I have been working with my boyfriend who is a new rider, very enthusiastic, and learning quickly. He has pretty good basic body position, legs relaxed, heels down, not gripping to stay on, good posture. He has been just tooling around at a walk. So I have spent a few times working on two point at a stand still and at a walk. Also practicing alternating between sitting and rising at the walk. Had him rise to walk over one pole and rise to walk over three poles spaced about 4 feet apart. I give him feedback, have him watch me, and we have also been watching videos. At any rate for those who teach or those who recall learning posting trot, what are some things that have helped you to work with beginners or helped you when you were a beginner to learn posting trot/two point? Thanks in advance for your wisdom on the topic.
Get him to count out aloud the two beats
IMO itās so hard to rise at the walk without the āmomentumā of the trot pushing you up. If youāve explained the theory of rising and have let him practice at the walk, I think his best bet is to go on a lunge line and let him trot while you focus on keeping the horse going forward. Unsure what your horse is like but Iām going to assume a steady Eddie just because you have a brand new beginner on him. If he has to focus on both keeping the horse trotting, steering, AND posting, he may not catch on as quick. I also recall explaining it to beginners as a rise and a āsitāĀ instead of a rise and fall. For some it helped thinking of it that way and it became much more controlled. Does that help?
Also food for thoughtā¦ when my husband got on my horse (once in like 5 years - haha!) he was also very natural looking with letting his leg go long and quiet hands and seat. I was SO excited, right up until I let him trot and it became SUPER apparent he was fighting my saddle too much. It just didnāt fit him. You may find that problem as well with your SO. If this is the case it might be worth keeping an eye out for a better fitting saddle for him, depending on how serious he is about learning, may be worth while.
Ah, but thatās why the walk is perfect for teaching the most crucial aspect of the post! Which is to land softly on the horseās back before rising again.
Coaches often get too focused on the āupā beat when teaching the posting trot, and few riders have problems getting OUT of the saddle when the horse starts trottingā¦ itās controlling the descent back into the saddle that gets them. Posting at the walk is a great way to isolate those muscles so new riders can feel which ones they will use to control descent when things get considerably bouncier.
I find that the lunge line is the best way to teach so they arenāt worrying about steering. For the posting trot- I like to teach them to start with thinking about up down up down and then I take the reins away and have them put their arms out like an airplane (yes even adults). It will help find the center of balance so they donāt put it all on their hands.
For two point, I like to have them think about hovering over a dirty porta potty or public restroom. It helps with the position so they donāt stand straight up.
I guess it was from watching me for years, but my hubby did a rising trot from the first step of trot.
Ha ha. Well until about a month ago, he was able to ride my gelding who, although sometimes a turd, was pretty reliable for tooling around the arena and going on trail rides at a walk. But dear old Stoli recently had to be put down. So now my bf has to ride Angel the Wonder Horse, my Chestnut OTTB Mare. She has lots of go but has been being very good with him. Her resume includes being in parades, team sorting, trail riding in the mountains and at the beach, trail trials, english and western shows, lower level dressage, and lower level eventing. Not to mention coming in second a few years ago in a halloween costume class when she was the Queen Bee and I was the Bee Keeper. She has been very good with him in the arena. I think she is smart enough to know that he is a beginner (at least in the arena). After Stoli went to heaven I was able to locate a horse in the neighborhood that my bf can ride on trails. Angel is prone to thinking that she is still a race horse when she is out of the arena (not all the time but she has her moments)!
