Quick Tip: Western Shopping
Western Shopping with Julie Goodnight
Rearing To Go
Dear Julie,
I have a 15-year-old quarter horse that has decided he must be in the lead on the trail. I ride alone most of the time but do enjoy the company of others. When he feels any competition from another horse, he arches his neck and sets his head as if he’s ready to attack. Then he’ll hop and rear. It all happens so fast, I don’t see it coming. He’s rearing more and more often. I have been working on the behavior by allowing another horse to lead off on the trail and having my horse follow. As soon as my horse gets excited, I ask him to move away from the lead horse. I’ve also thought about outfitting him with a tie down. What would you do?
Trail Woes
Dear Trail Woes,
This is not a matter of your horse rearing or whether or not you can ride with others. It’s a serious indication that your horse is dominant (over you and the other horses), aggressive and in need of further training (and/or disobedient.) It’s certainly not an issue that a tie down could resolve, since these behavior problems are related to herd behavior, not raising his head (head raising and rearing are symptoms not the cause of the problem).
I choose not to use tie downs to resolve training problems. When it comes to rearing, a tie down simply masks the symptoms and can get in the way of a horse’s natural carriage and balance. If your horse were to rear with a tie down in place, it’s possible he could lose his balance and turn over.
Your horse needs to learn, right here, right now, in no uncertain terms, that his aggressive, herding and dominant behavior is absolutely intolerable when he is under saddle. Any transgression should be met with a firm, direct correction. Aggression and rearing are potentially life-threatening behaviors. Young horses should be taught this rule from an early age and this fundamental expectation should be strictly enforced at all times when you’re riding alone or in the company of others. Saddle horses must be taught not to fraternize or interact with other horses at any time that they are being ridden or handled by humans. Horses are good at obeying rules when the rules are clearly explained and enforced.
Your horse’s behaviors—arching his neck and rearing— are all natural herd behaviors. Your horse wishes to be in front because that is where the alpha horse should be. He is intolerant of any subordinate who dares to get in front. He is arching his neck in a display of might in a prideful manner. It’s a warning to “his” subordinates that he is about to become aggressive, should they persist in their insubordination.
Horses have three weapons in their personal arsenal when they choose to become aggressive or combative: bite, strike, and kick. Your horse is displaying threatening gestures with all three weapons. The rear is the threat to strike and the arch and whirl is the threat to kick; horses make biting gestures with their head and mouth making snaking or herding gestures.
Clearly your horse thinks he’s dominant and does not think of you as the herd leader, or he would never act this way. There’s no quick fix to repair this relationship between you and your horse. You’ll have to work at it by doing ground work and changing your impression to the horse both on the ground and in the saddle. For an more in depth review of ground work, check out Round Pen Reasoning and Lead Line Leadership (www.JulieGoodnight.com or 800- 225-8827).
Your horse must learn that certain behavior is simply not tolerated while under saddle—specifically displays of aggression and herding behaviors. My expectations of any horse I ride would be even greater: no fraternization at all with other horses and its nose must remain right in front and it must not deviate from the path and speed that I have dictated. There should only be one conversation between you and the horse, “Horse, this is your Captain speaking.”
Any deviance to the expected rules of behavior should be met with immediate correction (within less than three seconds, preferably less than one second), since this behavior is dangerous for both the horses and the humans. The best way to correct a horse is to “make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard.”
Remember, the pressure you put on the horse should be no more and no less than the pressure required to motivate him to change. If it’s not enough pressure, he will continue the unwanted behavior (all the while learning to ignore and disobey your commands). If it’s enough pressure to motivate him to change, he will then immediately look for a way out of the pressure. As soon as he finds the right answer, he gets an immediate and welcomed release and life gets easier.
Comfort and security are the two greatest motivating factors for horses. It’s always best when the motivating factors are something that come naturally to the horse. One of the greatest motivating stimuli for horses doing something you perceive as wrong is to make them work hard and remove companionship. The release (reward) is letting the horse rest and be with the herd. Thus the hard thing is work and isolation, the easy thing is rest and companionship (comfort and security).
While you’re out on the trail, anytime your horse even hints that he is concerned about another horse in the group, at the very first flick of an ear, you should immediately take him away from the herd and put him to hard work (turn, circle, change speeds, lope circles, go-stop-go). When he becomes obedient and responsive to you, let him rest and come back to the herd. When and if he becomes aggressive again, immediately take him away and put him to work again. Repeat this process until the horse makes an association between his behavior and the negative stimuli. Depending on how effective your timing is (both with the correction and the reward), he may make the association the first time or it may take dozens of times.
Remember, there’s an old axiom about horse training that says, “It always gets worse before it gets better.” Since your horse has been displaying dominant and aggressive behavior, chances are he will not easily be dissuaded from his bad behavior and he may challenge your authority and control to an even greater degree. Therefore, be very careful and make sure you’re up to the task. If you have any doubt about your ability to get the job done without a greater risk of getting hurt, consider enlisting a professional to help retrain your horse and teach him some manners. From the sounds of it, this horse might be a tough customer. But in the right hands, he can learn these fundamental manners in short order.
Until next time,
Julie Goodnight
Saddle Advice
Ask Julie Goodnight:
Is My Saddle Causing My Horse’s Issues?
Question: Dear Julie, I am switching from English to Western and am hoping to get one of your Peak Performance saddles. I am looking at the Monarch Arena/Trail saddle or the Wind River Trail saddle. I really like the sounds of the close-contact design, the narrow twist and especially the memory foam in the seat for my tired old rear-end! But not knowing too much about Western saddles, I am confused by a couple things. First, what does “3-way in-skirt rigging” mean and what is the advantage of that? Also, I noticed that your saddle does not have fleece on the bottom like other Western saddles I have seen and I was wondering why?
Thanks for your help!
Carolyn
Answer: No matter which of those two saddles you choose, I am sure you will love it! Actually they both have many awesome features that I designed into the saddle, some obvious, some not; both the Monarch and Wind River have all the same great features—the only difference is that the Wind River has a more rounded skirt, which is often better for a short-coupled horse. Also, both saddles are made on the Flex2 tree, which provides the benefit of weight-distribution like a rigid tree, as well as a better fit for the horse and greater comfort for the rider because of its flexibility. While the flexible tree is not right for every rider, if you are under 230 pounds and not planning to rope steers, it’s a great choice– more comfortable for the rider, gives better fit for your horse and fits a greater variety of horses.
Other comfort features that these saddles have, in addition to the narrow-ness of the saddle and the cut-aways under your leg that give closer contact with the horse (and make the saddle lighter weight), they also have pre-twisted stirrups and specially softened leather under your leg that gives the saddle a “broke in” feel when it is brand spanking new. I should know, I ride in a brand new Monarch saddle every weekend, since Circle Y ships me a “demo” saddle for people to sit in and try on their horse at expos and clinics. By the end of the weekend that saddle always goes home with some lucky buyer and I start with a new one the next weekend.
The 3-way in-skirt rigging gives you better fit options for a variety of horses and helps with the close-contact design, reducing some of the bulk under your leg. The rigging on any Western saddle refers to where the dee-rings are located that you attach your latigo and cinch to. “In-skirt” means that the dee-rings are sewn into the skirt of the saddle—between the layers of leather, rather than sitting on top of it, like a more traditional saddle. The “3-way” part refers to multiple rigging options, allowing you to move the pressure of the cinch either forward or rearward, depending on the fit-needs of the horse.
There are three basic styles of rigging available in a traditional Western saddle: full rigging, seven-eighths and three-quarter. Most Western saddles only have one rigging option but my saddles allow you to easily change the rigging according to the needs of each horse you put it on. It will help you to understand each type of rigging, so that you can understand the advantages of having multiple rigging options. Here’s a video that talks more about riggings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmgykJDIX1s&feature=channel_video_title
Full rigging: You may be most familiar with a “full” saddle rigging, when there’s a dee-ring attached to the saddle’s tree or skirt directly beneath the pommel. This is the most forward position for saddle riggings. To cinch up, you would wrap the latigo from the cinch to this dee-ring, with layers of the latigo lining up in one vertical line. Saddles with this rigging often have a flank cinch, or rear cinch, (a double rigging because the saddle is attached at the front and back) to keep the saddle from tipping forward when traveling downhill or to help distribute the pressure when the rider dallies the rope to stop a steer. This full double rigging is the preferred outfit for ranch riding and roping. The pressure of the saddle lands just under the pommel then the flank cinch keeps the saddle balanced. The Rocky Mountain Ranch saddle in my line of saddles is the only wood (Kevlar reinforced) tree in my line; a wood tree is necessary for roping and cow work or for riders that may be too large for a flexible tree. It has “J” rigging which allows for both full and 7/8ths rigging and it comes with a flank cinch.
7/8 rigging: This measurement title means that your cinch is 7/8 of the distance from the cantle to the pommel and it brings the pressure from the cinch slightly rear-ward on the horse’s back, compared to the full rigging. You can also use a rear cinch with the 7/8 rigging to help secure your saddle on hills. This configuration helps the saddle sit in a balanced point and can relieve pressure from the horse’s withers.
3/4 rigging: Similarly, this rigging means that the dee-rings are attached a little behind the 7/8 rigging, or three quarters the distance from cantle to pommel. This will protect the shoulders and withers even more and give more room between the horse’s elbow and the cinch. This rigging position on the Flex2 tree can be very useful on a horse which the saddle tends to “bridge” on the back (with pressure at the front and back of the tree, but not in the middle). Keep in mind: The farther back the rigging, the more pressure rests in the middle of the saddle instead of at the front, where the horse may be stronger. This 3/4 configuration moves your cinch back from your horse’s heartgirth—switching to this rigging can help your horse avoid girth sores during long rides.
Trail rigging: The Blue Ridge Gaited Trail saddle in my line has a dee-ring at the back of the saddle known as a “Y rigging,” which is angled down from the cantle to form a Y shape, in addition to the 3-way rigging. Instead of attaching two different cinches, these saddles are designed so that you can run the latigo through the front D and cinch, then the back D to help keep the back of your saddle anchored. This Y rigging will move the pressure back away from the withers, freeing up the shoulders and it works well on gaited horses and other short-coupled horses.
My Peak Performance saddles, made by Circle Y, juliegoodnight.com/saddles, have multiple rigging options, giving more flexibility for saddle fit and making the saddle useful on a variety of differently shaped horses and circumstances. In a saddle with 3-way rigging, there will be two dee rings at the front of the saddle and it can be rigged up three ways—in the full, 7/8 or 3/4 positions. Make absolutely certain when using a saddle with multiple rigging, that the rigging is the same on both sides. If you use the front dee, it will be full rigging and if you use the back dee, it is ¾ rigging. To achieve 7/8 rigging, you create a V with the latigo by running it through the front and back dee. To view a video which explains the rigging in a visual format, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmgykJDIX1s&feature=channel_video_title .
People often ask me about the lack of fleece on the underside of the saddle; it is a unique feature and there are a few reasons I designed them this way. The purpose of the fleece under a saddle is to provide padding and to absorb sweat; but this is a layer that adds unnecessary thickness and it wears out before the saddle does. So by removing the fleece, it helps make the saddle even narrower and closer contact and it improves the longevity of the saddle. Since most riders use an absorbent pad (I prefer a ¾” wool felt pad); neither the padding nor the absorption are needed under the saddle. And one of the most important reasons I took out the fleece layer is because on the underside of my saddle, gel pads are sewn in between the bars of the tree and the horse’s back. The memory foam in the seat is for your luxury; and the gel pads are for the horse’s comfort. Without the fleece layer, the saddle is thinner underneath you, the horse gets the full benefit of the gel pads and the leather bottom of the saddle is much easier to clean and maintain.
I couldn’t be happier with my line of Circle Y saddles; I ride in them every day and my horse works so much better in the Flex2 tree. I’ll have a demo saddle available for everyone to look at and try out, at each clinic and expo that I do this year, so I hope you’ll be able to check one out in person. For more information on my Peak Performance saddle line, visit http://juliegoodnight.com/saddles or contact your local Circle Y dealer. Whichever saddle you choose, I know you’ll be happy with it!
Good luck!
Julie
How Do Rope Halters Work?
Ask Julie Goodnight: What to Know About Rope Halters
Question: I have what’s probably a silly question…. My mare is 15 years old and I’ve never used a rope halter with her. What do I need to know to help me better understand how a rope halter works?
Answer: I wish more people would ask simple questions like this– it’s not silly, but smart! When people stop and think about what they fundamentally know (or more likely, what they do not know) they generally get a lot further with their horsemanship. There’s a lot to know about using rope halters: how they work, how they should fit, when to use them, and when NOT to use them.
I think of rope halters as a training aid-it’s a way to apply enough pressure on the horse’s face to get his attention and/or gain control. It’s a far superior tool, in my opinion and experience, than using a stud chain to control a horse because you can finesse the pressure with a rope halter. A stud chain will put constant pressure on the horse-you can make the pressure worse but you can never totally release it. With the rope halter, there’s only pressure when you manipulate the lead rope, so you have more training ability and finesse. But all rope halters are not created equally! A rope halter can be harsh or mild, depending on the diameter of the rope (thinner is harsher) and the number of knots on the noseband (more and bigger knots create more pressure)
For groundwork, I prefer to use a rope halter (my halters are specially designed for comfort, fit and effectiveness) and a long training lead—12 or 15 feet. I do not have metal buckles on my training leads because when I snap the rope, the chin knot will bump the horse in the chin (that is the pressure he feels when he is doing something wrong) and a metal buckle hitting the chin can be too much pressure for many horses (and they become afraid of the correction and quit thinking). To me it is critical that the training lead be made of the highest quality marine rope that is soft in your hands and heavy enough to have good feel so that you can make subtle movements with the rope and impact your horse.
The rope halter should always be adjusted correctly and make sure you learn how to tie the halter knot right. At the start of every groundwork clinic that I do, I spend a few moments adjusting halters and retying the knots correctly on most of the horses in the clinic. A rope halter that hangs too low can really hurt a horse’s nose and if the noseband were to sag so much that the horse could get a foot in, it could really hurt your horse.
As for the DONT’S: never turn a horse loose in a rope halter. For that matter, I wouldn’t turn a horse out in any halter but definitely not a rope halter. Generally they are made of high-tensile rope that will not break; a horse turned loose in a rope halter could catch it on something and panic and get hurt. For the same reason, I would never tie a horse in a trailer in a rope halter. You know he will get off balance at times and end up pulling on the halter—I don’t want him to have too much pressure on his face, just because he got off balance. Plus, in the trailer the horse should be outfitted in a break away halter in case of an emergency. In the trailer I want him to be safe and comfortable, so I’ll use a leather halter with sheepskin lining. Don’t use a rope halter that’s too snug—there will be constant pressure on his face so you lose the ability to release the pressure. Don’t use one that’s too big either; the noseband should not be so large that the horse could get it caught on something like his foot.
Tying a horse in a rope halter can be good training or can cause a problem if you have a horse that has a pull-back issue. We tie all our yearlings and older in a rope halter as they are learning to stand tied quietly. They learn not to pull on it because they’ll feel pressure every time they do. But if you have a horse that is already a chronic panic puller, the rope halter may make him worse by increasing his panic and fear when he pulls.
An important thing to know before you invest in a rope halter is that all ropes are not created equally and all halters are not tied correctly. With rope, you get what you pay for. Really high-quality rope that does not stretch out or break and works well in your hands is more expensive. You may have already figured this out with cheap lead ropes that break and burn your hands. Also, if not made correctly, the proportions of the halter can be off so that it never quite fits your horse’s face right—I see this a lot with home-made rope halters. As with most equipment that you buy for horses, it is best to stay away from the really cheap stuff.
Of course, the real benefit from rope halters is in the training techniques you use to teach your horse obedience and ground manners. Once you invest in a good rope halter and training lead, use my video, Leadline Leadership, to learn specific training techniques and exercises to teach your horse to stand quietly, walk and trot off your body cues, back, circle and change directions so that he becomes focused on you as his leader. Thanks for asking a great question!
Julie Goodnight Trainer and Clinician
The Different Types Of Bits
Horse Master How To
“Get it Straight” Helping a frustrated rider find the right bit and cue her horse to move straight ahead
By Julie Goodnight
In the Horse Master episode we named “Get it Straight,” master bit maker, Dale Myler, joined me to help a horse and her frustrated rider move ahead with relaxation—and without a constant fight as the horse yanked the reins out of the rider’s hands. The show, featuring Julianne and her horse “Cherokee,” was named in part because Cherokee took any bit pressure as a cue to turn her head and move into a circle; it was also named to allude to the mishmash of information available about bits and bitting. As the Mylers like to say, “Help a horse be relaxed first and he can focus on what you’re asking.” If a bit is too big or has pressure points that interfere with the horse’s ability to swallow, the horse can’t relax and can’t easily focus on what the rider wants. While choosing to ride with no bit is an answer for some, the truth is that a kind and thoughtfully-created bit can provide you with a chance to cue your horse precisely for advanced maneuvers. Not all bits are bad, but it’s time to “Get it Straight.”
Types of Bits
There are two main types of bits–snaffles (direct pressure) and curbs (leverage bits). You may think that a snaffle bit is automatically mild and a curb bit is automatically harsh. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are many incredibly harsh snaffles on the market and there are very mild curbs.
In a snaffle bit, the reins are attached directly opposite the mouthpiece and cause a direct (pound-for-pound) pull on the horse’s mouth from the rider’s hands. A leverage bit has shanks (bars running alongside the horse’s mouth) and a curb strap (or chain) and the reins are attached below the mouthpiece. There isn’t direct pressure but leveraged pressure on the horse’s mouth. A curb bit can apply pressure to the horse’s lips, tongue and bars; as well as the poll, chin and palate.
A joint in the middle of the bit isn’t what makes a bit a snaffle; direct pressure, with the reins attached at the line of the mouthpiece, makes a snaffle. A bit with shanks, a traditional-styled jointed mouthpiece and a curb chain isn’t a snaffle—that bit is called a Tom Thumb and is one of the harshest bits available.
The Rider’s Hands
Many, if not most bitting problems originate with the rider’s hands. No horse wants pressure on his mouth, so he will always look for an escape from the pressure. If doing the right things (dropping his head and giving to the pressure) doesn’t get the release he is looking for, he begins to try other things, such as throwing his head up or rooting the reins. He’ll look for an answer that provides a momentary release. If he inadvertently gets a release when he is doing the wrong thing, the wrong thing becomes a learned response.
It isn’t important whether or not the bit is mild or harsh; what’s important is the way the rider uses her hands. The mildest bit in the wrong hands can be harsh and the harshest bit in the right hands can be mild. Also, changing bits will not fix a training problem with a horse. In other words, if you have a horse that’s going too fast, putting a stronger bit in his mouth will not fix the problem. Only more training will fix it. Changing to a harsher bit will often make a training problem worse because it causes the horse to feel anxious. A fast horse already has a tendency to speed up when he feels anxious, so the problem escalates.
The Horse’s Comfort
My tack room has been filled with Myler bits since they came on the market in the 1990s—and long before Dale Myler appeared on the TV show. I love them and have a tack room full of them-both snaffle and curb. They’re manufactured with the highest-quality materials, they’re ergonomically designed to fit a horse’s mouth comfortably, and they’re also designed for specific effectiveness. Myler makes a variety of but styles and each is rated for the horse’s level of training, so that your horse can move seamlessly from one bit to another as his training level increases and his needs change. The bits also come in a variety of cheek pieces—so you can choose the amount of leverage depending on who is riding and how educated the rider is about how to keep their hands quiet.
My favorite Myler bits are the comfort snaffle and the jointed curb bits. The snaffles have a curved mouthpiece, so that the bit is actually the shape of the horse’s mouth, giving him tongue and palate relief and making the bit more effective working off the corners of the mouth with the lightest possible pressure. The mouthpiece is made with sweet iron with copper inlays–giving the horse a sweet and saliva-producing taste in his mouth. I like a bit with the copper roller in the middle. I have about every level of curb bit too, for the Western horses that need to work in a curb. They’re made with the same high-quality materials and an effective shape and function.
Proper Introductions and Training
Many horses were never properly “bitted out” (taught to work in and accept a bit and understand the bit’s cues) and don’t know the correct way to respond to bit pressure. A surprisingly high number of horses were never really trained properly. Instead, well-meaning trainers stuck bits in their mouths and forceful pressure made the horses respond. A horse must be systematically trained to know what to do when he feels pressure on the bit and how to give both laterally and longitudinally (vertically) when he feels pressure. (I describe this process fully on my Bit Basics DVD available at www.JulieGoodnight.com.) Many older horses that fight the bit have become desensitized to bit pressure because their riders pulled too much. It’s common for horses to come “untrained” because of poor riding when they become defensive about their mouths because they never felt a release of pressure when they cooperated.
Many horses who have learned to ignore bit pressure—or who never learned how to respond in the first place—can learn quickly in the Goodnight Bitting System. The piece of tack, commonly called an elbow-pull biting rig teaches the horse to give longitudinally to the bit and be soft in the mouth and jaw. Without a rider on board and while working in a round pen, the horse gets an instant release when he places his head in the optimum self-carriage position. With his new learning in place, horses can more quickly understand an educated rider’s rein cues and move ahead without fighting and without confusion. It’s also important to do lateral flexes until the horse gives to the side, and then start over from the saddle teaching him to give to light pressure both vertically and laterally and find the release.
Good luck finding the correct bit for you and your horse—and keep in mind that you, the rider, have just as much to do with what bit will work best as what the horse is used to and most comfortable feeling. For more precise answers to your bitting questions, check out Dale’s multi-part video series online with a link at www.JulieGoodnight.com and visit the Myler’s online bitting questionnaire and guide at: http://mylerbits.com/bitting_assistant.php
–Julie Goodnight
Riding Skills: Posting On The Correct Diagonal
Question Category: Riding Skills
Question: Try to settle this discussion – please! Is posting on the correct “diagonal” only important in English riding? I always thought it was about the horse’s balance in a bend….some say it’s just not a “western thing”…and will post in a western saddle, but not with any regard for the diagonal???
Sharon
Answer: Sharon,
You are correct that posting on a specific diagonal pair at the trot has to do with the horse’s balance and also his work load; it doesn’t have much to do with English vs. western. Any rider that is interested in the balance and conditioning of their horse would want to know and use their diagonals correctly.
Since Western riders don’t usually post during competition, many might consider it unimportant. But when you are riding the long trot, whether English or western, it is easier for the rider to post and more comfortable for the horse too. If you are posting at the trot frequently, it is beneficial for your horse that you have awareness and understanding of which diagonal to post on.
The trot is a two-beat, diagonal gait; meaning that the feet hit the ground in diagonal pairs—the right hind and left fore hit the ground at the same time and the left hind and right fore hit together, thus creating diagonal pairs. Since the horse drives himself forward from behind, it is really the hind legs that are doing most of the work pushing into the stride and pushing the rider up and out of the saddle when she posts. Although riders commonly check which diagonal pair they are posting on by looking at the outside fore leg (“rise and fall with the leg on the wall”), it is really the hind legs that matter. There are two reasons for paying attention to which diagonal you are posting on; one has to do with turning, the other has to do with conditioning.
When you bring the horse onto a turn, the inside of the horse shortens and the outside lengthens as he bends or arcs his body in the turn. Try this little experiment yourself—walk in a tiny circle (just a few inches across) and notice that your inside leg is taking a very small step and your outside leg is reaching much farther to get around the outside of the circle. This is a magnified view of what happens when your horse trots on a turn. The inside hind leg bears more weight and the outside takes a bigger step. When you are posting on the correct diagonal for a turn, you are rising as his inside hind leg comes forward, to take a little weight off of the leg that is already bearing more weight.
The other time that your posting diagonals matter is if you are going a long distance at the trot. Even if you are going in a straight line, the beat you are sitting on is working harder than the one you are rising on (either he is lifting your weight or you are lifting it). So if you were trotting ten miles in a straight line, you would want to alternate which diagonal you posted on so that you worked both hind legs equally. For instance, you might trot for a mile on one diagonal and then switch for the next mile. This way, both the horse’s hind legs are getting an equal workout.
The rider is said to be on the correct diagonal when she rises with the outside fore leg. Although most people are accustomed to looking down at the horse’s shoulders to see which diagonal they are on, it is much better when the rider learns to feels the correct diagonal—and it’s not that hard! If you can sit the trot well, you should be able to feel a lateral movement (right-left) in your hips, in additional to the vertical movement (up and down). As you feel your hips shift right and left at the trot, what you are feeling is his hind legs—when he pushes off with his right hind, his right hip lifts and so does yours (and visa versa).
To be technically correct, you should always begin posting on the correct diagonal—not just start posting then check if you are correct by looking down. Sit the trot for a few beats, however long it takes you to feel it, and then rise into the post when you feel your outside hip lift. It will take some concentration and coordination at first, but with a lot of practice it will become second nature. Learning to feel your diagonals instead of looking will raise your horsemanship to a higher level and develop your sense of feel of how the horse moves. Eventually you will know when you are on the wrong diagonal because it will feel out of balance.
There are many skills and maneuvers that people tend to classify as either western or English. But the truth is horses are horses—their balance is the same, the way they move and the way in which the rider uses the aids for cueing are the same. The appearance of your clothes and your tack doesn’t really change that.
Good question! Thanks.
Julie
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