Western Pleasure

Western pleasure is one of the most well-known styles of western riding. This style of competition is meant to show off the manners and suitability of a horse to perform its different gait cadence and speed. All horse breeds to perform in these competitions but temperament does play a role so each horse needs to be quiet, calm, have collected, soft gaits and have the strong muscles that are required to sustain slow, controlled movement.

The purpose of western pleasure is for the horse to show how well he can move his body. This is why it is required for the horse to move slow so the judges can see every little movement the horse makes. There is a controversy in this event today in the way the horse holds its head. Some judges have come to prefer that the horses hold their heads low while they perform. This causes the horse to use more muscle to pull its hind end underneath itself. The judges like this because they know that horses who can do this are better fit. This is also a problem though because in the long run, it can cause a horse serious soundness problems. It wears away at the horses joints and can cause them to become lame. Lame is a term used for a horse who is not moving correctly due to an injury. An example of this in humans would be if you sprained your ankle, you would start to limp. Because of the pain it may cause there horses, most owners today are not training their horses to keep their heads low to the ground.



During competition, riders all compete together. They are asked to ride around the outside of the arena either at a walk, jog, or lope in either direction. They also will be asked to halt and stand quietly and also to back up. A first place horse in this competition is decided on their quality of movement, proper motion, form in motion, and calm manner.