Western Horsemanship.

Western horsemanship is different than western pleasure. In a horsemanship class, the judges are looking at the rider's ability to ride the horse, not on the horse's performance. In a horsemanship class, rider's with less expensive horses can do just as good with dedication and practice.

In this class the judge is looking for the correctness of the rider's seat, feet, and hands. The judge will also be looking at the angles of the rider too. There are patterns in a horsemanship class and the rider's ability to complete the pattern will be used to place them. The patterns can be anything from straight lines at either a walk, jog, or canter with different maneuvers in the straight line. The judge may ask riders to back or perform circles. In an AQHA class, the highest score a rider can receive is a 20. The points come from the overall impression of the horse and rider, how smooth the ride was along with the smoothness of the horse's transitions. If there are missed transitions or wrong leads, points will be deducted from the rider's total score.

When choosing a horse for a horsemanship class, your horse should be calm and forgiving. The horse is not just going to be riding around the ring, so they need to be able to be pushed in the pattern and do maneuvers they do not like. Also, the horse and rider should work as a team. The judge will want to see that the rider has put many hours of training in.

Overall, the judge is going to be looking at the rider and horse's ability to perform as a team. To come together and create a smooth, well put together pattern. They want to see the whole package.

Here is a video of  the 2008 AQHA Reserve Western Horsemanship pattern: Western Horsemanship Pattern

What Are The Judges Looking For In A Western Pleasure Class?

When competing in horse shows, you win based on what the judge thinks. Have you ever wondered what they are looking for? These qualities are for the stock breed horses.

Western Pleasure:

• This class is judged on the condition, conformation, and performance of the horse with the performance being the most important component. Horses in this class should move freely, smooth, and without effort. They should be relaxed at the poll with the nose not being over vertical. The nose should also not be sticking out. The neck should be parallel with the withers. Too low or too high of head is not desirable in a western pleasure class. The horse should be willing to work with the rider and should be smooth with every transition. Most importantly, the pleasure horse should be a pleasure to ride.
• The walk should be a nice four beat gate covering the ground well. The horse should look alert and energetic. The walk should be straight and free flowing.
• The jog should be a smooth, balanced two beat gate. This should be natural. If the horse is trotting in the back, but walking in the front, the rider should be penalized as this is not a true gate.
• The lope should be smooth and relaxed. It is a three beat gate that should also be natural. When traveling left around the arena, the horse should should be on the left lead and when traveling right, the right lead. If the horse is loping in the front, but trotting in the back this is considered unnatural and the rider should be penalized.
• The class should consist of a walk, jog, and lope. The horse should also asked to be reversed in which they turn into to ring and lastly, the horse should be asked to back.

This is a Quarter Horse competing in Western Pleasure. We can see
that this horse looks alert and happy. The neck is parallel with the withers

and the nose is not behind vertical. The appearance of the horse also looks

nice. 

This an Arabian in Western Pleasure. This breed has different judging
standards than a Quarter Horse. This horse does though exhibit very nice
pleasure like qualities. The horse's gait is natural looking and the horse looks
happy.

English vs. Western.

There are two different types of common riding styles. Western riding and english riding.

Western originated with the cowboys. With a western saddle (figure 1) the weight of the rider is distributed more evenly over the horse's back. A western saddle is much more comfortable than an english saddle because of its deep seat and horn. The horn on the western saddle is used for wrapping the rope around when you are roping cattle.

Figure 1: Western Saddle

The western horse (figure 2) is more compact and sturdy. Remember in the olden days, they needed to be able to handle being ridden all day in the fields. The can run quickly in small bursts. This is typically why you see many Quarter Horses as ranch horses because of their ideal conformation.

Figure 2: Quarter Horse (Western Breed)

When showing a horse western style, there are different gaits that you will need to perform in order to show. Walk, is the basic four beat gait. The jog, is a smooth gait, a little faster than the walk. Then you have the lope, which is faster than the trot. This is a three beat gate.

When riding western, the cowboys wore western hats and cowboy boots with jeans and a plaid shirt. This was to protect them in the sun. When showing western there are different things to wear than this (figure 3). That will be discussed in a later blog. Riding western, riders are required to use one hand to steer the horse. This is called neck reining.

Figure 3: Western Attire (Cowboy)

Lastly, there are different competitions that western riders can compete in: team penning, roping, trail riding, cutting, pleasure and equitation classes, gymkhana, and trail classes.

This western competition is called western pleasure.

English riding originated from the European mounted military. This is where this style gets many of its traditions from. English saddles (figure 4) are smaller and cover less space on the horses back. There is no horn and the seat of the saddle is smaller as well. These saddles do not have decorations or tooling, but simple leather pieces.

Figure 4: Hunt Seat (English) Saddle

The english horse (figure 5) is taller and can be leaner. They are better equipped to jump and can run the longer distances. But a western horse can do these things and an english horse can perform the western aspects of riding.

Figure 5: Quarter Horse (English Horse)

The gaits of riding english are very similar to western. The walk is the same except in english you would be looking for more extension of the gait. Instead of a jog, in english it is called a trot. This faster than a walk and the horse should be covering more ground than the western jog. When showing english, the judge may ask for an extended trot which is when the horse should be reaching and extending the legs. Instead of a lope, the english version is canter. A canter is more elevated.

When showing english, leather riding boots and jodphers are worn. An hunt cap is used in place of the cowboy hat. Also, a hunt coat is used and is placed over a polo looking shirt. When riding english, the reins are placed in each hand and the horse is not neck reined (figure 6).

Figure 6: English Attire

There are many competitions that english riders can participate in as well. This include: dressage, jumping, hunter under saddle, equitation, mounting, polo, and hunter hack.

This english style competition is jumping.

How To Line Drive A Horse.



This is a picture of a girl line driving. In this picture
 the girl is standing a little close to the horse's backend
and there is no bridle in this horse's mouth.

Line driving a horse can be a great way to start out young horses who are not used to a bridle and bit yet and for teaching horses new movements. Line driving is the first step in the driving process. It is very good for someone who may be nervous to just jump on a young horse and ride. This will help build the rider's confidence as well as teach the horse many valuable techniques.

To line drive you will need some equipment. This equipment includes a halter, leadline, bridle with a snaffle bit, two lines that are anywhere from 30 feet to 45 feet in length, and a surcingle. The halter will be on the horse with the bridle over. The leadline will then be attatched to the halter. By having a halter attatched to the horse, there can be a spotter or someone that holds the leadline while the other person is line driving. This is just for safety reasons and once the horse is more experienced you should be able to get rid of the spotter all together. The lines are attatched, one to each ring on the snaffle and are then put through the sides of the surcingle. The surcingle is attached around the horse.

When line driving a young horse for the first time, the spotter should be close to the horse's head. This will help reasure the horse so he/ she does not get scared. If the horse gets scared it will make line driving a bad experience for the horse. This is the last thing that you want to do. The line driver will be behind the horse. Be sure to stand relativly far back in case the horse decides to kick, so you are not in the crossfire. Begin by asking the horse to move forward at a walk. The spotter should also walk forward too. You can then ask the horse to stop. The spotter should stop too. This can be repeated a couple time. Do not overdo anything by repeating the same activity over and over. This wil bore the horse and if they are young they will find something bad to do to distract themselves. Give the horse a job. This is to help keep the horse's mind sane. In the lesson you can also ask the horse to turn right and left and also to back up. Be gentle on the mouth of the horse so they do not become hard on the bit. This will require harser bits when you actually want to start riding. Just do simple movements and remember do not spend alot of time on the same task. Also, be sure to use alot of voice commands with the horse. For older horses you can still do these simple tasks but also add trotting in the mix. If your horse can trot, walk, and back in a straight line your training as paid off.  

Following this blog, there is a video that is also a great tool. The video is a little blury, but it shows what you should be doing with your horse while line driving. Line Driving Video



This is a typical surcingle. The lines would

be place therouh the first ring above the ground.

Starting Out A Baby.

To begin to allow a young horse to get used to people is to touch them everywhere. Begin by using a rope halter and a long lead rope. Rub your hands over the horses neck, face, back, legs, and belly. This will help the horse later when you want to begin by putting on equipment. More than likely young horses will not want their face touched. This is a personally space that even humans do not like touched. be gentle when touching the horses face and do not ever hit them there. Hitting a horse in the face will make them head shy and this will make everyday tasks harder to accomplish.

A great place to also start is by touching the horse in their ears. They will not like this, but with practice will come perfection. A good rule of thumb is to distract the horse while touching their ear. Try playing with their nose or neck when touching their ear. This will teach the horse that their ears are okay places to touch.

Next, rub the horse over their neck and mane. Rubbing the horses neck is pleasurable for them. Usually this is wear riders will pet the horse when they do something good.

Rubbing your hands up and down the horses legs will get them used to their legs being touched. This is good for when the farrier comes out. A horse that has a problem with their legs being touched will have a hard time with the farrier. Another good reason to touch the horses leg is for their protection. If the horse ever gets caught in fence they will freak out. They will be less scared if having their legs touched is not a new experience.

When riding Western style many riders use a flank strap. Touching the young horse under the belly will get them ready for this experience.

Kristie

What Will My Blog Discuss?

This blog is going to show readers how to train young horses and the different techniques that can be used as well as different techniques that will improve the riding of already trained horses. Lastly, this blog will talk about the different competitions that are available to horses and riders.

There are two types of riding styles available; Western and English. Each have different equipment that is used when riding. There are many different trainers that have set up training systems that are effective and this blog will use some of the known trainers techniques.

Kristie Harms