Really quick 2nd level show question

[Scribbler]

So how useful is sitting the trot at medium and extended in lower-level dressage?

One of the posters above says that sitting lets you make the gait more uphill, lighter in front. At the moment, I’m working on collected/medium trot transitions. My horse has small gaits, so she’s very easy to sit or post, either way (definitely not a 7 gait!). I can feel the moment she starts to carry herself; it’s not as dramatic as it would be in a big moving horse, but it’s there. However, we can maintain it either sitting or posting. I sit for the collected trot, but when we start to lengthen a bit, whether I sit or post doesn’t appear to have much effect on how she moves or how long she maintains the correct movement.

So what is the technical rationale for sitting all the trot work in dressage, other than to make it a challenge for the rider ? I’ve been wondering this for a bit, and this seemed like the right thread to ask the question.

[Silverbridge]

[QUOTE=hoopoe;8777423]
2nd post of thread[/QUOTE]

Thanks.

[SillyHorse]

@Scribbler

So what is the technical rationale for sitting all the trot work in dressage, other than to make it a challenge for the rider ?

Five and a half years later, with a horse whose trot can be jarring (“can be” are the operative words here), lots of great coaching and “light bulb” moments, I know the answer:

You cannot have much influence with your seat when you are posting. You can influence the tempo of the trot, but not a whole lot more.

One of the goals, no matter the level, is that the horse gives you his back. When the horse gives you his back, the trots are much easier to sit. So, by the time you are riding the collected gaits it is hoped that your horse gives you his back and you can more easily sit all the trots.

Preparation is vital. I don’t attempt schooling the medium or extended until my horse is soft, attentive, and giving me his back in the collected trot. I need to know that I can do transitions within the gait using only my seat, something I can’t do when I’m posting. I need to know I have a good half-halt that I can use when I need it, both during the medium/extended, and in preparation for coming back to collected. Some days we struggle with this; some days we have it right after we warm up. If I have light, easy lateral movements at the end of the warmup, I’m usually good to go with a supple back.

[netg]

@Scribbler

So how useful is sitting the trot at medium and extended in lower-level dressage?

One of the posters above says that sitting lets you make the gait more uphill, lighter in front. At the moment, I’m working on collected/medium trot transitions. My horse has small gaits, so she’s very easy to sit or post, either way (definitely not a 7 gait!). I can feel the moment she starts to carry herself; it’s not as dramatic as it would be in a big moving horse, but it’s there. However, we can maintain it either sitting or posting. I sit for the collected trot, but when we start to lengthen a bit, whether I sit or post doesn’t appear to have much effect on how she moves or how long she maintains the correct movement.

So what is the technical rationale for sitting all the trot work in dressage, other than to make it a challenge for the rider ? I’ve been wondering this for a bit, and this seemed like the right thread to ask the question.

I both have a horse with whom it was not appropriate to sit and two with whom sitting was easy from the start.

The first is my now retired TB who we quickly decided against showing because his sustained bucking in show environments seemed like an unfair danger to other riders even though I could ride through it. So in his case it didn’t matter that we didn’t sit. He is extremely short backed, plus has the tension of a horse whose brain was absolutely fried by being on the track. He was born to be a dressage horse despite being bred to be a racehorse. We never schooled changes (did get them every once in a while because they were naturally there) since we weren’t showing him and didn’t want to encourage bucking, but he was schooling the rest of PSG - uphill balance, excellent pirouettes, good bend in the lateral work, etc. - before his trot became sittable. By the time we backed off his work his extended trot was easy to ride, but it took years to get him swinging that much! I wish I had video because he had a super impressive extended trot with huge overstep - but it felt like sitting on some kind of fast moving sled - you had to keep the impulsion from throwing you back, but it became smooth and easy to ride. I never thought he would reach that point, and had we been showing I would have had my head bounced off at second and third level!

My girls naturally swing, and sitting allows so much more opportunity to affect bend, cadence, tempo. Yesterday I was working on canter trot canter transitions because I’ve felt they’re lagging the canter walks in quality, and I insisted on good quality trot steps before the transition. Because I was focused on the right hind working more, my mare protested by bucking with left hind only - because her right hind was being held under her by my seat. Can’t do that posting.

[hoopoe]

seeing this old thread come back and seeing names of posters who are missed

[Scribbler]

@netg

An old post! In the past 6 years I’ve found myself able to sit more and more of my mare’s trot and yes, I need to sit in to get the legthening happening correctly. I’ve also had a chance to ride more advanced horses. The question has kind of answered itself for me. Also I have a clearer sense of how Second Level builds on First.