Western Riding critique and confo critique on Romeo

Ok I had a confo thread up a while back but I have new pics from just this last sunday...I also have riding pics from this last aug. So yall can critique me as well!!! Lol We are trail riders...and I know im not perfect....I can never decide if I wanna stear with my right or left hand though I do pretty well on staying out of his mouth...atleats I try to...in the one pic where he is throwing his head an fighting me its because he wanted to go over to my aunt kelly and I wouldnt let him...stubborn thing lol

Any way I don't mind harsh comments so long as they are constructive so tear us both to sheads! Oh an ill go ahead an add that Romeo is Cow Hocked but not terribly so...It doesnt affect his riding or anything...it just shows more when he's being lazy for some reason...when making him stand proper its easy to correct...I guess that the right way to put it...idk maybe im jabbering...here are the pics!!

Do you normally ride english?? You look cute, but you look like an english rider in a western saddle. Idk, just when I ride western, (have all my life) and with other friends, we are very very relaxed in the saddle. Plus I don't do critiques really because I feel that as long as you feel good on your horse and you are enjoying your ride, then it doesn't matter how pretty you look up in your saddle, (others may disagree) but just call me old fashioned.

Also, Romeo is GORGEOUS!!! I am not too good at doing confo, but he sure is a looker to my eye.

Thank you! And I prob look up tight in these pictures because with other people around he tend to just be goofy and want to go to them like "Pet me! Pet me!" lol he really is a character... I was looking more for if my posture was good...im usually a much more relaxed rider...oh an I've never done english lol don't like the saddles lol

And im glad you think he looks good...I think he looks lovely myself and I've been working on muscle toning with him... :)

Haha, well riding for hours and hours and even weeks on trail rides, I guess I don't think about posture when I ride, which is why when I seen yours (which I believe is good) I figured you rode english because they concentrate on their posture. I personally, not really slump, but I don't sit up to to straight, I let me shoulders relax. I guess when I ride, I am just sitting up there, not thinking of a care in the world except that we are in the middle of nowhere riding, lol, so I guess I am not the best person in the world to talk to about posture, haha. But you do look good on Romeo.

I do want to comment on one thing though and it was the 4th picture down that caught my eye on it. I would say your feet are too far forward in your stirrups. When I ride I just use the balls of my feet on the stirrub, not my heel and not the curve part of my foot. You just don't want to be caught with a foot stuck in a stirrup if something for some odd reason were to ever happen. ;)

Yes I have been informed that I have an issue with that....been working on it...staying on the balls of my feet though is extremely ucomfortable for my shin splints though...still working it though lol thankfully if I forget about it Romeo is a big anti-spook and relaxed baby lol and that fourth picture just looks funny all together lol but thank you for the tips!!

Its really odd to think that only two years ago Romeo was a rough looking lanky green broke $800 second choice buy lol He such a big baby now an he looks a thousand times better... lol

Anyone else? Lol

Y'all are absolutely GORGEOUS together! Very fitting =D

I agree with Momma. And I'm fairly the same way. I'm not very good at critque BUT in the pictures, your feet are a little too far forward in the stirrups. You should be resting the balls of your feet in the stirrup with your heels down =D

Aside from that, you two are adorable! And I might just come steal him...

LOL good luck finding us... Its pretty hard too...hard enough that I have to meet my horse dentist at the vets office for fear of having him lost on the dirt roads and the only reason my farrier comes to me is because he lives down the road lol If you can find us kudos! Ill let you steal him then lol j/k

He's a very cute horse. I love his coloring. His neck is a little on the "thin" side because he's not traveling quite right, he's a little strung out and moves from his front end rather then his rear. But if you are a trail rider and that is your main focus, I don't think it matters too much as long as he is balanced.

In one of the pix I thought your bit was too tight and the bridel needed to be loosened but in a later pic it seemed fine to me. Check your mouth, if that is a port bit then you don't really want any wrinkles.

Your seat looks pretty good and I can tell you are putting an effort into light rein contact. I see where he fights you a bit in that one picture but for the most part you don't look bad.

The stirrups are my biggest issue. I hate that your feet are shoved in so deep like that, it's dangerous. I understand the ball of foot pain because I have issues as well, but if you get your weight distributed correctly, you actually are putting very little pressure on the ball of your foot. You end up not really even putting any weight on the stirrup, it's all in your heel. If you can't figure out how to work past that, I would suggest getting safety stirrups because it can be dangerous to have your feet jammed in that deep.

Cute horse. Good luck!

Thank you! And yes the mouth peice does fit properly...it is ported an has no wrinkles...he just gets bored an chews on it sometimes so it looks all drawn up in his mouth lol but thanks for the concern!

Lol I did look into safety stirrups but no where around me sells them...i noticed that I don't have as big an issue with my feet if I ride bare back more often cause his trot forces me to keep my heals down for better ballance lol I guess ill just need to pick it back up again or atleast ride bareback more often lol

I definitely agree that the bit is way too tight, but also think that you need to stay out of his mouth. To me it looks like you are using your reins wayyy too much. But I like your horse, he is beautiful!!