Today we tried Western horse riding for the first time. It is so different from the classic English way. All three of us rode one at a time on a beautiful ex stallion called Simon. He was only made a gelding at the age of 10 so still acts the way he did in his stud days and adores females both equine and human!
The first thing that was unnerving was riding without a bit, just with a head collar styled piece of equipment. The saddle felt strange too although comfortable and your legs are straighter and longer than normal. We quickly learnt how to ask Simon to walk, jog (trot) but not lope (canter) although the 11 year old was treated to a few paces when Simon saw we had a camera. (sorry the photos are on her phone and there is no internet service to download and show you). Apparently he is a big show off and loves having his photo taken.
When it was my turn I learnt "rein back" and then a sideways movement like English Dressage. This was mostly because Simon didn't want to walk on properly. He was a real gentleman although feisty. Ray, the horse whisperer, says Simon will not perform any moves unless he is confident his rider is secure.
We loved it. It feels like a real partnership between horse and human, more of a friendship. You have to trust each other and work in harmony. Without a bit it felt as though the horse was enjoying himself and happy in what he was doing because if he didn't then there isn't much you can do about it! I'll save up and we will go again. This session was a gift from Ray to introduce us to his way of riding. Ray was patient, calm and very kind but then as he said, he has to be in his job of calming nervous upset horses. If we were lucky enough to own our own horse then this is the way we would want to ride. Converted!
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