Apparently We Have A Western Rider Now

My oldest daughter was having trouble riding English(the heels down thing) so her instructor tried her western and after an hour she was posting one handed Not to bad for an 8 year old. Wish old barn would have seen this :roll: Our youngest daughter is an excellent English rider go figure

Haha, I am actually not too surprised! Posting was a breeze when I rode Western, but now that I'm switching to English, I have a horrible time keeping my heels down!

Hope she enjoys it!

Not sure why heals down would be so hard English and not western. It is all the same.

I can see the posting as the saddles are different. But heals down is heals down. Same in both.

Also you do not post western. It can be used as a training tool for horse and rider but past that has no purpose in any type of western riding.

Hope she continues to enjoy riding western. So much fun.

The heels down in general isn't difficult for me, it is just keeping my heels down and posting from my legs and not my toes that I find difficult.

Depends on how you define western riding. LOTS of western riders in western saddles post to make things easier on horse and rider. It isn't used in WP (I think - I don't do WP), but is pretty common in trail riding.

Keeping heels down: a western saddle's fenders keep the stirrup more stable than 1" stirrup leathers, and many western riders use a longer stirrup than some English riders are taught. Based on my own experience, I tended to 'reach' for the stirrups more in English to make certain I didn't lose the stirrup. With experience, that is no longer true. Also, shorter stirrups make me bounce more, which encourages me to seek the stirrups rather than sit on the horse.

I think this was her exact problem. She doesn't post western and has no issue with keeping heels down.

Perhaps in trail riding however that is not western riding it is riding in a western saddle. There is no posting in any western event. Posting is done in western as a trailing tool and only a training tool.

Western riding has its roots in ranching, which in turn determined why the saddle looks like it does. Western riding is not based in an arena, but on the ranch. And while not all cowboys post, a great many do. Trail riding is a truer form of western riding than western pleasure or reining.

That isn't meant as a criticism of WP or reining, both of which are sports. But neither WP nor reining are the end all of western riding, nor define what western riding involves. WP, reining and barrel racing are off-shoots of western riding meant for fun and showing off. They are the branches, not the tree.

You then need to learn the history behind Reining. Again what is done on a trail ride is not western riding it is simply riding in a western saddle.

If you are talking about ranch work then that is different. They ride in what ever manner they need to ride to get the jog done.

I've read the history of reining. The NRHA was formed in 1966, not 1866. What is the purpose of reining? "Reining is a judged event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch type horse within the confines of a show arena."

NRHA - National Reining Horse Association

It isn't wrong, but arena sports do not define western riding. Ranch work does. And many cowboys, when they need to go from point A to point B in an expeditious fashion, post on a trotting horse. Not all do, but posting is not just a training event for arena sports.

Trail riding, like much of ranch riding, involves going from one place to another in the boonies. That is a more realistic sample of ranch work than spinning a horse 360 deg around on its haunches, racing barrels or a WP gait. It isn't the end all of western riding, but it is certainly a type of western riding and just as valid as any arena sport. You don't need to have a judge watching you to be doing western riding.