New 4H Club starting, 5 girls 3rd-6th grade. I'm taking a neighbor girl so as to have someone to ride the nice pony I got in mid-July (just one of those had-to-get-a-pony-types of fever that kept hitting me every spring, as am at age where long-ago passion wants to override good sense). May eventually be for my grand-daughter to ride, so this 4H Club seemed like a good way to keep the pony used to being ridden by kids. Mostly she learned to carry a pack for hike trips this summer and lead-lined little kids.
After talking to the 4H Leader, who says she can teach both English or Western and actually prefers English as thinks teaches better balance, and realizing the pony was being ridden with English saddle when I saw her demonstrated by a child before purchasing and seems to be more used to direct reining than neck reining when I ride her bareback, I'm wondering if I should buy a "starter set" English saddle (statelinetack has for $169) and have both this girl and myself (by watching the kids) learn to ride English.
I hadn't considered that before, as only rode as a rag-tag kid in California with curb bits and western saddles, certainly didn't have any lessons. Always appeared to me that English riders would need more balance, as they always had two hands on the reins and no horn to grab onto in case of trouble.
Before spending more money, I'd like to hear thoughts of those with more knowledge of both. I have a Western saddle that fits the pony well (got it for the small mule), she came with a snaffle bridle with very short shanks. I think the pony will be learning as much from this 4H experience as me and the little girl. Is it better for us to start as English so child learns better balance and two-handed reining or will it not make much difference? Guess I've kind of accepted that this new hobby keeps requiring outlays of dollars, two weeks before next meeting where we are to bring the horses, so will get the starter set if there seems to be good reason for learning English first, please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
After talking to the 4H Leader, who says she can teach both English or Western and actually prefers English as thinks teaches better balance, and realizing the pony was being ridden with English saddle when I saw her demonstrated by a child before purchasing and seems to be more used to direct reining than neck reining when I ride her bareback, I'm wondering if I should buy a "starter set" English saddle (statelinetack has for $169) and have both this girl and myself (by watching the kids) learn to ride English.
I hadn't considered that before, as only rode as a rag-tag kid in California with curb bits and western saddles, certainly didn't have any lessons. Always appeared to me that English riders would need more balance, as they always had two hands on the reins and no horn to grab onto in case of trouble.
Before spending more money, I'd like to hear thoughts of those with more knowledge of both. I have a Western saddle that fits the pony well (got it for the small mule), she came with a snaffle bridle with very short shanks. I think the pony will be learning as much from this 4H experience as me and the little girl. Is it better for us to start as English so child learns better balance and two-handed reining or will it not make much difference? Guess I've kind of accepted that this new hobby keeps requiring outlays of dollars, two weeks before next meeting where we are to bring the horses, so will get the starter set if there seems to be good reason for learning English first, please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!