Have you ridden a made Western horse?
At this point in the thread, I don’t think anyone should speculate on how those guys go, what they can or cannot feel and what spurs are for if you can’t do that from actual experience.
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Maybe the fact that 6 people responded to correct you should tell you something. I was not nasty or rude to you. I stated facts. If you cannot handle a correction, it is not my issue.
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That’s true. I’ve shown western horses (in the distant past as a kid) both Arabian and QH, with romal reins and big bits.They were brought up through snaffle and hackamore.
They felt the slightest leg and seat aids and the slightest rein aids. Tact was required when riding them for sure.
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nope. Just a few of the of the millions of the garden variety QHs. Nothing impressive and nothing to write home about. they were all kinda …meh. Which is why i have never bought one.
It’s not the breed, it’s the training. Any horse can be freakishly light off the seat and aids, at least some of the time. It takes a rider who has enough control of their seat that the horse learns the seat aids mean something. Indeed, a horse ridden this way will start to teach themselves the seat aids. I do think almost every horse would rather turn and do downward transitions off the seat rather than bit, and will start anticipating. I actually think QH can be quite talented at this since they are mostly clear headed horses that aren’t dealing with a lot of inner demons :).
Unfortunately QH are also the horse of choice for North American beginners and a horse ridden by someone with an inconsistent seat will tune out the seat aids as white noise that means nothing.
If you find your horse has learned seat aids without you consciously teaching them, that’s a good testament to your riding.
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So… which of those is your example of that upswept cantle you said was so common? I can’t tell. Thanks!
I’m not sure the distance is that great, especially if you look backwards to see where Vaquero-style riding and dressage take their common roots in Spain.
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But Mondo, your description of those bits of Western equipment weren’t right. Why are you mad at someone telling you what they are for.
FWIW, I was taught that your “back since” on a Western saddle is called a “hill girth” and does what the name implies, holds the back of the saddle down if one is descending a steep hill. And ropers often have broad ones that serve a similar purpose since dallying rope that has a steer on the other end is apt to try to pull that saddle into the back of the horse’s scapulae.
I will probably never rope anything, ever, so I hope I have gotten this right. 
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Well, that’s too bad. You don’t know what you are missing. It would be kinder (as well as more just) to not pass judgment on the higher levels of riding and training done in Western world.
And not for nuthin’, but that “meh” mind you describe has its uses! While English people (often taught their horsemanship with TBs being the horse-of-tradition) want break-away tieing options or can’t leave Pookie in the trailer while they take a much-needed piss at a horse show, the Quarterhorse is taught to stand tied for as long as required and plenty of them are “bar broke”-- meaning that they’ll stand in the trailer for as long as you want to stay in the bar and drink on the way home from a job. And y’all should see the schooling ring at a big show like the Quarter Horse Congress. It’s Lower Manhattan at 5 pm, but the horses are all business and doing as they are told.
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I agree. I looked up the distance between Berlin, Germany, and Denver, Co, as that seemed appropriate. Continuing my theme, just about 9,250 km between Madrid, Spain, and the Napa Valley in California - because I couldn’t think of any cities except coastal ones!
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I would much rather have a mustang. Same, if not more, common sense and emotional stability but add a tablespoon of loyalty, a cupful of spacial awareness, and about 3 1/2 cups of beauty. *they much more aesthetically pleasing to me, esp the rear end! better bone and hooves…head well that not as much. I am starting my first mustang in western tack. If any of them coming up show talent or interest, we will transition to dressage. (and dress in english style when we do)
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Bronze & Silver on my other horses. The one posted about is schooling 2nd. Thanks for "calling me out"
This
Horse first time in a half breed Salinas (similar to a spade bit, but without the braces and actual spade) yesterday. No contact. My Amish cowboy friend riding. Very soft & kind trainer with curb/spade bit experience from his days in Texas. We used this bit today for fun to see what she thought of it even though she has not had the schooling steps for it. Like putting a double on a horse to see what they think of it. A spade is a signal bit. The half breed is a signal and/or leverage bit. I’ve always ridden this horse on contact so it was fun to see if she could be ridden off leg and seat alone. She handled it pretty well
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I may start a new thread, but my current horse that I referenced above, is athletic enough that I think she would do well in a/some English disciplines. I am not an English rider, nor have I ever been, but I used to ride in a Wintec kinda all-purpose English saddle when I was just out of college. I don’t remember how or why I got it, other than I was curious to see if I could actually stay in one. I liked it just fine, but eventually went back to a western saddle.
So my question is, if I am to dip my toe back into the English world (and there is another excellent thread currently about Wintec’s specifically), where would be the best place to start saddle wise, and how does a larger gal like myself choose a seat size? I will also need a new western saddle if I also follow the WD route, but that’s a whole 'nuther can of worms.
I really like the OP’s saddle, have never had a Wade myself, and really don’t like the way my leg hangs on my current trail saddle. I mean, it’s comfy enough, but boy do I look like I’m sitting in a chair! So would a dressage saddle give me a similar feel of security that a western saddle (think mostly pommel and cantle) does?
You could stop kicking him/her.
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I find that while this western saddle doesn’t hold me in, I’m more secure because I can adjust my position and stay in balance with my horse. Unless I’m riding in a flatter seat dressage saddle with minimal knee blocks I feel restricted.
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Nice pic. For the uninitiated, can you explain what a spade bit is, when it is appropriate to use, etc?
Been thinking about this post. I’ve come around to thinking that it is not unusual for someone to want to change an entire realm to accommodate themselves. There is a word to describe this but i cannot quite put my finger on it…
It is difficult to always swim upstream. It makes life very hard and makes a person live in perpetual strife. That takes it’s toll on everything…including general health.
I find myself in this predicament often. When i hear a surrounding negative response to my ideas/opinions, eventually i bend and really try to think about things from a different point of view. More often than not, i change my mind. It’s not giving-in, it’s ‘evolving’ And usually my epiphanies come when mucking the barn LOL.
anyway, i agree that OP needs to ride that horse in Westen tack and do Western Dressage or change tack and finish what she started using dressage gear.
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Thanks Beowulf. I’m not an expert on this but I’ll give it a try. A spade bit is used as a single signal bit. The spade lays comfortably on the horse’s tongue and has a curb strap. The spade comes in various shapes. The bit in the picture (and the one I’m using) is a Salinas with a “cricket”. The cricket is rounded on the outside and oval on the inside. When a horse is accepting of the bit they play with the cricket which makes a noise. Too much noise of none tells the rider the horse is anxious. A soft mouthing noise is good.
The shanks of the bit come in varying lengths and the cheeks don’t rotate. The reins are called Romel (sp?). They are usually braided rawhide with a slide and a heavier wide end. They attach to the bit shanks with rein chains. The vaquero cowboys used to have contests to see how well the horse was trained by attaching the chain to the bit with a single horsehair.
The bit is not a leverage bit and every little touch and position of the rein means something different. A finished “bridle horse” goes off leg and seat with subtle rein signals.
A bridle horse is started in a bosal. Braided rawhide nose held on with a leather piece. It has a rawhide knot at the end where a long rope (traditionally braided horsehair) that is tied making a loop rein with a long tail. The tail is tucked into the rider’s belt when mounted and used to lead the horse when dismounted.
Later the horse is ridden with a thinner bosal and a bridle with the spade. Horse learns leg and seat in the bosal and this is transferred to using the bit. A horse is considered a 2 rein horse. Straight up in the bridle means that the horse no longer wears the bosal with the “get down rope” and wears a thinner bosalito. The horse is never led with the bit as forward motion would put pressure on the tongue
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