From: Rachel
Hi Jessica,
I am an adult who owns her own horse and hasn't had any riding experience since childhood. I have forgotten everything I learned about trotting. I know how to control my horse and she responds really well to me, but as soon as we try to trot I get nervous and have to stop her.
I know it is my fault, my horse is 13 years old and very gentle and patient, but if I'm sitting in the saddle when she starts to trot I almost get bounced right out, and I just can't seem to manage a standing trot at all. I have heard and read all sorts of advice about doing the standing trot, such as gripping with your thighs and raising yourself that way, or to rise and fall in rhythm with the horses shoulder, but I still just can't quite bring it all together.
I get bored just walking around with my horse and am very keen to progress - I just feel that if I can't manage this I may as well not keep her. I know most of the questions you answer tend to be for more knowledgeable riders but any advice you can give me would be very gratefully appreciated.
Rachel
Good lessons -- good longe lessons -- would be ideal. Longe lessons let you focus exclusively on yourself, because someone else is responsible for the horse's direction and gait. But if you don't have access to a good instructor, you can still master this skill on your own. Just be patient with yourself and take it a step at a time.
Work in an enclosure of some sort, so that you can put your mare "on her honour" to go around the school whilst you focus on yourself. ;-)
Now, for some general ideas and some specific suggestions that may help you:
First, let's be certain that your stirrups are correctly adjusted. If they are too short, you will pop up and down like a Jack-in-the-box, because your knee cartilage won't be able to tolerate the compression. If your stirrups are too long, you won't be able to rise at all, because you'll have no bend in your knee, and you won't be able to sit or rise easily or with any security.
To adjust your stirrups: sit in your saddle with your feet OUT of the stirrups and your legs hanging softly at your horse's sides. In this position, bump the stirrup gently against your foot and leg. Where does the stirrup tread contact your body? For a correct stirrup length, the tread should bounce against your anklebone. If the tread is above your anklebone, the stirrups will be too high for you to be comfortable; if the tread is below your anklebone, the stirrups will be too low for you to ride comfortably or effectively.
To achieve an effective leg, you need to ride with your stirrups at the correct length. If you can't adjust your stirrups to precisely optimum length, and you have to choose between a slightly high or a slightly low stirrup position, select the slightly HIGHER position. You'll have more control over your leg and your balance, and you'll be able to begin stretching your legs and confirming your balance by working in a half-seat (two-point position).
Note: if your main interest is dressage, and you want a "long leg", you'll still need to follow the above instructions. There is no way to achieve a "long leg" by adjusting the stirrups too low. Begin with your stirrups at a correct length, spend a lot of time in the saddle, do your balancing exercises, and be patient. Over time, you may find that your "correct" length becomes longer, and you will eventually need to drop your stirrups a little lower. They should STILL contact your ankle bones when you hang your legs as described above, though. The "longer leg" doesn't mean a straighter leg -- you will still have the same bend at the knee. The extra length will come from the loosening and stretching of your hip ligaments; this will allow you to sit deeper into your saddle.
Now that your stirrups are the right length, walk your horse, and notice how you are sitting: upright, with your seatbones in contact with the lowest part of the saddle, and your weight distributed between your seatbones and thighs. This position (full seat or three-point position) isn't just for walking -- it's also for cantering, and it is also the position that you will use half of the time when you are rising to the trot.
What IS rising to the trot?
The words we use are not always accurate descriptions of what we are doing, and rising trot is a perfect example of this. I've heard so many riders complain that it's terribly hard to learn rising trot, because they have to stand, sit, stand, sit.... as their instructors yell "Up-down-up-down!" This won't work, not because you're stupid, but because it's wrong. ;-)
Standing up and sitting down don't come into this, and neither does "up-down". The key to successful rising is BALANCE.
Whenever you are on a horse, whether you are at a halt or at a canter, your balance must always be over your own feet. There's an old saying -- and a true one -- that riding position is not a sitting but a STANDING one. Stand on the ground, or better yet, in an arena with a soft surface (so that you can have your heels lower than the balls of your feet). Stand with legs apart, knees bent, and heels low -- BALANCED. This is your riding position. If you bend your knees a lot, you will have to shift your hips back to keep your balance. If you straighten your knees, you will have to keep your body upright above them to keep your balance. But the thought you need to keep in mind at ALL times is this: if your horse suddenly disappeared from underneath you, would you land on your feet, knees bent, body balanced? The answer should always be "Yes."
So, at rising trot you'll spend half of your time in a full seat -- balanced over your feet, with your legs AND your crotch and seatbones in contact with the horse. You'll spend the other half of your time in a half-seat, with your crotch and seatbones OUT of the saddle. Rising to the trot means alternating rhythmically between full seat and half-seat (three-point and two-point).
When you can sit comfortably in a balanced full seat at a walk, pracice your half-seat (two-point position) at a halt, at a walk, and at a trot until it is easy and comfortable for you.
Your half-seat will be easy if your stirrups are the correct length, and impossible if they aren't -- so DO check this before you begin! When you ride in a half-seat, your legs should be relaxed, KNEES BENT, your heels low, your head up with eyes looking forward, and your hands forward holding the mane or a neckstrap (essential to helping you learn to keep your balance without hurting your horse's mouth).
If you feel stiff, and the horse's movement jars you, you are probably standing up too high and straightening your knees. Don't. Your ankles, knees, and hips all work as shock-absorbers, but they can't work if your legs are tense and rigid.
If you find yourself falling forward onto your horse's neck, you made this happen by doing two things: you stood on your toes, letting your heels come up, and you brought your upper body too close to your horse's neck. (Hint: you are no longer balanced over your feet.)
If you sit down suddenly and hard (poor horse!), this is because your legs are swinging forward. (Hint: you are no longer balanced over your feet.)
Checklist for your half-seat:
1 - reins shorter, hands holding mane or strap 2 - head up, eyes looking foward 3 - knees bent, legs relaxed, weight dropping into low heels 4 - shoulders slightly ahead of hips, back straight (eyes up!)
Once you've mastered the half-seat, the rising trot will be much easier to learn. It means that you can stay in balance, easily and without gripping with your legs or pinching with your seat.
So, now that you can ride at walk in a full seat, and at walk and at trot in a half-seat, let's move on to the rising trot!
There are really 3 components to your body's movement at a rising trot: upward, forward, and down. Only ONE of these is YOUR job. ;-)
Don't worry about going up -- that's the horse's job, and the horse's movement will bump you upward.
Don't worry about coming down: gravity will take care of that; all you have to do is remain balanced so that your descent is controlled and not sudden. ;-)
The FORWARD part is the only component for which YOU must take full responsibility, and it's not complicated. When your horse's movement bumps your body UPward, move your hips and pelvis forward.
For the sake of your horse's mouth and your own balance, find a way to keep your hands absolutely still. When you shorten your reins to trot, move your hands forward onto your horse's neck, and take a pinch of mane with each hand. If your horse has no mane, put a stirrup leather or a piece of soft rope around his neck so that you can hold that along with your reins. If you have an SOS strap on your saddle, you can use that. It's important to have steady hands so that your horse can trot forward confidently, without worrying about being pulled. If you hold the horse's mane or a neckstrap or neck-rope, you'll be able to help yourself balance without doing it at your horse's expense.
Now, for that forward movement! Ask your horse to trot, and be ready. With your head up, eyes looking ahead, and legs long and stretched so that your weight drops through them into your heels, feel the movement as the horse "bumps" you up -- and as you go UP, push your hips forward, toward your hands.
Exaggerate the hip-movement at first -- try to take your hips so far forward that your crotch clears the pommel, then relax and let your body sink down so that your crotch touches down, softly and briefly, just behind the pommel. Then the horse will take you up, and you'll shift your hips forward again, etc.
Reminders:
What posting is NOT: - pushing against stirrups with feet - pushing against stirrups or horse with legs - standing up and sitting down
If you catch yourself doing any of these things, or if your instructor or a friend watches you and says that you are doing any of them, you'll need to make a change.
What posting IS: - shifting the pelvis forward when the horse bumps you up - touching down lightly just behind the pommel when gravity takes you down - shifting forward again as the horse takes you up
Thinking "hips toward hands" or "belly button toward mane" or even "hip sockets forward!" is useful, because all of these notions will help you post forward instead of trying to stand up and sit down. ;-)
Your legs should stay under you, heels down, relaxed and stretched, lying against the horse's sides but never gripping. If you grip with thighs or knees or calves, you'll exhaust yourself without improving your rising trot at all. ;-)
If you're a visual learner, try this: imagine that you are riding with your underwear outside your breeches. Today's choice of underpants is a pair of bright red boxer shorts with green alligators on them -- very eye-catching. Now, when you rise to the trot, remember that ONLY the part of your body inside those shorts is going to do the work -- hips, pelvis, and to a lesser extent the lower back and upper thigh. Your body from the waist up will be quiet; your legs from the middle of the thigh to your low heels will be quiet and steady.
Remember: rising isn't really rising -- it's shifting your hips forward. And sitting isn't really sitting -- it's a deep-knee bend.
Good luck!
Jessica
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