Its actually very easy. You can train an English trained horse to a western trained horse no problem, because the western way is much more natural for the horse. Should you want to train your horse the other way, you will face great difficulty.
To change an english trained horse to a western horse you first have to change your own attitude towards riding. Instead of control and discipline you go for fun and friendship. You make your horse want to do what you want to do by letting it have the choice.
Lets start by mounting the horse. The most important thing: it doesn't matter, how you get on the horse! That's one of the fundamental rules of western riding. Do what is comfortable for both of you and don't do it by the book.
Once you sit on the horse, just relax. Stretch your leg away from the horses flanks and get rid of the broom stick you were taught to have in your back. Just sit naturally and comfortably.
Leave the reins loose. It doesn't matter, if you use one or both hands for the reins, just (again) hold them in the most comfortable way.
To get the horse going, you do not hammer your heals into his sides.
You move your hip forward and click with your tongue. The horse will feel encouraged to go rather than pushed to go.
Enjoy the horses movement! Lean back in your saddle. Dont tighten the reins.
To go from walk to trott to canter you do just the same thing: move your hip, click your tongue.
And sit back and be relaxed.
To turn right, all you do is move your hand (or hands) that is holding the reins over the horses neck to the right, without pulling his mouth.
To turn left, move your hand with the reins to the left.
To stop or slow down, you gently pull in the reins just enough to let your horse know, what you are asking. This is the only bit that takes a bit of training. Mainly, because, being used to the English way, we become all tense and afraid to loose control over the horse, when we dont have the tight reins. But western riding is all about being relaxed, and sending tiny signals through your mind and body to the horse. The horse knows exactly how we feel. So, when we are tense, the horse gets tense as well, and the last thing a tense horse wants to do is slow down. So, train yourself to be relaxed, and TRUST your horse. If you trust him, he will trust you.
A famous book I once read by Henry Blake told about a guy who was asked to train a hypersensitive, nervous horse and make it calm. So this guy took the horse, and went straight out into the middle of a parade of people with drums and guns etc. The same horse, that he was riding for the first time, stood still in amongst all this noise, as his rider put down the reins and lit a cigarette. And that the secret: he completey relaxed himself, so the horse felt, there was nothing to be nervous about and relaxed as well.
So, remember the basic rules for western riding:
1. do what is comfortable and dont follow any strict rules.
2. be relaxed. That includes your whole body; your back, legs and hands.
3. trust your horse
4. treat it as a friend and not as a slave.
Now, enjoy yourself and have fun...
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12 comments:
thanks that was just what i needed to know ! finally lol!
This was a very helpful and informative article. I rode English Jump for 8 years before I was seated in a Western Saddle. Must admit, I didn't know what to do. They just said "ride". It's good to know there are "interpreters" out there who understand the differences and can iterate them in such a clear and conscise manner. I didn't see any "hating" going on at all. There are enjoyable aspects to both styles.
I'm 66. I've always ridden western. Grew up around horses when I was a kid but after that, rode mostly at places where you could rent a horse. I now live in Eastern Europe where most people ride English. I'm at a time in my life where I have access to horses and a stable where there are trainers but they don't know western and don't speak English so I don't understand their instructions to me. I try riding English and they try to tell me how but it's basically scary. I don't feel safe in the saddle and the horses are bigger than the mostly quarter horses I have ridden in the past. I have a western saddle and have been told I am welcome to train a horse there to western. How well can I expect him to take to a western saddle? Is this something I can do with some tutorials? I would really love to be able to spend more time on a horse and not need for it to be tightly supervised. I just basically want a horse friend I can sit on and go for walks in the woods. BTW I don't "hate" anyone for the way they ride.
Now I don't hate either discipline but a lot of people treat riding like politics! Can't you people just remember what riding is about? Granted some people use cruel treatment but that's in all areas of riding! I've ridden both English and western and I have found that my talent lies in western
It's all down to what your capable of its great that you love your discipline but please don't bash on others especially if you haven't honestly tried it.
I actually disagree with this article not only for being biased but incorrect
Wester requires as much discipline as English
English rooted from formation riding in battle and western rooted from being in large exspansive lands herding cattle and special skills and heart in the horse .
That limping gait is an exhibition of why a horse needed to go on for miles every day
Every display that each discipline has a root granted there are people who act this way
But do you?
I don't mean a literal limp; I mean the horse has been taught to go so incredibly slow that it looks like it is limping because it is so unnatural. Granted, I don't like the way many horses are trained, whether they are western or English. I have ridden and liked both styles of riding, and I just like to train the horse in a way that 1) they want to work for you, and you have a great bond with the horse (and unlike the article stated, this can be achieved with ANY discipline!), 2) they are properly working off their hind end and have their back lifted, and 3) the horse loves it's job. I am now into three day eventing with dressage and jumping, my horse loves it, and we have a strong bond, and she loves to work for me. It completely depends on the horse and rider and their relationship, I just can't stand it when western people think English is bad for the horse and western is natural, because it's simply not true. It TOTALLY depends on the situation. I cringed when I read the part about having a back as straight as a broomstick like English people, because this article is just showing how biased this western person is about English. All I want is for people to have fun with their horses, and have a good relationship. After that the horse will do ANYTHING for you!! With XC jumping, it is ESSENTIAL for the horse to trust its rider or it will not trust anything you are jumping, and once I had that bond and trust with my horse, we have made great progress :D
I actually completely agree with you. I did not write that comment above; someone else did. It's actually kind of freaky because I don't know if someone is able to access my google account :/ but yes, when the article said have fun with western unlike English which is all about discipline and control, that is not true at all. Both require a lot of discipline, and both are fun.
Wow, this article is EXTREMELY biased and clearly written by someone who doesn't know how to ride english, because literally all of that information about english riding is incorrect.
This article really shows how to ride western, not how to train a horse to western. When it describes how to change gaits, it doesn't show how to train your horse to listen to that command. My horse doesn't know how to neck rein, but in the article it doesn't tell you how to get your horse to do it. This is an article for traning the RIDER, rather than the horse.
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