Yes, the tack is different, but what fundamentals and riding concepts that are different? English VS Western Dressage?? Western seems slower paced and not seeking collection like in English. I know the Western saddle are practical for ranch work. Is it more similar than we realize?
Western seeks collection, where did you get that idea?
The main difference is in self-carriage.
Western expect way more self-carriage from a horse in collection, while classical dressage works thru the levels to eventually, at the highest levels achieve self-carriage, amongst other like keeping way of going to dressage standards pure.
In western riding, as of now, how a horse moves is important, but not as much as pure gaits as the movements being up to western performance of movement standards.
That is slowly changing, very slowly.
We could say, in dressage you work where the rider contributes all along to how a horse moves to eventually achieve a horse that is adjustable as a gymnast, can do any and all it demands of it’s body.
Western riding is more about a horse being willingly guided as it carries itself to perform whatever task it is asked of it.
As for “western dressage”, there are different schools, with different goals that are trying to build into it’s own new discipline.
That all above is one response to your question, from someone that has been in both fields.
I expect there will be other responses out there, as when it comes to horses and all we do with them, ask two people and get five all valid answers applies.
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There are many sub categories of both Western and English riding. Vaquero riding with the bosal is as nuanced and complex as dressage. Reining and cattle penning and cutting and barrel racing require a hot handy horse, even more forward and handy than a show jumper. Working cow horses need the all day endurance and bursts of speed of an endurance horse.
Western Pleasure rail classes are slow by design but many folks would argue they have moved a long way from functional Western riding.
It’s also true QH can have a calmer demeanor on the ground than TB or WB and they are also taught to stand tied and chill out. But don’t be deceived. You can have a good QH stand half asleep tied to a post for an hour then get on and show him a cow and go 0 to 60 in a minute.
I would say one big difference is that Western disciplines use walk and canter/gallop more than trot. I suppose it’s really dressage more than jumpers that spends so much time schooling different trots and expects you to sit a giant extended trot.
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I disagree with Bluey. Self carriage in collection, and in all of dressage work is one of the goals whether traditional Dressage or Western. Certainly during training there are times where the rider offers more active support as the degree of collection, posture and body balance goes beyond the horse’s level of fitness, strength and training - in both types of dressage. At each level the horse is carrying themselves in the outline/balance required by that level without being held there by the rider.
Western Dressage is still a young discipline, and developing the depth of competitors, horses and riders, takes time especially at the higher levels. Which makes it difficult to draw conclusions by comparing example teams from Western Dressage vs traditional Dressage.
Oh, western dressage versus dressage! Sorry I misread the question and gave an overall answer. But it’s still relevant to the OP’s question except I’ve never watched Western dressage IRL. From what I’ve seen it absolutely requires collection, but doesn’t do the giant trots. If you are familiar with dressage, you could look up written tests and videos on WD and draw your own conclusions.
a good QH stand half asleep tied to a post for an hour then get on and show him a cow and go 0 to 60 in a minute.
or in few strides :lol:
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The question is not clear to me. Are you asking only about western dressage vs English dressage or more broadly western vs English?
The western dressage vs English dressage question is a lot easier to address, although still, it’s not simple. The reason it’s not simple is because there are distinct differences among practitioners of the art of dressage, whether you’re talking about riding western or English. So, you will find that, depending on the individuals you look at, you might see fewer differences between one particular western dressage trainer and one particular English dressage trainer than you see between that particular English dressage trainer and another English dressage trainer.
Why are you asking? Because the answers are probably different if you’re just interested in a philosophical discussion of the similarities and differences between the two or if you are seeking advice on which one you should pursue.
Will try to explain further, so we all are on the same page when it comes to a horse in self-carriage, working with the rider without the rider assisting it, just directing it, or a horse where the rider is supporting it along with guiding it.
The reason I make that distinction is, how many dressage horses, if the bridle breaks, will continue without anything on their heads, or fall onto it’s front end and lose self-carriage?
One example, this reiner, that was not trained to ride without a bridle, but when the bridle broke, because it didn’t use the rider’s support to stay collected, continued in self carriage and willingly listening to the rider:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeRiFqoGLG8
Western horses are trained to carry themselves all the time from the start and is expected of a finished horse.
Dressage horses generally require more support from the rider thru much of their training and only much later less help.
Contradiction to ask for a horse to be moving on the bit … without a bit.
The level of self-carriage with a bit is not that of without one, working off all other aids and in total self carriage.
Different horses, different goals.
That is one more difference between those two disciplines, as the OP’s question asked.
The only true Dressage horses I have seen with true self-carriage are the Spanish Riding School Lippizaners. Reins have slack, horses doing as asked, on the bit, but not hanging on the hands. Could be that like Western working horses, the Lippizaners were trained as Officers mounts, used for long hours. The Officers expected horses to go out and actually do a full days work without rider holding horse together over those hours! Horse was not " on the bit" all day long, as seen in ring classes now. Officers had to be able to ride one-handed swinging swords, horses still had to obey FAST to keep him safe.
What is possible for short times in a ring, the huge extentions, drive from behind, lifted front end, is not possible over the hours in all day work.
Training a horse to respond well, be light on the hands, reins, cues, self-carry, is possible within the limitations of his body design. High or low neck set, free shoulders, thick or lean muscling will control ease they feel in what you can ask of them. Some will be flashy movers if bred that way, while others will always be flatter movers.
I really hate seeing folks trying to get collection in ring sided snaffle bits, hauling so hard on the reins. Or if not pulling hard, bit has a “unique” mouthpiece to “fix” the pulling problem. Not seeing why it takes years to gain softness and acceptance, in the “kindly” snaffle. There are easier (on the horse mouth) ways to reach the goal.
There are good things to be learned from both disciplines. But all of it being aimed at competition for only short times, does seem to be a loss in enjoying your horse over longer outings. Horse just can’t be spectacular all the time, needs to relax, yet still be easy to ride, direct, as you go along in other locations.
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Those dressage horses ridden in the degree of self carriage appropriate for their level of training and fitness will continue without falling onto the front end and losing self carriage.
The degree of self carriage vary between disciplines, and indeed between horses’ individual capabilities although the rider’s capability is probably the deciding factor. 
When discussing this sort of thing we ought to compare quality to quality and ignore the “bad” riding that occurs in every discipline. There is less difference than most people want to believe.
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There’s a YouTube video of a top level dressage rider and top level western reining champ at a show, in the ring performing side by side.
At some point they swap horses and go through the horses routine again.
Its really with a look.
Id link it but don’t know it’s name.
How much of this difference that you’re (probably rightly) perceiving is because the only thing people tend to associate with “dressage” is representative of a single approach to riding? Not disagreeing with you, but I do find it interesting that people are quick to acknowledge the fine nuances between various ways of bringing along a western horse, but that dressage to many very well informed riders is nothing more nuanced than what was reconstructed for the civilian competition market after WW2.
(Though on the matter of bits and being on the bit, certainly any well-read dressage enthusiast will know that the original masters, the ones that TPTB love to make references to, often advocated progressing horses from a bitless sidepull to a curb, rather similar to how a bridle horse is brought along. No real point to this, just something interesting I like to mull over now and again)
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Bear in mind, when talking about “dressage” versus anything, you need to make the distinction between dressage, i.e the term meaning “training” or “dressing” of the horse, versus Dressage, the competitive discipline that can have little or nothing in common with the original practice of dressing a horse going back to the Spanish High School.
Once you introduce competition into the mix, a lot of disciplines get bastardized. Western Pleasure is an excellent example, as is Dressage. It is easy for the competitive piece to start to degrade the horsemanship aspect as the industry starts to look for ways to differentiate more and more.
Ultimately, tack style doesn’t really matter. It can be chosen due to utility, purpose, looks or a combination of the three. What percentage each weighs in depends on what the horse is being asked to do. What matters more is how the horse is being educated - is it being taught to work correctly off the hind end, into a soft hand, with a lifted back? Is the rider developing elasticity and athleticism, teaching the horse to be responsible for their own balance, both back to front and laterally? And honestly, in ny opinion, is the horse being worked in a way that highlights and improves the natural gaits of the animal (the INDIVIDUAL animal), versus pushing the animal to conform to an irrelevant competitive standard?
