There have been a lot of good answers here, and I’m posting from a phone so it’s hard to go and quote multiple people, so some of this is repeats of other posters.
All new riders have such different time frames when it comes to learning diagonals. I teach low levels, think dead beginners to IEA open levels, mostly. So I spend a lot of time teaching diagonals. Some of the kids pick it up immediately. Some take forever to figure it out. Ironically, the ones who seem to get diagonals right away seem to trend towards those who have big struggles in other areas, like steering, rhythm, etc. No real reason why. Just an interesting side note.
I start all of mine with the standard, “rise and fall with the leg by the wall” or “when the outside front leg goes forward, you’re going up out of the saddle”. They do have to have the understanding of diagonal pairs explained to them, and then say the same thing over and over for a few lessons. If they can’t “see” the leg moving forward, I have them say “now” or count a number every time the leg goes toward. Once I know that they are definitely seeing the leg, then I start asking “ok are you standing or sitting when you’re saying a number?” And then from there, “ok does that mean the diagonal is right or wrong?”
When I have one that really doesn’t get it, I try not to spend all lesson every lesson harping on it. They get bored and discouraged. The other thing is that often times they start guessing, and trying to give you the answer that you want to hear. So then you have to explain that you don’t care if they’re wrong, you just want to know what it is that they are seeing.
I actually use feeling the diagonal as a last resort most of the time, and here is why. These kids are learning on lesson horses. Most horses, but especially lesson horses, have one direction that is easier for them than the other. Many lesson horses, again especially beginner horses, go with their body Bent more one direction than the other. Many of them have one hind leg that pushes harder than the other. For example, how many of you have ridden a school horse than canters better on, say, the left lead? Most of the time that’s because they can push better with their right hind. Because they can push better with the right hind, 95% of the time if the rider lets the horse start the posting for them, they are going to start going up with the right hind/left front, or the correct diagonal for the right rein, regardless if they are going left or right.
The one good way I know for teaching feel is to put the rider on a circle. When they post on the correct diagonal, the inside hind is pushing them up and to the outside, which makes them feel straight and in balance. When they are on the wrong diagonal, they are going to feel crooked and like they are falling in. Again, doesn’t always work on the older lesson horses, but once they’re on a horse that is pretty balanced, they can start to feel it.
One final thought in this rambling mess. When I am teaching my IEA riders and I want them to start on the correct diagonal, I have them practice starting in the sitting trot from the walk, until they can see or feel the outside front leg going forward, and then start moving with it.
Most of this is going to come down to a couple things for your particular rider.
- does she understand the concept of the correct diagonal?
- can she actually see the outside front leg going forward?
- can she count and hold the rhythm enough to tell if she is standing when the leg is going forward? Sometimes it’s hard for them to divide seeing the leg and feeling their body.
Finally (for real this time), try not to let her stress about it! The more she panics and gets nervous, the harder it’s going to be to actually figure them out.
