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Post by kunuma on Apr 14, 2010 10:42:07 GMT 1
This has always been on my list of things to do before you die, although I think health wise I have left it too late, but I just saw a place fairly local advertising Western Riding! Now I know there is a lot of difference between learning true western riding, and going for a trek with bog standard trekking ponies who have had a western saddle plonked on their backs, but how do you tell which a place is?? Is there an approved seal of some sort for Western training in this country?
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Post by Claire on Apr 14, 2010 11:05:52 GMT 1
Oooh I have always wanted to do that too! Its supposed to be really comfortable compared to British riding isn't it? I would love to have been a cowboy! Not sure if there is some sort of body regulating Western riding. I wonder if susan will know. I did find this organisation on the net which will maybe tell you: www.wes-uk.com/If you do decide to go I'll come with you...as long as they can find a couple of hoists to get us into the saddle ;D
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2010 13:03:36 GMT 1
I'd like to try western riding too, as well as side saddle.
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Post by susanb on Apr 14, 2010 19:39:13 GMT 1
I've not heard of any governing body for general western riding.
USET (United States Equestrian Team) covers reining (which is strictly western) and endurance (which is essentially non-specific).
The rodeo association covers other aspects of western riding...not just the rodeo specific things (like bronc riding and barrel racing) but the the things that would be used in ranch work (cutting and roping, trail classes)
As a teen, I worked for a summer at a livery stable that used stock saddles (ah, the days before everyone was a liabiltiy suit waiting to happen...ahem...dating myself here!)...not for pay, but to work off rides. The things you'll notice are very different are:
a) the saddle. it's neither more nor less comfortable for a rider...it's just that for someone who has never been on a horse, the horn looks like a great thing to hold on to....the tack equivalent of a security blanket! A real, working, stock saddle sits higher off the back of a horse than an English saddle (dressage or jumping)....for me, it was as though I had suddenly gone "deaf"....because you are so far from contact with the horse, it's hard to feel his signals. There are "western" pleasure saddles that are close contact and those are much less disconcerting to the hunter/jumper rider. These aren't real stock saddles though....there's a working reason behind the off-the-back sadde, double girth, and huge horn....it was designed for roping cattle without killing your mount! (full confession, after a day or so of putting up with the stock saddle, I rode bareback for the rest of the summer).
b) the reins are held in one hand. It's the indirect pressure of the opposing rein on the horse's neck that is your aid in directing the horse left or right. There is NO contact with the horse's mouth unless you are backing up or stopping, in which the aid is about the same as for English riding (lighter though...the western curb is a very severe bit).
c) no constant leg contact with horse. You'll close your calves to signal forward or to back, but that's it.
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Post by foxglove on Apr 16, 2010 14:01:36 GMT 1
I rode Western style once in the US, as I worked in Colorado one summer. It was a very different sensation, as Susan describes. Riding with such a loose rein is the weirdest- I could hear the echoes of various English riding instructors shouting "washing line reins!". I also went to a rodeo and was amazed at the skills of horse and rider on display there- a great night out.
Probably easiest to phone the place up and ask exactly what service they offer, and what qualifications and experience the guides/instructors have. I can't imagine it's usual for horses to switch regularly between the two styles?
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