Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Posting on the wrong diagonal

From: Marla

My horse has a slight glitch when I am posting a trot while traveling to the right in a 20 meter circle. He has a bit of OCD we discovered years ago. When I am sitting the trot or cantering he is very smooth in both directions. He has been evaluated by my vet and he is in good health and a 2nd level dressage horse. We have the OCD evaluated for changes and he is doing great except for this glitch. Am I harming my horse and his balance by riding on the wrong diagonal while traveling to the right? His trot seems much smoother when I am on the wrong diagonal. In a test I assume I will have points taken off if a judge finds me on the wrong diagonal, so far my tests have all been done in a sitting trot except extension across the diagonal. What is your opinion? Thanks, Marla

Hi Marla! It's possible that the difference in your horse's trot when he's tracking right and tracking left may have nothing at all to do with his OCD. EVERY horse has one preferred direction and one preferred diagonal. The diagonal that the horse prefers invariably feels much smoother to the rider, but it's important to use both diagonals and work the horse in both directions. In this case, since your horse is equally smooth in both directions at sitting trot and at canter, I would suggest that you look closely at your posting (have someone videotape you on both diagonals) and also at the straightness of your saddle, just in case there's a tiny twist or bend in the tree. Also - I know this sounds very elementary, but I've seen it cause problems like the one you've described - check the length of your stirrup leathers. Don't just compare numbers, pull them right off the saddle, hold them up by the buckles, and see how their lengths compare. If one of your stirrups is even slightly longer than the other, it can tip your weight just enough to cause your horse to move unevenly, and this is usually much more visible on one posting diagonal.

Now, let's talk about dressage tests.

The only time you will actually need to think about using BOTH diagonals in a dressage test will be when you ride a test that calls for a change of rein across the diagonal. There, you're stuck - you have to come towards X on the correct diagonal (that is, correct for the turn you've just made coming out of your corner), change at X, and finish crossing the arena on the NEW correct diagonal (that is, correct for the turn you're going to make when you reach the corner). The same would be true of a figure-eight - if the two circles meet at X, then X is where you will hav to change your diagonal.

If your test calls for a lengthening of stride across the diagonal, there's no need to change at X - and since the trot begins and ends on the diagonal line itself, there's actually no "correct" diagonal; you can ride on either one. Riders will typically use the diagonal that will be "correct" for the next corner, but that's just a matter of convenience - it makes it easier for them to set the horse up for the bend and turn, but it's not REQUIRED that they ride that diagonal. If you try it both ways, you'll probably find that it's generally easiest to make your change one or two strides out of the corner, so that you can get your lengthening across the diagonal without interrupting it with a weight or position shift at X. Changing as you begin the diagonal will let you and you horse both focus on straightness and lengthening, and will allow you both to be "in position" as you meet the track and begin your turn. Again, you don't HAVE to do it this way, but it can feel quite awkward to come across a diagonal and find yourself with just a stride or two in which you'll need to change your diagonal AND straighten your horse and change his position and bend for the upcoming turn.

FYI: the "correct" diagonal varies around the world - it's not universal, and there are good arguments for posting either diagonal. If you're schooling trot-canter transitions and you want to go directly from posting trot to canter - no stride or two of sitting trot before you ask for the canter - then it's actually much easier to ask for and get that transition if you're on what we in the States would call the "wrong" diagonal (rising with the outside hind and inside shoulder instead of with the inside hind and outside shoulder), because the most convenient moment to ask for the canter is when you're in the saddle.

Jessica

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