Get to know the essential parts of a western saddle with this comprehensive guide. Plus, have some fun testing your knowledge with a quiz at the end.When I was a kid, I loved trail riding and had a weekly...
Saddle fit doesn’t have to be stressful. To make sure that a western saddle fits your horse well, keep in mind that you want it to make as much contact as possible around the horse’s back so that it...
The spin is the maneuver specific to reining. The stylized movement shows your horse’s willingness to move on cue with speed and agility. It’s also the move most associated with riders’ concerns. Will I stop on time? Will I...
If you’d like to truly "show off” your horse at a horse show, you can’t do much better than to enter him in a halter class. This ground-based class might appear a bit like showmanship at first, but unlike...
It’s no fun to ride a horse that needs to be pushed constantly to stay in a lope. It feels like pedaling a bicycle when you must use your legs in rhythmic cues knowing the horse will break gait...
Whether it’s showmanship, horsemanship, trail, western riding or ranch classes, pattern competition helps show a judge the skills you and your horse have mastered through precision and correctness. If your horse acts antsy in the pattern class, dancing in...
A fast-stopping horse sliding into a cloud of dust is an icon for western riding. Horses in reining classes stop with sliders on their back hooves to accentuate downward transitions. In cow horse classes, the horse’s stop blocks the...
To compete in reining or working cow horse competitions, your horse will need to turn quickly in response to your cues. In reining, the move is a “turnaround,” or spin—the horse moves forward around a pivot foot and continues...
Crossing water is one of those things that’s either fun to do with your horse, or it’s exasperating—there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. However, if a horse is trained to cross water willingly, it’s easy and very...
Barrel racing isn’t only about going fast. To round the three barrels in a barrel racing pattern with precision as well as a fast time, classical horsemanship skills apply.If you’ve ever wanted to...
