Strides for Success

Author: Lorna Leeson

  • Rising or Posting in Trot

    Rising or Posting in Trot

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    Have you ever sat down (no pun intended) and thought about how correct your rising or posting in trot actually is?  Rising or posting in trot is one of the first aspects we learn when starting out riding a horse.  And it is also one of those things that we forgot to come back and upgrade!

    We happily spend hours trotting around the arena or along the trail. Up-down, up-down, up-down.  And all without ever stopping to consider if the movement we are performing is helping or hindering our horse.  Or if it is stalling our own progress as a rider…

    Let’s Chat About Trot

    Trot is a two time beat, 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2. This 1 2 is caused when the pairs of diagonal legs move together underneath you; off fore with near hind (creating the 1) and then near fore with off hind (creating the 2).

    A rising trot, or posting, is used in many different aspects of riding.  Warming up, trotting long distances for comfort, schooling in the arena, and lower level dressage to name a few.  It is also used, later, to begin influencing your horse’s tempo in the trot. Which can only happen if you have developed your posting or rising sufficiently to do so.

    It really is a versatile and well-used skill when riding.  And, of course, when we are rising or posting in trot we are not sitting in the trot.  For many riders, this can become bouncy and often uncomfortable after a while.
    Rising or Posting in Trot

    Up and Down?

    When posting in trot, we will ‘sit’ for the 1 and ‘rise’ for the 2, or vice versa. However, when we are thought rising trot early in our riding education the words “down” and “up” are often used. These are instead of “rise” or “sit”.

    Because the words ‘Up’ and ‘Down’ are used most people do just that, which is not technically correct…

    Next time you are at the barn, watch a few riders trotting. Notice the different styles of posting in trot and also, the differences between these styles.  Those that look stiff, and unbalanced, and falling back in the saddle are often doing an up and down movement.

    Their legs will straighten.  Often they will thrust their whole body ‘up and forward’. It’s like they’re pulling themselves up from the shoulders, rather that using the horses momentum, their core, their own legs to ‘push’ them up.

    The usual outcome for this type of a ‘rise’ or post is a lack of balance. It also results in an inability to use your body to affect the ‘down’ or return to the saddle. The rider will get slightly left behind and fall back into the saddle.  The problem is worsened due to the fact that because they fell backward, much too close to the cantle or back of the saddle, it becomes uncomfortable for both horse and rider.  It is also not great news for your saddle!

    Lack of Suppleness

    Another downside of actually standing up and down is the fact that your whole body moves with each rise or post. As we all know, trotting requires you to keep your hands and upper body ‘quiet’ while riding…

    Standing straight up makes this pretty much impossible. And using your shoulders and upper body to ‘pull’ yourself up, whether with or without the use of your reins, requires quite a bit of movement!

    The result is ‘bouncy and jerky hands in the trot.  This negatively impacts your horse’s way of going due to the jarring effect on his mouth. It also produces a lack of consistent contact through the reins.

    Rather Think Forward and Back

    Imagine moving your pelvis, and only your pelvis, in a forward and diagonally upward direction. This movement will happen in perfect coordination with your horse.  This is because you will use the energy of your horse to help lift yourself ‘up and down’, rather than having to pull yourself.

    Posting like this allows your lower leg to remain in position.  It is underneath you and supporting you as you ‘rise’ and it also lessens the movement in your upper body. These two factors are huge for not only your ability as a rider to continue providing a consistent ‘conversation’ with your horse.  But also your horse’s comfort levels.

    Being secure in your position is essential to being able to ride with independent aids and queues… This softer rise or post to the trot allows you to use your body in other ways to ask different questions of your horse.

    Influence Your Horse By Posting in Trot

    Once this ‘rocking’ motion is perfected, you can then begin to use your posting or rising to influence your horse’s tempo in the trot.  If he is running on a little, you can re-balance the situation by slowing your rise slightly. The same applies if he is trotting in a less than energetic fashion.

    However, like all things horse riding and aids-related, positively influencing your horse’s trot requires more than just posting in the trot. It requires a host of supporting aids as well.

    There is a full week of audio horse riding lessons on this topic inside of Connection (formerly Daily Strides Premium).  They are focused on improving your technique to rising or posting to the trot. We work on the straight, work on circles and also go through exercises for the transitions into and out of the trot.  You can find out more about Connection (formerly Daily Strides Premium) HERE >>

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Get Audio Horse Riding Lessons and Begin Training Your HorseToday!

    Right now, there are so many lessons, on all different topics, available for you on a Private Podcast Feed that delivers them straight to your phone, so you can listen as you ride your horse. Your own time, your own arena, your own horse… More Details HERE

    Connection is an online membership for equestrians working alone to train their horse without a coach or trainer.

    Get Support & Guidance in Your Riding

  • What Makes a Good Walk?

    What Makes a Good Walk?

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    Walking… Does your horse do it with a sense of purpose, or is he rather resembling a slowly rolling ball of jelly; going nowhere slowly?  The problem many riders have is when we ask our horse to ‘walk on’, he becomes tense and stiff…

    The walk, when it is a good walk, should be forward-moving, unrestricted, and natural. There should be a sense of purpose to it; evident in both horse and rider. 

    Unfortunately, as riders, we can often have a very negative influence over this gait, causing our horses to begin shuffling rather than walking! Here’s how you can begin to nurture what your horse naturally does in the walk, and create a good walk for both of you.

    The Rhythm of the Walk

    The first thing to do is begin identifying the rhythm your horse has in the walk. The walk is a 4-time beat. This means that each hoof is placed on the ground at a different point during each stride. The left back hoof is first, followed by the left front hoof. After which the right back hoof and, finally, the right front hoof.  This means that the two hooves on one side of the body go first, followed by the two hooves on the other side.

    When a horse has learned to adapt or change his way of going in the walk, often the hooves on either side of the body can seem to almost move together. 

    So instead of the regular 1…2…3…4…1…2…3…4…1…2…3…4… your horse’s rhythm begins to sound a feel more like 1.2…3.4…1.2…3.4…1.2…3.4… Now, essentially, this is also a rhythm. It’s a pattern that is repeating.  However, it’s not a great quality rhythm! Meaning it’s not a good walk. This is where I would recommend beginning when you are assessing your horse’s natural rhythm in the walk.

    Ask yourself; Are there four distinctive hoof beats? And are they all equally spaced? Meaning that all are given equal ‘time’ within each stride?

    Seatbones and Hooves

    What you can begin doing today is syncing your seat bones with your horse’s hooves.  There is a direct connection between them and when you begin to understand it, you can be having a more positive influence. Your seat bones can help develop your horse’s walk. To begin creating a good walk.

    Your left seatbone is, basically, moved by your horse’s left hip. Meaning that you can beign to know where your horse’s back left hoof is at any point in the stride by paying attention to what your left seatbone is doing. 

    By knowing what is happening underneath you, you can begin to time your aids more effectively in order to have a better influence. Things like asking for the trot. Or even the canter. Your half halt. Noticing straightness or bending. When you begin syncing your seat bones to your horse’s hips, you have the potential to become more effective.

    Creating a Good Walk

    I go into much more detail in more recent episodes of the Daily Strides Podcast on how to do this and so much more. I will link to them all here and I highly suggest you give them a listen and begin improving things today.

    And, finally, if you would like to go further with your riding I highly suggest you give my free training series a go…Find the Gaps in Your Horses Training using this free audio series available for you to listen to in a private podcast feed – so just as easy as listening to the Daily STrides Podcast :) You can sign up for free HERE or visit https://stridesforsuccess.com/free

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Get Audio Horse Riding Lessons and Begin Training Your HorseToday!

    Right now, there are so many lessons, on all different topics, available for you on a Private Podcast Feed that delivers them straight to your phone, so you can listen as you ride your horse. Your own time, your own arena, your own horse… More Details HERE

    Connection is an online membership for equestrians working alone to train their horse without a coach or trainer.

    Get Support & Guidance in Your Riding

  • Keeping Canter Work Interesting

    Keeping Canter Work Interesting

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    I’ve often wondered what it is about the canter that makes riders almost seem to ignore it when schooling in the arena.  I see riders put so much time, care, and attention into the trot and to a lesser degree, the walk…

    But the canter is more often than not relegated to a few ‘laps’ of the arena and then back to more of the same with walking and trotting…

    In this week’s episode of the Daily Strides Podcast, we are focusing on some ways you can incorporate more canter work into your schooling sessions…

    Lateral Movement; Leg Yielding | Audio Horse Riding Lessons

    Canter work can require some serious work from both you and your horse.  It is easy to become tired while we are cantering and with tiredness comes a sense of complacency with the quality of the gait.   During this episode, we are covering four main points that will help keep you on track with your cantering and allow you and your horse to perform at your best.

     

    1. Establish Rhythm in Your Canter

    When you begin cantering initially I strongly suggest focusing on establishing a rhythm.  From here begin to notice when that rhythm and, later, tempo change and what may be causing this to happen.

    Pay particular attention to when ‘changes’ happen, such as a corner, a pole, or a jump.

    Being able to keep a consistent rhythm and tempo is vital to  good quality canter work.

    Ride a Rectangle or Square (not an oval)

    The second point we cover is when you initially begin canter work, rather than riding a large oval shape around the arena, ride a rectangle. This is obviously when you are going large.

    By making a dedicated effort to ride a rectangle (or whatever shape your arena is), you will use your corners and straight lines on the ‘long and short sides’.  

    This will give you the opportunity to use your half-halt before each ‘corner’.  And also work on your aids to help your horse remain balanced around each bend.

    3. Pay Attention to Your Body Riding Canter Work

    The third focus point is what your body is doing while your horse is cantering.  The fact of the matter is that the bounding feeling that we can get while we canter invites us to get slightly ahead of the movement…

    And as always, we cannot ride our horse while sitting on the neck.  

    So make a consistent effort to keep your position while you are working in the canter.

    4. Your Posture when Cantering

    The final point that we touch on today and to take into consideration is the position of your shoulders, seat bones, and legs while your horse is working in the canter.

    This is particularly important when you are beginning to feel tired…  

    This is when our lower legs can begin to swing backward and forwards.  It is also when we are more prone to collapsing our bodies and becoming ‘heavy’ in the saddle.

    I have included links to other more detailed blog posts and Daily Strides Podcast episodes to help you in your canter. You can also download a FREE EXERCISE to use with your horse HERE

    Happy Riding

    Lorna

    Additional Resources to Help with This Topic

  • Lateral Movement; Leg Yielding

    Lateral Movement; Leg Yielding

    Leg yielding is generally most riders’ first introduction to lateral movement.  Lateral moving, when we’re talking horses, means sideways.  It is a great movement to ride as it allows you to work your horse’s body in a different, yet equally beneficial way.

    Leg yielding, and lateral movements in general, are a test of our abilities as riders to move each individual limb independently at the same time.  

    Think of it like this; each part has it’s own equally important job which when applied together, give your horse the directions and support he needs to perform the movement.

    Leg Yielding and Shoulder In

    Become Clear on What You Want…

    To ask your horse to leg yield, you must first become clear in your mind as to what you want your horse to do and where you want him to do it.

    With regards to the ‘where’, I suggest coming in from the outside track to perhaps the quarter line. This is the line halfway between the center line and the outside track on the long side of the arena.

    This way you are using your horses natural tendency to want to return to the outside track to your favor.

    Setting up the Movement

    The next part is setting the movement up.  Your horse needs to be straight, meaning that his hips are following directly behind his shoulders.  This will remain a key part of correctly performing the leg yield.

    Ask for a slight flexion in the poll area (perhaps where you can just see the inside eyelid) but his body should remain straight.

    The final part of setting up the movement is the all-important half halt.  It will help to balance things, but also give your horse the heads up and that you are about to ask for something different.  Don’t limit your half-halt to just one.   In fact, usually, 3 or 4 or more will be necessary to give you the desired results.

    Make sure you keep your leg on throughout the half halt.

    Asking your horse to yield to your leg

    So the word ‘Yield’ means to give way to, in this case, pressure.  You must create pressure with your inside leg. This is the leg your horse must move away from.  Where you place your leg to ask will depend on your horse’s level of training.

    Younger or greener horses will require your lower leg to be slightly behind the girth, as they will often have the tendency to move over with their shoulders and leave their hindquarters trailing or following behind.

    Remember, in order to perform the movement correctly, your horse’s hips and shoulders must remain straight… Not one trailing diagonally across the arena after the other.

    Your outside leg will help to maintain consistent impulsion and also act as a ‘blocker’ should either your horse’s hips or shoulders get ahead of the other.  Your outside leg will also help to ‘end’ the leg yielding movement when you have reached your desired destination and asking your horse to go straight forward again.

    Asking for Flexion

     Begin with flexion.  Use your inside hand to ask for the slight flexion in your horse’s poll area. This must remain soft and all the while aware that you’re not asking for too much bend.

    Your outside hand, as always, holds everything together. It also helps to prevent too much bend in the head and neck of your horse.

    Also, your outside hand can also be ‘opened’ slightly away from your horse’s neck which may encourage your horse to move over into the rein.

    Remain Light and Soft…

    One of the biggest mistakes I see riders doing when first attempting this movement is an over-enthusiastic ‘shoving’ movement with their hips and seat…  This will not help!   In fact, sitting tall and quietly is vital to your horse being able to move in this manner.

    Your ‘pushing’ motion with your hips will only unbalance your horse and cause him to be unable to successfully yield to your leg.

    I have written (and recorded Daily Strides Podcast Episodes) in far more detail on this topic HERE and HERE. I will also link to more resources to help with this below.

    Happy Riding

    Lorna

    Additional Resources on this Topic

  • Trotting Without Running

    Trotting Without Running

     

    Do you find that when you ask your horse for a more expressive trot, he just seems to begin running onto his forehand with you, becoming heavier and heavier with each stride? You’re not alone!

    Many riders set out looking to achieve an active, working trot… But due to lots of different factors, this can end up just ‘running’ around the arena. The horse resembling an arrow of sorts!

    The front end getting lower and lower with each passing stride, while the back end is getting completely left behind!

    Unfortunately, what usually happens next is the one thing that exasperates this ‘effect’ even further and that is hauling on the reins; dropping an anchor if you will.

    The reason this just makes the whole situation worse is by doing this, you and your horse begin to engage in a ‘tug of war’ of sorts. And, quite frankly, being involved in such a game with a 600 kg animal is an exhausting endeavor!

    Trotting Without Running | Audio Horse Riding Lessons

     

    Speed Versus Impulsion

    Often, as riders, we can confuse speed with impulsion…  We think that by asking for the trot to go 100 mph around the arena, we are really working our horses… Pushing forward with each passing stride.  The truth however is that while we may be creating energy, we are letting it all ‘fall’ out the front end of our horse, never contained and put to use in any form conductive ‘good’ work.

    The first part of mastering trotting without running is imagining in your mind that your horse’s back end is coming more and more underneath him… While his front end is becoming slightly higher and more elevated, as well as light in your hand.

    This is the picture you should work towards continually as you ride.  What is important to remember with this picture, is the ‘lightness in the hand’ part.  This cannot be achieved by hauling on the reins in the eternal tug of war.

    I challenge you to not only change how you think of working trot but also what you are physically doing with your body to ask your horse to begin using himself more.

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Additional Links to Help You:-

  • Rhythm and Tempo and Adjusting the Stride

    Rhythm and Tempo and Adjusting the Stride

    Do you sometimes find yourself confused about the differences between rhythm and tempo and adjusting the stride of your horse when riding?

    Is is all a bit confusing whether or not while adjusting your horse’s stride, you are continuing  ‘maintain the rhythm’ or keeping a ‘consistent tempo’?

    In this blog post I want to quickly help you begin to identify the difference between rhythm and tempo, so you can work on improving and maintaining both in your riding.

    Begin in Walk

    I am going to suggest starting your work on rhythm and tempo in walk with your horse.  Begin by trying to identify the 4 time beat of your horse’s footfalls while he walks around the arena.

    Every stride your horse takes in walk should have a definitive 4 beat rhythm to it.  

    Those four beat; 1, 2, 3, 4,   1, 2 ,3, 4,   1, 2, 3, 4,   1, 2, 3, 4,  including the ‘quiet space’ in between the 4 and 1 make up the rhythm of your horses walk.   Think of it like the beat of your horses ‘walking dance’.  It is repetitive and ongoing as you walk around the arena.

    The Difference Between Rhythm and Tempo in the Walk

    Now, if you were to suddenly push your horse forward to a faster walk, those hoof falls would probably become 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, .  Notice how the elements of the rhythm are the same as above, but they happening much faster?

    The rhythm is the sequence of footfalls within each stride.  The tempo is how often this sequence occurs in a given or set period or distance

    The tempo can be faster or slower…  Same rhythm, but just repeated more often in the same amount of time or space, or less often as the case may be if you were to slow things down.

     

    Rhythm and tempo and adjusting the stride

    So Rhythm is the actual pattern of the hoof falls; Tempo is how fast or slow they are occurring in a given time or space.

    Starting to Work in Trot

    Once you can identify the rhythm in the walk, I suggest picking up trot.  Spend a little time in firstly establishing the 1, 2, 1, 2, rhythm of the trot.

    If your horse was to suddenly change into the 1…, 2…, 1., 2.., 1…, 2., 1.., 2…, beat of the trot; his rhythm would have changed.

    When you can feel and count the rhythm of the trot, you can begin to experiment a little with changing the tempo up and down.  However remember to maintain the same rhythm throughout the trot itself.

    Keep in mind that often, when we are adjusting the stride, we don’t want to change the tempo or the rhythm, but we still would like to adjust the length of the stride.  Here, we ask our horse to cover more or less ground while continuing to maintain the same tempo and rhythm in the trot.

    Your horse can do this by either lifting his legs higher with each stride, to shorten the distance covered.   Or stretching his legs forward more with each stride, to increase the distance covered.

    This involves quite a lot of discipline and training for your horse to achieve.  It also involves you asking the correct questions and giving the correct directions at the correct time.

    I have more information for you on improving the trot and on basic rhythm listed below

    Happy Riding
    Lorna

    Other posts that are related to this topic:-

    Additional Resources To Help Equestrians:-