Learn to Ride Wenglish

This article will tell you how to ride Wenglish, which is a combination of Western and English. I am a horse owner myself and have ridden this way for at least 20 years. Also my experience with horses is very extensive, having broken and trained a horse as an amateur.

I believe that neck reining is more humane to a horse. What is neck reining? This type of reining tells a horse how to turn. A rider holds the reins in one hand and touches the horses neck on the left to go right and visa versa to move in the opposite direction. My opinion is that it is more humane because you do not pull on the mouth. The western bit is heavier than an English one because you do not use it unless it is an emergency. Neck reining does not sour the mouth or in other words you do not constantly pull on the mouth which can dull the horse’s response to bit. So I think the Cowboys did the horse a favor when they adopted this type of reining.

Well how should I place my feet, you might ask? Use the English placement, is my response. This will help your balance on the horse. Move your feet slightly backward behind the girth. The apply pressure with both legs. Posting is part of the English riding method. This helps getting your horse to move faster as well as helping a rider deal with the trot. In fact I used this to teach my horse, Stormy, how to trot with a rider on board. He learned how to neck rein rather quickly and I would recommend this to anyone who is breaking a horse. It is an adjustment for a horse to deal with a rider on his back. Neck reining, in my opinion, eases the adjustment that a green horse must make to become a ridden horse.

If you are teaching a horse to trot, use a whip. What I recommend is to gently move your horse into a trot by applying leg pressure with both legs placed behind the girth. The heels should be down. Constant kicking deadens the horse’s response after a while. The pressure method is very humane and effective. When the horse is in a trot, move the whip up and down in rhythm with the trot. This will help the horse become more in tune with the rider. It will also help the horse increase its speed along with the leg pressure method.

This leg placement also helps when riding bareback. I recommend riding bareback in the summer, because it is easier on the horses back and the horse does not get as hot. Plus it is easier to carry a bareback pad than a saddle. In order to buy a bareback pad, check the internet for manufacturers. Prices are competitive and it is easier to find what you are looking for on the web than at a tack shop, which is hard to find.

So think about employing these methods. You’ll be glad you did and your horse will thank you.