Western Pleasure. It seems like these days on social media, you either love it or you hate it. And boy do the people who hate it have a lot of misinformation. There are times I hate it too. But usually it is because I know my horse can collect and move like a pleasure horse and she’s just choosing not to, not that I hate the discipline as a whole. For some reason, other people seem to think it is an us vs them kind of thing. “I barrel race so I hate western pleasure.” “I do reining, so I hate western pleasure.” I will truly never understand that. Maybe it is because we have a background in POA’s where the ponies are expected to do all of the disciplines? Whatever the case, let me set you straight on some common misconceptions about western pleasure.
First of all, the horses are not “beat into submission”. Are their bad western pleasure trainers who use inhumane methods to get through to their horses? Absolutely! I wish tying a horse up, deadening tails and some of the other inhumane “training” methods would go away forever. But it isn’t unique to western pleasure. There are also bad barrel, reining, jumping, trail, endurance, driving, oh wait - you probably get the point, don’t you? Our horses don’t go around with their heads level, slowly and relaxed because we beat them. They go around like that because they want to and are bred to move that way.
Western pleasure horses are not lame. Are there some who may be? Absolutely. Are there people who ride their game horses lame? Their reiners? Their driving horses? Are you seeing my point yet? Western pleasure horses don’t go slow because they are lame. They go slow because they want to. We train them to realize that it is easier to go slow than race around. We let them know that just because we ask for the lope, doesn’t mean we expect to go fast, they can go as slow as they want to. And if they are bred for it, and have the mindset for it, they want to go slow. We teach them to move with their backs rounded and collected which causes them to move slower. We teach them to engage their hind end and reach underneath. It’s a lot of work for them (and takes a hell of a long time to train them to do), but when you get those first few strides of a sweet jog or lope you realize it was all worth it.
And don’t tell me that all western pleasure horses look lame. There are some judges who still reward the incorrectly moving 4 beat lope (trope) or the jog that isn’t even a true diagonal pair jog. They are getting fewer and farther between all the time. Most judges won’t place you unless you have a true 3 beat lope AND you had better be reaching under with that hind leg. I stood in the line up and heard several judges this year talk to my fellow competitors and explain this very reason for not placing them in the class. If you’re stuck in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s and still basing your opinion off of that, then you need to stop sharing an incorrect opinion because it makes you look ignorant. Stop saying “I wish western pleasure would change” and then not even noticing when it does.
Ugh, then there are the people that keep talking about peanut pushers. I’m so sick of hearing that “they trained that horse to be a peanut pusher” or “only the peanut pushers win”. For Pete’s sake! Go to a show! Watch a class. There are NO peanut pushers any more. If there are (and my horse was one) it is because the rider is a novice or not as good of a rider and cannot get their damn horse’s head up. Coupe wanted to drag his head along on the ground at the jog. I spent a majority of my time holding my horse’s head UP. Stop thinking that we are forcing their heads down that way. I wish I still had a video that I took of him just loping around in the round pen, loose, with his head on the ground, moving along at a snail’s pace. It’s what pleasure horses are BRED to do. No, we don’t expect your colt out of Frenchman’s Guy or Dash For Cash to do it. Because that isn’t what he is bred to do. For the record, level headset is where it is at. And level headset is what is being rewarded in the show pen. If you google peanut pusher horse, almost every image that comes up is not a peanut pusher. I haven’t seen more than a few of what you would call a “peanut pusher” since we started showing 10 years ago. So yeah, if you want to sound like you need a disco ball or neon parachute pants, keep talking about peanut pushers. I hear M.C. Hammer is playing at the Civic Center…
It isn’t about the bling. I’m so sick of people spouting off about how they can’t/won’t show western pleasure because of all the bling that you have to have to be able to show. They think you have to have saddles worth thousands, headstalls worth hundreds and jackets covered in crystals. If you want to wear all that, more power to you. Some people really really LOVE their bling. I do not. To me, most of it is just gaudy. And heavy. And hot. There are some jackets that I do love if they are simple and understated. But most, gaudy. However, HOWEVER, loads of people love their bling. Just like loads of gamers love their bling. It is all a personal choice. And before you get all nuts saying you can’t win without it, bullcrap. It wins. Ask any judge if they place someone over someone else because of a jacket. Or a saddle. Or a headstall. And they will laugh at you (Well, they probably won’t because they are more professional than that, but they might think of laughing). They have enough of a job just watching the horse, much less if that ensemble is a pretty. Clean tack. Clean and pressed clothes. Well fitted and shaped. It’s not that hard. And it isn’t that expensive.
I hear people say that they would never want to ride a western pleasure horse and it makes me sad. I could say that I never want to ride a crazy game horse. But then I’m missing out because there are a lot of sane and fun game horses that would be a blast, albeit terrifying, to ride. I think a true horseman is willing to experience all disciplines. My horse bucket list includes riding a draft, riding a racehorse (on a closed track on an old tired out racehorse so I don’t die), riding a hunter/jumper over short little jumps, riding out west, riding a cutter, and so much more. I don’t put my blood, sweat, tears and entire life savings into those disciplines, but I can appreciate them. I can understand what goes into making a top notch competitor. Maybe if we all stopped judging (again that age old lesson), we would open our eyes to new things! New things are fun. Make your bucket list and branch out.
Lame article. You are obviously a trainer, not a Horseman.
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously no horseman or you would have known what was stated is correct. If you cannot appreciate a good horse of any breed or discipline, the problem is your own.
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DeleteExcellent! Good on you for writing this. It's quite tiresome reading the constant stream of repetitive, parakeeting, negative comments. Folks need to learn to respect and recognize the good in each breed/discipline. The horse world is small enough without cannibalizing each other or going after a bunch of kids showing.
ReplyDeleteI still think that slow lope is awful, creepy and unnatural to the extreme. I feel the same way about much of dressage. I understand that nothing we do with horses is natural. My horses are more natural out in pasture (and fences are unnatural.) I have bred and shown dogs and see what extremes do to a breed. Faces so narrow that the animals have eyesight and neurological problems. Faces so short eyes pop out, and heads so large that animals cannot whelp without medical intervention. Dogs so heavy that they can no longer do the job they were intended for. So here the same thing happens with horses. Exaggerated dish faces, hooves so small there are constant lameness issues, gaits so unnatural the animal appears lame. No horse carries their head that low naturally and I dare say the horse in the first picture is holding his head naturally. The tension in neck muscles tells the story. I read how your horse lopes that slow with its head on the ground and wondered what it looked like before it was trained to ride. I often see Dutch Harness Horse foals with a super big trot but it is nothing like that of a horse encouraged to go even bigger. (Don't even get me started about the Tennessee Walker and Big Lick horses.)
ReplyDeleteNo judge is ever going to tell you that bling wins a class or that their friends are winning. I did once hear a (dressage) judge say that she would pick the best "picture" if the scores were the same. For "picture" read slender and well dressed. I appreciate her honesty but that is not what it is about. Of course the biggest unfair advantage is the amount of training that you can pay for. Any animal that goes into a training program with a competitive trainer ($$$ per month) is going to be much more finished that someone at home. I think there should be more restriction on what is amateur and what is not.
I am ranting also. I too try to do things economically and don't care what you do with your horse, even if it is feed them and pet them, but don't try to tell me that the video of the Western Pleasure class at QH Congress is a good thing. I would truly like to see any of those horses out in pasture playing with their buddies. I doubt you would see that happening.
Absolutely, I totally agree with you!!.. And.. stuck in the 80's? A Western Pleasure class back then was wonderful to watch. I enjoyed it immensely. I don't enjoy what they're doing out there now. It's just plain painful to watch. Yep you are right, I doubt if you will see them lope like that out in pasture.. lol
DeleteGood well written read.
ReplyDeleteIf what the author says is true then why would she post those 2 photos with this article? Neither horse is tracking up and therefore not using its hind end nor bringing its back up and the first one is clearly on its forehand. I'm not saying that it isn't possible to ride a western pleasure horse correctly but it is very rare that I see it. I wouldn't disparage the discipline but I do think there are far too many trainers, riders, and judges who do not actually know what is correct.
ReplyDeleteI agree and if she thinks any of those outfits will win at the big shows good luck to her!
DeleteThe author, me, used those pictures because I own them. I didn't want to steal pictures off the internet of someone else's horse. The horses pictured are a 2 year old and a 3 year old at an open show. They are learning and the atmosphere was relaxed. However, at a larger breed show, that same button down shirt and tooled saddle combo did win.
DeleteGreat job on this article, hiting the nail on the head!!! Just ignore the idiotic comments from close minded people who have no buisness sitting behind a computer and making comments.
ReplyDeleteHere here!!! Beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteI trained horses, amateur riders and youths to compete at local club shows. Not everyone had tons of money. I had to make do with the horses they had and the ones I picked out within their budget. The first time one I was training lifted her back and gave me the slow Western Pleasure lope I was "so this is what it feels like!" Ironically she was bred to be a halter horse and looked the part. If the owner/youth/amateur wanted something the horse they had wasn't suited for I would try to promote and sell their horse in it's correct discipline and find them another one. To have a youth crying because her horse won't go slow and parents blaming me is rough. Fast forward...I show the same horse english, win, sell it for top dollar and then find the youth a horse that CAN and wants to be a western horse. It works in reverse too. I was starting a colt to be a barrel horse and all he wanted to do was jog and lope!! Think of it like a car. The features you want have to be offered on your model. Sometimes all that keeps a horse and rider from winning is that they have on the wrong saddle and are in the wrong class.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! And, while I don't really like the way MOST pleasure horses are loping right now, the ones that do it right(Google One Hot Krymsun's victory lap at the world show...GORGEOUS) look amazing while doing it. Just because you see a handful of horses that don't look natural doing it doesn't mean that it doesn't look right for the right horse.
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