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Help to sit the trot in saddle and bareback?

3K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Foxhunter 
#1 ·
I got on my horse for the first time for at least three or four years and the first time bareback ever on Brisco!!
The good news it I did not fall off and Brisco behaved perfectly fine - even better without the saddle actually!

Anyways, I can sit the trot better in the saddle then I can bareback - but don't ask why because that is something even I cannot answer.. :?
I can sit the trot OK, but it am still bouncing around a lot. Mainly I am looking for help with bareback - I can sometimes sit the trot and other times I am about to fall off!

I trotted for at least an hour - taking a break to a walk every now and then. I can still stay on the horse bareback at a trot, but it is very bumpy and I know I am not sitting it because I can feel when I go up and down on his back - it makes me laugh too much because it feels weird! :lol:

Anyways - I was wondering if you guys had any tips for sitting the trot - bareback or saddle would be great. I don't know if there is a big difference on how you sit the trot saddle or bareback, I don't know why there would be. But if there is then any tips would be great!

Thank you!!
 
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#3 ·
I find it's different with different horses, some you bounce a lot and others barely...What i try to do is relax my body (not be tense at all), take a deep breath and try to just go with the horse's movement because if i stay stiff as a bar (which sometimes i am) i tend to bounce a lot or too much. When you're riding bareback, with your legs, kind of hug your horses belly not too snug but just enough to keep your balance and put your toes up/heels down :)
Not sure if this was any help at all but good luck!
 
#4 ·
Some people find this cheesy, but I sit in the saddle and try to stretch my legs down as far as the will possibly go, and pretend I am a professional dressage rider, flowing with the horse. What's also annoying is sit trotting can give you stitches, so sit on your tailbone to absorb shock and keep your back straight but not rigid.
 
#5 ·
You can only bounce if there is tension. It is the same as when you jump up in the air a few inches and land with your knees stiff, you get a jolt through your whole body. Landing with your knees bent and allowing the shock to be absorbed up through your body and you feel nothing. It is no different with the sitting trot.

As a child ( yes I can remember that far back!) we rode a lot bareback to and from the fields. We often had trotting races and what we did was to lean right back, really far so our bodies were at an angle of 45* to the horse instead of 90. Our lower leg was well forward, often over the horses shoulder and as such it would not allow us to grip, we were riding purely by balance. This taught us to both sit and balance no matter how harsh that horses trot was.
Now, this is obviously not the position you want when riding but, at this point it doesn't matter, because it it easy to sit up straight again. It is a good position to learn not only how to sit the harshest of trots but also the safety of leaning back rather than forward.

Try it, lean back and shove your legs forward, feel how you are sitting, and then when you have that off pat, gradually start to sit up and bring your legs under you without gripping and when you can do this you will have a strong seat forever!
 
#6 ·
I am going riding today, so I will try all of these techniques and hopefully I won't fall off! I am going crazy when I say this, (because this will be my second time ever riding Brisco bareback) but I am going to try and lope him bareback!! ....I guess we will see how it goes!!

What I was doing before was hugging the horse, like josee said - but I think I was hugging too much, so I had more tension than what was wanted. Louie, I have never heard that before! I will have to try that!
Fox, I never though of that! When I trot and start losing my balance I noticed that sometimes I start leaning a bit forward - so maybe I should start leaning back instead, haha!

Thank you all for the tips!!
 
#8 ·
Loping bareback is something I can do all day.
Trotting however...Hurts, lol

I can do it, but dang, it took a lot longer to get that down than loping.

I agree there can only be bouncing if there's tension. Loosen your body a little~ Worse that can happen is you start sliding and have to hop off. You'll feel it happen, so even if you do fall it won't be a violent affair. If you think you won't make it, grab some mane and swing a leg over and land on your feet.
 
#10 ·
amberly;3388634 What I was doing before was hugging the horse said:
josee[/B] said - but I think I was hugging too much, so I had more tension than what was wanted. Louie, I have never heard that before! I will have to try that!
Fox, I never though of that! When I trot and start losing my balance I noticed that sometimes I start leaning a bit forward - so maybe I should start leaning back instead, haha!

Thank you all for the tips!!
It is a natural thing to grip with your legs and this not only causes tension it cues the horse to go faster!

When we brought the riding school horses and ponies in from their grazing field we were always bareback. They grazed on what is known as down land, these are steep hills, and we would get on them at the top of these hills and nine times out of ten, the ponies would take off as fast as they could down the hills. I can tell you, it was a good way to learn to sit back! One hand on the halter rope with a big chunk of mane and the other braced against the withers, feet shoved forward. Two reasons for the latter, one was as said before and the other so that you could kick the ponies nose should he decide to start bucking as he charged down a 1:15 hill!
We all survived, all had very strong seat, excellent balance and little fear. Sure we fell but that resulted in a fine so, staying on was paramount. Those were the days.
 
#13 ·
I am back from riding - and the sitting back and relaxing helped a ton.
I would start with leaning back and then gradually sit up straighter and straight until I was completely straight, but still mostly balanced. It helped a lot and I will definitely use that more often!

Our fair has an open class called Ride-a-Buck. It is where you ride your horse bareback (the class I am entering is walk/trot) with a dollar halfway under your leg. Then you walk or trot around the arena and whoever is last that still has the dollar under their leg wins all the dollars!!!

It isn't as bouncy as it was before - I just need to sit back more and relax. Thank you fro the tips everyone! And any more tips would be great as well - I would love to hear your techniques and ideas.
It is still bouncy - but it is getting better!
This is only the second time I have ever ridden Brisco bareback - but so far so great and I haven't fallen off yet, which is a plus!
 
#16 ·
Ride without stirrups take your reins in one hand and put two fingers under the pommel and pull the saddle off the horse's back. This will sit you deep. Let go and the moment you start to bounce pull up again.

If your horse is sensible or bettermif you can get someone to lunge you, at the trot, raise your legs away from the saddle so that your knees are level with your hips. Do this for six trot strides and then down for six. Feel how you are sitting on your seat bones and leaning back. It will make you ride by balance. This is an exhausting exercise and not for the faint hearted!

Sit on a swing and feel the muscles you use to propel the swing forward, the same muscles are needed when riding.

Watch how the top dressage riders take a behind the vertical position at lot of the time. It is important that you get the feel of what muscles you need to learn to use.
 
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