[Kirsten93]

Originally Posted by BlingRacer

Just give it time....It takes time adjusting to a bigger stride. I'm used to big horses (Xander is 16.2) but he's a very western mover. I'm taking English lessons on a 17.2h TB, and it has taken me a little bit to feel comfortable.

Well, hopefully it's just time then. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Originally Posted by meljean

Almost as tall as daughter, well with the shorter stirrups, then when you post, the length of your legs will make you come up further in air, also horse could be a hard trotter, my QH has trot at times that feel like he is pounding the ground, but can trot like on feathers too. The horse may also do a little twist, had an Arab mare that felt like at a trot she was doing a shimmy under you, very hard to both sit and post. Couldn't pick it up from watching her from ground, just had to feel it under you.
Are you able to keep heels down well with this horse?

Actually, not particularly! It's crazy, I've never had a problem with that, but now it feels like my feet are slipping WAY too far into the stirrups and my heel is coming way up. It's fine at the canter though. He has an amazing canter!

Originally Posted by noreins

i made the mistake of letting my very inexperienced friend on my 16h paint gelding and he has a nice stride so needless to say... she learned the hardest part of riding... the ground.

Yeah, I'm hoping that's not going to happen to me

[Kirsten93]

Any other ideas?

[Bruce Wiley]

Hello Kirsten, feeling and experiencing this horse's big and possible rough trot, could be causing you to tense up and be too early or later in your postings.
The results from this is where you're not going freely and with this horse's motions, which is throwing you out of balance, causing you to feel the poping upward and the unsteadyness of the landing in the saddle, stirrups.
Your upper and lower body and feet, can't stay in the correct position because they are either too far forward or behind the motions.

First and formost, don't change to another horse.
He or she will make you a better rider, because it is for the conquering.
Just think what would happen to your confidence level if you should master this uneasy ride.

As a instructor like myself and when I have a student that very determine.
My tendency is to work with the student to reach their goal either within the group or in private sessions.

Talk and discuss this with your instructor, with telling the indivdual of your plan.
Be certain they understand you want to stay with this horse until you can display improvement with your postings and other riding techniques.


I hope this insight helps.

[Kirsten93]

I really appreciate the insight Bruce. Unfortunately, I can only ride once a week and only in a group lesson. However, the part about being in front of/behind the motion is very helpful. I think that was the exact problem. Since his stride was so big and I'm used to short-legged pony-type horses, it was strange to me to be posting so slowly on a horse that was moving so quickly. I definitely think I was in front of the motion which then caused me to be slightly out of the saddle while I should have been sitting.
Thank you so much for the insight, it was very helpful!

[Skye]

I just rode a warmblood, 16.2, with big movement for the first time this weekend, and had a lot of trouble with the trot too. I managed to get the hang of posting the trot after a couple rounds of the arena, but the few attempts I made at sitting trot were too embarassing so I gave up. But this horse is "my horse to ride" whenever I am back home and "need something to ride", and I intend on taking up this fantastic opportunity as often as possible - which means I am going to have to learn how to sit that trot.

I actually posted a video, including my attempts at sitting trot, and someone mentioned that I was tensing up, which caused most of the problem - which makes absolute sense. Next time I am home I am going to also try what Rhythm & Blues suggested for you.

Good luck!

This is what I am used to riding (15.2 appaloosa used for eventing):


And now I have to get used to this (16.2 ex grand prix dressage warmblood):

[Pally]

Like other said, keep practicing on this horse if possible, so you can work on it.

Two things that stuck out to me. You say the timing of your post felt funny. I'm guessing that you tried to post the way you are used to, but weren't really "listening" to the horse's very different trot. While posting can be a tool to control the horse's tempo, at this point, you need to learn to follow his trot first. Try to remember you aren't standing, you aren't lifting your body out of the saddle....rather the horse is pushing you out of the saddle. Try closing your eyes a few strides, to help you feel it.

Secondly, the heels up and losing your feet in the stirrups. I did this at the sitting trot, and it was because I was drawing my knee up (not really pinching with it, but just slowly curling up my lower body). The leg needs to lengthen....sometimes it helps me to think stretching the back of the leg, but sometimes it also helped when someone told me to stretch or point my knee down to the ground. The key is to find an image or cue that works for you to get the right position without having to force it, so experiment a little. If this problem is also happening at the posting trot, I'm thinking in addition to drawing the knee up, you are probably also pinching with it (in order to balance off when you rise). If you are trying to fight how big his trot is , you probably clamp down even harder. Don't be afraid that your post is bigger than you are used to....

A good exercise for your position while trotting is to post one beat, sit one beat. It may be too much to do on him right now, but you can also practice it on your little horses.


And some horses with the best canters just have the worst trots. You still have to learn to ride it, but it may never be quite as pretty. I remember going to my very first lesson at a new barn and when we got asked for sitting trot, I was having such a hard time, I was thinking "oh gosh she'll think I've never ridden a horse before....this is so embarrassing". When she finally said something to me, it was along the lines of "yeah, that's just Harley". But he canters like a darn couch!

[Kirsten93]

Originally Posted by Skye

I just rode a warmblood, 16.2, with big movement for the first time this weekend, and had a lot of trouble with the trot too. I managed to get the hang of posting the trot after a couple rounds of the arena, but the few attempts I made at sitting trot were too embarassing so I gave up. But this horse is "my horse to ride" whenever I am back home and "need something to ride", and I intend on taking up this fantastic opportunity as often as possible - which means I am going to have to learn how to sit that trot.

I actually posted a video, including my attempts at sitting trot, and someone mentioned that I was tensing up, which caused most of the problem - which makes absolute sense. Next time I am home I am going to also try what Rhythm & Blues suggested for you.

Good luck!

Thanks for posting your experience, it makes me feel a lot better to know that there are others with the same issues
It wasn't actually the sitting trot that I had an issue with as much as the posting trot...weird, huh? I have actually always been able to sit the trot quite well, as well as post, it was just the new experience with his crazy gaits!

Originally Posted by Pally

Like other said, keep practicing on this horse if possible, so you can work on it.

Two things that stuck out to me. You say the timing of your post felt funny. I'm guessing that you tried to post the way you are used to, but weren't really "listening" to the horse's very different trot. While posting can be a tool to control the horse's tempo, at this point, you need to learn to follow his trot first. Try to remember you aren't standing, you aren't lifting your body out of the saddle....rather the horse is pushing you out of the saddle. Try closing your eyes a few strides, to help you feel it.

Secondly, the heels up and losing your feet in the stirrups. I did this at the sitting trot, and it was because I was drawing my knee up (not really pinching with it, but just slowly curling up my lower body). The leg needs to lengthen....sometimes it helps me to think stretching the back of the leg, but sometimes it also helped when someone told me to stretch or point my knee down to the ground. The key is to find an image or cue that works for you to get the right position without having to force it, so experiment a little. If this problem is also happening at the posting trot, I'm thinking in addition to drawing the knee up, you are probably also pinching with it (in order to balance off when you rise). If you are trying to fight how big his trot is , you probably clamp down even harder. Don't be afraid that your post is bigger than you are used to....

A good exercise for your position while trotting is to post one beat, sit one beat. It may be too much to do on him right now, but you can also practice it on your little horses.


And some horses with the best canters just have the worst trots. You still have to learn to ride it, but it may never be quite as pretty. I remember going to my very first lesson at a new barn and when we got asked for sitting trot, I was having such a hard time, I was thinking "oh gosh she'll think I've never ridden a horse before....this is so embarrassing". When she finally said something to me, it was along the lines of "yeah, that's just Harley". But he canters like a darn couch!

I bolded the parts that I will comment on. I think that you are right about me losing the rhythm because I wasn't "listening". I think closing my eyes will definitely help.
Like I said earlier in this post, it wasn't the sitting trot that I was having a problem with, just the posting because I felt like every time I rose out of the saddle I was actually almost being "launched". The pinching with my knee is almost definite since that silly lower leg of mine was swinging every which way!
The trainer actually also made a comment on this horse and how everyone had trouble with his trot, so that made me feel a little less embarrased. I just felt so darned silly!


I appreciate everyone's comments so very much. I went back to ride yesterday and this horse wasn't available so I ended up riding the cutest pony ever-with a stride that I was much more used to! I'm going to try and ride "Jeff" (the one I was having problems with) again though because I really need to master this.

[Rhythm 'n Blues]

Originally Posted by Kirsten93

Like I said earlier in this post, it wasn't the sitting trot that I was having a problem with, just the posting because I felt like every time I rose out of the saddle I was actually almost being "launched".

If you're feeling like you're being launched I strongly suspect you're ahead of the horse, and that's why you're feeling that way. You get up there but you're a fraction of a second ahead, so that when the horse goes to push you up there, you're getting that feeling of "launched". Hopefully that makes sense.

Originally Posted by Kirsten93

The pinching with my knee is almost definite since that silly lower leg of mine was swinging every which way!

If you're pinching with you're knees, while you may not FEEL like you're having issues with the sit trot, I'm sorry, but there's no way to sit the trot correctly while knee pinching, it's just possible. Knee pinching in & of itself causes the lower leg to swing back, and the upper body to lean forward to compensate. That also means your seat bones are "plugged in" as I like to refer to it. My guess -- you're over riding the sit trot, which makes you feel like it isn't a problem, but it's still incorrect.

I really suggest you speak to the instructor and ask to ride Jeff in all your lessons -- that way you'll really get a chance to work on this.