# Western Cross Country??



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

A bit, well quite a bit, faster than endurance. And you are correct that it is an English discipline. Simply because the types of saddles used allow for the best movement from the horse.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

It would hurt like heck to get stabbed by the horn jumping cross country!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DressageCowgirl (Apr 14, 2014)

Cross country is actually a completely different kind of event than endurance. Endurance may be timed, but cross country is TIMED timed, as in you have a very short amount of time to get around the course, jumping large semi-natural obstacles on the way. (By semi-natural I mean that it is pretty darn unlikely you will ever actually NEED to jump off a six foot bank into water at a hand gallop, and in most cases you would just ride AROUND that four foot tall, five foot wide pile of logs!). The horse must have endurance to do this, but it's not the same kind of endurance needed for a hundred hours in the saddle over multiple day rides. 

People do not do cross country in Western mainly because in order to be balanced over the jump you must lean forward and you would get shanked by the saddle horn. Weight and shape of the saddle is also a factor, as well as the fact that you need short stirrups so you can rise off your horse's back. That does NOT mean that you can't jump small obstacles during a trail ride in your Western saddle, but cross country jumps are usually pretty big, starting at 2'6" with 4 foot ditches and 3'3" drops at the Beginner Novice level. For that you will need a saddle that will allow you to get into two-point (jumping position), which a Western saddle will not do.


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## Saddlebred11 (Mar 27, 2014)

To clear it up you CAN jump in a western saddle by putting your hand on the saddle horn making you safer and LESS likely to get stabbed. However I might try like bareback before I did western. I also think you should learn to jump in a controlled environment before going out cross country jumping


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

You can get off the horse's back with a western saddle too. Just make the stirrups shorter.  Kind of defeats the purpose of a relaxing comfortable ride, but it's do-able. And there are plenty of western saddles without horns too.  You could also use an endurance saddle. Best of both worlds sometimes.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

The problem with jumping in a western saddle isn't the horn so much as it is the length of the tree. A western saddle has a tree that extends on to the loin. This long, rigid bar then makes it harder for the horse to use its back as it jumps. It is kind of like doing gymnastics in a back brace.

You can jump a horse using a western saddle. John Wayne did it in True Grit, and he wasn't a small, light guy! But you will be at a huge disadvantage in a cross country competition. I'll admit, this is not a spot where the guy in me would like to have a horn...but then, this doesn't look like fun to me in ANY saddle:










BTW - there is some debate if John Wayne rode the jump in True Grit, but most of what I've seen says he did:


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

bsms said:


> BTW - there is some debate if John Wayne rode the jump in True Grit, but most of what I've seen says he did:


The image you posted didn't show up, but from what I have read, Jim Burk doubled for the jump but was never credited for it.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

As others have mentioned, cross country courses are fairly quick (a matter of a few minutes) at high speed, while endurance is done over the course of several hours at much lower speeds. Additionally, cross country is one of three phases of eventing/combined training (the other two are dressage and show jumping) There may be some competitions that are only cross country, but I've never seen them.

You could probably do some small jumps in a western saddle, so maybe you could initially begin with your current saddle (you'll start on tiny cross rails anyway!) but any jumping competition is going to require english tack. 

One other thing to consider is that cross country jumps get very intimidating very quickly (to me at least) The first recognized eventing level is Beginner Novice at 2'7" and the jumps are very wide as well as tall, and are solid. Some shows have lower, unrecognized levels (I'm going to one this month at "intro" level, 2'3")


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

You need a lot of jumping experience before even attempting cross country! And so do horses.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Doing the odd tiny jump(under 2') in a western saddle is okay. However doing multiple jumps on a regular basis over 2' and you are asking for problems. A western saddle does not allow the horse to bascule over the fence which means he/she can not use their backs properly. Also western saddles distribute weight over the horses back differently as well, which again does not let them use themselves.

Then as others have said, it doesn't allow you to go with the horse the way you should and speaking from experience, a horn in the gut over a fence hurts like an SOB lol.

As for cross country not being fun, well to each is own. But to me nothing beats the rush of you and your horse galloping full out to a drop or a water obstacle


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

^^^...sorry. I admire eventers, but I know my 56 year old body has NO desire to swap places with this guy. In fact, I think I'll go take some Motrin just because I looked at the picture: :shock:


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Trying to do extensive amounts of jumping in a western saddle is unfair to both you and your horse. Yes, you can manage to avoid the horn if you grab it...and you can get off their back if the stirrups are short enough, but a western saddle is still not designed to be jumped in and so it will screw with your balance and, in turn, effect your horse's balance and agility/ability.

If I was going to do any jumping in a western saddle, I wouldn't go for anything more than about a foot tall. That's just tall enough to encourage them to jump but not so tall that they really need full range of motion in their back (because of what BSMS said).

You might be interested in doing something like extreme trail riding or extreme cowboy races. There is generally something to jump in there and it can be very competitive. Plus, you wouldn't need all new tack for it.

Extreme Cowboy Association


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