[QUOTE=SuzieQNutter;7941068]
Hubby bought a western horse, who was not used to contact. I know she was not ridden in an English Saddle because she was not used to my legs on her side, she was most probably ridden in a stock saddle. On the lunge she went around with her head parallel to the sky.
I am experienced in lunging. So I lunged her. Gently training her and swapping her over. She now is rounding up and is starting to look like one day she might actually track up. She is now able to have a leg on her side and she can be lunged with her stirrups down.
We are still in the early stages of being ridden, but now I am being a bit more serious about it.[/QUOTE]
She might have been ridden western, but not correctly, nor trained very well.
Many people start out riding, just trail riding, and have no idea as to the correct way to use either reins or legs, and most of these people ride western first, unfortunately, perpetuating the idea that western horses don’t move collected, don’t understand bit contact, know leg aids, or are ever taught correctly how to give to a bit. Old westerns, certainly help promote this image!
Western horses ridden and trained correctly, understand both leg aids and bit contact because without those basics, impossible to teach any kind of performance. Riding with a loose rein is the RESULT, not the absence of at first using contact, or teaching correct response to legs, where the horse is given opportunity to stay correct on his own, but contact and driving with legs used as needed, UNTIL the horse is able to stay correct for an entire class, pattern, etc, and then truly can be ridden on a loose rein
What many well trained horses don’t understand, esp when ridden with a curb, is that contact is not released when they are moving correctly, as that is the fundamental basis that allows you to ride a finished horse, off of seat and legs alone, as the horse has learned through correct training, that certainly included contact and riding with legs, esp in the early snaffle bit stage, that when he is moving correctly, meaning at the speed asked for, while keeping toplline and collection, the rider in turn will reward him by bit release and lightning of legs. Your husband’s horse is not in this category , but sounds just like a poorly trained horse, period, regardless of what kind of saddle he was ridden in!
