All's Fair Episode; Do Some Research

In "All's Fair" one of the bidders won a unit with some very nice English saddles. Then, his IQ dropped 80 points when he said "They don't have a saddle horn because they're show saddles." Seriously?!

As a 30-year rider (I ride English, Western, and Australian)... allow me to enlighten this guy.

First... English, Western, and Aussie saddles were originally created for the sole purpose of convenience: to ride a horse comfortably to get where you needed to go; school, work, church, whatever. Many types of showing were later created.

The Western saddle has a saddle horn for roping. A rope/lasso was secured to it so the horse's strength would assist the cowboy in holding onto the cow/bull/calf. If you watch a rodeo, you will see the horse stop and step back when the cowboy lassoes the animal. Cowboys have been training horses to do this for over 2 centuries.

The English saddle, also created for basic transport, has no saddle horn because the British had no need. They had no "Wild West" period or cowboys. They didn't rope animals. Cattle were kept in pens and corrals. Therefore, they were able to design a smaller and lighter saddle.