Equestrian Riding

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I am so excited, I use to ride when i was younger western not English riding. But I will begin taking riding lessons. I want to learn how to jump. Does anyone here ride English? Do you know of any good on-line store for English apparel like riding helmets, body protection, boots, etc???

I used to ride hunter/jumper when I was a kid. I liked English riding far better than Western. Sorry I don't know of any good online stores for what your'e looking for. But good luck. What you'll need is riding boots, riding pants (jeans don't really cut it with English riding - you'll be very sore the next day . Get proper English riding pants that have some padding on the thigh and bottom), a good helmet with full chin strap (not just a thin, littlee piece of elastic) and light-weight riding gloves if you are worried your hands and fingers can't handle the reining (you do a lot more than with Western). You may or may not need a short riding crop - it depends on your instructor.

Yeah I used to ride and am going to take up lessons again soon as well I don't know of any good online sites to buy gear, are there any speciality riding stores near you? They may have an online order form or something like that. I suggest you do get some riding gloves in case, it stops sunburn and ropeburn, both of which can be very painful.. I got a really cheap pair and they've lasted me quite a few years, and if you go for long trail rides or are having a long lesson then they save your hands a bit of 'ware and tear'.

I ride sometimes, western though, not english. Anyways, my mom and sister have been riding for years. My sister continues to ride while my mom doesn't very often, but they still have to find things once in awhile. I think they bought some things off the internet in the past. I'll ask if they know of any for you.

What is the difference between western and english?

ooooh! I took english riding lessons for ages-I looove it!! I agree, basic equipment would be boots, pants and a helmet. (I never wore gloves) Personally, I prefer the lower paddock boots to the full length riding boots. The full lengh ones you'd need if you got into mid level/advanced showing, but IMO shorter is better. A great website is State Line Tack. I hope you have a great time with lessons! Jumping is so much fun!



Androidbeing, There are both differences and similarities between english and western riding. The most obvious difference is the tack the horse wears.

The western saddle is larger and heavier than the english saddle. It's designed to spread the weight of the rider over a larger area of the horses back, making it more comfortable for long days out chasing cows.

The english saddle is smaller and lighter and designed to give the rider a closer contact with the horse's back.

With both the english and the western saddle, different designs are available to accomodate certain styles, sports and disciplines.

As far as riding goes, the main difference between english and western riding is that in english riding, the rider takes a direct contact with the horse's mouth via the reins and uses the reins as part of the "aids" (along with the seat and the leg) for speed and direction. Most western riding horses are ridden on little or no contact and the rider uses his seat, his weight and neck-reining to give aids to the horse.

The position of the rider is much the same in both english and western. The rider should sit tall and straight, leaning neither forward nor backward. The rider's legs should hang naturally against the horse's sides and the arms should be relaxed and against the rider's sides (flapping elbows are frowned up in both disciplines).

In english riding, the rider takes a rein in each hand, whereas western riders take both reins in one hand, allowing the other hand to fall naturally at their side, or lay on their thigh.