Wondering if....

Im wondering if Chance would enjoy western better..... Im thinking this because today, was a simple 2'3 jump or something like that and she just didnt want to and when I insisted she just ear pinned.. she would go over the 1ft no problem. And when I asked her for a forward trot she just let out a huge buck, she would rather western jog..or gallop

Its not the saddle or her back. Im sure im part of the problem when jumping but idk :(

Opinions?

anyone else had this happen before???

Maybe it was just a horrible day for us ...

You could definitely give it a shot. Do you know someone who could lend you a western saddle that would fit Chance reasonably well so you could both test the waters?

I swapped styles the other way, ha ha. My horse at the time had a big, forward trot (sometimes pacey) that had him lapping everyone in the WP ring, so we switched. After I got over the missing saddle horn, we were both a lot more comfortable, and I just stayed with English, primarily.

I say try to borrow a western saddle and try it out. See how you feel, and how Chance reacts.

I know what you mean. I used to ride Lacey english and basically she'd spook at everything, rear, buck, throw her head and basically just be a jerk. Then I started riding her western and the difference was almost instantaneous. We haven't had a huge bucking/rearing/backing up/head throwing argument in at least 3 months (not including bareback but that was only backing up). She's also practically spook free now.
I think in Lacey's case, she just prefers to be ridden on a loose rein and to have her head (because she'll start regressing as soon as I pick up contact, and she's in a bitless bridle so no teeth issues). In her case too, she's been an english horse most of her life when she wasn't being a pasture puff) so there is a bunch of western things for her to learn- neck reining, and jogging for a few so I don't get bored (like I thought I would) because I'm teaching her to do stuff.

Don't give up completely though! She might just be plateau-ing in her learning for the moment and she's gonna be totally better in a day or week or two. It took me at least 6 months to finally ride Lacey western after continuously having problems (which she still has, just not as bad) so don't give up too quickly.

Have you tried free jumping her? What does she do then?

Sorry for writing so much too...

Have you had this problem before? Because she could have just been having a bad day. It could just be an issue of training. But you know your horse better than anyone else, so it's really up to your judgement. It wouldn't hurt to try out some new disciplines, in fact it could only make you both more well rounded.

if it were me, i would first off look for a problem, such as pain or something. it deffinately sounds like she is trying to tell you something. i know my horse, and if he were to behave that way, there is a problem.

Im thinking cause Chance also will revert to being naughty in teh winter.. and its about that time.... but Im trying to prevent that from happening this year.

Ive ridden her western and english, she didnt really care what was on her back :P

When Chance is in pain she goes all out bucking and everything this was just a attitude it seemed like.

Im going tomorrow to try again and keeping it short/simple

Ill get some videos and maybe post them up here if I feel confident enough lol.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I want her to be an all around horse anyways so eventually I gotta start getting into teh western stuff either way. So if she does like it more ill just do that mainly I guess... im just not a fan of western really but who knows.

Horses, like people, have bad days. Horses feed off of the emotions of everyone around them, an overly sensitive horse will feed off a disgrunted stall cleaner, and just like the emotions of humans, horses can also feed off of the weather. My friend's horse used to get very dominant when the weather was bad (rainy, windy, or just very cloudy).

And as you mentioned, some horses just perfer one saddle to another. My little mare can be ridden english, if I put an english saddle on her and girth it up off she goes cow-hopping and bucking all over the place, but with my western saddle, I could pop a balloon on her back and she'd give me the "omg really?" look that teens give their parents after the parent does something embarrising to them.


Good for you to be willing to change for her. I used to be a straight dressage rider before I bought my oldest horse, and had to switch disciplines for him. It was hard, but now I love riding him.

I rode her yesterday .. couldnt get video because of the lessons going on. But she was really good! I think it was just a off day for both of us!

Im still going to mess around with western though cause I think she would enjoy the change of routine :)

Suprisingly Chance has never really cared about what saddle was put on her back.