Good movers in western?

[propspony]

[QUOTE=NoSuchPerson;8015745]

Your girl is lovely, propspony. I hurt my back in a fall 2 years ago and I’m still having trouble handling my QH’s big trot. But the mule, mmmm, smooth as silk. Someone once described riding him as being like sitting in a big, overstuffed easy chair.[/QUOTE]

Heehee I LOFF mules. LOFF them.

[Kyzteke]

[QUOTE=NoSuchPerson;8015745]
Well, propspony posted a video of her QH after 15-20 rides, so I’d say the WB after 20 rides was for comparison purposes. Two different breeds, two different sets of expectations. [shrug][/QUOTE]

Well, I was assuming that Propspony was proud of her girl for being so easy to ride after such a short period of training (and rightfully so!).

My point was simply that other horses can be that way as well…has nothing to do with breed or age.

As far as comfortable gaits, not ALL WBs are hard to sit. Not sure where all that came from. Here is another video of a slightly older mare (almost 5 when this was taken)…she only had about 25 rides total when this was taken and that was over the course of about 18 mos. AND she was ridden by 5 different riders during that time period (totally my bad regarding the training).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5SXA0s5hGg

This rider had never ridden this horse before. DO watch till the end or at least the middle…that’s when it gets fun.

All the riders that rode her commented on what a relaxed, swinging back she had and how comfortable she was to ride/sit. And she did end up selling to a older woman (over 60), who needed comfort AND a good mind.

So I really wasn’t comparing the 2 fillies in terms of better or worse…they are obviously bred for different reasons & different disciplines.

I guess if I had to say I was making a point it would be that “foward” doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. A horse doesn’t have to move like a zombie to be easy to sit.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Kyzteke;8021168]
I guess if I had to say I was making a point it would be that “foward” doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. A horse doesn’t have to move like a zombie to be easy to sit.[/QUOTE]

Ok, well, sure…it definitely depends on the horse.

In my (non-professional) opinion, however, a quarter horse type has a much flatter way of going than other breeds…seems like this would have made them easy to sit to all day long. I joke that my grandmother could learn to sit the trot on my APHA mare (who is basically a QH and built like one).

The reason you can get a big huge dressage-worthy trot from a WB and not necessarily a QH isn’t “easiness”…but all about conformation, isn’t it? Which why people don’t tend to show QHs in dressage? It’s not because they are “zombies” but because they just aren’t built the same.

So I would think a “good mover” in western is one that exemplifies a QH/stock type…not necessarily how they are ridden.

[Flash44]

[QUOTE=S1969;8021956]
Ok, well, sure…it definitely depends on the horse.

In my (non-professional) opinion, however, a quarter horse type has a much flatter way of going than other breeds…seems like this would have made them easy to sit to all day long. I joke that my grandmother could learn to sit the trot on my APHA mare (who is basically a QH and built like one).

The reason you can get a big huge dressage-worthy trot from a WB and not necessarily a QH isn’t “easiness”…but all about conformation, isn’t it? Which why people don’t tend to show QHs in dressage? It’s not because they are “zombies” but because they just aren’t built the same.

So I would think a “good mover” in western is one that exemplifies a QH/stock type…not necessarily how they are ridden.[/QUOTE]

Well said. It’s kind of silly for people to compare western disciplines to dressage wrt the way the horse moves.