Alot of interest for this forum earlier!

Hi Fred! I am not so sure that western riding is any better for the back than english. One problem that I can see with a bad back is the weight of many western saddles unless you get a synthetic one, which are good saddles by the way. I think any exercies that you can do that will strengthen the lower back would be of benifit. I have a bad back as well, but riding doesn't seem to affect it one way or the other thank God! And my western saddle is heavy! I will say that I have ridden both ways, though not extensively english. But when I did, I sat so straight in the saddle that it did give me a backache. I don't sit as straight in a western rig, but then I don't show either. You have to sit straighter when you show.

As for the scooped seat, that is a cutting rig I would think, designed for you to seat deeper in the saddle if you ride a cutting horse. If you don't sit deeply, you won't sit there long on a good cutter! Different western saddles are made for different reasons. If you are thinking of a western saddle, look for a pleasure saddle unless you are going into something special like cutting or reining.

Happy Trails!
 
i read an article last week that says icelandic horses make a good horse for people with back problems. and i can believe it too..i rode this littl eoen he other day with the smoothest tolt and used a wintec saddle and it was such a light easy ride...
 
Hi all, thanks for all your suggestions and advice. I guess you all know that you can't really go with the horse at quicker paces when you have a bad bcak .Its the old story, I try too hard and just make things worse,instead of relaxing. I'm learning, we all are :D
I need to get some advice about looking after my back,and do some sensible exercises, it looks like I have just joined the club, good luck to you all and your backs. When you think you are doing so well and suddenly a bad back gets in the way,YUK. It is wonderfull to be able to have complete trust in a horse, and wonderfull when you know the horse trusts you,those eyes and ears tell it all.
I will let you know when I start some western training and my verdict on the sadle, thanks for the tips.
Hi floppy,I wonder if at 6'2" I may be too tall to try a icelandic,I haven't seen the one on Cannock Chase return yet,
maybe they got even smoother and quieter :D, they can be ghost like {and show off's, in a nice way of course }
Fred
 
i dunno fred, icelandics can coem as big as 145cms...but saying that the one i rode the other day was 130(?) and im 5'7. she is a tiny horse but adorable...icelandics can caryr quite a bit of weight easily...hmm ask wally or frances :D
heh egood luck with the western saddle when you get to try it..i thought they were horible the first couple of tiem si used it (mainly coz it gave me saddle sore, it not as comfy as the wintec i was using) btu now i live in it :)
 
Thanks everybody for the input and advice. I think the position a western saddle makes possible (sitting vs the "kneeling" feel of an english saddle) might be easier on my back. I'm not too sure about sitting a trot though! As I remember, that involves lots of lower back motion and shock absorption :) Icelandics sound wonderful - but I think inflicting both a 5'10" rider and the sub-tropics of South Carolina on the poor beast might be too much. (Maybe an elderly Tennessee Walker who's very patient and not too tall - have problems reaching up, y'know.)

I think I'll go over to this new barn near me - they teach both disciplines and they offer hippotherapy for kids - and see what they advise. I'll let you know how it goes!
 
Good luck on your horse adventures Peace.
Thanks floppy,I will do some research about Icelandics.
PS; we may possibly be going on holiday in August to Germany,you could give us some advice if it happens :D , please forgive me saying this, but I'm sure Germans do smile, don't they...
Its a very bad English joke...sorry.
Fred.
 
Fred - you could always go with a gaited horse! I know lots of stories of people with bad backs who bought gaited horses and were able to continue to ride. There are so many to choose from too - Paso Finos, Tennessee Walkers, Foxtrotters, Racking Horses (althought racking horses and gaited Saddlebreds wouldn't be quite as good a fit because their gaits are faster and are not the type that they can maintain for long periods of time). I've ridden both Foxtrotters and Paso Finos. The Foxtrotter was really nice, but I would especially recommend the Pasos - like you are hardly even moving...it was wonderful...

Allie
 
germans smile??
hehe...some of them are very miserable looking people but it depends where you go...when i ride ...everyone-even strangers smile and say hello....but at a yard that is a bit upmarket and full of wiss bods then to even get them to twicker the corner of their mouth and say hello is like trying to get a cow to stand on its head!

[Edited by floppy on 2nd Jun 2001 at 09:31 PM]
 
Hello Allie and floppy, thankyou for your kind advice,
my favourite horse, Sophie can do a trot as smooth as silk when we work together ,even at quicker paces,I love this,its like floating on air.But I have a long road ahead and need lots more practise,Im off out on the horse soon,and will let you know when I try some western riding,
also my back is a little better thank goodness.
Fred.
 
Western Riding

Can I just get this of my chest. My friend has just had her horse "converted" to western. He is very good at this, on person rode him and was suprised to find how light in the mouth he has become. But just as my friend was just putting her western tack on, (the rest of her yard ride english) a little group had fromed, as they do with anything new. One woman, who may be has never riden western, remarked, Oh, there what I call lazy mans stirups. Arrgh. I had to say this as when I have had my lessons I get off and I don't think for one minute I'v been lazy. Or have I got it wrong.
 
Lazy Man's Stirrups?

What did she mean by this? What is lazy about it? You just don't need high stirrups on a western saddle. I am sure she has never ridden western before, and unfortunately, there will always be folks in both disiplines that will make fun of the other. Most mean it in jest as when I call english saddles, "espensive leather napkins". But now and then you run across folks who just don't like the other disipline and look for or invent ways to run it down. But, before a person can be insulted, they first must LET themselves be insulted. Don't let yourself be insulted folks. Just a little bit of old cowboy logic! :) Happy Trails!
 
Hi, I doubt Outrider would ever need a 2nd, but certainly
on our shores there is lots of silly one-upmanship and especialy know alls,often we get court by comments that we don't expect,its best to smile and next time you will be ready,perhaps you will ask her lots of questions about western ridding,we all know what will be the out come.Its good to get these type of people off your mind.
Fred
 
Fred, funnily enough my back seems to get better the more I ride. I mentioned this to my chiropractor and he said it was probably building up the muscles in the back that was helping. I suppose it depends on exactly what problem you have with your back in the first place though. I've two worn vertebra in the middle of my back and my neck bends the wrong way. I also sometimes sieze up completely in my lower back but fortunately that doesn't happen very often, usually if I reach down and forwards to pick something up, it needn't be a heavy object either, the time I had it was was picking up a punnett of strawberries!
 
Hi SharonH.
Like most men, I have ignored lots of good advice regarding looking after your back,I would agree riding helps,but when I'm on the really big horses I go stiff and struggle to go with them.My problems are now caused by the silly things too,its embarassing.
Today I was on Sophie, we have come a long way, no more bossing the other horses when I'm on her,patience and a little out witting have done the trick,1st canter was steady,2nd like a rocket. I need lots and lots of practice.
Anyway,hope you get to do some western ridding,I hope to start in a month or two,good luck.
Fred
 
exercise balls that you sit on help strengthen your lower back..there was an article about them in my health insurrance monthly mag. Physiotherapists use them alot etc.
as for western riding..there is a 7yr old arab at this yard i go to that was only ever used for dressage and hacking fully tacked with an english 'leather napkin' and a bitted bridle...and the owner found a 'cowboy' :D to ride the arab about a month ago and i saw this cowboy yesterday and he was going out for a hack with the hrose with a western saddle an a rope halter ..NO BIT ..first he lunged the horse in the arena and then moutned an did a few exercises with the horse (which i dunno what they were because all i know about western riding is how to put a western saddle on a horse!:D) anyway the horse was an aboslute angel and then he set off with his cowboy buddy for a long ride...but i found amazing as there i only know 2 people that ride their horses here without bits! one day..i hope to be able to ride my future own horse without a bit..parelli is the first thing im going to look into ..just thought i would share that with you..

by tht eway...outrider...whats happenign with this western thing you are doing to add to this site??
 
The Western Way Update

The new western portion to New Rider is called The Weatern Way. I am collecting the first couple of articles for it right now and it should be up and operational by the middle of the month. Thanks for asking! Hope everyone enjoys it when it finally does begin! Happy Trails!
 
im sure excersie balls are pretty tough..because of the different weights of people that use them...they are quite big...and as for your labrador the ball would be bigger than him(her?):D and i think it would be more liek a bit of furniture than a toy..unless your doggie is extremely naughty and chews your furniture?
 
Lazy Man's Stirrups

She probably said that because the western saddle's stirrups are more "fixed" than the english saddles'. Doesn't mean they are better or worse; just designed for different purposes. That comment was a silly way to try to denigrate something to build herself up...I can't stand pretentious people.
 
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