when in rising trot on a horse

this takes time took me ages when u do it consentrate hard ! squeeze your hips in tight then think of your dream pair of shoes infort on your last one on the shelf use ya knees to pull yaself up to get them ! easy good luck honey xxx

use your legs and hug the horse do not let go or they will think you are trying to faster and lean forward a little then raise its really easy once you get it

Drop your irons. Then you have no way to use your feet and will be forced to use your upper legs.

try dropping your stirrups- then you cant rely on your feet!

Tack ur horse up in a saddle pad & surcingle, or a bareback pad (WITHOUT stirrups.
Put ur horse on a lunge line. Have someone who knows how to lunge in the center lunge ur horse
Get on & practice trotting (have a os strap hooked on to hold on to if u need at first) Go for longer & longer every day & dont give yourself stirrups until u can post with ur hands on ur hips.
You wont be able to do it unless ur seat is correct so u may have to get lessons.

good luck & doing this will massively IMPROVE ur riding!

You should not be posting from ur foot OR ur knee, u need to utilize ur upper body & post from ur core (pelvis & abs). If you're riding from the knee u r not using ur leg properly. (Your stirrups might be too long too!) The key to toning muscles for the rising trot is to make sure ur hip angle is closed when you're posting. When l was younger my trainer would put a pencil between my leg & the saddle about 5-6 inches below my crotch, then she'd have me post without dropping it. Another good exercize is posting without stirrups, it is one heck of a workout but it pays off!

You need to work on ur inner thigh muscles. Here is an easy one. Get a basketball or soccer ball. Stand on a curb or step with the balls of ur feet so ur heels r lowered, just as u would be in the stirrups & assume the 2 point position to balance yourself. Put the ball between ur thighs & ''post''. If u rise from the foot u will topple over. You need to train ur thigh muscles to squeeze inward to grip the saddle, holding the ball will help that. Another exercise is to just stand with a ball or something with just a bit of give between the knees & squeeze ,release, squeeze ,release. u can do that watching TV or talking on the phone .

You do not rise from ur knees either, it is a lot to do with ur core (which is ur middle basically). First off, u need to be well balanced on ur horse. And l do not mean by gripping with ur legs or thighs, ur legs need to be loose around the horse, but not droopy. As the horse trots just follow his movement & let him throw u up, u do not want to be fighting the movement, & do not concentrate too hard either. Just flow with him. Your rising has not got to look as if you're standing in ur stirrups each time. Just go with the flow.
You then need to think about.. the landing (as it were). You do not want to crash back down on the saddle with a bump, but come down smoothly & softly. l was told to touch back down as if u were squashing a bug, as stupid as it sounds, it is a good thing to think about in making yourself softer.

hi,
i would have lessons on posting with no stirrups. it is very uncomfortable and pain full but u build muscle! or lengthen your stirrups

As good as it might sound to drop ur stirrups, it really does not help with the posting trot. It makes sense that it would, l used to think so too, but it does not serve a purpose to post without stirrups because it does not carry over to riding with stirrups. A licensed professional instructor told me that. now sitting trot, l am all for doing that without stirrups, it really does help, but not riding. Pilates r great for leg strengthening. A lot of people have trouble riding because their legs r too far in front of them to properly rise & they have to do about 50 times more more to get themselves up. makes sure ur heels line up with ur hips. A great way to see if ur legs r in the right place is try to stay standing up in ur stirrups at the walk. if u fall back ur legs r too far forward. & even if ur position is good at the walk the trot can make them easily slip forward if they r not absolutely firm. Almost all of the children l have worked with l can easily get their legs right but as soon as they trot its lost.

l also want to add that carrie gave some good advice! listen to that too!


Sorry this is so long, but l think it will help if u read it all! Good Luck!

You are not supposed to post from your knees. That would imply that you are pinching with your knees and if you are pinching with your knees then your lower leg becomes unstable and will swing.

Your support and security comes from your heel and base(or seat).

When you post you should have your heels down and let the horses thrust push you forward out of the saddle.

Swimming. Join a gym that has a pool. Tell a gym instructor what you want to achieve. It will work wonders if you have the right trainer.

u shouldnt be posting from ur knee. at all. u shouldnt be gripping with ur knee, u actually really shouldnt even use ur knee. thats the wrong thing to do, it causes more bad than good for example: falling forward, falling off, causes ur horse to move faster than u want, u have no balance, u arent stable, etc, etc, etc. Thats not the correct way to ur use legs. l would get on the lunge line with a trainer. l would lose the stirrups & the reins. The key to this is the only way u wont fall off is finding the right position, heels down, toes out, knees open, shoulders back (stick ur chest out), sit up straight & relax. To get out of using ur knees to grip, ur knee needs to be off the saddle. My trainers used to tell me to they should be able to stick a hotdog in between my knee & the saddle & my toes need to be out like l was going to plie (spelling) like a ballerina. But all ur weight needs to be shifted down into ur ankles & heels, no knees!!!!! You r only pushing off from ur stirrups (You r getting out of the saddle from the horses momentum). Technically u rise from ur foot, but u really need to use ur whole body to post. Remember: u r only slightly rising from the saddle, not launching. When u r on the lunge line, (with no stirrups & no reins) post with ur arms out like a bird for 5 laps, then hands on ur head for 5 laps, then ur hands on ur hips for 5 laps. Then do 2 point for 5 laps or as long as u can, & then sit the trot for 5 laps or as long as u can, then lay down on ur horses neck, ur still sitting in the saddle but ur upper body is laying on ur horses neck. The whole time, no stirrups or reins!! If u do these type of lessons/rides long enough you're body will find the right balance, u will gain strength, & ur balance will be soooo great that u can possibly sit through about anything ur horse throws at you. It could even takes months for ur body to retrain itself to do the right thing (like not using ur knees), it took me 3 or 4 months.

good luck

While walking around the school, quit ur stirrups & with ur reins in ur outside hand, put the inside hand on the pommel or a neckstrap to steady yourself & first of all bring ur knees to touch each other. Feel the seat bones in ur behind & holding on to that feeling take ur knees apart & then slowly bring ur legs back & down. Imagine that u r trying to touch ur horses back legs with ur heels but do not lean forwards.

When u start to trot, sit for the first two strides & then allow the horse to push u up & forward. You should not have to make any effort at all. Open ur hands & as u rise slightly push ur pelvis forwards as if u r trying to push it between ur hands. Once u get used to the feeling of going up & forwards u can bring ur hands back together again.

Do not worry about it. It will come. It is a common problem with novice riders & just takes some practice.

You would also benefit greatly from a few lunge lessons - lunging is hard work on the horse so should only be done for about half an hour maximum & then u could go loose for the rest of ur lesson.