What's better? Western Riding or English Riding?

[BayloneRose]

i'v noticed a qustion that never seems to have an answer: what's better, Western horseback riding or English horseback riding? (i personaly ride western)
so not being just show or compitision wise, what riding style do you think has more benifits and why?
what are you unable to do in English that u can do in Western and vice versa?
dose your horse enjoy one style more than the other? do you?
explain to those who may not know the difference between Western and English.
(this is your own opinion)


Western:
riding
barrel racing
reining
cutting

English:
riding
jumping
dressage

Western and English

[Thomas Hickey]

this topic is only gonna start a fight and end up being locked it has happen to many a topic like this

[BayloneRose]

Then don't fight
i don't think that one style is better than the other, i just thought i would see what other people prefered
as long as u love horses, it dosn't matter what u ride!!!

[classi]

A: I guess for English sports, you are being general, because 'jumping' isn't exactly a sport. I mean, it's not as simple as Western riding. There's jumpers and hunters, and equitation o/f does jumping aswell, and there's still Cross Country.

1: I believe, in my personal opinion, that English riding is better. I'm not bashing Western riding, I'm just saying that I prefer English. In English, the saddles are lighter, and we don't slap our horses sides that some people do in Western. Neither benefits the horse more than the other, but I go English all the way.
2: In English, you have the thrill of soaring over a jump, of dancing with your horse... thrills that you just can't get in Western riding... and vice versa. I assume that in Western, galloping across the range is pretty fun, too.
3: I honestly don't think many horses prefer one or the other. Some of the lighter horses might like English a little better, as the saddle is lighter, but for the heavier horses I don't think it matters.
I enjoy English much more. In my personal opinion, I think that English is harder because the saddle is smaller, and has no saddle horn, and generally the horses have more energy. Plus, a lot of English sports take more risks than some western ones.
4: English has small, light, huntseat saddle (except for dressage, they have a dressage saddle), and the reins are snug but not tight. In western, the saddle is big and heavy, and the reins are most of the time held loosely.

Remember, this is MY PERSONAL OPINION. Just had to stress that, ya'know, for the people that get angry real easy.

[hippie.mouse.]

English riding looks more elegant but I think Western is better.

[BayloneRose]

raindrop, you make a good point. i disigree with brutaly slaping horses too. i don't slap my horse but she's a brat so i'll give her a tap on the shoulders with the reins when she refuses to listen after i'v asked her 2 or 3 times. as for risk taking i do believe that english and western is pretty even. but u do see the more risky sports more often in english than in western. i agree that english tends to be more difficult than western but that also depends on the rider and horse. western is just prettty laid back most of the time and thats why i like it.
i'm not dissing anybody, but i do think it's kinda funny how jumpers hold the reins so snug and then if the horse refuses to jump at the last second the rider gets pulled right over the horse's head(of corse it's not funny if they r hurt, but horseback riders are pretty tough)

[plum]

Although I do not ride anymore, I prefer English to Western. It's always felt more comfortable to me. :3

[sivan]

Depends, what do you want to do?

Western competition is preformed at higher speeds than English.

English competition is preformed at usually all speeds, but at a slower pace than western. But if you jump you are usually at a gallop for the high competition.

Western pleasure is very laid back, but so is English pleasure. It's equal in this category.

For posture, in western you will get a more 'slumped', you could say, posture so you are probably going to be more relaxed. In English you are expected to be more 'straight'.

Western 'Dressage', more commonly called reining, is always preformed at the lope[Western term for Canter] and gallop. That is for the higher level competition.

English Dressage is preformed for at high speeds, but it varies at the pace your at. You will experience the gallop, canter/lope, trot/jog, and walk in this.

There is about equal amount of stuff you can do in both English and Western, yes, you can jump in Western just not very high.

So that should sum it up. Slightly.

[SchnauzerPawPrints]

Quick note: The first topic should probably say something like "in your opinion" some where. Both are equal (with certain advantages and disadvantages), it's just everyones opinion. There is no right answer. c:

1:I would just like to point out that no solid western rider should ever use his/her saddle horn to stay on. The horns are designed for roping. I ride western, and I don't use the horn for staying on. It doesn't even really help you to stay on by holding it (doing so pulls you forward out of the saddle and makes it harder/almost impossible to sit in place with correct posture). If you must hold onto anything, gripping the cantle is much wiser. When discussing this portion of western vs. english, this "english has no horn" argument doesn't really help your case. c:

2:To be honest, I love both sides. Both are equally thrilling and delightful, in my opinion. If I could, I'd do both... but sadly I only have access to western at the moment (I have ridden English for years though). Don't think I'm complaining, I love both and tremendously enjoy western. c:

That's all for now. c:

[classi]

My point being, the western saddle is larger, and you have less of a chance of falling if the horse puts his head down because you can hold onto the saddle horn. Many beginners choose to ride western before english because of the saddle horn.