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Western Riding

Horse Illustrated covers anything you can think of related to western riding, including how-tos, tips from experts, discipline specifics, and more. Disciplines included are: western pleasure, western dressage, reining, speed events like barrel racing, and cattle events like cutting and team penning. Many riders start out riding in this style, especially in the Western states, and then progress into one of the disciplines above. Some of the topics covered include introducing your horse to cattle, how to ride the rollback, how to cue the lope, how to go bitless, selecting a hat for the show pen, showmanship, and much more.

The Complete Guide to Parts of a Western Saddle — Plus a Quiz

Get to know the essential parts of a western saddle with this comprehensive guide. Plus, have some fun testing your…

4 weeks ago


Western Saddle Fit Made Simple

Saddle fit doesn’t have to be stressful. To make sure that a western saddle fits your horse well, keep in…

1 month ago

Master Your Reining Spins

The spin is the maneuver specific to reining. The stylized movement shows your horse’s willingness to move on cue with…

5 months ago

How to Show in Halter Classes

If you’d like to truly "show off” your horse at a horse show, you can’t do much better than to…

6 months ago

Keep Loping: Prevent Breaking Gait at the Lope

It’s no fun to ride a horse that needs to be pushed constantly to stay in a lope. It feels…

8 months ago

Antsy Horse? Here’s How to Avoid Anticipation in Pattern Classes

Whether it’s showmanship, horsemanship, trail, western riding or ranch classes, pattern competition helps show a judge the skills you and…

10 months ago

The Difference in Reining and Cow Horse Stops

A fast-stopping horse sliding into a cloud of dust is an icon for western riding. Horses in reining classes stop…

11 months ago

Perfect Your Reining and Working Cow Horse Turns

To compete in reining or working cow horse competitions, your horse will need to turn quickly in response to your…

1 year ago

Training Your Horse to Cross Water

Crossing water is one of those things that’s either fun to do with your horse, or it’s exasperating—there doesn’t seem…

1 year ago

Using Horsemanship Skills in Barrel Racing

Barrel racing isn’t only about going fast. To round the three barrels in a barrel racing pattern with precision as…

1 year ago