# English Riding vs. Western Riding



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

The English saddle is a bit intimidating if you aren't used to it. I just went on a tourist ride with a dude who was only used to the Western saddle, and he assumed a bit of a fetal position on the horse, not looking very comfortable at all. I think the English saddle is great if you ride to get some physical activity with your horse, but for traveling the Western saddle may well be superior with its increased support. I'd practice with the more demanding gear to prepare my body, then use whichever equipment is most appropriate to the task at hand.

I can really see the benefits of neck reining vs. the English two-handed reining. True, two hands can give a more nuanced signal, but being able to handle stuff with a hand not connected to the reins is definitely a great advantage.

To answer your question: I'm riding English currently ("trail" and "field"), but would probably enjoy being able to neck-rein sitting in a close-contact saddle.


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

I always break colts in a western saddle, in case he decides to do something stupid (and they all do, at one point or another). Because I break a lot of colts, I'm usually riding in a western saddle. However I have recently started back into English riding, after a break of 20 years or so. And this winter has been very cold, which means I'm needing to ride in my very thick insulated boots, and I'm simply not comfortable riding in the western stirrups with those boots on, so unless the temperature is warm enough for me to ride in my western boots, I'm in the English saddle, or bareback. Of course I don't break colts during the winter months usually ... I reserve those rides for horses that aren't generally going to either take me for a ride or plow my face into the dirt. 

So I guess for me it depends on the application, the weather, etc. I can ride in anything, even if it doesn't look that pretty, and I have an independent seat so I don't need anything to hold me on the horse's back. So eh .... I ride in whatever is most useful at the time. : )

-- Kai


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Eh, I think it does depend on what you are used to. I ride English but I did ride in a Western saddle a few times. It isn’t that much different but I somehow managed to feel more insecure in Western. I guess I wasn’t feeling as connected to the horse.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

No, that is _not_ true...
To ride either seat and saddle takes work, effort and did I mention work.
English is no more difficult than western.
Western is not "easy" if you are a rider not a passenger...you work here too.
Many have this idea that sitting in a western saddle is so easy, nothing to riding...
They are wrong, and near grossly so.
I'm an English rider for as long as I've ridden, a very long time.
Recently, I started to really ride western, not be a passenger....
I know what I'm doing up there, but doing it correctly is hard work anyhow.
Truthfully, except for the shape of the saddle and more leather surrounding you, very many things are same principle and idea western and English.
_To be a rider is one thing, a passenger we can all be at any time... :|
_
As for "comfort, security and support"....
Either saddle needs to properly fit _your body_ to offer these things. Let us not fail to mention the saddle needs to fit the horse is just as important.
Every saddle is slightly different, feels different, rides different and offers different levels of what you as a individual need to ride and perform as a team partnership....
I am as comfortable going riding on difficult trails in my English saddle as many are in their western saddle.
Good balance, good support and a good teammate make that all a winning combination.
Now, specific disciplines also require specific saddles for obvious reasons, but as a general saddle to go down the trail in...take your pick, learn the saddle and how to work with it and go have a great time enjoying the outdoor activity.:smile:
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I have ridden in both but started in English so have always felt more secure in an English saddle, most western saddles I feel loss of contact with the horse and not really secure, I did own one western saddle that I liked and felt secure in but most not. I haven't ridden in any western saddles lately so they may have changed since I did.
I now ride in a Isabel Wurth dressage saddle and love it, do a lot of trail riding and feel quite secure.
Most of my horses even riding English will neck rein somewhat as I often trail ride with one hand, they are schooled to seat and legs so neck reining isn't a big deal for them.

The most secure saddle I ever rode in during my almost 60 years of riding was an old Troopers saddle, when I had a snotty horse to ride I used it because I could ride out almost anything in it. Never came out of that saddle and I rode miles in it, up to 85 miles in two days with no discomfort.

I guess a lot of it depends on what you are used to and feel most comfortable with. A good quality saddle no matter what type is always best and/or a willingness to try something else and get comfortable in.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

The type of horse and it's gaits matters more than the saddle itself. 


My flat-kneed, slow legged 15hh western-pleasure bred horse can be asked to move out into his version of English hunter trot/canter with either a western or English saddle on, but his gaits are CONSIDERABLY different to ride from a 17hh Warmblood with a naturally springier, more ground covering stride. Western and English disciplines both require the rider and horse to work for correct movement, but that movement could be produced in whatever saddle you wish. We just pick the saddle which corresponds to the job at hand - you're not going to jump high fences in a heavy western saddle with the horn in your gut, and you're probably not going to enjoy running barrels in a close contact jumping saddle.


I primarily ride western on my primarily western horse. But I occasionally take dressage lessons on a trainer's horses. Riding a variety of horses and disciplines (and, naturally, saddles) makes for a more well-rounded horseman, instead of one who has only mastered riding his own horse.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Crazy4myhorses said:


> Do you prefer English or Western riding?


I like them both. I ride Western most of the time because that is my primary discipline and that's what I grew up doing, but I do enjoy riding English too.



Crazy4myhorses said:


> I hear english is a little more difficult than western.
> Is that true?


No, not true. Both disciplines have equal levels of difficulty.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

The answer to your question mostly comes down to personal preference, I think.

I personally prefer (and feel more securing) riding English, but I'm not opposed to Western. I [like to] think the days of playground rivalry between the two are behind us.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Both disciplines have their difficulties/challenges. 

I prefer English. I started out Western but switched to English after a year or 2, & loved it ever since.  It was hard to adjust though, at first I was like 'there's no horn, what if I fall off?' :rofl: 
I just feel more comfortable with it.

As for saddles, sometimes I ride in an Endurance saddle during trails. Kinda a mixture of both, but comfortable.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I ride Western cuz you can't work a cow like I have to for shows in an English Saddle (and the rules require western gear, LOL). Do I prefer it? Only when I do cows; I am not opposed to riding in an English saddle, just don't have any need to for the riding I do. If I changed, yea, I'd ride in an English saddle!

Both are great and both, depending on what kind of riding you do, can be difficult. I thought cowhorse would be easy. Yea, as my Dad used to say,"That's what you get for thinking", LOL.


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

I started English, went Western, and now ride Western and drive a cart  

There's difficulties in all disciplines that you have to adapt your brain and muscles to. I drive more than ride these days due to an old injury and being somewhat disabled in that manner. I can do things with a horse and cart that I just can't do while riding.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

the whole thing about which makes people feel more secure is interesting.

In some ways, I feel more secure in a dressage saddle, in other ways, a western one.
in the English, and to a certain extent the dressage saddle, too, your security depends more on your legs, and having strength and muscle tone. your stirrup is much more important, and if you ride without it, you will ride with much more leg contact and grip. you will 'feel' the horse more, and ride with your weight and support and security a factor of having adhesive contact from knee to pubic bone, all along the thigh. you may feel more secure that way.

I've found, on the other hand, that riding western you do less 'holding on' with your thigh, and more just balancing on your seat. your legs tend to be more off the horse, or just draping down. the saddle by it's very nature puts you a wee bit further off of the horse's center of gravity, and you have less ability to feel the horse through its barrel.

To me, English is closer to the hrose, but more controlling and 'holding', whereas Western feels further off the horse, but more 'allowing'.

I think the 'allowing' part of it is what makes English riders feel insecure in a western saddle, as they cannot rely on leg strength so much , but must use more the seat, . . and, . .if the horse is ridden in a true Western style, it will have a longer rein and more freedom to put its head where it wants, which may be lower. (sometimes I feel , when riding a western trained horse, as if Im on a ski slope with nothing in front of me, and i'll just fall off the front, the hrose's head is so low!)

That said, each discipline can learn a LOT by spending a half year or so riding in the other's boots.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

tinyliny said:


> To me, English is closer to the hrose, but more controlling and 'holding', whereas Western feels further off the horse, but more 'allowing'.
> 
> I think the 'allowing' part of it is what makes English riders feel insecure in a western saddle, as they cannot rely on leg strength so much , but must use more the seat, . . and, . .if the horse is ridden in a true Western style, it will have a longer rein and more freedom to put its head where it wants, which may be lower. (sometimes I feel , when riding a western trained horse, as if Im on a ski slope with nothing in front of me, and i'll just fall off the front, the hrose's head is so low!)
> 
> That said, each discipline can learn a LOT by spending a half year or so riding in the other's boots.


 Interesting thoughts on holding/allowing - neat perspective! All the more reason to ride a variety of disciplines to improve overall horsemanship. And to your point, riding a horse with a higher head makes ME feel out of control since I'm used to those lower necked western types! lol


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I have one horse who carries his head high, and another who rarely lifts it above his withers. I spend the vast majority of my time riding Mr High Head. When I get on the other, I feel like my horse is missing an important body part. Both are ridden more western than anything else.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

It is not the height of the head carriage, as that is based on conformation, but rather if the horse is going along on a relaxed loose rein, versus head up and braced against the bit
I don't care where my horse carries his head on a trail ride, as long as he is soft in the poll, versus trying to star gaze.
To ride either discipline cORRECTLY takes skill.English, that for me is being on the correct diagonal lol To ride a western horse,one handed, on a totally loose rein, without micro managing the horse, takes it;s own special skills


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

What's hardest, well neither and both, anyone can take a few lessons and get by in either, but to ride well, both take some dedication. Then we have to split out disciplines in each style, each of which requires another level of practice and instruction.


Born in England, only ever rode English, until I discovered Western, had great fun learning that. Changed back to English, started on my dressage journey...had a bad accident and started all over again.

Now I think I have the best of both worlds because I ride Western Dressage, some of course argue that I have the worst of both, or neither discipline!

It works for me, I love riding in the Western saddle, but I also like the kind of English feel....and I am working harder than I did at either before!


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

I learned to ride Western basically, although my first year of riding on my own pony was bare back. Once I got more confident my typical Western riding turned into Wenglish--short stirrups, posting, more forward seat, etc. I did barrels, poles, & flags on a 4-H level like that. I trained my next horse to go Western Pleasure, minus the 4-beat lope. Then I took that same horse, bought an English All Purpose saddle and started doing dressage and jumping. I could throw a Western saddle on her and get 'Western' gaits, but put the English saddle on her and get English gaits. Her head carriage was the same regardless as was her resentment for being held back. She was a big 16 HH QH that was trained as a 2 year old for trail riding. 

Currently I prefer my English saddle, but my most recent riding was Western or bareback again. I feel more comfortable in an English saddle. Part of that's may be because I actually bought my English saddle as opposed to inheriting my Western saddles through the years. The English saddle fits me better in the seat and leg than any Western saddle I've ridden in (including roping saddles, barrel saddles, and pleasure saddles). My parents and husband think Western saddles are inherently safer than English saddles though. So I'll probably end up getting my daughter a Western or Australian saddle. The Aussie saddle I rode in I liked almost as much as my English one and I think they're very secure. 

So long story short, I prefer English, even though I've had good experiences as Western too.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

​ 
"_I wish my rider would make up his mind..._"​


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

A close contact english saddle is significantly less secure than say you average western, dressage or Aussie. All often have a high back, deep seat. If your horse jumps forward suddenly or lunges up a hill you have something to keep you in the saddle. Many westerns are rawhide or suede seated, giving you some grip. 

So if you were comparing say a(well fitted) ranch style western with a (similarly well fitted) English close contact, sure it's more difficult. You have no help from the saddle itself, neither the shape nor material. Less room for error, and if you do lose your balance, nothing to help you stay on. 

If you were comparing your average western with a dressage or even many all purpose english saddles now a days, no it's not harder. Just different.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Contact doesn't necessarily mean the horse is bracing against the bit, oh my goodness >.>


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

BlueSpark said:


> A close contact english saddle is significantly less secure than say you average western, dressage or Aussie...


I'm not certain that is true. A former moderator, Maura, told me years ago she started horses in a close contact saddle because that is what she has spent many years using, and all her reflexes and balance were based on riding a forward seat in a close contact saddle.

If someone is a total beginner, then a western saddle is probably easier to stay in when things go bad. My Australian saddle - the one I used to stay alive while learning to ride a very spooky Arabian mare - was very secure for a beginning rider. More so than a western saddle! During the first 6 months, the poleys on the Aussie saddle left bruises on my thighs from being slammed into them - but they kept my hips aligned with my horse and saved my butt.

Once I got used to riding a forward seat in an Aussie saddle, I also stopped making contact with the poleys. It just didn't happen during the next 5 years or so. Then I switched to a western saddle...and for a time, I found it harder to stay solidly with my horse. In a forward seat, "security" comes from low heels and the lower leg - not the seat. The wider tree and all the leather under the knee made it hard to use my lower leg the way I had learned.

Switching to this western saddle made it harder still:








​
The leather is slicker than snot on a door knob. The bucking rolls have disappeared. I concluded they were too small and too far forward to be of much use. Sheepskin - a.k.a. butt velcro - has helped with the slickness, but makes it even wider:








​ 
Of course, there are western saddles designed to make it easier to stay on when things go wrong. But HOW a rider approaches riding counts for a lot. For a totally new rider, I think an Aussie saddle with a horn is darn hard to beat for keeping a new rider on:








​
But I also think a rider who learns English-only may well be more secure in an English saddle, and a rider who learns western western-only may well be more secure in a western saddle. Our habit patterns - how our body has learned to respond in the first split second of a spook - is a huge part of staying on. 

I consider myself a western rider now, but I fully understand how an English rider in a close contact saddle, legs all around the horse, could find it easier to stay on in a jump saddle than a western one. I sold my two English saddles some years back. The horse I ride now is a fundamentally easier horse to ride, and I've also learned a lot more about recognizing when things are ABOUT to go bad - and backing off before the explosion happens. I'm thinking about getting another English saddle for use trail riding.

BTW - when people discuss western vs English, most focus on the saddle. I think a bigger difference is in how one is encouraged to use the reins. In English, the more advanced you are, the more you take up contact. With western, the more advanced you are, the less contact is used.


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

Zexious said:


> Contact doesn't necessarily mean the horse is bracing against the bit, oh my goodness >.>


I can't find the original quote but I agree with you. 
Oh my goodness. :eek_color:


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

I prefer English because the barn that I took lessons at when I first started riding was English. So that's what I've done for seventeen years (sidenote: omg that sounds crazy!). All I wanted to do was ride, I didn't care about the kind of saddle or style as long as I got to be around horses!

Since starting I have ridden both ways and don't feel that one is easier than the other. If anything western seems more difficult just because I am unfamiliar, which makes sense. I feel most secure in my dressage saddle as that's what I usually ride in and it fits me better than my AP. I have done a little in a western saddle here and there, and I would not be opposed to western for trails and whatnot - if only I could afford it!  I think Nav would be super cute as a western horse.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

think what type of riding you want to do plays a big part. I ride both English & western. English riding is still fairly new to me ,but finding it easier in some respects....well except for getting my one diagnol correct ,lol. The having more contact with my horse is easier to "hold him" together. My horse is training for western pleasure & it is actually more work to be able support him with my leg & seat to keep him driving from behind, lifting himself in having self carriage on loose rein . Another note is todays performance western saddles are close contact,they do not have that extra leather under your leg like they once did.:smile:


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

@updownrider - Post #16 x.x
@paintedpastures - You seem to have the opposite experience than most people on this thread, which is interesting. Nearly everyone seems to find their preferred (or just the one they've been taught) discipline to be somewhat easier and more comfortable, likely just due to muscle memory and exposure. 
I can definitely say that "holding a horse" together really isn't the goal in English, so it may be a matter of nuance--doing something correctly one way (in western), and therefore finding it more difficult and nuanced, and doing something incorrectly in another, and finding it simple by default.


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

Zexious said:


> @updownrider - Post #16 x.x


Thanks.


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> sometimes I feel , when riding a western trained horse, as if Im on a ski slope with nothing in front of me, and i'll just fall off the front, the hrose's head is so low!


:rofl: that was exactly my feeling when I was riding my friend's QH (showing WP) - coming from my Peruvian, which has a naturally high head set. There was just "nothing" in front of me :rofl:


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

@paintedpastures - You seem to have the opposite experience than most people on this thread, which is interesting. Nearly everyone seems to find their preferred (or just the one they've been taught) discipline to be somewhat easier and more comfortable, likely just due to muscle memory and exposure. 
I can definitely say that "holding a horse" together really isn't the goal in English, so it may be a matter of nuance--doing something correctly one way (in western), and therefore finding it more difficult and nuanced, and doing something incorrectly in another, and finding it simple by default.[/QUOTE]

@Zexious obvious my description of what I mean by holding it together isn't understood or the best for terminology:| perhaps better to say keeping or maintaining him travelling forward & correct would be better way to describe.:smile: 

Just find that riding English because of I have more contact with horse. The riding more forward,plus using 2 hands & being able to have that light contact to be able hold him & push him up with my legs until he rounds & is driving forward from behind rather than strung out /hollow & on forehand.Comparing to western pleasure were horse is ridden on more of a drape rein & slower gait keeping him correct, & driving forward when you are sitting deeper in saddle & maintaining that with primarily your legs/seat can be harder.


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## kiltsrhott (Mar 11, 2012)

I just want to reiterate that it shouldn't matter what tack you're using. If you're truly riding and not just a passenger you shouldn't feel insecure in any tack or even in no tack at all. Different disciplines aren't as different as some riders seem to think. I started out riding Western. In my Western lessons I was taught to use my seat and leg, to use my core to balance, to ride two handed and one handed. I was even taught how to get up off the horse's back if I had to jump a small obstacle on the trail. I was given frequently stirrupless or even bareback lessons to develop an independent seat. I was never allowed to touch the horn or use my saddle as a crutch in any way.

My transition to English was uneventful. I never felt insecure in any type of English saddle. After I started taking dressage lessons I only realized how similar the disciplines truly are, if ridden appropriately. I've had innumerable dressage lessons on the buckle or without reins at all. Neck rening, or simply being able to move your horse off your leg is a skill important to all disciplines. Being able to balance yourself instead of using your saddle as a crutch is a skill important to all disciplines. English riders bracing on the reins and Western riders bracing on the saddle are bad habits all the same. No English horse should be bracing on the bit and no Western horse should be uncollected, unbalanced and falling on the forehand. Every horse should be engaged, driving from behind, and responding to light contact from the reins.

As I'm taking dressage lessons I can hear my Western riding instructor's voice in my head. She and my dressage and event instructors say a lot of the same things. Things might look a little different or feel a little different for someone who's never experienced one or the other but the end game is always the same. Maybe this is why Western dressage is gaining such popularity? I ride at a mixed discipline barn and we all actually take lessons from the same collection of instructors.

Personally, I prefer English. I feel better having the freedom of movement and the softer seat that my AP saddle has vs the typical Western saddle. I also like having a lighter and more portable saddle for travel and hoisting up onto a tall horse. I prefer riding in breeches over jeans as well. I'm the bum that wears sweats and work out clothes everywhere. Jeans are stiff and uncomfortable for me, while breeches are comfortable enough to take a nap in! I will gladly ride in either style though. I ultimately love both disciplines.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Nowadays I feel more insecure in a western saddle. By "insecure" I don't mean the security of my seat, but rather the security in my mind that I can get away from the horse without mishap or injury. The ground is another story, but first you must get clear of the horse in a worst case scenario.

It used to be that I wanted the first ride for a horse and the first rides on unknown or green horses to be in a western saddle. Once my seat was secure and independent, I discovered that what would get me off in an english saddle would also get me off in a western, dressage or aussie. But I suffered more mishaps coming out of western saddles, and also saw a few incidents where trainers did not come off cleanly.

I've seen a trainer slip and get her jacket caught over the horn when a horse bolted. I've been smashed into the horn more than once on a single trip off a horse, had the fender almost hang me up on the opposite side I was coming off, and I've been battered around the head with western stirrups. In an english saddle I find myself coming off quite cleanly most of the time, I rarely get more than a mild hit from a stirrup, and this leaves more time to think about body posture, rolling and avoiding sticks or rocks on the ground.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Well, I trail ride. For 20 years I rode in a dressage saddle. I loved that saddle. I got a mare who was a bit of a challenge and she made my husband nervous. So to make him happy I bought a Tucker Plantation...seems to be a cross between E&W with leathers instead of fenders and no horn. I must say, I do like it a lot. I also have a treeless but got unceremoniously flipped onto the ground last fall (and not from the challenging mare) so think it best to stick with a solid saddle. Self preservation and all.
Still fondly remember that dressage saddle though...
If one is a recreational rider use what best works for you and your horse. : )


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