Do you like riding english or wester n better?

Question

Y do you feel that way?What are the pros and cons of your favorit?Thx!Best-longest most explained gets 10 pionts!

Answer 1

I definitly like english more. I rode Western for two years, showing and everything. I then moved to English, which ive been doing for four years now. The only reason i switched was i wanted to ride Thoroughbreds and Jump, and you cant do that at a high level in Western. Ive ridden with some amazing trainers,( people that have ridden in rolex and with People who were assistant trainers to Greg Best) and ridden some amazing horses ($75,000 dollar price tag, and horses that have won over 500,000), so i think im qualified to say that English is DEFINITLY harder. You need more balance, and more athleticism. You need to be braver to get your horse over a 4 foot tall, three foot wide jump. When i started riding western, it took me maybe a week to get all the basics down well enough to ride in a show and do well. When i started riding English, i didnt get to show for five months! And that was just enough time to get the basics down. Its so much harder to learn to post, than it is to sit the jog. Its much harder to learn a two point than it is to do a trail class. As for people saying that Western sticks to the old fashioned ways, all i have to say is Bull Crap. Do you think that ranch hands rode in multi colored, glittery blazers and had saddles edged in silver? i dont think so! English riders are dressing the same way now, as they did a century ago, apart from the fact that most people wear tan instead of Rust colored breeches. We still wear show shirts, Hunt coats, black helmets, nice gloves, and breeches. We still braid our horses, which is a practice that has been in use ever since the first foxhunts were developed. And we still use crisp white saddle pads. Pretty much nothing has changed. And for people that say the way english horses are trained to go is unhealthy for them, um, have you ever even ridden english? That gorgeous frame an english horse goes in is developed over months of hard work. Its achieved by a slow strenghtening of the horses crest muscles. And when a horse finally drops into a frame, its because its at a point where its strong enough to. They stay there on their own. They do it of their own accord. And anyone who has ridden a well trained english horse will tell you that the animal feels light and comfortable in their hands. This is because the horse IS comfortable. When we taught my old horse to go in a frame, it was a long process that required a lot of time and effort, and i can assure you, it did not hurt my horse at all! She took to it very well, and in the end she held a frame comfortably for hours. English riding in no way harms the horse, just as western riding does not harm the horse. English riding is just more exciting to me. There is nothing in the world like jumping a horse. It feels like you are flying. Feeling all that power underneath you is amazing. Plus riding in a smaller saddle has always given me a more free experience. I feel like im closer to the horse. You can definitly go farther in English also. I just watched a Grand Prix yesterday where the prize was $35,000! And that is considered a small prize. Plus English goes all the way to the Olympics. Riding English also lets you ride some really nice horses, like Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods. You can ride huge athletic animals. And the myth about English riding that pisses me off the most is that we are snooty. Um, i shovel crap everyday just like everyone else. I tack up my own horse, and i cool him out. And im not afraid of getting dirty. Just because im wearing tall boots doesnt make me a girly girl, or spoiled in anyway. It just makes me classy. I work just as hard, if not harder, than any western girl to win my blue ribbons. Western was fun for me in some ways, but it does not compare at all to the fun im having right now with English. Now if youll excuse me, im going to go tack up my Gelding, and go for a nice gallop.

Answer 2

Personally, I've done almost every type of riding there is, with the exception of showing gaited horses, (but I'm doing that right now with a tennesse walker), and I perfer both. I think to truly train a horse and have a well rounded animal, both are required. English allows for a more elastic contact, but western also encourages contact, but one hand and with long reins. Currently I own a paint mare that I show both english and western pleasure. The best of both worlds because anything I want to do, I can. One of the best things about English is being two handed, teaching a horse to side pass, direct rein contact, easy steering. But sometimes I find that horses can have a hard mouth if ridden english in a very hard bit. With western, a horse is less likely to have a hard mouth because the contact is ligher and softer, but it is more difficult to control the horse. Showing wise, English is better for the younger horses, over six, because they can still be fast, but kept in a frame because you are two handed. Western is for the veterns, and also tends to be more difficult class wise. More depends on your clothes, saddle, etc as much as how well your horse is trained.
The disiplines I find are equally rewarding and doing both makes the horse and rider more well rounded.

Answer 3

It really depends on what you are going to do. I have ridden both for most of my life.
Personally I ride most often for relaxation and Western is my favorite for that purpose.
Here are my thoughts on the Pros and Cons to both.

Western is great for trail riding, barrel racing and gaming. It is a more relaxed setting. You don't have to focus on posting and splitting the reins etc you can focus on the game or the scenery around you.
English on the other hand is more formal and I feel beautiful when riding. Dressage is a beautiful dance done between horse and rider. Jumping is exhilarating. I also love to trail ride when riding English but again I feel more formal and less relaxed.

Answer 4

English. I like the saddle with no horn and feel more in control of the horse do to the positioning of the stirrups on the English saddle. The saddle and attire of an English style rider are just classier in my opinion. I love going over the jumps and whatnot. I have ridden western and it just really seems a lazy way to ride, not to mention you always see people grasping the horn to keep from falling. English requires a better horsemanship.

Answer 5

I like riding english better. I am into hunter/jumper/dressage/eventing and show in all these events. I have ridden both english and western but I started in english and have more than 23 years of experience in it, I only rode western for 3 years. I really just find english, especially 3-day eventing more fun and exciting. It is more work in some aspects to ride english for example a posting trot vs a liesure western jog, but I find that the thrill of the jump is all I need.

Answer 6

Western is easy, you just sit in the saddle and ride. You can also do some cool rodeo tricks. English is challenging, especially when you post and jump. I think it takes a little more work. I personally think you should learn both styles just to gain an appreciation. It's kind of like the difference between tap and ballet.

Answer 7

I personally like Western best. With the exclusion of pleasure/trail showing, it is more fast paced, and you have more options of riding differences( barrell racing, cutting, pleasure, trail, roping). I do love to show jump to, I grew up riding english, I think though it is just more popular in europe and other countries, becase it originated there from a royality class of people in the area, although lots of people enjoy it today. although you dont see any western sports, that i know of, in the olympics. One of the good aspects of english is that it is much more challenging (dressage to be exact :) )so you must have a better understanding of and with your horse, it is much closer contact. Western is great for beginners because you have a horn to hold on to in case of emergency ( I always liked that). I have ridden and competed in both but I really enjoy the faster paced events (barrel racing), which is a "western" sport, So I have to say western is my favorite.

Answer 8

Western.I feel more safe and cradled then english, on english i feel like i can slip off of it.Plus i hang my water bottle on the horn of the western ones.Plus cowboys are cool, and I am from the west.I can't realy think of any cons to the western.I've only ridden on the english 2x so like i said my only problem is i feel like iam going to fall.I think of snoody country club people when i think of english saddles.Western remind me more of being one with nature and just relaxing.English are more used for the shows while westerns at rodeos and barrel racing, which is cool.I think If someone tried barrlel racing in an english they'd go flying.So western all the way.

Answer 9

Dressage is my favorite. The saddle is deep like a western saddle and you do similar moves as you would in a reining competition and it's a wonderful way to "dance" with your horse.
I USED to Event (3 day) and I fell in love with the dressage part. I've stopped jumping and just do flat work now.

I had a chance to ride western visiting some friends in Oklahoma. It was fun and I enjoyed it, but found the western saddle a bit confining as I couldn't feel the horse with my lower leg. In dressage, leg contact is a must and I felt I couldn't communicate with "Dusty"(Quarter Horse buckskin) as well as I can with Ledyard (my bay Hanovarian) BUT with a bit of guidance from my friends, who have never ridden English, I found my niche with Dusty. I had fun spinning on him. And cutting is a BLAST!!!! I almost fell off! Thank God for the saddle horn!!!

Answer 10

I prefer western because I find it more comfortable. I like the look and style of it too. It's more traditional of the "Ways of the West" and I love the thought of "what if I lived back then when it was dirt roads and horses".
I'm more of a "rugged" person...I like my jeans, t-shirt, and boots. English clothes are so formal, and it seems like it would be some kind of sin if you got dirty. That's the joys of riding and having a horse - taking care of it and getting dirty in the process; not handing it off to someone else to do so you don't get your hair out of place or your helmet dirty.
I don't like English because I don't agree with how the horse must hold itself to have the "proper form". It's not at all natural or comfortable for a horse to hold its head in and have its neck arched like that. Plus, what's the point of a crop? If you can't control your horse and have a partnership with it naturally, then you need to get off and start from basics.
Anyhow, I prefer western because, like I said, I find it more comfortable.

Answer 11

I dont care as long as I'm on a horse...Mostly We ride Western because the people we ride with do..We go on day long trail rides and its more comfy to ride westerm,Plus you can put stuff in saddle bags..and I have on warm days rode in shorts with a beach towel over the saddle to keep the saddle from rubbing me!
English, I'm not well Schooled in this but have done it..I like it..I can feel more of the horse under me.I think its classy like someone else said..The saddle is light I wouldnt want to go on a day long trail ride like this though...
I also like to jump on a trusty horse bareback and lope around the pasture I use to do this when I was upset and needed to burn od steam quickly...I'd talk to my horse. He'd listen or seem to read my feelings and didnt mind taking the time out to spend with me