Question about posting trot

[OzarksRider]

I’m not a dressage rider, and I don’t know the first thing about dressage, but I have a question about posting the trot that seems best suited for this section.

I do trail riding, western style. When I post the trot, everything is smooth as silk if I’m on the right diagonal. But, if I change to rising on the left diagonal something is off. It’s hard to describe, other than it feels uncoordinated. My horse notices it too. Whenever I switch to the left diagonal his head comes up and he looks back at me like “WTF are you doing back there?” and he slows down. I’ve tried switching the hand holding the reins, holding the reins with both hands, and concentrating on timing and motion, but it still feels hinky. The horse is not the problem; I am the problem, but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Can any of you offer any suggestions?

[Scribbler]

@OzarksRider

I’m not a dressage rider, and I don’t know the first thing about dressage, but I have a question about posting the trot that seems best suited for this section.

I do trail riding, western style. When I post the trot, everything is smooth as silk if I’m on the right diagonal. But, if I change to rising on the left diagonal something is off. It’s hard to describe, other than it feels uncoordinated. My horse notices it too. Whenever I switch to the left diagonal his head comes up and he looks back at me like “WTF are you doing back there?” and he slows down. I’ve tried switching the hand holding the reins, holding the reins with both hands, and concentrating on timing and motion, but it still feels hinky. The horse is not the problem; I am the problem, but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Can any of you offer any suggestions?

How do you know the horse is not the problem?

If you are sure, then you need to look at your own potential body imbalances. Especially hips and pelvis. Get someone to video you riding from behind. Do you tilt? Is your saddle off center? Do both your feet point forwards to the same degree or is one wildly out? Do you collapse one way or the other?

Go to a physiotherapist or massage therapist and see if your leg length or pelvis is asymmetrical.

Do you know your saddle fits?

If it’s not the horse, it’s the saddle or its a physical imbalance in your own body.

It’s very very common for horses to be easier to post on one diagonal than on the other.

[JB]

I agree that the horse is easily the problem. All horses are asymmetrical and lopside, and “handed”, travelling with a slight (or sometimes not so slight) curve in their body one way or the other That makes one diagonal easy peasy, and the other one anywhere from “well this feels a little weird” to the horse actually throwing you back to the other diagonal.

And, you may also natural ride with your pelvis twisted a little, so posting on the diagonal that fits your twist is easy for you and the horse, but switching has you going against the horse and it feels terrible for you both.

I agree that you should get a competent trainer for a lesson or 2m, so help figure out where you’re crooked (because you probably are) and also see if the horse needs some appreciable help in that area too. It’s so, so easy to ride for years with a very slight imbalance that, over time, gets a little worse, and a little worse, until it’s really obvious to others, but you think you’re just fine LOL

[Graymaresrule]

Have you asked someone else to ride him?
Have you tried doing circles in an arena?
Do you mount from the ground or a mounting block?

[OzarksRider]

Thanks everyone for the responses–they’ve given me some things to think about.

It’s possible that both the horse and I are a little crooked. I’m right side dominant, and that’s the side that’s easiest for me to post. Left diagonal feels uncoordinated, but if I really concentrate on what I’m doing I can feel an improvement. My horse is more heavily muscled on one side too, so that could contribute.

I’ve got a good saddle, and it stays centered. I don’t mount from the ground. I don’t have a mounting block, but depending on where I am, I may use a lawn chair, a log, a big rock, a ditch, or the slope of a hill. But I don’t ever just haul myself up from the ground. I don’t have an arena, but I can do circles in the field and see how that goes. I hadn’t thought about asking someone else to ride him, and I think that’s a good way to know if it’s me or the horse.

I wish I had access to a decent trainer, but there isn’t one within 100 miles of where I live. That’s why I asked the COTH brain. And thanks to everyone for the feedback.

[Graymaresrule]

You might try going to off topic and asking anyone in your area to PM you

[barnesthenoble]

Not to be a fearmonger, but when I started to notice a difference in the feeling of posting on the different diagonals, it wound up being an early indicator of lameness. I assume not all cases will be like that but if the horse goes noticeably different on each diagonal while on a straight line I would be considering soreness somewhere.

[JB]

@OzarksRider

My horse is more heavily muscled on one side too, so that could contribute.

well there you go That needs to be worked on, after the cause is determined, at least reasonably. Is the more muscled side the leg with a more upright foot by chance?

The more muscled side is likely pushing the saddle to the other side, so you’d need to shim the other side to level things out, which will also help allowing the horse to learn to move more symmetrically.

.I’d definitely try to get a trainer to you, or you to a trainer, for even just 1 lesson. Mine (whom I haven’t seen in way, way too long) is about 80 miles from me, and she used to come to me every 2-3 months for a long, hard lesson that left us with things to work on for the next 60-90 days, and occasionally I’d go to her.

[Christa_P]

Along with getting someone else to try posting on your horse, can you borrow a friend’s horse and try posting. If you don’t have the problem on a different horse, can figure the problem is with your horse or it’s the combination of you and the horse.

Also, when I’m posting on a long straightaway on the trail I will purposely switch diagonals very 5-10 strides (I just pick a number) to help keep the horse more even.

[Mondo]

If you are so far out in the sticks that you can’t find a trainer to get a few lessons from, maybe try a video lesson with someone. Not ideal, but better than no ground eyes.

Also, I’m sure you are comfortable with your saddle being level, but IME western riders aren’t as particular about saddle fit as we DQs are. Esp. if your horse is more muscled on one side as you say.

Finally, pat yourself on the back. Most riders can’t feel which diagonal they are on and have to be told to switch (if riding in an arena). The fact that you can feel it means you can fix it.
Good luck!

[outerbanks77]

If you’re on the right diagonal, you’re rising with the left hind leg. I suspect his left hind is the weaker leg, so when you’re on the left diagonal, you’re sitting when the left hind is loaded, and it is having to work harder.

[Cowboy_Girl]

Before you go down the road of a science project - Was your horse ever used for team roping? As a head horse especially.
When the header ropes and dallys the horse braces and pulls and turns hard to the left (right outside diagonal.) These horses can become really strong on one side. And many ammie ropers want their horses to be strong so they only lope and circle to the left (the good ones don’t). These horses will always have left oriented body shape and as long as you follow not a big deal.
But when you post on the left diagonal it throws the balance of both of you out of kilter. It can be fixed with time and training but you will likely always feel a weird twist when posting on the left diagonal.

[OzarksRider]

@Cowboy_Girl

Before you go down the road of a science project - Was your horse ever used for team roping? As a head horse especially.
When the header ropes and dallys the horse braces and pulls and turns hard to the left (right outside diagonal.) These horses can become really strong on one side. And many ammie ropers want their horses to be strong so they only lope and circle to the left (the good ones don’t). These horses will always have left oriented body shape and as long as you follow not a big deal.
But when you post on the left diagonal it throws the balance of both of you out of kilter. It can be fixed with time and training but you will likely always feel a weird twist when posting on the left diagonal.

@outerbanks77

If you’re on the right diagonal, you’re rising with the left hind leg. I suspect his left hind is the weaker leg, so when you’re on the left diagonal, you’re sitting when the left hind is loaded, and it is having to work harder.

I don’t know if he was ever used for team roping. But . . . he’s more muscled on the right side (but not as much as when I got him 10 years ago) and his strongest, nastiest moves are to the left. When I first got him, while we were still deciding who was going to be boss (me), his favorite evasion was a hard, quick drop the shoulder and spin left. So it makes sense that his left side is a little weaker and that could very well be why posting the left diagonal feels so weird. It’s not nearly as bad as it used to be, but I always thought it was me and couldn’t figure out what in the world I was doing wrong.

@Christa_P

Also, when I’m posting on a long straightaway on the trail I will purposely switch diagonals very 5-10 strides (I just pick a number) to help keep the horse more even.

I do this a lot too, and it definitely helps.

[Libby2563]

@JB

That makes one diagonal easy peasy, and the other one anywhere from “well this feels a little weird” to the horse actually throwing you back to the other diagonal.

Huh, interesting. None of my horses have ever felt like this (unless they’re lame).

[merrygoround]

Are there other horses around that you could try? If you have the same problem on them, it’s you, if not its the result of a crooked horse.

I once had a student who I had a terrible time watching trot. I had another strong, experienced rider try the horse, and ‘voila’, the same thing… I concluded that it was the horse and we spent a lot of time working on straightness. The older the horse, the more difficult it is.

[EventerAJ]

Blockquote [quote=“JB, post:3, topic:788020”]
That makes one diagonal easy peasy, and the other one anywhere from “well this feels a little weird” to the horse actually throwing you back to the other diagonal.
[/quote]

Huh, interesting. None of my horses have ever felt like this (unless they’re lame).

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I used to gallop older racehorses that very noticeably had a preferred diagonal. As JB said, on some of them it was just a weird “flat tire” feeling on one diagonal. On a couple others (of debatable soundness…) they would throw you to the other diagonal. As in, you couldn’t post more than 3 or 4 steps before the horse would stutter step and pop you to the other diagonal. If you rode in 2pt, the horse felt relatively even.

I’ve never ridden a sport horse that was so uneven in diagonals, but none of them worked as hard (muscularly and joint wise) as those racehorses either.

[CindyCRNA]

I was that way on my guy who was off on the right side. Hock arthritis. So every time we posted going left, it felt really off and uncoordinated. My new girl is strong on both sides and now I don’t notice one side being wonky but I know what you mean.