I watched your short videos and I agree your lower leg is staying too far out in front of you. Some people have the tendency to draw their leg up and be tight in their hip flexors. I don’t believe this is exactly the problem - but being tight in the hips and lumbar area may not allow for following the forward motion of the trot completely.
Since you’re on instagram, it might be worth following some FEI dressage riders and watching how their bodies move. I like having a visual reference. I am following a few because I’ve been struggling with my aides for tempi changes. I think just watching them ride has seeped into my subconscious and I am riding better in general. PM me if you want the names of who I follow.
yes feel free to share, any Youtubers you recommend also. I have learned a lot from both.
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And to add to the above, not for nothin’ but she is also consistently one of the top 10 dressage riders in the world. It’s not quite the same thing as the horse-crazy kid learning to ride bareback because there was minimal access to (or interest in) tack/lessons.
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So, if you take a pen between you hands, and then move them forward like you are mimicking walking (or the two beats of the trot). You will see that the pen on the side of the hand moving up and forward goes up and forward while the other side moves down and a bit back in relation to the side moving forward. This creates an elliptical type movement within our hips and that they rock side-to-side, so you can see how you need to think side to side in order to follow the movement of the up/down-forward/back the horse is providing.
There should be a visible drop in the heel on the “down” side. She calls it dancing the hips. The movement should only be through the waist. Another visual she uses is to think of trying to rock your saddle back and forth. Obviously you won’t be that aggressive, but you couldn’t rock the saddle without stepping down into the stirrup and dropping the hip on that side.
Now that said, I still suck at sitting trot. I battle a lot of nerve pain in my left hip so I tend to get defensive in my position for sitting trot, especially when on a springier striding horse. I have to consciously think about pushing or allowing that left side into the drop for now.
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I can’t see the videos on the computer I’m on but am eager to check them out later!
You got some good advice! Back to your OP, I actually close my thighs as a bit of a half-halt and definitely a downward transition along with stopping following the gait with my pelvis, hips, core, body.
So, I definitely don’t hang on with my thighs during a medium or extended trot! When my horse is “on”, he has a very big extended trot. I hang on by a) looking ahead to stay balanced in my position b) following with my pelvis. For me, I make sure I’m sitting on top of my seatbones through the stride with no “curl” in my lower back. I have to work to follow my horse (really uses core muscles) and probably lean forward a bit to stay with the velocity of his movement through space. I think of it like riding a segway. You lean forward to go forward and stay going forward but you’re really staying pretty vertical in space and not falling on your face.
I think sitting the trot is easier when your horse is connected over the back, and doing things like leg-yield left for 3-6 steps then leg yield right 3-6 steps, shoulder-in, shoulder-in to haunches in, shoulder-in right 5 steps then shoulder-in left 5 steps, etc. makes your horse more round and I think makes you less thinking about your position sitting the trot and more thinking about your effectiveness sitting the trot. You have to be effective to pull these exercises off. I think if you think “this shoulder-in sucks” you can learn to play with your position, weight, and aids to get a good position when sitting the trot. And then the skies open, the angels sing, and your horse says “That set of aids -I understand. Here ya go.”
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Ok, I focused on these words while working on my sitting trot today and Ho Lee Chit!!! It worked like a charm for me! Thank you so much for the visual? Audio? Mantra? Whatever it was it worked for me!
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OK, after watching your videos…
The first video you are getting bounced out of the saddle, but not in the canter. In the canter, your hips move forward and back, but your hips aren’t moving forward and back in the trot. That’s affecting your your whole leg.
Lunge lessons could be great because you only need to focus on your position. I’m less encouraging of bareback sessions than dropping your stirrups. Your weight is concentrated differently than dispersed by a saddle, your position is different, and we aren’t a multi- Olympic Gold Medalist on a Gold Medalist GP WB horse.
I’d suggest starting with loosening your hips. Move them like you are running so your hips follow the movement of the hind end better and also forward and back from your lower waist. Relax them and follow the movement. Relaaaaaaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx!
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I regularly muck around on my pony bareback, go for long bareback trails etc…dropped my stirrups for the first time in a long time the other and holy moley I was absolutely wrecked after 10 mins haha. Having said that, it immediately improved my riding tenfold, cause without the stirrups, if I don’t sit right and engage my core, I’m going to bounce right off. I think pony breathed a sigh of relief and then gave me some lovely stuff. Next step is braving a no stirrup session on the 5yo so I can figure out what I’m doing wrong with her…cause I KNOW I’m doing something whacky. I’m expecting to find I can’t sit her trot!
I’m going to throw in a suggestion to do some hip stretching…a couple years ago I was getting SO frustrated that no matter what I did on the horse, I just knew I wasn’t sitting right. Lots of hip stretching later…the difference was marked. And I know when I’ve slacked off on it because I can feel my riding get worse. It made a huge difference in my ability to drape my leg vs grip.
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Yes to the hip stretching and serious core strengthening. I recently started working with a Pilates trainer twice a week to help rehab from a back injury and I think (hope) it’s really helping my riding too
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Thank you!!
Also regarding your suggestion for the leg yield shoulder in etc, I actually just did one of the RideIQ lessons with Jon Holling on shoulder in and half pass and he mentioned something that really helped me sit more connected in that movement. I had a bit of a light bulb moment.
Thank you all for all your suggestions I really appreciate it. I already felt more aware of my butt clenching and leg position last night and I think I can work with these suggestions.
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Yes I love pilates! I have been doing them but I think I need to do more. I noticed a big difference when I first started doing them.
Suzanne Von Dietze has some great tips and exercises for sitting trot.
One thing I’ve found helpful is to slow it down - that elliptical motion somebody mentioned? Your seat bones go forward/back/forward/back kinda like pedaling a bike. Watch some western riders doing a jog. You will notice the horses hip go ‘drop, drop, drop, drop’, and so does the riders. Practice letting your thigh drape, knees hang down, like a wet towel attached to them.
Do this at a walk, relax your seat bones and follow the horse, then keeping them relaxed engage your core and ask for trot.
Isolating muscles individually helps me to find where I’m holding, so I can be more aware of it.
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That helps. So if you consider each seat bone individually, each seat bone describes an ellipse in the forward, up, back, down cycle, but the ellipses are not quite the same, so the pelvis tilts with each step.
I think of getting each seat bone down, but perhaps I should think of the thigh and leg on each side going down alternating.
This would be the “rock the saddle” motion my instructor describes. It’s just hard to describe it without making it also sound like you are supposed to grip with your legs. You are also supposed to do it without engaging your shoulders or elbows….
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This is a nice video with a long sequence of sitting trot…
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I’m my experience when those bobbles happen it’s bc the horse fell on the fh and is now running away from your seat.
Half halt, bring him/ her back into balance and then ask for more.
My guy is 6 so I’m constantly half halting and re-balancing and then re-activating.
If you are squeezing thighs then you’ve lost your seat. If you’ve lost your seat you’re going to lose your hands. Rebalance horse, ragain your balance and then ask for more. It takes a lot of practice to pay attention to what’s going on and when
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In that video with Felicitas you can see her half halts pretty well and how it gives her a better place to sit.
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This!!
You’ve ridden bareback or without stirrups was a kid?? Watch how sticky their seats are. Their legs hang long and their seat just goes with the back of the horse. It’s the same premise. Core engaged on and off with the stride but butt and legs are soft unless you’re aiding, then soft again
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Yup. I find that the better connected I am, the better “through” my horse is, the longer my leg gets.
This x1000. All the training is “in the transitions” and a half halt is just another transition.
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My horse is never on the forehand hahaha she’s the opposite and comes up and shortens the neck. Every horse is different and I don’t think a single of mine are on the forehand types. It would be more of her being behind the leg or just not consistent enough carrying herself through into my hand.
