Western is better for the horse than English riding

I know I may not explain everything here, but I will get to it as the Debate continues. To start, I am going to explain a bit, with no bias. Western riding is most commonly seen at Rodeos and on ranches, and it is the most common discipline for trail riding. A Western saddle comes in many different types, each suited for a purpose, but it has a reputation for being easy to sit in, and helps the rider feel secure. A Western horse should be able to go forwards, backwards, sideways, turn and stop with slack still in it's reins, and very little visible command from the rider. English riding, on the other hand, keeps constant contact with the horses bit, causing the reins to look tight, although that may not be the case. The goal, in most English events is to also have the horse respond to not so visible command from the rider, although what the horse does can be a bit more intricate and challenging looking than what the Western horses do, although sometimes it can be similar to what Western horses do. Other activities have the horse jumping obstacles that can be taller than the horse itself, or racing flat out at top speeds, although some Western Events also have horses running flat out, although they must make tight, sharp turns around barrels, or weave in and out of poles. An English saddle is smaller, and less secure than a Western saddle, although no less useful. Each English saddle is designed for a specific purpose as well. The only real similarity between each saddle is that they both help both horse and Rider do there best. Now, I am going to start with events can be used against me: Ranch Work, Cutting, Barrels, Poles. Events I will use: Dressage, Jumping (all types), Racing and Saddle seat. As stated above, the goal of Western riding is for the horse and rider to be almost one. You can argue it is the same in Dressage, but in reality Dressage is painful to the horse, no matter how pretty it looked. It forces the horse into an unnatural position, which later causes the horses to have severe neck and breathing problems. A common way to train those horses how to dance is to tie them up so they can't go anywhere, then they are beaten about the legs, making them "dance" to avoid it, not to mention all the contraptions that are put on a dressage horses head, forcing there head into the unnatural position of having there chin on their chest, known as rollkur. Next we cover jumping. Cross Country has horses running as fast as they can, over many different terrain, jumping over many types of obstacles, all different sizes, and many lead into water. Many horses balk, and are still forced over jumps, causing them to fall and injure, or kill themselves and their rider. It is very stressful on the horses, and many get injuries causing early retirement. Steeple Chase is much like horse racing, only there are jumps added along the way, causing many horses to also have fatal injuries. On to Horse Racing. In horse racing physically immature horses, still yearlings, are forced to run as fast as they can, until they literally break down. Yes, some horses enjoy racing, but it is very stressful on their bodies, many horses breakdown before having run many races. Numbers from the Jockey Club's equine injury database covering a one-year period show that one of every 500 Thoroughbred starts at North American racetracks results in a fatal injury. This represents about 800 deaths. Reporting is voluntary with 85% of race tracks participating. Not only do there legs give out, but there organs can as well. A study in the Equine Veterinary Journal found hemorrhaging in the lungs in 95% of horses during two post-race examinations. Researchers found gastric ulcers in 93% of horses in race training, in horses that had actually raced, the incidence was a staggering 100%.-See more at: http://www.animal-rights-action.com... Saddleseat takes horses with a natural high step and makes it higher, more exaggerated. The most common practices involve leaving a horses toe too long, which can cause joint and leg problems, and bits can have shanks around 9", on double bridles, not to mention these horses also have a forced headset, and rarely see the light of day, outside of showing and training. Many people say reining is similar to Dressage, and in some ways it is, but in those same ways, they are entirely different. A Dressage horse is in a forced headset, with taught reins, while a reining horse runs on loose reins, with a natural headset while executing natural, low stress movements, many even run bitless. Cutting is another Western event, in which the rider does very little, and if they visibly signal their horse they are penalized. This one is all horse, many horses can do it without riders. Examples of Rollkur http://i971.photobucket.com... http://www.yourhorse.co.uk... http://www.dressage-academy.com... Cross Country and Steeple Chase http://www.habitatforhorses.org... http://i.dailymail.co.uk... http://msnbcmedia.msn.com... http://i.dailymail.co.uk... http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com... http://regardinghorses.com... http://i1.ytimg.com... http://calinnova.files.wordpress.com... Examples of Racehorse breakdowns http://www.peta.org... http://4.bp.blogspot.com... http://rtfitch.files.wordpress.com... http://www.peta.org... Examples of Saddleseat http://www.breedersguide.com... http://regaljada.tripod.com... http://www.thenaturalhoof.co.uk... http://www.hsvma.org... http://media.kentucky.com... Reining http://americashorsedaily.com... http://dutchchapman.tripod.com... http://24.media.tumblr.com... http://www.drakejohnson.com... http://www.carolrose.com... Cutting http://1.bp.blogspot.com... http://www.reining-appaloosa.com... http://www.jbarlranch.com... http://www.idahocha.com... http://www.ichacutting.com... http://www.ichacutting.com...