I never thought I'd miss western riding, but I do a little bit. Okay, not the saddles. I've never cared for those, although I sure do miss my own saddle.
No, I miss neck reining.
Dressage is beautiful to watch but there's just something about seeing a working cow horse turn and spin with their "power steering" (terrible term).
In reality what I probably really miss is riding responsive horses. Since working trail horses can't be very responsive, new riders constantly can take the edge of any horse. So I understand why these aren't responsive. But dang, I miss my horses. I like to be able to turn my horse with just a little leg or a bit of rein. I like them to put on the breaks when I say 'woah' and I like them to make a sharp turn no matter what speed I ask them to.
My own horse loves neck reining and I think he was used for poles or barrels (nothing serious, just play day stuff) because if you ask him to do it, you'd better hang on. It has taken me a lot of time to get him to cut the bolting out though.
I just miss the feeling of sitting on a horse and saying 'do this' and *BAM* it's done. There is a serious joy in riding a highly responsive horse, which is why I'm always so excited to bring home cow horses (even though I know they are usually fairly messed up and more work).
It's pretty impossible to get 10 or so horses to become polite responsive citizens in a month on non consistent riding. I miss my horses that follow me no matter where I go, stand if I ask them to (not just if they're tied) and who don't kick me in the dang knee cap.
I could really do without getting kicked in the knees. I'm looking at you Picasso. Three times? Really? Is getting your feet picked out really so horrible? Bah. I already have bad knees and ankles, they don't need any assistance speeding them up.
That said, I have definitely improved my hands, working on making them more independent, getting more heel depth, keeping my leg back and improving my posting. I have realized that I'm a control freak (Alright, that I've known for years) and I don't like feeling out of control on a horse. Which has made me rely too much on my hands.
I caught myself using my reins for balance a lot before I left. Shame on me. So when I was there I worked on going reinless and working tack free to improve my balance.
The horses here are ridden without contact (except for the more spunky ones) which has made me rely on my seat more than my hands. Which is good. However the lack of contact seems to have made them less sensitive to pressure rather than more. Which means when I do need to use pressure, I have to use considerably more than I would otherwise.
I miss my responsive horses and I want to ride a reining horse now. That is something I should try and learn more about when I get home. So long as I can find a way to teach it that isn't nasty and goes along with my methods.
My mom's funny about how I teach neck reining.
Mom: When are you going to teach them how to neck rein? You know people always ask if they can neck rein.
Me: I'm teaching them leg pressure and leg cues first. Then, when they've gotten so sensitive that they'll turn with just that, then I'll teach neck reining.
Mom: But then they won't need to neck rein.
Me: Exactly.
Mom: *confused*
Me: If they don't need the reins, I can just add them in with my leg cue until they associate the two together. Then they should respond to just the reins without the leg cues or with just the lightest pressure on the reins.
Still, there is definitely merit to learning how to speed up the process.
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