Western pleasure? I dont get it!

sdawn8806 · 10-26-2009, 06:30 PM

Im really looking for someone to explain to me what the deal is with western pleasure. To me the headset is unnaturally low, the jog looks like a funky walk and they look dead lame at the lope. Sorry if this upsets anyone, thats not my intention, i really am just looking for someone to educate me as to why you would make a horse do this.

cowgurly02 · 10-26-2009, 06:33 PM

If you do a search on western pleasure you will find there have been MANY threads on this topic that will answer your question

sdawn8806 · 10-26-2009, 06:35 PM

cool, thanks! guess i should have thought of that :-P

BootsOn · 10-26-2009, 06:41 PM

This video is, IMO, what WP should be like...

YouTube - AQHA Western Pleasure Video

sdawn8806 · 10-26-2009, 06:45 PM

i saw that video when i searched youtube! that looks nice to me, head nice and level, gaits are slow but not stunted. i dont understand why there has been such a change.

PinkHorse · 10-26-2009, 06:50 PM

Lovely tone to your post.

Good western pleasure horses are bred to move exactly the way they do. Their necks are tied into their shoulders to produce a level neck carriage naturally. They jog and lope on their own in the field - training just enhances the level of collection and builds the strength and suppleness needed to move slow & correct & soft. Nobody is making them do anything they don't do naturally.

Watch a good WP horse move and you'll see a true 2-beat jog and 3-beat lope. Poorly trained horses or those without the fitness level to maintain a jog or a lope often can be seen jogging in the front and walking behind; at the lope, the diagonal pair can break down to produce a 4-beat "trope"; lack of strength and a hollow back produces a hoppy, unnatural "lope" that does make them look lame. WP is tough to do correctly and there are a LOT of people doing it wrong - just like all the horrible training and riding seen every day in every other discipline out there.

allison finch · 10-26-2009, 07:02 PM

I am still seeing way too many "peanut rollers" even thought he rules for head set are supposed to be strict.

Also, what happened to the nice QH with full chests. So many of the WP horses I see are very narrow chested, thin horses. And this is at the top shows!

PinkHorse · 10-26-2009, 07:12 PM

Where are you seeing peanut rollers? I haven't seen a nose-between-the-knees loper in years.

Judges are weighing head & neck position against quality of movement and training. A good mover with a lower neck carriage is still going to beat out poorer movers. Excessively low carriage is penalized but there is a grey area. At the end of the day, WP is all about the legs & body.

allison finch · 10-26-2009, 07:51 PM

I was of the impression that a horse with its poll way below the withers was to be penalized. Not so? How could good movement overcome that incorrectness?

Your photo of the paint in the hunter class is moving this way. I find that headset very unappealing, regardless of the correctness. I'm not bashing, just voicing an opinion. I was hoping that the move to stop the low head carriages would lead to more freely moving QH's.

PinkHorse · 10-26-2009, 08:02 PM

What photo? This one?

Although her ears have dipped below her withers at this moment in time, she's definitely not peanut rolling. This mare is built to float her neck out flat in front of her. There is nothing forced about it and it certainly doesn't impede her way of going in any way. That being said, this is from 6 years ago and these days, we would be working harder to get her to lift her neck up a little more - although she wouldn't be penalized much if at all for this carriage if we were showing her today.

10-26-2009, 06:30 PM	#1
sdawn8806 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: gainesville, FL Posts: 376 Images: 42	Western pleasure? I dont get it! Im really looking for someone to explain to me what the deal is with western pleasure. To me the headset is unnaturally low, the jog looks like a funky walk and they look dead lame at the lope. Sorry if this upsets anyone, thats not my intention, i really am just looking for someone to educate me as to why you would make a horse do this.

10-26-2009, 06:33 PM	#2
cowgurly02 Senior Member+ Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 10,975 Images: 237 Blog Entries: 450	If you do a search on western pleasure you will find there have been MANY threads on this topic that will answer your question __________________ When I hear somebody talk about a horse or cow being stupid, I figure its a sure sign that the animal has outfoxed them. ~Tom Dorrance

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10-26-2009, 06:35 PM	#3
sdawn8806 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: gainesville, FL Posts: 376 Images: 42	cool, thanks! guess i should have thought of that :-P

10-26-2009, 06:45 PM	#5
sdawn8806 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: gainesville, FL Posts: 376 Images: 42	i saw that video when i searched youtube! that looks nice to me, head nice and level, gaits are slow but not stunted. i dont understand why there has been such a change.

10-26-2009, 06:50 PM	#6
PinkHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: My Desk Posts: 1,021 Images: 50	Lovely tone to your post. Good western pleasure horses are bred to move exactly the way they do. Their necks are tied into their shoulders to produce a level neck carriage naturally. They jog and lope on their own in the field - training just enhances the level of collection and builds the strength and suppleness needed to move slow & correct & soft. Nobody is making them do anything they don't do naturally. Watch a good WP horse move and you'll see a true 2-beat jog and 3-beat lope. Poorly trained horses or those without the fitness level to maintain a jog or a lope often can be seen jogging in the front and walking behind; at the lope, the diagonal pair can break down to produce a 4-beat "trope"; lack of strength and a hollow back produces a hoppy, unnatural "lope" that does make them look lame. WP is tough to do correctly and there are a LOT of people doing it wrong - just like all the horrible training and riding seen every day in every other discipline out there.

10-26-2009, 07:02 PM	#7
allison finch Full Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 211 Images: 16	I am still seeing way too many "peanut rollers" even thought he rules for head set are supposed to be strict. Also, what happened to the nice QH with full chests. So many of the WP horses I see are very narrow chested, thin horses. And this is at the top shows!

10-26-2009, 07:12 PM	#8
PinkHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: My Desk Posts: 1,021 Images: 50	Where are you seeing peanut rollers? I haven't seen a nose-between-the-knees loper in years. Judges are weighing head & neck position against quality of movement and training. A good mover with a lower neck carriage is still going to beat out poorer movers. Excessively low carriage is penalized but there is a grey area. At the end of the day, WP is all about the legs & body.

10-26-2009, 07:51 PM	#9
allison finch Full Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 211 Images: 16	I was of the impression that a horse with its poll way below the withers was to be penalized. Not so? How could good movement overcome that incorrectness? Your photo of the paint in the hunter class is moving this way. I find that headset very unappealing, regardless of the correctness. I'm not bashing, just voicing an opinion. I was hoping that the move to stop the low head carriages would lead to more freely moving QH's.

10-26-2009, 08:02 PM	#10
PinkHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: My Desk Posts: 1,021 Images: 50	What photo? This one? Although her ears have dipped below her withers at this moment in time, she's definitely not peanut rolling. This mare is built to float her neck out flat in front of her. There is nothing forced about it and it certainly doesn't impede her way of going in any way. That being said, this is from 6 years ago and these days, we would be working harder to get her to lift her neck up a little more - although she wouldn't be penalized much if at all for this carriage if we were showing her today.