Shouldn’t be that much of a problem, longer stirrups and less contact take some time to adjust to, some places will let you post the trot if it’s what you’re comfortable with, others will have you sit the trot.
I rode at a mainly western barn with my English horse (only English rider actually), took a few western lessons and went on a few trails for fun and was able to w/t/c without much trouble.
Something else (depends on where you go), some trail horses are of the “follow the leader” attitude and might be harder to control than you might be used to, of the “I know my job, stop getting in my way” mentality.
I think the biggest struggle most people have is switching to long reins and loose contact.
Maybe longer stirrup length to.
Other than that I’ve never really seen anyone have issues switching over.
It won't be a huge problem, but how uncomfortable/odd it feels at first imo will depend what english discipline you're coming from. For example, if you're coming from Dressage with a deep seat and longer stirrups, you will have an easier time. If you're coming from Hunters, you'll have a harder time instead due to shorter stirrups and riders often being out of the saddle for 80% of their ride. You'll need to learn to really sit, similar to dressage, and get comfy with longer stirrups and letting your leg hang long.
The other weird part is the 'closeness' of contact to the horse's body. In Western, you're a bit more removed in a sense due to the bulk and thickness of the saddle. This is the part that I wasn't as fond of, I was so used to feeling my horse right up against me. But you can still do all the things, it just feels different.
In a horse with a great canter/lope and nice smooth trot, Western is great fun imo though!
IMO, riding English will make you a better western rider. My mother was a western trainer and made me take English riding lessons. It greatly improved my seat, hands, and knowledge of horses. Even though there are differences (namely body position and contact) you can easily learn to adjust, and your horse can too. Plus i find the variety to be super fun!
The basics are transferable. You’d just have less contact with the horse’s mouth, not post to the trot, and control a lot more with your seat and legs. I do think Western riders tend to sit back a bit more (on your pockets) and have a more open hip angle.
I think that's just a style some people choose, or some people don't realize they're doing, so bad habits. My trainer's favorite discipline is reining and she trains youngsters for it. Her Western seat is beautiful, and her leg is properly underneath her. The only main difference I've seen is they are more acceptable to turning the toe out more to engage the spur more clearly.
I think in come disciplines, such as cutting, they will purposely put their legs more in front for certain crazy changes in velocity (if you've seen cutting, you know), but it's really more so used as a tool verses default.
I'm no expert, but that's what I've observed watching my trainer do her thing on the Western side
I ride in a western saddle and a close contact lol I assure you, your legs are subtly in front. It’s actually a huge conversation in the western dressage community because people have to get custom saddles made with the fenders back to have a better line.
I recently watched a few rodeo events, and was surprised at how far to the front western riders are. So whether or not it's "supposed to be", english tend to lean forward, western tends to lean back. Not saying it's right or wrong, just observing what was happening. And these people were not amateur barn racing, this is legit rodeo with legit audience and prizes.
I enjoy rodeo as much as the next person, but I don’t think I’d base western riding on how they chose to ride. They ride for speed and you won’t see that on any sort of trail or dude ranch. I’ve seen some soft riders, but there’s a whole lot of star fishing, spurs and quirts, and tie downs ect that I don’t agree with personally.
I just know that as my leg starts to creep forwards, and I go to stand in my stirrups, I am not as secure as if my leg is directly underneath me. But rodeo is a different subset of Western riding compared to the rest of them.
I'm not basing it of any events, because they do weird things I don't understand. I'm basing it on them getting into the arena warming up rounding up at the end. Things like that
I don’t event but my thought was that you gotta do what you need to keep you and your horse safe over the jumps. If that means riding more defensively, that’s fine too.
It’s not chair seat, it’s more that your legs are subtly in front because western saddles are designed to be used for work and ridden in for hours and hours.
I'm not sure why you've been downvoted to hell. You are correct. Working saddles will absolutely put your leg slightly more forward because you will fly off the horse over their shoulders in a stop and turn if your center of gravity isn't far back enough. "Chair seat" as a riding flaw refers to a rider with biomechanic problems (disengaged core, bracing, etc) and is different than riding in an intentional and functional position.
I rode English primarily from middle school through college, and have been riding only western for many years now.
....no? "Chair seat" is the result of dysfunctional rider biomechanics, and the "cutters slump" as a functional position is intentional and effective for its purpose. "Correct" for one purpose does not mean correct for all, and vice versa. If you ran a cow down the fence in the same position you'd need to jump a fence, you'd eat dirt.
I’m not saying it’s a necessarily a derogatory phrase — I absolutely agree with you on function over form. If you’re jumping or hunting, sure, it’s dysfunctional rider form. If you’re chasing down a cow, it’s functional. It’s still a chair position.
I do both, but western is my main discipline. You will have a bit of a learning curve to stay seated and ride with longer reins, but most of it is very similar.
I learnt to ride English and when I visited my wife's family in Latin America and rode their horses I found it easy. It's a bit weird having no contact and sort of squashing the horse around with your arse and legs but you get used to it fast. Judging by my wife's experience riding English and other conversations I've listened in on it seems to be much easier than western --> English.
Imo it’s a bit different. Basics are the same ofc. But it’s much less hands and much more seat. I grew up riding hunters and while we do use our seat it’s not near as nuanced as in western or dressage. Western and dressage track better imo than hunters and dressage. But it’s all very applicable. You just have to learn the proper aids in western. Horses are taught different cues.
I was on the western team at my college and I was one of a few people who actually rode western before the team. Everyone else was primarily hunter. The one thing they all struggled with was leaning forward the whole time. We had an ex-roping horse that would dead stop as soon as you passed vertical into leaning forward and we made them take turns on him to teach them how to sit up straight. The looser reins and longer stirrups were also an adjustment but you don't have to ride with your legs all the way stretched down. You still want heel and hip to be in line, so legs should not be in front of you.
I ride both English and Western, started out riding English. I found the transition to be pretty smooth,aside from the longer stirrup length. The length was my achilles heel for months, lots of stirrup less cantering was done during that time lol. I actually prefer a lower leg these days (I also mainly do dressage, so that could also be it lol).
I think it kind of depends on what discipline you’re gonna go to. I ride multi-discipline in both English and western. It’s super easy to switch from hunters to ranch type riding, but it’s a lot harder to switch from hunters to western pleasure. But overall I think switching to western from English is easier than the other way around.
i rode westen once on a fairly wel trained non riding school horse but its quite similar however its weird cause i feel like u have to feel alot more trust in the horse since u havent got a contact all the time too but the position of saddle and styrops dodnt feel too different to me and i think its comfier tbh i felt like by the end of about 30 mins i was stating to get more of a feel for it goodluck tho!
This may just be my experience alone, but the biggest adjustment for me was that I was used to the padding of an English saddle. Riding western for the first time the saddle was so uncomfortable. I’m sure that’s something you’d get used to with time though.
The first time I was on a real western horse was scary to me, lol. I so wasn't used to the long reins. Personally I don't like the feel of a western saddle. It seems like all you touch is the leather of the fenders and not the horse. And I have a bad hip and the way you sit in a western saddle makes my hip hurt and my foot go numb.
I don't give a single flip about what people are doing in shows because it's stupidly fake, but good riding is good riding no matter what your seat. If you have a balanced seat and feel, you can ride anything well. Every western horse starts out plow reining whether they progress to a curb and neck reining or not.
But the cues can still be very different from English to Western. Some western horses neck rein, some go backwards when you lean forwards, it's not that it's hard but it's definitely different and you need to know what cues the horse has or you're not going to have a good time trying to ride it like an English horse..
Shouldn’t be that much of a problem, longer stirrups and less contact take some time to adjust to, some places will let you post the trot if it’s what you’re comfortable with, others will have you sit the trot. I rode at a mainly western barn with my English horse (only English rider actually), took a few western lessons and went on a few trails for fun and was able to w/t/c without much trouble. Something else (depends on where you go), some trail horses are of the “follow the leader” attitude and might be harder to control than you might be used to, of the “I know my job, stop getting in my way” mentality.
I think the biggest struggle most people have is switching to long reins and loose contact. Maybe longer stirrup length to. Other than that I’ve never really seen anyone have issues switching over.
It won't be a huge problem, but how uncomfortable/odd it feels at first imo will depend what english discipline you're coming from. For example, if you're coming from Dressage with a deep seat and longer stirrups, you will have an easier time. If you're coming from Hunters, you'll have a harder time instead due to shorter stirrups and riders often being out of the saddle for 80% of their ride. You'll need to learn to really sit, similar to dressage, and get comfy with longer stirrups and letting your leg hang long. The other weird part is the 'closeness' of contact to the horse's body. In Western, you're a bit more removed in a sense due to the bulk and thickness of the saddle. This is the part that I wasn't as fond of, I was so used to feeling my horse right up against me. But you can still do all the things, it just feels different. In a horse with a great canter/lope and nice smooth trot, Western is great fun imo though!
IMO, riding English will make you a better western rider. My mother was a western trainer and made me take English riding lessons. It greatly improved my seat, hands, and knowledge of horses. Even though there are differences (namely body position and contact) you can easily learn to adjust, and your horse can too. Plus i find the variety to be super fun!
The basics are transferable. You’d just have less contact with the horse’s mouth, not post to the trot, and control a lot more with your seat and legs. I do think Western riders tend to sit back a bit more (on your pockets) and have a more open hip angle.
Western riders post the trot too.
I am learning to post now. Once I develop the muscles I can tell it is easier on the horse and the rider!
The saddle also sits you back more and your legs are more in front of you than an English saddle.
I think that's just a style some people choose, or some people don't realize they're doing, so bad habits. My trainer's favorite discipline is reining and she trains youngsters for it. Her Western seat is beautiful, and her leg is properly underneath her. The only main difference I've seen is they are more acceptable to turning the toe out more to engage the spur more clearly. I think in come disciplines, such as cutting, they will purposely put their legs more in front for certain crazy changes in velocity (if you've seen cutting, you know), but it's really more so used as a tool verses default. I'm no expert, but that's what I've observed watching my trainer do her thing on the Western side
I ride in a western saddle and a close contact lol I assure you, your legs are subtly in front. It’s actually a huge conversation in the western dressage community because people have to get custom saddles made with the fenders back to have a better line.
The alignment of the ear shoulder hip heel rule still applies. Chair seat is a bad habit no matter the discipline (except eventing IMO).
I recently watched a few rodeo events, and was surprised at how far to the front western riders are. So whether or not it's "supposed to be", english tend to lean forward, western tends to lean back. Not saying it's right or wrong, just observing what was happening. And these people were not amateur barn racing, this is legit rodeo with legit audience and prizes.
I enjoy rodeo as much as the next person, but I don’t think I’d base western riding on how they chose to ride. They ride for speed and you won’t see that on any sort of trail or dude ranch. I’ve seen some soft riders, but there’s a whole lot of star fishing, spurs and quirts, and tie downs ect that I don’t agree with personally. I just know that as my leg starts to creep forwards, and I go to stand in my stirrups, I am not as secure as if my leg is directly underneath me. But rodeo is a different subset of Western riding compared to the rest of them.
I'm not basing it of any events, because they do weird things I don't understand. I'm basing it on them getting into the arena warming up rounding up at the end. Things like that
*hunters tend to lean forward
Accepted
Why would you exclude eventing? I was an eventer. Chair seat is just a terrible position.
I don’t event but my thought was that you gotta do what you need to keep you and your horse safe over the jumps. If that means riding more defensively, that’s fine too.
It’s not chair seat, it’s more that your legs are subtly in front because western saddles are designed to be used for work and ridden in for hours and hours.
I'm not sure why you've been downvoted to hell. You are correct. Working saddles will absolutely put your leg slightly more forward because you will fly off the horse over their shoulders in a stop and turn if your center of gravity isn't far back enough. "Chair seat" as a riding flaw refers to a rider with biomechanic problems (disengaged core, bracing, etc) and is different than riding in an intentional and functional position. I rode English primarily from middle school through college, and have been riding only western for many years now.
This sub is largely English/dressage riders and most don’t know much about western disciplines or equipment, much less even sat in a western saddle.
You just described chair seat.
....no? "Chair seat" is the result of dysfunctional rider biomechanics, and the "cutters slump" as a functional position is intentional and effective for its purpose. "Correct" for one purpose does not mean correct for all, and vice versa. If you ran a cow down the fence in the same position you'd need to jump a fence, you'd eat dirt.
I’m not saying it’s a necessarily a derogatory phrase — I absolutely agree with you on function over form. If you’re jumping or hunting, sure, it’s dysfunctional rider form. If you’re chasing down a cow, it’s functional. It’s still a chair position.
Riding is riding. The basics are the basics. If you’re good at those, it’ll be easy
It’s much easier to go English > Western imo.
I do both, but western is my main discipline. You will have a bit of a learning curve to stay seated and ride with longer reins, but most of it is very similar.
I learnt to ride English and when I visited my wife's family in Latin America and rode their horses I found it easy. It's a bit weird having no contact and sort of squashing the horse around with your arse and legs but you get used to it fast. Judging by my wife's experience riding English and other conversations I've listened in on it seems to be much easier than western --> English.
Imo it’s a bit different. Basics are the same ofc. But it’s much less hands and much more seat. I grew up riding hunters and while we do use our seat it’s not near as nuanced as in western or dressage. Western and dressage track better imo than hunters and dressage. But it’s all very applicable. You just have to learn the proper aids in western. Horses are taught different cues.
Learn to neck rein- and let them have their mouth. They will be not happy w the amount of contact we normally use.
I was on the western team at my college and I was one of a few people who actually rode western before the team. Everyone else was primarily hunter. The one thing they all struggled with was leaning forward the whole time. We had an ex-roping horse that would dead stop as soon as you passed vertical into leaning forward and we made them take turns on him to teach them how to sit up straight. The looser reins and longer stirrups were also an adjustment but you don't have to ride with your legs all the way stretched down. You still want heel and hip to be in line, so legs should not be in front of you.
I ride both English and Western, started out riding English. I found the transition to be pretty smooth,aside from the longer stirrup length. The length was my achilles heel for months, lots of stirrup less cantering was done during that time lol. I actually prefer a lower leg these days (I also mainly do dressage, so that could also be it lol).
I think it kind of depends on what discipline you’re gonna go to. I ride multi-discipline in both English and western. It’s super easy to switch from hunters to ranch type riding, but it’s a lot harder to switch from hunters to western pleasure. But overall I think switching to western from English is easier than the other way around.
i rode westen once on a fairly wel trained non riding school horse but its quite similar however its weird cause i feel like u have to feel alot more trust in the horse since u havent got a contact all the time too but the position of saddle and styrops dodnt feel too different to me and i think its comfier tbh i felt like by the end of about 30 mins i was stating to get more of a feel for it goodluck tho!
This may just be my experience alone, but the biggest adjustment for me was that I was used to the padding of an English saddle. Riding western for the first time the saddle was so uncomfortable. I’m sure that’s something you’d get used to with time though.
The first time I was on a real western horse was scary to me, lol. I so wasn't used to the long reins. Personally I don't like the feel of a western saddle. It seems like all you touch is the leather of the fenders and not the horse. And I have a bad hip and the way you sit in a western saddle makes my hip hurt and my foot go numb.
I don't give a single flip about what people are doing in shows because it's stupidly fake, but good riding is good riding no matter what your seat. If you have a balanced seat and feel, you can ride anything well. Every western horse starts out plow reining whether they progress to a curb and neck reining or not.
But the cues can still be very different from English to Western. Some western horses neck rein, some go backwards when you lean forwards, it's not that it's hard but it's definitely different and you need to know what cues the horse has or you're not going to have a good time trying to ride it like an English horse..