Who Rides Western?

riding western

i use to 20 yrs ago and now i just bought a tenn. walker an trying to get back into western riding when i can get this one horse power hay burner to cooporate he's great at the walk but in a fast gait there is confusion i think i'm giving the wrong signals but i'm going to hang in there
 
cappyneil, it is interesting that you mention a TW. I am riding a TW for a guy right now and when I try to get him into a lope, it seems like the front end is trying to cooperate, but the back end continues to trot! Is that what yours is doing? He is a great ride and has a fast trot you could ride all day that really covers ground!

Nice to see there are a few more western riders besides me around the barn here! Hope the Western Way section is good for you guys too! Happy Trails!
 
I grew up in the Appalachian Mtns. of western South Carolina and as a kid, when we used saddles they were western ones. When I started actually taking lessons as an adult I chose western b/c there were lots more barns that taught western and b/c I can't imagine ever wanting to jump (15 - 17 hands above the ground is plenty far enough for me!). I switched to english later, when I found absolutely the perfect barn with the perfect lesson horse and they only taught english!

Hey, Outrider - I didn't know TWH's had a trot! I thought it was just walk, "running walk," and canter/lope (eek, not the melon - you know what I mean :D ) Pardon an ignorant question, but I'm really interested in learning more about this breed - haven't ridden one yet but liked the temperament and looks of the few I've met so far - do they have four gaits?
 
Hi Peace. Pardon my cowboy ways! No, TWs have three gaits, and their official names are the flat-foot walk, the running walk & the canter. There is a good web site on the history of the breed at www.walking-horse.com/history.html and another site at www.walking-horse.com/main.html

I don't know alot about the breed either. This one I am riding hasn't been trained in the traditional TW gaits it seems. I guess what I was calling a trot was really the running walk. Happy Trails!
 
Outrider: Thanks for the site! I went there and spent awhile drooling over the classifieds, but I also found out there's a big TWH show coming to SC in Sept. Think I'll see if I can go and make some friends!

Is the "running walk" really a four-beat gait, like a regular walk? I've heard it's really smooth to ride, but I can't imagine how. If you think about it, there's really a lot of movement going on at the walk. Or is it more like a pace? I got interested in TW's because the ones I know have such great dispositions, but since one of them is recuperating from an injury and the other is just a young'un, I've never actually seen the gaits.
 
I've never ridden Western but I really want to try - any chance a 10 year old TB ex-racer could learn? Lol, he's all I've got to ride at the moment (well, from September onwards...)

That TWH site is brilliant - I'm in love - see attachment! :D
 
Peace, I've never ridden a TW so I don't know first hand of the comfort level of the running walk. I have seen it at shows and I have had friends who had TWs and they said it was a really smooth ride. There is a lot of action, but if you look closely at the rider, they barely move at all.

Anyone want to write some articles for the Western Way for me? Happy Trails!
 
Been riding western since I was a kid...msg

Gosh, I really don't know how old I was when I started riding. I'm 25 now though and live in Georgia. I've never even ridden with anybody riding anything but Western.:D
 
Goforblue,

Quarter Horses are the epitome of versatility. They race, jump, hunt seat, dressage, not to mention all of the "cowboy" types of activities. I think the idea that the Quarter Horse is a cowboy horse is because that is where he had his beginnings...on the ranches of cattlemen in the west and southwestern US. In this country, the primary job of the Quarter Horse has been cowboy type activites. The Quarter Horse is a "cow pony" in every sense of the word, but you are right. The breed is so versatile that they can do just aobut anything any other breed can do.
 
My friends and I have ridden western for about 12 years now. They own the horses, I just come out on weekends. My guy is a little quarter/arab mix with a beautiful ride. He is small and the men I ride with don't fit on him, so I share him with "The Galloping Grandma". She is 75, started riding when we did and her motto is "Pick up the Pace". We ride in a beautiful park on Long Island, New York.
Nothing fancy, just pure fun and relaxation. Our trailboss, the 22 year old guy in the group is leaving for vet school this week and we sure will miss him, as he is the best rider and does the most barn work! Happy Trails
 
Who rides western

I have riden english for years, and last year lost my gelding of 11years, I had him since he was ten months old. Now I have a yearling that I bought just after my last one died and decided I would break him to western. I have now been having lessons, 1st with Pam Brown and now Bob mayhew. I am learning and enjoying riding so much, I wished I had done western with my other horse. I am so looking forward to the day this one is broken.:D
 
I'd never liked western - we only had cheap saddles at my barn and they HURT to sit a trot in! - but I may start riding it anyway. First, we have a few new western horses and they neck rein and do a few reining moves, and I want to learn, so I have to start riding western. Plus, I'm helping retrain a QH cross mare who's been trainied really well western. I rode her english the first time I rode her and nearly came off a dozen times. Not only did she keep stopping on a dime, but she'd be dogging all around the ring from side to side while I tried to calm her down - and then stop! Hopefully a western saddle will keep me in better.
 
QH's

Alright- I've started riding western (dabbling in it) about... oh... 6 months ago. In the last few, however, I have become WAY more serious about it, and instead of my first show being the afore-planned Short Stirrup, I'll be showing in the Walk/Jog 13 and under! I'm in Davie-ish Florida!

And a thing about QH's- I have a horse to prove that the Quarter Horse is truly versatile, and his name is Pal. He- was in the Regional Dressage Championships, can jump 4'6 easy, has the perfect Saddle-Seat trot, can do a Sliding Stop and various Reining er... techniques, was a Team Roping and All Around Rodeo Pony, and now is showing Western Pleasure with a 12 year old.

Did I mention that he was abused? And he stands at 14 hands high?

Talk about dynamite in a small package... *grins at OutRider*

-Jacki
 
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