Western Pleasure - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Western Pleasure is a western style

Western riding

Western riding is a style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West...

competition at horse show

Horse show

A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...

s that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

for a relaxed but collected gait

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

cadence and relatively slow speed of gait, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to be a "pleasure" to ride and very comfortable, while being very smooth. Most light horse breeds in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

may compete in western pleasure classes, either in open competition or at shows limited to a single breed. However, horse conformation and temperament play a role in this event, and hence animals that are calm, quiet, have collected, soft gaits and the strong muscling required to sustain slow, controlled movement are the most competitive.

Breeds

Nearly any breed can be exhibited in western pleasure classes. The highest levels of competition are usually in shows restricted to a single breed, but at lower levels, there are open classes where multiple breeds may compete against one another. Across all breeds, horses are generally to move in a slow, light, calm, relaxed manner, with minimal rein contact. The desired "frame," or style, of the horse may vary from breed to breed.

In open or all-breed competition, stock horse

Stock horse

A Stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. Such horses are riding horsescharacterized by agility, quickness, and powerful hindquarters...

breeds such as the American Quarter Horse

American Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...

, American Paint Horse

American Paint Horse

The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred bloodlines, the American Paint Horse...

and Appaloosa

Appaloosa

The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...

tend to be favored by the judges, though quality individuals from other breeds such as the Morgan horse

Morgan horse

The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....

and Arabian horse

Arabian horse

The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...

can be competitive if not penalized for their natural conformation that gives them a somewhat higher-set neck. "Gaited"

Gaited horse

Gaited horses are horse breeds that have natural gaited tendencies, that is, the ability to perform one of the smooth to ride, intermediate speed four-beat horse gaits, collectively referred to as ambling gaits....

breeds such as the Missouri Fox Trotter

Missouri Fox Trotter

The Missouri Fox Trotter is an American breed of horse with a unique four beat gait. It was bred in the Ozark Mountain foothills, and used by settlers who valued its smoothness.-Breed characteristics:...

and the Tennessee Walker

Tennessee Walker

The Tennessee Walker or Tennessee Walking Horse is a breed of riding horse. The breed was originally bred in the Southern United States to carry the owners of plantations around their lands...

often have their own Western Pleasure classes with standards adapted to evaluate their use of intermediate gaits

Ambling

The term amble or ambling is used to describe a number of four-beat intermediate gaits of horses. All are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter or gallop...

other than the jog trot

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

. Even breeds that are traditionally shown mostly in English riding

English riding

English riding is a term used to describe a form of horse riding that is seen throughout the world. There are many variations in English riding, but all feature a flat English saddle without the deep seat, high cantle or saddle horn seen on a Western saddle nor the knee pads seen on an Australian...

disciplines, such as the American Saddlebred

American Saddlebred

The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...

or the Friesian

Friesian horse

The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war...

, may offer western pleasure classes with judging specifications that are adapted to the conformation and way of going

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

of those breeds.

Stock breeds

The stock horse

Stock horse

A Stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. Such horses are riding horsescharacterized by agility, quickness, and powerful hindquarters...

breeds are shown with a style referred to as a "level top line." Their movement is described as "daisy cutting," as they have very little knee action, but their hindquarters are actively engaged and their hocks reach well under the body. They carry their neck nearly level with their withers, and head just slightly in front of vertical, but are to be penalized if their poll is carried lower than their withers

Withers

The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...

. The head and neck move very little at any gait. They are exhibited with little to no bit contact and a loop in the rein. The style used to show these horses is derived from the "Texas" cowboy

Cowboy

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

tradition.

Saddle type breeds

"Saddle type" horses encompass a large group of horse breeds of many sizes and body types that have an arched and high-set neck and naturally greater knee action. They are shown in a style derived from the "California" vaquero

Cowboy

cowboy tradition, particularly that of the finished spade bit horse. They are to show with a lightly arched neck, their heads relatively low and tucked to be almost exactly perpendicular to the ground, with horses overflexed or going "behind the bit" to be penalized. Though a self-carried horse is desired, with minimal bit contact and a draped rein visible, this effect is often achieved by use of weighted reins, as by nature they are ridden with somewhat more contact and have more forward motion than the stock type.

The Arabian and Morgan breeds produce horses specially bred for the western disciplines and offer western pleasure classes that draw large numbers of competitors. Breeds such as the American Saddlebred or Friesian have smaller numbers competing in western competition than other events, but classes are available. Most gaited horses fall into the saddle type category in terms of desired frame and style, though judging criteria for their gaits differs significantly from that of non-gaited breeds.

Equipment

Horses and riders show in western tack

Horse tack

Tack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack...

and attire. The horse carries a western saddle

Western saddle

Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches...

, and wears an open-faced bridle

Bridle

A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit....

without a noseband

Noseband

A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson or caveson noseband...

. The rider wears a long-sleeved shirt, sometimes with a vest or jacket, chaps

Chaps

Chaps are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers they have no seat and are not joined at the crotch. They are designed to provide protection for the legs and are usually made of leather...

, a cowboy hat

Cowboy hat

The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...

, and cowboy boot

Cowboy boot

Cowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a Cuban heel, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing...

s. Gloves and spur

Spur

A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids and to back up the natural aids . The spur is used in every equestrian discipline...

s are optional. Shirts and vests or jackets are often brightly colored and sometimes elaborately decorated to mimic popular styles in western wear

Western wear

Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th-century American West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy and vaquero clothing to the stylized garments popularized by...

. Riders at smaller shows usually wear denim jeans under their chaps, while at regional and national competitions, western-styled polyester dress pants that match the rider's shirt or chaps are worn by women, while men tend to stick to jeans. Men usually wear a neckscarf, often of silk, and women may too wear a neckscarf, but in recent years as rules have been relaxed, brooches and necklaces are now also seen on female riders.

Show grooming

While all western pleasure horses are to be clean (generally bathed prior to a show) and well groomed

Horse grooming

Horse grooming is hygienic care given to a horse, or a process by which the horse's physical appearance is enhanced for horse shows or other types of competition.-Reasons for grooming:...

, with legs, bridle path

Bridle path (horse)

The bridle path is a shaved or clipped section of the mane, beginning behind the ears of a horse at the poll, delineating the area where the crownpiece of the bridle lies...

, ears, muzzle, and other areas neatly clipped, grooming details vary by breed. Length of bridle path is usually determined by breed, with longer-necked breeds usually sporting a longer bridle path than the stock horse breeds.

Casual observers will mostly notice breed differences in the style of the horse's mane

Mane (horse)

The mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck...

. Though fads vary a bit from year to year, in the stock horse breeds, the mane is usually shortened and thinned, often "banded," in that the mane is divided into many small segments and small rubber bands are placed around each segment in order to make the overall mane lay flat and neat. However, in some years, long manes have been "in," and in other years a thinned mane with a braided forelock or a few small braids in the front of the mane has been popular. Arabians and Morgans are less prone to fads as they have long been required to show with "natural" long, unthinned, unbanded, unbraided manes. Gaited breeds and Saddlebreds usually sport the same mane style in both English pleasure

English Pleasure

English pleasure is generic term for a number of different English riding classes seen at horse shows in the United States, where the horse is ridden in either hunt seat or saddle seat tack....

and western pleasure classes, long and flowing but with a colorful ribbon braided into the forelock and into the front section of the mane.

Tails are usually kept relatively long and flowing for nearly all breeds. Artificial tails or tail extensions are often allowed, though are banned for Arabians and Morgans, where a full tail is a breed trait.

Class procedure and requirements

The riders compete as a group at the same time, traveling around the outer edge of the arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

. All contestant

Contestant

A contestant is someone who takes part in a competition, usually a professional competition or a game show on television. The participants competing against each other have to go through rounds...

s, at the command of the event's judge, are asked to have their horse

Horse

walk

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

, jog

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

(a slow trot), and lope

Canter

The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait performed by a horse. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot but slower than the gallop, and is used by all riders. The speed of the canter varies between 16-27 km/h , depending on the length of the stride of the horse...

both directions in an arena, as well as to stand quietly and back up readily. In addition, many judges will ask for extended gaits, particularly an extended jog and, in some breeds, the hand gallop

Canter

.

Winning horses are decided on their quality of movement, proper behavior, form in motion, and calm manner. As stated in the show rules of the American Quarter Horse Association

American Quarter Horse Association

The American Quarter Horse Association , based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive events and maintains the official registry...

(AQHA), "maximum credit should be given to the flowing, balanced and willing horse which gives the appearance of being fit and a pleasure to ride." The Western Division of the United States Equestrian Federation

United States Equestrian Federation

The United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917 as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed in 1933 to the American Horse Shows Association...

(USEF) has similar requirements. Faults are assessed on infractions such as excessive speed or slowness, breaking gait

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

, or incorrect head position.

The Western Pleasure rider's seat is deep, with a long stirrup

Stirrup

A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal...

, to assist the horse in driving deeply from the rear and elevating the shoulders. Reins are kept loose and relaxed, though quiet and subtle rein signals

Riding aids

Riding aids are the cues a rider gives to a horse to communicate what they want the animal to do. Riding aids are broken into the natural aids and the artificial aids.-Natural aids:...

are still used. While equitation

Equitation

Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship.More specifically, equitation may refer to a rider's position while mounted, and encompass a rider's ability to ride correctly and with effective aids. In horse show competition, the rider, rather than the horse is evaluated...

of the rider is not judged in a pleasure class, a properly positioned rider will obtain a better performance from the horse.

Controversies

Western pleasure competition, like any event, has controversies and situations where fads become so extreme as to possibly constitute abuse

Cruelty to animals

Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...

. Therefore, most organizations that sanction horse shows have strict rules to prevent the worst problems. Nonetheless, it is hard to regulate fads, and horse show sanctioning organizations usually tout education of judges as the best method available to prevent fads from escalating into more serious problems.

Because western pleasure emphasis calmness and manners, some individuals attempt to circumvent good training by using tranquilizer

Tranquilizer

A tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...

s to steady their horses. However, drug rules of both the AQHA and USEF are strict, and both owners and trainers of horses that test positive for drugs are sanctioned heavily.

Tail deadening

Another abusive practice that is penalized if discovered is the process of "nerving" the horse's tail. If a horse is bored and irritable, it will express its displeasure by swishing its tail vigorously. Horses who are shown too long and schooled too repetitively can become "ring sour," a term used to describe a horse with a bored, unhappy and irritable manner, and often a ring sour horse will flatten its ears and swish its tail every time it is given a command. Because tail swishing is penalized, some competitors resorted to cutting the nerve

Nerve

A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...

s in a ring sour horse's tail to prevent the tail from moving. Because this also keeps the horse from brushing away flies, leaving it helpless against biting insects, the practice was quicky banned, and horses with nerved tails are no longer allowed in the show ring. However, some competitors still resort to temporarily numbing the tail with drugs, alcohol injections , or by mechanical means, also illegal if discovered but, as no scars remain, can be difficult to spot. The practice of nerving the tail was less of a problem in breeds where a high-carried tail is a breed trait, though temporarily numbing the tail is not completely unknown even in these breeds.

"Headset" trends

The sport of western pleasure has been criticized on account of an extremely low head position many judges were favoring in the stock horse

Stock horse

A Stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. Such horses are riding horsescharacterized by agility, quickness, and powerful hindquarters...

breeds, known as the "peanut roller." In this head set, horses carry their heads with the poll

Poll (horse)

The poll is a name of the part of an animal's head, alternatively referencing a point immediately behind or right between the ears. This area of the anatomy is of particular significance for the horse....

far below the level of their withers

Withers

. This is a problem because it also forced the horse to travel at an extremely slow pace on the "forehand" (carrying too much weight on their front legs instead of rocking it correctly back onto their hind legs). Over long periods of time, moving in this highly artificial frame can cause soundness problems in some horses, and even a sound horse cannot properly bring its hindquarters under its body when traveling forward. This fad and its problems created a poor view of the discipline as a whole, especially by competitors in other equestrian sports.

The industry has since been praised on its actions to change the "peanut roller" fad, though excessively low head positions are still seen at times. In the USEF, this constituted implementing specific rules, including a strict requirement that a horse must have its poll no lower than the height of its withers

Withers

, or, in the case of the AQHA, a rule stating that the ideal gait shall be performed with a "level topline." Additional rules make an extreme headset impossible by asking exhibitors to extend their horse's jog during a class. In the case of the AQHA, which took particularly strong action to reverse the trend, videos were sent out to all licensed judges to demonstrate what was and was not correct, and the materials also made available to the general public.

Spur stop controversy

A new fad, seen in nearly all breeds, requires a horse to perform with an extremely loose, draped rein

Rein

Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding or driving. Reins can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.-Use for riding:...

at all times. Western pleasure horses have always traveled on a fairly loose rein, but in recent years the visible "drape" in the rein has become exaggerated. However, it requires time, good riding ability, and careful training to correctly teach a horse "self carriage," particularly to slow or stop by responding to only a rider's use of seat position (and sometimes voice) without tightening the reins. Thus, an alternative method of training to slow a horse down without the use of the reins gave rise to a new, highly controversial, technique known as the "spur stop," an unconventional method used by some trainers to train horses to slow down and stop when spur pressure is applied.

Because spur, heel or leg pressure is generally used to ask a horse to go faster, this technique is sometimes referred to by its critics as "riding the brake" and is frowned upon by several major western pleasure sanctioning organizations since at least 2003, when AQHA put out a series of videos on correct and incorrect style and way of going for western pleasure horses, showing a "hit list" of undesirable traits not to be rewarded in the show ring, with the spur stop leading the list.

This controversy in Western Pleasure circles resembles the debate over Rollkur

Rollkur

Rollkur or hyperflexion of the horse's neck is a practice in equestrianism defined as "flexion of the horse's neck achieved through aggressive force" and is banned by the world governing body, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports...

in the field of dressage

Dressage

Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...

, particularly over the question of whether the practice constitutes animal abuse.

Experts differ on the validity of the spur stop. As stated by trainer Bob Avila: "the spur stop is “the worst thing ever invented. If I were to get a horse in for training that had a spur stop on him, I could do one event on him, period: Western pleasure.” Taking the opposing view, Mark Sheridan, an AQHA judge and trainer, has said: "You should not have any problems with the spur stop, and the transition to whatever events you decide to do with [the horse]. Personally, I put a spur stop on just the stop and back, on my western riders."

A less extreme method is referred to as putting "buttons" on the horse. A "button" is simply a leg or spur position that is trained by operant conditioning

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...

that tells the horse to travel at a particular gait or speed. These are often highly customized to an individual horse and rider team. While less extreme than the spur stop, such techniques still take the horse away from traditional responses to the riding aids

Riding aids

Riding aids are the cues a rider gives to a horse to communicate what they want the animal to do. Riding aids are broken into the natural aids and the artificial aids.-Natural aids:...

of seat, hands, weight and voice, which can also lead to an excessively artificial way of going by the animal.

External links

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