I find western saddles super uncomfortable. My butt starts to hurt after sitting in one for about 45 minutes or so. How on earth did cowboys spend all day in them?
On the other hand, I love how secure I feel in a western saddle since I can sit deeper. Plus they have the handy-dandy horn I can hold on to if I get nervous (I’ve been riding for a long time but I’m a giant sissy with fear issues).
I don’t like riding western because I was mocked for wearing a helmet by friends and complete strangers. All is well, I soon discovered the western show circuit was not for me, but I did keep the horse and the roughout training saddle. I love the grip it provides, and it was used so someone else did the hard work of breaking it in for me. The only other complaints I have are that it is very heavy, pretty long (so not a good fit for short backs), and it’s impossible to adjust stirrup length or tighten your girth while mounted. Honestly it’s almost impossible for me to adjust those stirrups even on the ground! LOL Probably my favorite thing about riding in that saddle is that I can ride in yoga pants and it’s not slippery, and I don’t have to worry about the stirrup leathers pinching my calves like on my English saddles.
I’ve ridden hunt seat, dressage, western and saddleseat and I enjoy all of them, and have learned a lot by trying new things. I’ve even ridden in an Australian stock saddle, and while I didn’t totally hate it, it put me in too much of a Marlboro man position. There are good and bad with all of them.
It should be simple. My brain tells me it is. But I’m just not good at it. It’s like a different language, lol.
Neck reining. Horse moves away from the pressure of the rein. So to turn left, rein pressure on right (with loose reins, move your hand slightly in the direction you want to go). OK so western folk does this seem accurate? It’s what I do when I neck rein and horse responds fine.
We can say there are several ways to neck rein.
Mostly, on very well trained horses, you barely move your hand a mere inch to, in a sense, like a half halt in English riding, say “horse, pay attention” and then indicate direction by that little movement, along with our seat and legs.
Eventually, you don’t even need to move your hand, the rest of your aids are enough.
That is when you can take the bridle off and the horse will still work without anything on it’s head, completely off your seat and legs.
Many horses don’t get trained that far.
I would not say, for the most finely trained western horses, the lay of the rein on it’s neck is but a very secondary aid that others supersede once very well trained, that moving the hand itself, not the rein touching the neck, indicates to the horse that a change is coming, more than what the change may be, the other aids will indicate that.
With such finished horses, you need to have learned how to ride to that degree of technical skills, or you may confuse the horse if you are not very clear what you are asking, especially when you add speed to your performance, when your timing of your aids needs to be quick and correct.
Hope that makes sense?
I might be the only person that has this problem, but I feel the exact opposite way in a Western saddle–completely unsecure. Like, I cannot sit deep in one at all. Of course I am far from perfect, but in an english saddle I at least appear fairly competent, I can sit deep, sit light, two point, get the horse to go really slow and compact or faster and extended and I have a history of placing well in equitation. Put me in a western saddle, and it’s like I don’t know how to ride at all. I’m also not interested enough in pursing it to learn the hows and whys and I haven’t been in a western saddle for years. I’m just comfortable riding English.
I also had no idea until I read this thread that Hobby Horse sells some hunt seat related things now.
Interesting thread.
The saddles are too heavy. I am a physically broken person and why should any horse have to carry extra weight in tack, too. (I am thin and use a very light weight synthetic Wintec dressage saddle, just btw). I know there are a few lighter weight western saddle but they are still not light enough, imo.
Sitting the trot - my body is bad and can’t handle any extra jarring.
"I like that I can change the lengths of my stirrups easily while in the saddle."
+1
Say, do they make western girths with any elastic in them?
I love the western look, culture and quarter horses, though.
Let’s see…
I like English riding because:
However! I like Western riding because:
The saddle is so darn heavy! My show saddle must weigh 50 pounds!
I have mostly ridden english, but all of my horse eventually got this light for steering. Think about any highly trained horse, if they are correctly trained you rely less and less on rein aids and more on seat and legs. I got a laugh one time. I was talking to the person that had my highly trained TB dressage mare and she got a new horse. Her comment was that now she had to steer on the trails - with the TB all you had to do was look where you wanted to go.
The more highly trained the horse is in any discipline the more technically skilled the rider needs to be for the horse to respond correctly.
A few but not many. Professionals Choice did incorporate elastic into one of their designs.
Of course, if you go with something like an alpaca cinch, that type of material is going to have some natural stretch and give to it without having to add elastic.
I beg to disagree there.
We are not talking about the same, no english trained horse is going there where those finely trained western ones are, not the same at all.
Those that get to that point with some reining and cutting horses know the difference, that lightness no other horse has, that feel that your legs end with the horse’s hooves, you are riding a cloud.
In fact, many western horses never get there either.
English tradition trained horses are not even asked to move like that, would not be correct for them.
It is not just about the steering, is about how those horses move under you, hard to describe, have to ride those to realize how that feels.
Just not my cup of tea- don’t like the feel of being in a Western saddle, hate the horn, not at all a fan of the “look” and not particularly enamored with stock horse breeds. That being said, I’ve ridden Western plenty because most places require a Western saddle to compete in gaming and trail classes???
Thanks for the reply, Beau!
Oh, and cowboy boots, love them.
For fun, line dancing with your horse:
Yes, exactly. I’d been riding English since I was 8 years old. Lean forward, kick both feet out of stirrups… The lean forward was the problem! Now I step on the left stirrup while releasing the right stirrup, swing right leg over, then hang over the saddle whilst kicking the left stirrup free and then drop to the ground. I will not step down like I see Western riders do -it strikes me as exceedingly unsafe. Suppose the horse moves?
Paula
Wow, that horse is sure good at it.
Watch it’s feet, he is very purposefully picking them up and putting them down as he needs to.
As a dressage rider I just can’t get comfortable in a western saddle because the body alignment is so different. The stirrup/fender placement makes my knees hurt.
That is interesting.
I had students from Western riding have more problems with learning to balance in an English saddle than the other way around.
English riders to western seemed to get more stiff and sore on Western saddles, as you mention.
After some time, they all seemed to adapt just fine to the different skills and quit having problems.
I wonder if you could have been helped with a different saddle or fenders or stirrups?
I would say that there are more differences between Western saddles than between English ones.
There are plenty of Western saddles that just don’t fit me at all, while most English saddles are fine with me.
I have never lost that sense of “bump on a log” while riding western saddles, although there are some today that try for close contact and lighter.
For me they still can’t compare with the “postage stamp” English saddles feel on a horse that I grew up with and prefer and Western riders make fun of.
Interesting our different experiences and skills in different disciplines.
Haha, yes. I’ve learned this too. You don’t lift, you swing.
Paula
I don’t like western riding because I’ll never be pretty enough to be a rodeo queen. 
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