Western!

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Megibo

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Went to a riding centre to do Westen today and it was great fun. And a really lazy way of doing it! I'm considering teaching it to my mare :) (well, they can for me....lol)
two questions, one relevant and one not!
1. are western saddles fitted differently? the instructor said if its roughly the right size you can bulk it out with pads and it will fit fine no problems...

2. i had a successful interview at a college for a level 2 equine course and have been invited back on the 18th so they can assess my riding and decide whether or not to put me on the level 3 course instead. on the info sheet it says i have to show riding in three paces (no problem) and show a range of schooling. any ideas on what i can do ?
so far i've got:
10m circles, 20m cirlces, serpentines, figure of eight and different rein changes.
it'll be on a college horse so no idea if it will be well schooled or not. any help appreciated!
 
Tazhazzamoose said:
Went to a riding centre to do Westen today and it was great fun. And a really lazy way of doing it! I'm considering teaching it to my mare :) (well, they can for me....lol)
two questions, one relevant and one not!
1. are western saddles fitted differently? the instructor said if its roughly the right size you can bulk it out with pads and it will fit fine no problems...

2. i had a successful interview at a college for a level 2 equine course and have been invited back on the 18th so they can assess my riding and decide whether or not to put me on the level 3 course instead. on the info sheet it says i have to show riding in three paces (no problem) and show a range of schooling. any ideas on what i can do ?
so far i've got:
10m circles, 20m cirlces, serpentines, figure of eight and different rein changes.
it'll be on a college horse so no idea if it will be well schooled or not. any help appreciated!
Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed your lesson, i would love an opportunity to have western lessons.
As for the saddle, i guess you can make a saddle fit better with pads, but i would always like to have as good a fit as possible, same as with an english saddle. There is a place near me that teaches western, but i wouldnt go there because his saddles dont fit right. I always feel sorry for any horse who has to be ridden with a tight saddle, its bound to hurt, especially a western saddle because they are much heavier.
As for schooling excercises, im not too sure what is expected at that level, but maybe some turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, reinback, shoulder in, leg yeild. I guess it depends on what your expected to be able to do for this particular level, and the horse you get on the day.
 
Tazhazzamoose said:
2. i had a successful interview at a college for a level 2 equine course and have been invited back on the 18th so they can assess my riding and decide whether or not to put me on the level 3 course instead. on the info sheet it says i have to show riding in three paces (no problem) and show a range of schooling. any ideas on what i can do ?
so far i've got:
10m circles, 20m cirlces, serpentines, figure of eight and different rein changes.
it'll be on a college horse so no idea if it will be well schooled or not. any help appreciated!
Click to expand...

I wouldnt have thought you would have to do much in the way of lateral work at that level, but some leg yielding maybe. If u think the horse can do more then go for it!
You could also do some loops off the track, half circles, volte/demi volte... cant think of any other shapes!
 
In response to point one, your instructor is right, western saddles do still need to be correctly fitted but much of the 'fit' comes from the pads. Unlike an english saddle they are not flocked so the padding is the equivalent of flocking on an english saddle. This does mean they tend to fit more horses, but they do still come in various basic widths (semi-quarter horse bars and full quarter horse bars are the most common terms used), and then different makes models and tree shapes, so you still need a fit that suits your horse!
 
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