To: blank or To Not: blank?

Blanket or not blanket:

It depends on the individual horse, the owner, and the climate. I blanket my horse. Why? Because she has never grown much of a coat and she shivers. Also, I've never heard of a horse dying from wearing a blanket. The opinion of "horses in the wild don't wear blankets" is utter trash. Horses in the wild don't have people riding them either. To each their own.

Bit or no bit:

Again, to each their own. Most bits are not cruel (although chains and twisted wire bits may be...), it's the hands that make them harsh. Are they natural? Nope, but neither is riding horses. In my opinion, one should use the mildest bit (or no bit) as possible, and use a bit that the horse is comfortable with. In the arena all I really need on my horse is a rope around her neck. For schooling I'll use a french link snaffle. Out on the trail, you'll find me in a hackamore or a bit with a small shank.

English is harder, no western is!

Simple opinion. Whats hard for me is easy for you. Whats easy for you is hard for me. Both take immense skill in my opinion.

Shoes or no shoes:

Another debate that I role my eyes on. Some horses, because of hoof strength, weakness, hoof structure, etc do need shoes. Yes, shoes do restrict the natural movement of the hoof. But, done right, it does not HARM the horse. Shoes have kept some horses sound. I, personally, do prefer to go barefoot most of the year, however if I'm traveling or taking my horse somewhere that I know will be rocky, she will be getting steel shod, at least on the fronts. I've tried boots but my horse's feet are a very odd shape and most boots simply do not work.

Barrel racing:

Not my style, fun to watch.

Tie downs/martingale:

Not a fan of forcing a horse's head into a position. You won't catch me dead using a tie down or martingale to do that. However I do think using a tie down or martingale to prevent a horse's head from shooting up; in Cowboy Mounted Shooting it is recommended that one wear a tie down so, in case the horse suddenly raises his head which is a natural response to fear, the rider won't burn the horse's ears off!

Headset:

Shouldn't be forced.

Hitting as discipline vs not hitting:

If my horse bites me or threatens to kick (not that should would ever, hopefully. Surely she knows better by now...), you better believe she is going to get a good POP. Sorry, but horses use far more force with each other than I could possibly muster up the strength to do with my open palm.

One topic I'll add is breaking horses early. Apparently, some big name Western riders (ahem, Clinton Anderson) find it acceptable to break and train a TWO year old horse for reining, which includes moves such as spins, fast stops, tight circles, etc that are all hard on a young horse's underdeveloped joints and bones. I find it disgusting.

Blanket or not blanket :

I don't believe you should blanket a horse unless they are unhealthy, or old. blanketing a horse that doesn't need it can actually cause harm like colic

Bit or no bit :

I ride with a bit because my horse is too hot so I need one, but I think it would be really cool to just be able to ride around with just a halter on!!

English is harder, no western is!

I think both are hard in their own ways

Shoes or no shoes

i shoe my horse only because if he doesn't have them then he'll go lame. But if horses don't need to be shoed then i don't see why they should be

Barrel racing

i think barrel racing looks very intense and i think its great but sometimes i feel bad for the horse because it looks like they get kicked very hard

Tie downs/martingale

i don't use either of them

Feeding

some people feed their horses a variety of things and i think that's good if your horse needs it, but my horse only eats hay from the field

Hitting as discipline vs not hitting

i think theres a very fine line with this between what is acceptable, and what isn't. If a horse is kicking or biting then i think you can smack them on the barrel or chest but you should never hit them in the face

I have a little 14.2 QH gelding that I got in January '15. We had a bad winter, and I had to get him a medium-weight blanket to wear because he was absolutely miserable - he barely grows a winter coat so he was cold, his ears were freezing, he lost a bit of weight, etc. I have no problem with blanketing a horse that NEEDS it, but I wouldn't want to see a horse colic from having a blanket on over a thick woolly winter coat and them being too hot.

If you can ride a horse without a bit, that's great, but I certainly don't think bits are evil. I currently ride my horse in a smooth D-ring snaffle, even on trails, because that's all he needs, but I would like to be able to just ride him around in a halter.

All disciplines of horse riding are difficult and should be respected.

I don't care for how halter horses look, and I've read that they have tons of health issues. But I'm not sure how true that is.

I would prefer to leave a horse without shoes if they don't need them, but some horses do and if it helps the horse it's great.

As long as the horses are treated properly I see no problem with barrel racing. Same with any other discipline.

Never used a tie-down or martingale myself, but I'm sure they're needed in some situations.

What about feeding? Lol. My horse gets 1 pound of a ration balancer a day, plus 24/7 pasture (and hay in the winter). EDIT: I don't like sweet feed as anything more than an occasional treat, but I do think that horses in work can benefit from grain as long as the ration sizes are changed gradually, etc. And any horse can benefit from a ration balancer. :)

If a horse tries to bite me, kick me, strike me, etc they will be getting an elbow to the mouth or I will be coming after them with a whip. I don't beat horses by any means, but in a power struggle they WILL win, and I wouldn't let it come to that by letting them think that they're dominant. If a horse is being rude or disrespectful it's fine to pop them in the chest, or if they try to bite you elbow them in the mouth (they will associate that with them trying to bite and realize it's not okay). But don't smack or hit them in the face, that is how horses become head shy.

-I blanket my horses when I turn them out (not always, but most of the time). It just keeps them cleaner and prevents scratches and stuff.

-I've always ridden with a bit and all my friends do- one recently tried riding with sting and loved how easy her horses were on their mouth so I might try it if my trainer like the idea.

-I ride English (mainly jumpers, but I do hunters, equitation, and did dressage), but I cannot say which is harder. I just don't think it's accurate. If you asked a good western rider to jump, they'd have problems. If you asked a good jumper to ride wester, they'd have problems. Both present a lot of challenges and are difficult in their own way.

-I find barrel racing to be pretty interesting to watch but it seems a little hard on the horses. I'm sure they take great care of their horses and western riders probably think jumping and dressage is hard on the horses.

-Two of my horses use a martingale (one is my equitation horse and the other is one of my jumpers)

-All my horses have shoes. It wasn't really my decision (my trainers and horse managers made that choice).

Grain vs no grain

roational wormer vs twice a year vet worming

sheath cleaning vs not

snaffle for life vs other bits

My general opinion is do what you want as long as the horse is being respected and cared for.

dont mind me testing something out

https://youtu.be/ixznylN5dYM?t=1m2s