Adventurous western style guest ranch in the beautiful untouchable part of Canada? Sounds like a challenge to have true, pioneer hands-on horse activities to experience the true western adventure on horses.
I grew up with horses and concentrated on the english style of riding and I got excited to try something new, and after all it gave me a good perspective to see the big difference between the western riding style in the big Canadian mountains and the english riding style which is very popular in Europe.
I remember my first western riding orientation and I was amazed by things that were different.The way they trained them and the way they rected were suprisinfgly different.
For example taking the horses from the pasture was my first observation. I used to walk next to the horse, these horses just wanted to follow me like a herd of horses that have one of their leading horses they follow. It was very nice to see all these little details.
The next stage was getting ready with the outdoor western riding saddles as well as all these latigos and different sized blankets. I was kind of surprised how everything had multiple uses.
I have to admit that the western style is really comfy and I can imagine myself to just sit there for a while, like a king and just let myself relax and enjoy nature.
Another difference is saddling. So much leather on the saddle and the cinch instead of the girth which took me quite a while to remember. I also learnt how to tighten a tie knot on the latigo.
Western style riding involves a heavier saddle and requires just one hand on the reins while the english style has a lighter saddle and uses both hands on the reins, usually split reins.
Like a true cow girl, I hopped on a horse and even though I grew up with horses, this was something different. The horse responds to a neck rein which means it has learned that a little pressure on the right rein against its neck means to turn left.
That took me quite a while to get used to, but after that I felt kind of cool, just using one hand to handle my horse. It was a perfect opportunity to feel like these guys from western movies.
I used tocompete a bit and work with horses in a riding hall and someone with english style experiences will appreciate the nice contrast. Go up to the mountains and see the Canadian beauty in nature on horseback; there is nothing better than that.
I think a good comparison to english and western style would be cars. It’s like with cars, the english like a fancy, sport car which is good for the nice and perfect road and then you have these massive Canadian trucks that can drive you up on the bumpy logging roads.
I really like to ride these fancy sport cars and strong trucks. Both have something special.