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sitting trot help.

4K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  Skyseternalangel 
#1 ·
SO. I SUCK at sitting the trot. I've been working on it the past couple weeks with my new coach and she thinks it should have been addressed a year ago (starting to be a bit disillusioned with my old coach) there's another girl at my barn who had the same problem and spent two months on a lunge line (wanna avoid that but if it'll help I'm up for it) Any tips and/or advice?
I have a video and I'm working on uploading it ASAP
 
#2 ·
I was working on it today and my problem is that I keep wanting to post. Because of that I find myself trying too hard to relax which just makes it a bit worse. You would think it would be the opposite. I'm actually more comfortable with the post trot which makes little sense as the sitting trot should be natural. I think. :)

Would like to see your video.
 
#3 ·
Posting is more natural to me, as the saddle lifts me up haha!

Anyway, my instructor told me to hold my Reins in one hand, and then with the other "pull" the front of the saddle up. It hel
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#8 ·
"On the past couple weeks"

A couple of weeks = 2 weeks

How many times do you ride a week?

Because I rode 4-5 times a week and my sitting trot took me AGES to get, because my horse's back wasn't ready for it and also because it just takes your body some time to learn how to keep down despite the upward thrust of the horse's hind end.

Cut yourself some slack! Some time on the lungeline is good, don't knock it! But a lot of people try to freeze their hands or their legs... no. You need to act like shock absorbers on a car and soak in the movement, not just hold your arms like you are a statue.
 
#10 ·
One word: core. Your core is what keeps you in the saddle and balanced, it's your center and the part that should be burning at the end of a sitting trot session, not your legs.

I'd be interested in this vid to see what is making the sitting trot more difficult for you.

Happy sitting.
 
#11 ·
Hey, sitting the trot is hard, especially if you've got a horse that has even a little bit of a rough or "big" trot. It takes a lot of balance and core strength and it can be really hard to keep that strength elastic enough to move with the horse and not get stiff but still actually be strong enough to keep you down in the saddle.

Don't get discouraged, it takes a lot of time to build up the ability (both through fitness and training) to do it consistently.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I'd bet that your legs slip forward because you're bracing against the stirrups for dear life! Next time you want to sit the trot, start out at a walk and bend your knees to pull your feet back underneath you; make your heels become level-- hold the stirrups with the ball of your foot, but don't use them very much or worry about jamming your heels down. Instead, think about your weight sinking down on to your seatbones. If you have to, take your knees and legs completely off of the saddle, note the feeling of really sitting in that saddle, and try again!

Before you ask for the trot, think about the motion-- it'll be a 1-2-1-2 motion that initially feels like it's shoving you forward on each beat, but instead think about the trot moving each seatbone independently- left, right, left right in time with your horse's hindquarters.

Now that you have the beat you want, gently gently gently! ask for a baby trot. Ask with your legs, but also by starting to gently move your hips in the left-right-left-right beat that you're asking for. When the horse eases into that trot, just relax! If it gets overwhelming, come back down the walk and relax.

The other keys are relaxation, practice, practice, relaxation, and also practice. ;) I've been working on the sitting trot for a year and am just now starting to become proficient! Good luck & don't get frustrated!
 
#16 ·
when i was trying to get better at sit trot i would always be so bouncy. now I don't bounce as much and stay weighted in my seat. i wish i could back and tell myself some secret, but it was really a matter of just doing it a lot. Stirrupless helps (if you feel secure enough to do it) because you have no choice but to put your weight down. But even still if you're rigid and don't absorb the shocks of those bounces.. you will pop up out of the saddle. I tend to put the shock of those bounces in my belly area. Everyone puts the punch from those bounces somewhere.. when i started it went from the horses back up to my shoulders (a real problem area for me) which is wrong.. but now I try and keep it in the belly/core area and use that portion of my body as the shock absorber.. that plus really getting used to how the horse moves keeps my butt in the saddle.

there are times actually when i want to focus i will sit trot instead of post because posting is too distracting and sit trot is easier for me now. go figure.
 
#17 ·
Ignore you instructors snide remarks about your previous coach. It's a bit of one-up-man-ship. One of the reasons you may be having difficult is if the horse is strung out rather than collected. With collection there is a softening of the gaits which makes a slow trot easier to sit and it does need to be a slow trot-slow enough that posting feels a bit awkward.
 
#18 ·
no she's right this really should have been taken care of a while ago, she's not bad mouthing my old coach or being "snide" at all, they're friends and happen to have different teaching styles, my old coach was more relaxed this one is more kick-your-butt
 
#19 ·
You just have to... not over-think not bouncing around. This animal is propelling you forward, and you're trying to stay down. Focus your attention on soaking that energy like a sponge.

Relax, imagine what your spine looks like, are their kinks in it, or is it nice and fluidly straight? What are your seat bones doing?

What are your arms like? Rigid? Like noodles?

Just focus on all of that.. being nice and fluid, and tucked under you as opposed to arched away from yougl
 
#20 ·
I'll try that but considering my back is naturally very arched it may bit a bit of a challenge
 
#23 ·
or not *sigh* anyone know anything about getting a video on here off an iphone?
 
#28 ·
Sitting trot takes time and it doesn't come nearly as naturally as posting.

One lesson a week isn't very much saddle time, and not a lot of time for your body to adjust to a different way of doing things.

Lowering your stirrups or riding without stirrups helps a lot. So does slowing down the trot. It won't be a "good" trot, but it teaches you basically how to sit it.

To me riding isn't focusing on one thing and doing just that. Yeah it might take months or even years to get your sitting trot great, but if you do 10-15 minutes sitting trot each ride you'll get there eventually.
 
#29 ·
With every horse I ride, I need time to adjust to their trot.
Sitting trot is not easy. However, so many can do it, why would we not be able?
At first I was allowed to grip with my one arm to the front of the saddle, so I can feel the horses rythm. Plus this was a dressage horse with a wide, bouncy trot. God I hated his trot. I kept sliding around the saddle, tipping forwards and what not.
After a few rounds holding to the saddle, mind you, this is all on a lunge now, i started being able to sit him slightly better. never got to the point of 6 minutes in that trot, but that helped.
Next to help me with sitting trot, I was riding another horse at the same time, that summer. I just took her to the outside small arena, it had a wall, took her away from the gate and did lots of circles both directions, later already full rounds etc. Basically I warmed her up, did a few things with her, and then just kept sitting. She had to listen to me hard too, when I was asking for a lot of transitions etc. I kept losing my stirrups then, starting to grip occasionally, but I think it took me a week straight riding her to get a hold of her trot, and be able to sit for a bit longer. My core still never had the muscles needed for longer sitting trot.

Then I went to another trainer, who just asked me to sit for a bit. I was actually suprised it worked, it was a jumping saddle, new horse, but she had a smooth trot, so I just sat there, and didn't even lose my stirrups!
Now I work with my friends horse.. well.. his trot can be bouncy, I lose my stirrups very rarely, my core is working hard, (Imagine that your waist is a spring, like the one a car has for a wheel, it absorbs the movement), everything else relaxed and legs trying to make him move on. But yet, I notice my legs going a bit forwards too, when I sit more back to be able to sit his trot.
But basically, it can be done, just the best is at least 20 minutes alone in an arena, sit sit sit, repeat, repeat and keep at it. when you get it, you will know.
But of course, doing it once a week does not strengthen your core fast enough. You might wanna look into core exercises off the horse, to strengthen yourself.
 
#32 ·
please excuse the lighting we have a mix of natural lighting and fluorescent lighting and it's great in real life but in videos and pictures it tends to turn out kind funny I did edit a bit on youtube but it was just the auto-fix button
 
#33 · (Edited)
#1 Relax
#2 - from waist down arch your hips slightly forward and think of posting with your hips (forward/back) instead of up/down. (Video shows the opposite - you are arching your back).
#3 - make certain you don't brace your arms - essentially your elbows are at your waist. When you hips move forward the elbows come back a bit to maintain a steady connection, and vice versa. Also helps to think of opening and closing your elbows to maintain a steady rein connection. (Video shows you need help in posting and sitting trot for rein connection).

Do NOT pinch/grab with knees
Do not tighten butt muscles
Allow legs to drape around horses barrel
Think of keeping your toes pointed forward (not like a hunter rider) - that helps deepen your seat and allows you to sit better without popping you out of the saddle.

You might also want to drop your stirrups and add a bucking strap (until you can actually sit the trot) then sit the trot until you feel like you are too unbalanced to continue - atthat point grab bucking strap and pull your butt into the saddle.

One other thing video showed - you need to sit in saddle like you are standing upo on the ground. Lengthen your legs (because you feel off balance your knees are pointing more "up" than forward) and stop leaning forward. Practice sitting in a chair with VERY correct posture - than apply that to your riding!
 
#34 ·
I'm actually not arching my back it's just naturally very arched. And yes I`m aware I post up and down though in this case I think that`s cause I`m trying to sit the trot and not trying to post.
My coach did have me stand up in my stirrups my last lesson and it helped TONS.
I don`t think a bucking strap is available nor part of the general teaching style of my barn.
But I`ll try the chair thing , I kinda do that now as far as my upper body goes but not my lower body.
THANKS!
 
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