To think American horse riding is much better than English?

[SweatyYFronts]

I’ve dabbled in and out of horse riding since I was a kid. Have always loved it but the cost has stopped me from taking it up properly. In addition to this, I couldn’t understand the point of a lot of it! All this pompous rising trot business and diagonals etc ... all seemed pointless! I just wanted to learn how to stay on and go fast! But as I’d only ever rode in Britain I assumed I must be missing something as all schools taught the same way.

Anyway, last year in America I went on a horse ride through the desert in Utah ... oh my god what an experience! There was no sillyness, no “rising trot” no “KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT!!” ... it was just get on, hold on and ride.

DH is a complete beginner and within an hour we were both galloping through the desert having s whale of a time! In the UK asking them to teach me canter was like asking the pope to appear on Love Island!

Why is riding so silly and pompous in the UK? In America you see 5 year olds with the horse skills of a 60 year old pro ...

Also your OP: 'get on, hold on, ride'

If you're holding on you aren't riding, a horse is dragging you around on its back.

I'm stunned that you have come on here slating the way people ride horses when your husband literally held on to the saddle will the horse galloped about. That's not riding that's a fucking death wish.

It was bad about when you first posted that you couldn't see a difference; but surely you must have know what he was doing was more bucking bronco than actual riding.

I think you should reserve your judgment for something you know a little bit about in future.

My dd could ride beautifully at 5.

Western riding looks fun for an hour or so but i doubt you could jump amd do dressage to any degree. It always looks sloppy to me but i am old school.

As others have pointed out, Western trial riding is hard on the horse. It might feel easy but that is because you are a passenger, not a rider. The 'pompous' way teaches people how to ride, how to respond to their horse's movements and how to make it easier on them , such a changing the diagonal. All those silly circles you hate? That helps a horse become stronger and more supple. And the reason why people are not teaching you canter straight away is because they want you to be able to ride safely in walk and trot first. Horse riding is a dangerous sport and you do actually need some skill to be safe. Obviously.

@ErrolTheDragon - oh my word that link looks fantastic, camping & horses! It's on my list now for visiting, thank you

The only thing I know about horse riding in America is a young boy in DS’s Beaver group really died falling off a horse whilst on holiday there so in my head I equate it with being dangerous as a result.

As someone who's done both English riding and Western (in the US), I have sympathy with many of the views expressed here, including some with the OP. Clearly Western is different in goals, aids, and tack (saddle/bridle). And riding in open spaces in the US is massively easier than riding in confined conditions in the UK. But the difference I noticed most was how calm and un-neurotic the horses consistently were in US Western riding. Yes the bits are potentially harsh but I (and my friends) rode with loose reins almost all the time and found we were able to control the horses more through shifting our weight in the saddle and voice. As a result I felt the horses were more relaxed and able to use their bodies, necks and heads more freely to maintain balance and momentum. They seemed more responsive too. I must say I ended up preferring Western in the US but I haven't tried doing it in the UK.

He wasn’t holding onto the horses mouth, he was holding on to the saddle

Jesus

Should have added, I did Western riding in the US back in the early 1990s and then again more recently and noticed a huge difference in what the horse owners/riding stable allowed us to do. In the early 90s it was, do what you like, with no hard hat, including cantering and galloping. Then in the late 2000s no one was allowed to break out of a walk, so I stopped going. Very boring. The US has got so litigious that they don't want to be sued if someone falls off and gets injured.

Saddle is better than mouth but...
I use a neckstrap despite 30 years of riding because it's saved me a couple of times with a fast spin/spook plus I don't have much feeling in my right leg now
Just because you can get on and stay on, doesn't make you a rider. I still have lessons and training, learning the complex movements and making it look effortless takes a LOT of work (yes, I ride dressage!)

Just read the bit about your husband holding onto the saddle. So basically, you went out somewhere that let you get on their horses and run them ragged, when neither of you had any skill or by the sounds of it, any balance? And that is more fun, is it? Ask the horses that, the poor bastards. Proper western riders put as much time and effort into training their horses as English riders do. Barrel racers even use those 'pompous' dressage techniques to train their horses with, to make them strong and supple for the racing. But they care about their horses. If you don't want to put the time and sheer hard work into being a good rider, OP, fair enough. Horses are not toys.

Learning to ride properly isn't pompous and there is a reason behind every instruction. If you failed to ask or were insufficiently interested in learning the reason why you're taught rising trot or whatever, then that's on you.

As others have said, the point of learning to ride is to be able to control and influence the horse's way of going while causing it the minimum possible discomfort. A novice bouncing about on its back because they don't have the balance, core strength, coordination and/or anticipation to absorb its movement is going to cause it a fair bit of discomfort, especially in a heavy Western saddle designed for the rider's convenience not the horse's comfort.

My old Welsh Cob would have had you on the floor, Western saddle or not, if you'd tried to ride her like a novice tourist would. But if you knew how to ride, you could get her to dance like Valegro (ish). My instructor could get a tune out of her that I could only aspire to, and you wouldn't have thought she (instructor) was doing a thing, which is the sign of a truly great rider.

I am extremely pompous about riding. I've nagged and bossed my dcs since the day they could sit on a horse. Everything has to be done properly, even if its boring, tiring and seemingly insignificant. Horses well being comes first. Consequently I have four decent riders who add something to every horse they ride rather than ruining them and we have much loved horses who would try their heart out for them. You are welcome to sitting on an equine armchair holding on to the saddle like a sack of potatoes with a hat on.

Your h was a passenger, not a rider. If, for example, his horse had stumbled, an experienced rider would (normally) stay on, but he would probably have hit the deck.
I remember the days when there used to always be a canter/gallop at some point when you went pony trekking (this was the Brecon Beacons years ago). I can ride, so I enjoyed it, but there always used to be a lot of empty saddles. I bet they don't do that anymore due to the risk of litigation.

You haven't learned to ride Western, you've learned enough to hack. Actual Western riding is as much a discipline as English style.

You cant compare hacking in a Western saddle with learning to ride English style. One is a discipline and the other is hacking. I learned to ride English style and can adapt to other styles and disciplines.
I can hack Western style - but you can't gallop bareback, or rein back without any tackle on.

Christ I know nothing about riding but coming on here to slate the entire UK riding system on the basis of one (frankly unsafe sounding) tourist ride in America seems a bit self-important.

I’m a lifelong rider (and ex-pat in America) so can tell you that your experience was unusual. Most riding establishments in the US are way more stringent when it comes to only allowing you to walk. Whereas I’ve had some amazing hacks through the English countryside.

Also, little is more exclusive than English riding in the US. The cost of livery when compared to even the best UK stables is an absolute fortune, horses are rarely turned out together, and the US hunter classes are desperately dull to watch. I prefer the way horses are treated in the UK, and the way in which young riders are encouraged to be bold.

RandomAmanda

No sadly I don't.

We had a fantastic 4 day break there back in 2009 so TBF it was some time ago. We were back near there last year and I tried to find details but think it had closer.

The owner was a great guy close links with a similar establishment in the States.

stopgap why is livery so expensive in the US? And why no group turnout, is it from fear of being sued if a horse gets kicked?

OOh someone mentioned it up thread but The Wild Other by Clover Stroud is such a good read (horses, love, family, grief) & includes her experience as a cow girl in Texas.

NOTE to all. Before you go riding of whatever type in the USA please check with your holiday insurance, it is considered dangerous and often not covered.

The OP’s husband could have fallen off if the ‘galloping’ horse tripped and fell, he could have been lying in the desert with a broken back. Helicopter to hospital $100,000? Intensive care in US hospital $1million? Repatriation to U.K. $50,000?

And no the British embassy won’t come and pick you up

@Fibbke I couldn't agree with you more.

Ok Ive learnt a lot from this thread! I see I was being unreasonable so I consider myself told! ☺️ I just never understood the English riding stuff - I was apparently quite good at it but I never understood WHY we did it. I never asked because I’m autistic and tend to only speak if I really have to 😂

But thanks for the info! Always nice to learn something new

Try going back for more lessons. They do adult lessons too. Could learn more about it and why we do things the way we do. 🙂

OP, the place you attended is what's known as a "dude ranch". The horses are trained to follow the leader and most of the time won't even respond to the rider's commands if given. I'm glad you had fun, though!

As for some of the other comments:

Western riding is easy on people, hard on horses.

I think that's rather ill-informed. For one thing, in Western riding the horse is guided by neck-reining and leg/foot commands. It's much easier on the mouth than an English bridle.

Also there is no jumping in Western-style riding, which speaks for itself.

If you're referring to the weight of the saddle, that is really nothing to a horse.

Western.... concerns itself with riders not falling off, and being comfy for hours in the saddle. How the horse is using its body is far less important.

Not true. Roping has already been mentioned, but you should also check out reining, pole bending, barrel racing and other Western events. How the horse uses its body is everything.

Reining is as skilful as dressage, if not more so.

Western riding is great for beginners because it’s virtually impossible to fall out of a western saddle.

You could hardly fall out of a western saddle if you tried.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

It's more comfortable for riders too, surely, than bouncing on your bum?

If you're riding Western style properly you shouldn't be bouncing. You move subtly side-to-side with the horse when trotting.