Book or article suggestions for Balanced Seat. Please take a look!

[Cinnabon2004]

I am starting out as an instructor for a new barn, hired specifically for English balanced seat and dressage. This is all well and good, but they now would like me to learn the western side of balanced seat as well. I’ve been reading a lot of online articles and from what I’ve read the positions sound about the same as far as hip over heels, sitting deep, using your seat, etc.

However, the aids are somewhat different and I haven’t found many articles that give me clarity on this.

So if anyone has any suggestions on articles, books, etc. that would help me become more familiar with basic weestern balanced seat, I would be very grateful.

Or if you have any helpful advice yourself, that would also be great.

[aktill]

There isn’t a “western” answer to this. Even something as simple as what you do with your legs in a turn will be answered by one school of western thought compared to another.

The western working schools of thought are generally different in this regard from the generally accepted dressage school, for example. Inside leg at the girth and dropping your outside leg back to make an inside turn doesn’t translate well when your rein hands are occupied with a rope.

[Cinnabon2004]

Which seems to be the main issue. You have one hand holding on to the reins, making it somewhat impossible to create the “wall” feeling you have in dressage where you can shorten one rein, or half halt with one rein.

Regardless of how many schools of thought there are, there should be
some kind of underlying basis, I would think.

Just so explain myself a little better, this is not a, “Make me an expert in 2 weeks,” post.
This is a, “Help me (through books, etc.) learn the basics so I can start working on what my boss is asking me to do,” post, so any advice or suggestions on how to get started would really be appreciated.

[GotMyPony]

I was sent an unsolicited DVD featuring Julie Goodnight (promo from a magazine) and when I got around to watching it I thought she did a great job of explaining rein and leg aids when using western tack. Having seen her at a Horse Expo thing years ago I think I remember her saying she started as an English rider before picking up Western. So you might check her website to see what’s available from her.

[Cinnabon2004]

I will do that, thanks G.M.P!

[Robin]

A quite old classic which may make a lot of sense to you
is The Schooling of the Western Horse by John Richard Young.
It is out of print so you will likely have to find it from a library or used book dealer. It has a very good section on balanced riding including some revealing pictures.

[wylde_sage]

You might look at Western Horseman’s series of books, specifically Jack Brainard’s book of western training, theory and practice. Maybe Curt Pate’s Ranch Horsemanship too. I refer to both and always go back to dressage fundamentals, even tho i am a western rider.

[wylde_sage]

Might take a look at Buck Brannaman’s work too

[Cinnabon2004]

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the help

[Lori]

I was browsing western trainer sites a week or so ago and see that Lynn Palm has dvds on western dressage. I believe there are books on there, too.

[Flash44]

Even though you are riding a trained horse with one hand, you are still supposed to keep your hand “inside the box.” You do a lot more with your heel/spur in Western than English, and it’s actually much harder to do correctly because you don’t have the horse in your hands.

[Luseride]

Look at Cherry Hill’s books. They give lots of patterns and explanations of what works and why.

[Luseride]

[QUOTE=GotMyPony;7233759]
I was sent an unsolicited DVD featuring Julie Goodnight (promo from a magazine) and when I got around to watching it I thought she did a great job of explaining rein and leg aids when using western tack. Having seen her at a Horse Expo thing years ago I think I remember her saying she started as an English rider before picking up Western. So you might check her website to see what’s available from her.[/QUOTE]

Having watched her on RFD I would disagree. The women that ride on her shows are always overhorsed and ride more English than Western even though the tack is western.

[Equibrit]

Lynn Palm ? http://americashorsedaily.com/maintain-balance-in-the-saddle-2/

[aktill]

[QUOTE=Flash44;7235681]
Even though you are riding a trained horse with one hand, you are still supposed to keep your hand “inside the box.” You do a lot more with your heel/spur in Western than English, and it’s actually much harder to do correctly because you don’t have the horse in your hands.[/QUOTE]

A trained horse won’t necessarily require you to move your hand more than an inch or two away from the saddle horn, but you still do what you need to do.

Your description of the leg aids again is only one school of thought (generally what you’d hear from the WP side of things). If you read this series of books:
http://www.hackamore-reinsman.com/
…there’s virtually nothing in their about using the leg at all, since his take was that you’re making a REINed horse.

Again, different strokes.

[GotMyPony]

Having watched her on RFD I would disagree. The women that ride on her shows are always overhorsed and ride more English than Western even though the tack is western.

Yes, on the DVD I got I agree that the women riders she was helping with horse issues did seem overhorsed. I remember thinking I was glad I had my horse not theirs. But the part I did like didn’t involve other riders, just JG riding and explaining different uses of leg and rein aids and how you’d expect the horse to respond.

[alterhorse]

I’d recommend finding a western trainer and having them go over the basics of western training and riding with you while you are on a western horse in western tack.