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"English horse" vs. "Western horse"

3K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  Knave 
#1 ·
Hi there! I'm super new to riding, so forgive my beginner question. I sometimes hear owners refer to their horses as an "English horse" or a "Western horse." Does this simply mean their horse prefers English/Western tack or is this more about the activities their horse enjoys, such as barrel racing, etc.?

Thanks so much!
 
#2 ·
I like to think of "English" as riding mostly aligned with the hunting tradition, whereas "Western" is more aligned with the ranch work tradition. This has led to specialized tack and specialized breeds. However, the principles of horsemanship don't change with the tasks you ask the horse to perform, so rather than being two separate areas, they branch out from what I'd call "the fundamentals". They only appear to be distinct at the foundation because you have to pick the tack, and the riding school, and at that point the distinction becomes apparent to an observer. As you start riding, however, look more for the overlaps between them, no matter which kind of tack you choose to start with.
 
#3 ·
It depends on the person who is referring to the horse... LOL


It could mean that the horse has a more forward stride/movement and the conformation makes it more suitable for English disciplines and it could mean the horse is merely trained in English riding, it could mean the rider rides it English only... It could mean that the rider shows it English...And yes, it could mean that the tack is simply a better fit...


Same with western, the conformation, the movement, the way of going, the build, the look, the tack, the training etc.


Truthfully if the saddle fits you can really tack up any horse in any saddle and make it an "English" horse or "western" horse....
 
#5 ·
Does this simply mean their horse prefers English/Western tack or is this more about the activities their horse enjoys, such as barrel racing, etc.?
I like that you put it that way. Id like to say yes that is correct. Too often though, the horse's preferences don't come into it in the least. Whether tack or discipline, a horse is 'dressed' & worked to the riders preferences.
 
#6 ·
I don’t really think that’s a fair thing to say @loosie. It’s not a person’s choice really what they know how to do. How would you ever know if you have a horse that would excel at or like to be a calf roping horse? Maybe he would like to pull carts... I would never know if my horse would enjoy playing polo, but he does love chasing balls, is very aggressive, and can move really quick. Even so, I will never have any idea because I don’t play polo.
 
#8 ·
I don’t really think that’s a fair thing to say @loosie. It’s not a person’s choice really what they know how to do. ... Even so, I will never have any idea because I don’t play polo.
I dont get your disagreeing (or get what you feel is 'unfair' -maybe you took it the wrong way) because that's precisely my point, that the rider does what they want to do, may not have a clue what the horse might prefer, if they've never had the option to try. But that it's not a person's choice what they know how to do - disagree with that part - of course it's a person's choice whether or not they learn/do other stuff!
 
#14 ·
@loosie maybe I did take it wrong. Then I still don’t believe it’s a person’s choice the culture they exist in, but I guess one could argue everything is a choice. I could live in another country and do another thing if I made up my mind to do so. If we went too far down that hole though it would get too deep for my taste. I will stick with the idea though that for whatever reason some are stuck in their boundaries.

So my question then is this. Do you do everything you can to find out what your horses are interested in? Do you know if your horse prefers working for a living as a cowboy horse or if he enjoys pulling a cart? Have you gone that far outside your own boundaries to see?

I think my horses live within my boundaries. I try to make things joyful for them. Sometimes I make them do jobs they actually dislike. I do jobs I don’t care for, and I even make my children do things they don’t like to do. I try and make those things as fun for everyone as I can, but whether they make the best of it or not I can’t actually control. I do try and maintain a balance of fun with work for everyone, horse included.

Sorry to have digressed so far off topic. I think an English horse was trained within that culture and a western within that. That doesn’t mean they can change simply by changing their environments.
 
#19 ·
@loosie maybe I did take it wrong. Then I still don’t believe it’s a person’s choice the culture they exist in, but I guess one could argue everything is a choice. I could live in another country and do another thing if I made up my mind to do so. If we went too far down that hole though it would get too deep for my taste. I will stick with the idea though that for whatever reason some are stuck in their boundaries.

So my question then is this. Do you do everything you can to find out what your horses are interested in? Do you know if your horse prefers working for a living as a cowboy horse or if he enjoys pulling a cart? Have you gone that far outside your own boundaries to see?

I think my horses live within my boundaries. I try to make things joyful for them. Sometimes I make them do jobs they actually dislike. I do jobs I don’t care for, and I even make my children do things they don’t like to do. I try and make those things as fun for everyone as I can, but whether they make the best of it or not I can’t actually control. I do try and maintain a balance of fun with work for everyone, horse included.

Sorry to have digressed so far off topic. I think an English horse was trained within that culture and a western within that. That doesn’t mean they can change simply by changing their environments.

I am really not sure how culture came into this....I am English, born and bred, and now live in Canada, I have ridden English and Western in both countries..

As to the horse, well the girl I bought Fergie from was worried because she had only ever done English, and she thought she wouldn't make a western horse, her view of Western was Western Pleasure, and no Fergie would not be happy doing that, however wearing a western saddle and doing Western Dressage she seems to be really happy with. Gibbs, bless him, was a Western Horse through and through, but his reactions told me he really did not enjoy being a dressage horse.

Like most people horses do not get to try every job in the world, but if they are lucky, and they have owners that listen, they will not be asked to do something they obviously do not enjoy, and will get to try something else. My favorite story of that, a mare I owned for a while, who came to me because her last two people couldn't get on with her...she wasn't right for me either, sour, miserable, did not seem to enjoy life. He next owner tried jumping her, what do you know she LOVES jumping, then for a laugh she tried barrel racing one day, in her English saddle, and the mare rocked it.

She now lives with a family where she is competitive in both saddles, and is very content with her life...her main rider is a boy, first man in her life, and she loves him.
 
#15 ·
Hi there! I'm super new to riding, so forgive my beginner question. I sometimes hear owners refer to their horses as an "English horse" or a "Western horse." Does this simply mean their horse prefers English/Western tack or is this more about the activities their horse enjoys, such as barrel racing, etc.?

Thanks so much!

Well, here's an English horse:




And here's a Western horse:








Oh wait ...... it's the SAME HORSE!!! :D:D


Truthfully, most horses are going to be doing what their OWNER enjoys. Yes, there are horses that (when showing) would pin better as a Western horse, rather than an English horse, based on their natural movement. And of course there are horses that are bred for specific events such as being bred for Western Pleasure or Reining or a warmblood Show Jumper or Dressage. A little 14 hand Quarter Horse isn't going to pin against a warmblood that has big dressage movements. Sure, that QH could do dressage and probably quite enjoy it, because it just depends at WHAT LEVEL you want to be competitive at. You find a horse suitable for your chosen discipline, if you want to win.



But overall, I think the vast majority of horses are fairly happy doing a variety of tasks.
 
#21 ·
Don't know what Australians do. English? Western? Red-headed stepchild?
The latter I think. :rofl: And a red-headed person in Australia is referred to as "bluey" - just as a bald person is referred to as "curly"!


Of course, their horses need to have hooks on the bottom of their feet to keep from falling off the bottom or the world....
And not just the horses either, you should see the people! :cool: Life is sooooo interesting in a microgravity environment.... ;-)

Oh wait. If we don't have full gravity, how did I break my foot? :think: Theories welcome. :cool:


I wonder what happened to the emoji of the smiley hiding under the chair? I wanted to use that today on a thread about trotting (when I suggested that going to gaited horses would just give you a big grin on your face) but I couldn't find the little guy!
What happens is that the ones you want off the list whose codes you have forgotten know that you want them and perversely hide from you. If you listen carefully, you can hear them sniggering. I sometimes have to scan that list half a dozen times before a particular emoji will reveal itself!
 
#20 ·
Golden Horse I meant culture more like, I am a person who lives on a ranch and uses horses for work. Around me there are very few English competitions or riders. I do ride some English for fun, and I even practice dressage exercises and jumps, but not to any extent I would call my horses English horses.

I just think it’s unrealistic to assume one has the opportunity to try everything. I always have wondered if maybe some ranch horse would be the world’s best horse at some random thing he would never try. People too, maybe you have the potential to be a world class skier, but never have even seen the snow. Lol. That is what I was getting at.

I like your story. I do make horses do some aspect of jobs they dislike, like I said, but I try to be fair and understanding. No, I don’t make a horse compete at something he doesn’t like. For example though: I owned a horse called General. He was a great ranch horse and I don’t think anyone would have said he didn’t like his job or work. However, he didn’t like holding cattle sorting. He was an *** about it. The whole letting cattle out and stand there all unorganized irritated him and he told me all about it. Oh well, he still had to do his job those days.
 
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#26 ·
I think the terms English and Western are too vague to have much meaning. In specialized or highly competitive disciplines within those categories, there will be a type of horse which excels and types of horses that don't. The more variant from a normal average physical (or mental) type that is needed, the more that is true. Few horses make it to the championships of any discipline without being bred specifically for it. Think of those wicked fast cowy little cutting horses, the very tall warmbloods with the floaty trots, the endurance-bred Arabians that are made of steel. Nobody really can touch them in their fields. Also true of the AQHA Pleasure horses bred to jog infinitesimally slowly with their chins grazing the ground, and the various saddle seat horses bred to do almost the exact opposite. These horses are all trained to do these things but they also must be bred for it.

But an average-sized, good minded horse with generically good conformation can do most anything it can be trained for, it just won't necessarily win anything against purpose-bred animals. There are exceptions of course but they, as they say, prove the rule.
 
#28 ·
I have two quarter horses that came off ranches.

Salty has the looks and movement to be a beautiful English horse... very light, collected, beautiful carriage, beautiful lateral movements... but he LOVES sorting and is much happier on a trail than in an arena. Well, then there's the brief interludes when he practices for his dream job of PRCA saddle broncing, but they're not hiring part timers right now.

Cedar absolutely LOVES running barrels and it's obvious someone spent a lot of time patterning him on barrels. He also loves running his horse buddies down the fence and turning them back hard. Alas, despite his preferences, enthusiasm and elevated self esteem, he is mine because he's just not... ehrm.... fast. He would probably be a good cart horse with his stout build, though.

At high levels, there are definite types and temperaments that excel in specific disciplines. At low levels, any horse can do any discipline with training and practice. Salty and I are going to try Cowboy dressage, and Cedar and I are going to clean up in the Adult Novice gymkhanas this year.

When my trainer asked me what I was looking for when we were starting our horse search, I told her, "good sports who will happily try a little of everything." I'm lucky to have found them.
 
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