My husband and I are looking to get into endurance riding.
He just got a tucker endurance saddle- and posting the trot is different than I am used to. For you seasoned endurance folks- do you post your trot or sit while on an endurance ride?
If you post, how do you do it in a more western type saddle? Seems like it throws your leg too far forward to be able to get the tuckous outta the saddle…:eek:
Any thoughts?
AK and super horsey hubby:cool:
I never sit unless my horse is doing a little jog in a real tight section of trail. When we’re actually TROTTING, I always post or 3-point (not a full 2-point but more like standing in the stirrups.)
thanks for the info. So if my hubby is having trouble posting is he not going to do well in endurance?
How can I help him?
AK and HH
Practice, practice, work on your rhythm. There is nothing like a horse with a really great working trot and it is soooo hard to try to sit that for very long. Simply working on the posting will condition the muscles that support you in 2 or 3 point position. Play around with stirrup position until you find what works and then try doing sets of posting and just staying up out of the saddle for a couple of minutes. If you find the saddle is not going to work for posting, you may want to find something that will. I know that is tough to hear if you like the saddle, but it will be very important if you are going to pursue any type of distance riding that the saddle suit the purpose, horse, and rider.
Depending on the horse you might try an easy canter instead of tons of trotting. A decent trot is important, however, a good canter can make up for the lack of a good trot or the riders ability to post for longer periods of time.
Good luck:D:D
posting, definitely
Check his stirrup length – perhaps they’re too long?
I have a Tucker (not an “endurance,” but one on a western tree) and an About the Horse western trail saddle, and I post in both of them. It’s true that certain western saddles are built to put the leg forward – cutting saddles, for example, if I remember correctly. But I would expect a Tucker endurance model to place the leg in line with the hip & shoulder.
Posting is easier on their backs. I wouldn’t try a distance ride until hubby gets better at posting–else his horse will likely have a very sore back by the end of the ride.
I have a western style endurance saddle and I find it definitely makes it a little harder to post. My horse has a really forward trot and usually when I am riding out I just stand in the stirrups.
Yep, I did the same in my Abetta endurance saddle. My horse at the time had a very bouncy trot, and it was often easier on me to just stand up, sometimes for miles. Ya gotta build up some endurance for this stance, since it is fatiguing. Once you get tired, then it is much harder to ride lightly to be easy on the horse. Heavy bouncing = sore back.
I agree that until your hubby gets a more secure seat, cantering might be the best for both the horse and the rider.
I routinely post in my western saddle when trotting at more than a western pleasure type jog. I can see how it would feel weird if used to posting in an English saddle, particularly with the longer stirrups- but it’s like everything else, practice, practice, practice.
[QUOTE=matryoshka;4144251]
Posting is easier on their backs. I wouldn’t try a distance ride until hubby gets better at posting–else his horse will likely have a very sore back by the end of the ride.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t try a distance rider either until your hubby gets strong in the saddle. He would DIE of pain by the end, which is never fun for anyone.
Start by going on short training rides. Have him really focus and keep his feet under his body. He will get tired and only be able to go correctly for short distances, but with regular riding he will build up and be able to do it!
There are plenty of people around here riding in Tucker saddles with proper equitation. Try adjusting stirrups and make sure you saddle fits the horse/husband.
Good luck! Hopefully you guys will be out doing rides by the fall!
On some horse when posting (not pumping) you do not rise out of the saddle.
Whatever way the rider is balanced is fine. There are good riders that do both.
It is an unbalanced rider that will make a horse sore.
I’d hazard a guess that his stirrups are too long. I’ve posted in saddles that definitely put you in a chair seat–it isn’t that easy, but it isn’t that hard, either. If he’s reaching for his stirrups, that will make it very difficult to post. You don’t mention if he has had any previous experience; is he just learning, or does he come from a different discipline as well?
As for what you do, definitely post or stand. Sitting a nice forward trot like you want on an endurance horse (for the most part, of course they need to slow down on some stretches) is really exhausting for the rider, and a lot harder on the horse’s back. Heck, I school 4-5 big-moving warmbloods in dressage every day, sitting the trot on all of them, and I don’t think I could even sit all the trot in a 25 miler. 
Would suggest that if he finds posting ackward in it, get a different saddle 
[QUOTE=Auventera Two;4143606]
I never sit unless my horse is doing a little jog in a real tight section of trail. When we’re actually TROTTING, I always post or 3-point (not a full 2-point but more like standing in the stirrups.)[/QUOTE]
I do it this way too. Posting keeps weight off the butt and prevents it from getting too sore. This is where those big wide soft endurance stirrups come into play. They prevent the feet from going to sleep
someone said the stirrups might be too long that IS a possiblilty.
another possibility …are the stirrups too SHORT? causing him to sit in a chair seat? when people are in a chair seat, is it INDEED difficult for them to post because there leg is too far forward.
I went and took a look at a few photos of Tucker saddles, and it looks like there is a definite possiblity that the saddle is putting your husband in a chair seat which would make posting difficult.
What I would do in your situation is:
Purchase book, Centered Riding by Sally Swift. Read.
Get Hubby some lessons. English saddle of some sort, just flat work, not any jumping. Explain to instructor what he needs to learn - posting the trot. It is the instructor’s job to see that Hubby builds a correct seat. Hubby’s job is to learn how that seat feels to his body. You need to watch the lessons too, so that you see how he looks in a correct seat. A correct seat is beautifully illustrated in Centered Riding, as well.
Then, after several lessons, he rides in the Tucker again. You need to look at how he is sitting. If his feet are in front of his hips, he is in a chair seat, and it is the saddle putting him there, because at this point he should know better. He needs to ride at the trot, and see how he can post. Now that he has had some lessons, he may find it easier. Or, he may want a different saddle…
Without seeing him riding, it is hard for us to say what the problem really is. He may simply have to build some new muscles for posting to be comfortable. The lessons will help there.
One last thing to consider. Some horses make you post wonderfully and it is the most natural thing in the world, easy peasy! And then there are the others - posting is hard work on them. So that is another thing to consider. Lessons on a different horse might help him know something there, too.
Stirrup length: It is unlikely that the stirrups in a a western-tree saddle are too short. Even though I have long legs, I often have to punch additional holes in the fenders to get them short enough for my comfort. If he’s very tall, I guess it is a possibility.
Stirrup position: In the Abetta Endurance saddle (western tree), I had to consciously pull my feet under me and slide forward a bit in the saddle to be able to stand up easily. I got used to it. Turns out the seat was an inch too long, and I had a much easier time in a shorter saddle. Still, the stirrup placement is a bit forward for my taste.
Exercises for an independent seat: Even with the stirrups in the optimal position, it simply takes practice to get steady at posting. For my kids, I put them in a round pen and didn’t let them use reins until they could post without pulling on the horse’s mouth. Then I devised exercises to make their seats even more secure, such as two beats up, one down, three beats up, etc.
I didn’t let them hold the reins at a trot until they could do so without using them for balance. This can be done on a lunge line as well. I hated it when it was done to me, but I had an independent seat in a very short time.
Core strength: Adults who continue having problems with posting may lack core strength. I’ve found this to be a problem with women who rode as teens, stopped riding for a period of time, had kids, and then want to get back into riding. They’d complain of their balance being off and posting became difficult. My guess is that in addition to being out of practice, they lacked core strength. Exercises to strengthen stomach muscles can be a real help here. Yoga is especially good.
[QUOTE=matryoshka;4147376]
Stirrup length:
.
Stirrup position: In the Abetta Endurance saddle (western tree), I had to consciously pull my feet under me and slide forward a bit in the saddle to be able to stand up easily. I got used to it. Turns out the seat was an inch too long, and I had a much easier time in a shorter saddle. Still, the stirrup placement is a bit forward for my taste.
.[/QUOTE]
There is a little strap that keeps the stirrups forward. Reach up there and cut this little strap. I allows the stirrups to move back more.
On most western & endurance saddles, you can adjust your stirrup position. Reach up there and slide the fenders back along the saddle bar…
Good to know…now that I’m riding in a Bob Marshall treeless saddle. My horses’ backs widened to the point where the Abetta no longer fit. However, I occasionally still ride in the Arabian-tree Abetta western, and I’ll see if there is a strap that I can cut. I already sawed the horn off of it, so cutting one more little strap won’t bother me.
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