Lorien Stable: Trainer's Notes
Welcome. Enjoy.
For discussion of this article, or any other topic, visit the Message Board.
Today's topic is Posting to the Trot.
Let's first discuss why we post. Walking and cantering are fairly
smooth gaits; the trot is very NOT smooth! If you try to sit and hold
yourself still, you will bounce all over the horse's back. This is
obviously not fun for the rider; bouncing can make your derriere sore
and bruised. It's not much fun for the horse either; imagine having to
jog with a heavy backpack bouncing all over your back.
So we post. In posting, we do actually still bounce; we just do it in a
controlled manner, so that neither the rider nor the horse ends up sore.
When the horse takes a step with one pair of legs, it pushes the rider
out of the saddle. Let that push happen; let it push you right up and
out. Follow the movement. Keep your lower leg steady and softly on the
horse. Pivot from the knee.
You do not have to push yourself--don't add any energy to this bounce.
Some horses won't push you more than half an inch out of the
saddle--this is fine. You're not trying to clear air here :)
You're now out of the saddle, as far as the horse pushed you. Your job
now is to sit softly and quietly, without hurting yourself or the horse.
This is where your main muscle exertion comes in. With your lower leg
steady, pivot from the knee back into the seat of the saddle.
That was easy, wasn't it? Well, there is a bit more :) You are trying
to post in time with the horse's trotting; thus, you let him push you up
with one step, and you sit with the next step. You rise and fall once
each per "stride"--that is, by the time the horse has moved all four
legs and is ready to start over. Up, down, up, down, up, down
rhythmically is your goal.
Your "diagonal" is the leg that you rise with; depending on the
direction you are turning, you either rise with the left or right
shoulder of the horse. When you are not making very tight turns, it
does not actually make a very big difference, but it is useful to know.
Also, if you are trotting straight for a while (out on a trail, just
having fun), it is helpful to the horse is you change diagonals every so
often.
I would like to mention, as a last thought, that you should try to keep
your hands still as you post. This is another part of posting that is
difficult to learn; your upper body is moving forward and back, but your
hands should stay still. Eventually, you want to move just your pelvis
area as you post; keep your lower leg and upper body still.
It is most difficult to keep your hands still as you learn to post. It
can be helpful to have a grab strap on your saddle or a neck strap on
your horse; that way you can hold to it to keep from jouncing the horse
in the mouth with the reins, while you are learning.
