English-to-Western riders . . .

[Aces_N_Eights]

[QUOTE=Rackonteur;8723979]
So the horse will ground tie. https://horsesfortrail.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/jack-ground-tied/[/QUOTE]

And being able to keep a hold of your horse (colt) when you open and close a gate or getting off to doctor cattle after you get them roped.
Western gear was born out of necessity and usefulness not just what the latest clinicians can manage to dream up to sell.

[Hermein]

I have a 22 pound western saddle–all leather. Very comfy. I don’t like hauling around the 40 pounder, let alone heaving them up on tall horses.

There’s a lot to like with western saddles, but you need to be careful that you don’t buy one that has the stirrups hung so far forward that you can’t get out of a chair seat. May I also tell you that split reins suck?

I really think that the endurance riders have the most reasonable approach to tack–whatever works and fits horse and rider.

[cloudy18]

Why do split reins suck? I love mine. I think they are more versatile than closed reins. I do agree with using whatever tack fits horse and rider. I’ve been known to ride in an English saddle with split reins, and other somewhat odd combinations.

[Draftmare]

I agree that split reins suck. Maybe I just haven’t found a good pair yet, but it takes me forever to gather them back up going from free walk back to medium walk. I also tend to get cramps in my hands if I ride too long with them. I am all about soft roping reins.

[Draftmare]

I forgot to mention that I find I ride better in my western saddle vs my English, though I just got a dressage saddle that I really like. I find that my legs move around less, I can ask my horse to do things that I can’t manage to do in my English saddle… Also I tend to have less pains in my ankles and knees when I ride in my western saddle. It’s a Seargents (Silver Mesa), and I wish that it wasn’t a training saddle, but I also can’t find anything that fits my horse and myself as well.

[KatieRam]

I ride both and find it tough to constantly switch from one to the other. My horse Buddy is amazing, and just knows that depending on what to do by what saddle he has on!