Western is better for the horse than English riding

Dressage: Ah, yes, the famous rollkur video. Not only have I seen it, I agree with most of its claims. Rollkur is bad for the horse and must be eliminated from dressage. The FEI and USEF are both taking steps to do so. I took a look at the website you linked; not only is it seven years out of date and does not reflect recent changes in dressage ideology, the author is incredibly biased. He has no experience in dressage, but rather focuses on racing and rodeo events. The claims he makes are invalid and not backed up by any sort of proof. He references pictures to demonstrate the abuses in lower level dressage; however, the pictures are clearly of upper level horses wearing double bridles, a piece of tack only allowed at third level and above. He also does not provide scores of the horses he criticizes, so we can't know if these postures were rewarded or discouraged. I'll now refute the other claims he makes, ill-founded in reality though they are: 1. Dressage horses are worked in small rings without proper collection. In fact, only the show ring is required to be a certain size and most trainers work in much larger rings at home. Dressage is meant to be a logical progression up the training scale, so horses are not required to be collected until later levels. They are required to be balanced and not drop their shoulder or hips in to a turn. Failing to remain upright and balanced is a major fault at even the lowest levels of dressage. 2. A forceful or punishing seat. I clicked through to the seat page, where the author shows pictures of both dressage and reining. Interestingly, the dressage horse he shows is (according to his own definition) uphill and proper, despite this "abuse." Clearly the horse is not influenced too negatively. Leaning backward in the extended trot allows the rider to (a) free the horse's shoulder and (b) allow the seat to move more fluidly with the added movement. If you wanted to swing your hips with a big trot, it would be easier to do if your hips had somewhere to go. 3. Unnecessary use of severe aids. Not only are bits strictly regulated (the maximum shank length on a dressage curb is less than 4 inches, whereas in reining the max length is 8.5 inches), the spurs are carefully checked after every ride by the technical delegate. Any spur mark on the horse disqualifies the pair. Any blood in the mouth or on the sides can cause ejection from the show grounds. Only smooth spurs are allowed, and they can be no longer than 1 inch. Whips are not allowed in championship classes. Dressage actually has more regulations for the safety and wellbeing of the horse than most other disciplines. 4. Working on hard ground. All trainers and show facilities take special care in their footing so that the horses work their best. A facility with bad footing - whether too hard, too soft, too wet, too dry - will quickly lose business. I have personally seen dressage riders trailer their horses to a venue, look at the arena, and turn around and go home. They were too concerned with their horse's feet and legs to risk competing on subpar footing. 5. Too much training in limited space. See the first subpoint. 6. Too many unqualified teachers and trainers. The USDF has a medal program, a method of certification, and a way to see past scores by rider or by horse. I, personally, would never go to a dressage trainer without a USDF gold medal, meaning that the rider has two scores of 60% or better from two different judges on Intermediate I/II and two scores o 60% or better from two different judges on Grand Prix. 7. Too many people trying to do what they do not understand and are not capable of doing. See subpoint 6. 8. The use of unsuitable horses for dressage/riding e.g. coldblooded horses or too heavy and/or too tall warmbloods. All horses are capable of at least up to the second level of dressage. Past that, some talent is required. I would never buy any horse who couldn't complete a training level test. Warmbloods in dressage are more refined than in hunters or jumpers; many are Thoroughbreds from the track. Cross country: The USEF has rules on when a horse can be competed in an event. At the beginner novice level (CC fences 2'7" and pace ~11mph), a horse must be 4 years old. At the preliminary level (CC fences 3'7" and pace ~19mph), a horse must be 5 years old. At the intermediate level (CC fences 3'9" and pace ~20mph), a horse must be 6 years old. The fences really aren't large enough at the lower levels that a rotational fall is an issue. To even get to the upper levels, the horse must be mentally and physically ready for cross country. Injuries are rare, although well-publicized. While cross country prohibits horses younger than 4, reiners have a futurity that encourages horses to be competed in their 3 year old year - they must be started as late two-year-olds in order to be ready. Cutting horses have a similar event with the same age restrictions. Saddleseat: A western horse has a completely different outlook on life than a saddleseat horse. I doubt I could give a reiner or a cutter a good ride, and I doubt you could give a five-gaited horse a good ride. The personality of the horse really has nothing to do with the question at hand. These horses are often, if not always, schooled in snaffles and only show in a double bridle. Mature horses can be worked in any situation by junior riders. I personally know a half-Arabian, half-Saddlebred who loves taking kids around the show ring. He saved someone's life last year by not letting her fall off when she passed out in the show ring. Western horses: Ah, but you're focusing only on the showing of reiners and western pleasure horses. In training, they are sometimes sucked up into the bridle by heavy hands and spurred forward with sharp spurs. A good reining trainer does not need to resort to this, just as a good dressage trainer does not use rollkur. Excusing loping because the horses are fit is a contradiction with your points on cross country. If the cutters are fit to lope for hours, the cross country horses are fit to jump and run for fifteen minutes. I have never seen a stock horse alive past 25, let alone competing. I have personally seen Saddlebreds do academy shows with 5 years olds at age 22. Eventers often compete until they're 15 or older, albeit not at the Olympic level. Hunters aren't considered aged until age 16, and many still do the 3' divisions well past that age. Brentina, dressage horse extraordinaire, wasn't retired until age 18. I ride a purebred Arabian mare who could still kick some butt in the sport horse arena at age 28. Right now on Dreamhorse, there are 13 reining horses older than 20 for sale; 13 cutting horses older than 20 for sale; and 58 western pleasure horses older than 20 for sale. There are 124 dressage horses older than 20 for sale; 36 eventing horses older than 20 for sale; 46 hunters older than 20 for sale; and 63 jumpers older than 20 for sale.