I'll probably have some people ask, "Why on earth do you want to focus on sitting up straight and jamming your heels down?"


by dave stoecklein
 

In my opinion, we all need to remember that we all get on the same side and we all are brought together by a love of horses.

21 comments:

  1. I ride both English and Western because.... why not? The saddles fit my mare and she does well in both disciplines. She certainly isn't going to be the next Hunter star, or the next Reining champion, but she happy to carry either saddle and run through Dressage tests and turn around and lope around on a loose rein.

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  2. Agree it's important to be versatile and I think every horse and rider should be able to ride both western and english, but your friend is wrong when she says you aren't changing how you ride but what you sit on. Dressage and western are similar in a lot of ways, but the way you use your aids and your sitting bones is different. To ride dressage properly, you will need to change how you ride and honestly that includes putting a (mild) bit on your horse if you were to really do it somewhat seriously.

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    1. I agree with that. I think what she meant (and what I meant) by it was not changing how we feel about certain training and how to interact with the horses, rather than changing seats, adding bits and changing tack. You most certainly ride differently, I realized just now that I didn't say that in the correct way and I apologize for my mistake, haha! I think it's more of the, I'm not changing how I treat my horse. She was replying to the person who assumed that all dressage riders use harsh bits and rollkur and etc, and I think she was trying to say that I'm not going to change the way I feel about those certain gimmicks and etc. :)

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  3. Well said. I can't believe so many people are that closed minded. I try to ride to suit the horse. Some do better slow and western some fast with gymkhana and some more forward with hunter. There are so many factors to consider you should never box yourself into one thing. I've done western pleasure, hunter, jumping, gymkhana, equitation, bareback, endurance, vaulting and I don't know what else, (never saddle seat because I've never had that type of horse). And I've had a ball doing all of it. Keep exploring, there are good things to learn from all disciplines.

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  4. How sad that so many people think that way! I recently switched to English because that has always been my dream, but this area is mostly western. I've gotten some strange looks with my "different" tack, but nobody has really said anything against it. I'm just the oddball now.
    There is so much to learn from every aspect and type of riding - good for you for seeking it out!

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    1. I'm happy that no one has been rude! I'm in the midst of mostly western but there area few english riders around!

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  5. A lot of the girls at my barn are still super close-minded and frown upon riding different disciplines, even when they see me competing in a gaming show one weekend, a dressage show the next, and a horse trial after that. I think people would be surprised at how much fun they can have if they try out different things!

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    1. I completely agree!! Plus, it's so good for the horse to do different stuff and it helps them from getting bored. Definitely a great thing to be versatile!

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  6. There is lots of western and English around where i ride and I was riding with a girl (a big jumper with her 17 hand warmblood imported from Germany) and me on my 14.2 cutting QH, haha and I rode my English saddle with my Western curb bit on loose reins and my big spurs and she just laughed and said she funny it looked with her headstall and spurs, but also how awesome that was and wished she could ride her horse around with a big bit and loose reins without her taking off, haha I took it as a compliment although im not sure she meant it as one. But I am kinda funny that way too, I think her big horse looked funny in her super short mane and no whiskers and tiny saddle, but we still got along and rode together and thats all that really matters

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    1. Hahah! That's very similar on how Red acts. :) I'm not one for short manes and etc though so Red will keep his mane ;)

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  7. So glad I don't have to deal with that type of negativity about what type of saddle I ride in! Half the time I'm riding in my dressage saddle with a western headstall or vice versa. I don't care and the people ride with don't care what saddle I am in just as long as I am riding. That's the important part. I also notice that my seat and equitation don't really change a whole heck of a lot if I'm riding dressage or western. The two lines of equitation (ear-shoulder-hip-ankle and elbow-wrist-bit) are still there no matter what i'm riding in. But that's just me. I learned more about proper equitation in my western riding lessons than I did in my English lessons if you can believe that lol

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    1. Haha! In my one lesson with a Western Pleasure trainer, I could definitely believe that!! I would love to be able to have that constant seat no matter what saddle I ride in.

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  8. Sorry but I just can't not comment on the photo.. unless you are amanda plucker photography, that is copyright infringement.

    Who cares what people think - riding is about you and your horse! Not about you, your friend, and your horse. Do what makes you happy.

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    1. I realize that it would be, I found her on Pinterest and got permission to post it as long as her logo remains on the photo.

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  9. I rode both english and western all throughout high school. I stopped riding western simply because I like jumping more! But I've always said that if I couldn't jump, I'd pick up Reining. It's just all about doing what you enjoy most!!

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  10. I rode yesterday in my barrel saddle and a pair of jeans. Today I rode in my Bates jumper saddle in breeches and half chaps... He felt the same, looked the same. I've jumped in both. Ran through the trails in both. Shown in both. As long as you have fun and your safe! Who the F*&# cares?

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  11. I agree wholeheartedly that being a "rounded rider" is key.. However I think sometimes people mix things up too much, I'm not a big fan of jamming into a big western bit while riding english or trying to rope in a snaffle.

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  12. I ride hunters/Eq but I also own a western saddle and can hold my own in it if needed ;)

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  13. Don't let those people bother you. I love riding english, but I learned western. So now I ride both english and western. Don't let people discourage you! Do what you love and have fun doing it!

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  14. Yeah I've been there. All of the people that live around me and that I grew up riding with ride western. When I started working for the dressage barn and learning how to ride dressage one person called my new friends "circle riders".... uh okay... people can be so close minded and annoying. I grew up riding western and I love it for long trail rides, but it's hard to do dressage in a western saddle and I LOVE learning dressage, so I ride both. Now if only I had a dressage saddle! I hate being broke lol.

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