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Gaits |
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The Rider |
At the Trot |
    
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Once a horse is walking the aids for
the trot are the same as for the walk. To ask a horse to trot you
squeeze gently with your lower legs. The pressure applied should be
greater than that applied just to keep the horse walking forward and so
may require a gentle kick.
The horse does not move its head
forwards and backwards in the trot and so your hands can remain in the
same position without restricting the horse's movement.
As with the walk you can feel the
body sway from side to side as each hind leg is lifted and moved
forward. However, with the trot there is a moment when all feet are off
the ground. In order to achieve this each diagonal pair will push
off from the ground in a noticable upwards movement or 'bounce' from the
ground.
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| On This Page | |
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The trot can be ridden in two ways: sitting and rising. Rising Trot, once learnt, is easier and more comfortable for both the horse and the rider because of this 'bounce' in the trot.. However, it can take a lesson or two to pick it up so don't expect to learn it straight away. |
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| Related Pages | The Novice Rider |
| Rising trot is done in the same rhythm in which the horse moves its legs. It is often difficult to keep up with the rythm at first but much of this is due to a tendency to try too hard and rise too high out of the saddle. Rather than thinking of rising you should think of pushing your hips upwards and forwards in a gentle "thrusting" movement, the horse's movement should provide the push from the saddle. The lower leg should remain in the same position throughout and so it is only the upper leg that moves allowing the hips to move upwards and forwards and then back down into the saddle. | |
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To ride on the "correct diagonal" the
rider should rise as the inside hind leg leaves the ground. To
visually check, glance at the outside shoulder and make sure that you
rise as you see the shoulder go forward. To change diagonals
simply sit for 2 beats instead of one. Make sure that you don't
'plop' yourself into the saddle to do this, or your horse may object!
Sitting trot sounds easier, until you
actually ride a horse and discover the trotting motion for yourself. Due
to the horse's bouncy stride in trot there is a tendency for the rider
to become tense which results in the rider being bounced even more.
The main thing with sitting trot is
to try keep your back soft and relaxed and to move with the horse.
If you receive the instruction to 'relax' it unfortunately is rather
unhelpful for a beginner as you actually need to use a reasonable amount
of effort to stay with the horse at the trot. In order to stay in
the saddle you must move your hips with the push of the horse's hind
legs. It actually also requires that you rotate one hip bone a little
- think about riding a bicycle and pedalling backwards or hula-hooping.
Although, the movement will be a little wrong it will get you thinking
about allowing your hips to roll with the horse's hips. At the same time
you need to push your lower stomach forward and allow your back to
contract and extend with the horse's 'bounce' almost as if you are
hopping forward to keep up with each stride.
Try to avoid this as tensing the legs
will not only make the horse feel you are asking him to go forward
faster but will also result in your seat and back becoming stiff, making
the ride more uncomfortable for you both. Moreover, if you tense your
seat or grip with your knees you will push yourself out of the saddle
instead of being securely in it! If necessary hold onto the front
of the saddle with one hand and pull yourself into it.
If you are already familiar with
rising trot, think about performing little tiny rises, this will get
your body in sync with the movement. Don't force yourself to sit
for too long at first, if you lose the plot and start to bounce, rise or
return to walk and then start again. Perform just a few steps at
first and work your way up. Bouncing up and down doesn't help you
learn to sit the trot and is not nice for your horse.
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| The Intermediate Rider | |
| As the trot is naturally rhythmic it is relatively easy to influence the way the horse moves in trot and the rise of the trot can be used to help regulate the pace. As with the walk a good working pace should be consistent and self sustaining, meaning that the horse stays in trot without the need for a constant reminder from the rider. | |
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Using your leg aids during rising
trot is something that needs to be practised and perfected. In
order to retain impulson you must learn to use the squeeze or slap
during the brief seconds that you are in the saddle. This requires
timing and balance.
It also means that you must retain
your leg position. Ensure that you are using the correct technique
to rise. If you are bracing against your stirrups your lower leg
will probably shoot forward with each rise. If you are gripping
with your knees you may find that you are losing your stirrups and
possibly that your lower leg moves backward and\or that your body tips
forward. Check balance and independant hands - stand at the trot
for half the arena - allow your reins to be slack and check that your
leg position is correct. If you can do this, also check that you
can still use your lower legs.
Its also time to pay attention to your foot position. Make sure that they aren't pointing outwards. If they are, think about putting a little more weight on the outside edge of your foot and you will find that this points your feet forward again. In fact while you are concentrating on putting the weight on the outside of your feet what usually happens is that you free up your knee, allowing more weight onto the outside of your entire leg, creating that more bow legged stretch around your horse. Its easy to overdo corrections. Always check (or rather have someone else check) your position with each correction. It is quite normal to go from one extreme to another, for instance, when trying to correct a 'gripping' knee to push the leg forward in an exaggerated correction, before a further correction brings your leg under your body as it should be. Concentrate on trying to work out the correct feel. It may take some time before a new position or movement becomes automatic.
If you need to steady the trot then
simply slow your rising - this sounds impossible or at least goes
against all the idea of being behind the movement but is actually
relatively easy. First slightly exaggerate the sitting moment, allowing
yourself to sit a little longer in the saddle. Second slightly hold the
up moment of the rise as your hips are at the furthest forward and up
point. Try not to change your hand at all, more particularly do not pull
back, you do not get into a pulling contest with your horse. This
is especially true of the horse's who get very strong on the bit when in
a very forward trot.
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| The Advanced Rider | |
An advanced rider will be really
working on a good sitting trot on even the most exuberant trot.
Collection and Extension work should also be well underway. However,
most of all, position should be checked and made as correct as possible.
Use your seat, in particular your hips to 'play' with your trot. Increase or decrease your hip and lower back movement to increase or decrease the activity in your trot. Perform transitions in tempo using your seat only, slow your horse right down while retaining good hind leg activity for a few steps (by keeping your hips and legs active) then ask for more forward impulsion. Use quick transitions within the trot to check that your leg remains still and ready to be used. If your knee is not supple your leg will move away from the horse's side and will not be ready to ask for fast transitions. Check that your seat bones are not popping up when you apply your leg in sitting trot (this indicates either that your hips are not loose enough or that you are not pushing forward\down with your stomach sufficiently)
Test how correct your rise is by
performing the following exercises:
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