How the hell am i supposed to sit to this trot?

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black_horse

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Super glue?

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No, in all seriousness, tips on how to sit deeper in the saddle would be greatly appreciated.

(Photos curtosy of Equisnaps.co.uk)
 
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try lengthening (sp) your stirrups so you are made to reach for them and sit deep- taking away your stirrups can normally have the adverse effect by making you tense your leg upwards. Do it for short bursts at first because it will kill lol

But lovely trot!! Wish my ISH looked like that..
 
MeganLindsx said:
try lengthening (sp) your stirrups so you are made to reach for them and sit deep- taking away your stirrups can normally have the adverse effect by making you tense your leg upwards. Do it for short bursts at first because it will kill lol

But lovely trot!! Wish my ISH looked like that..
Click to expand...

Im worried ill reach for them...i am better without my stirrups
 
I normally put them down so much that i can reach them enough to have my feet in them but not enough that i geet tempted to rise (if you know what i mean) lol but if you feel better without it works just as well if you don't tense up through your thigh :D
 
Won't necessarily help you but something to try thats interesting. You will find that if you shorten your trot (but keep the impulsion!) that the trot is easier to sit too. Suprisingly it's the forwards movement that makes sitting difficult NOT the vertical movement:confused:. Just try it as an exercise, shorten the horse up to a collected trot while sitting then while maintaining the same impulsion let the trot out and you will be amazed at how much harder that is to sit to. Now, before people get upset with me I'm not suggesting that you should ride constantly at a collected trot simply in order that you are able to sit to it :rolleyes: !! However, personally I find that the understanding helps me:cool:.

ETA Love the trot!!
 
Henbug said:
Won't necessarily help you but something to try thats interesting. You will find that if you shorten your trot (but keep the impulsion!) that the trot is easier to sit too. Suprisingly it's the forwards movement that makes sitting difficult NOT the vertical movement:confused:. Just try it as an exercise, shorten the horse up to a collected trot while sitting then while maintaining the same impulsion let the trot out and you will be amazed at how much harder that is to sit to. Now, before people get upset with me I'm not suggesting that you should ride constantly at a collected trot simply in order that you are able to sit to it :rolleyes: !! However, personally I find that the understanding helps me:cool:.

ETA Love the trot!!
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Thats all very well but what about in tests where i have to extend :D ill bounce out the side door :D haha

I love collecting Dees trot ( i have to before i ask her to extend), its amazing, and yes i agree, the upwards bounce is easier to sit to then the forwards one :D
 
sit back behind the movement a little to allow your pelvis to move up and forward a bit more - that's teh best way i can describe it and not always good at following my own advice ;)
 
How lovely to see a horse with the hind leg matching the front!

As others have said,it can be the inner thigh that prevents a deep and sticky seat.
Try taking your legs(from the hip)away,like you are going to do a pony club kick,one at a time,then together. Obviously in HALT or walk on DeeDee:).
Or borrow a wide cob once a week to stretch those important inner thigh muscles.
 
For me you look like you are gripping with your thigh and your upper body position is slightly out so you are not plugging in with your seat bones.

Your shoulders need to be further back, your thigh further back and the weight going into your seat bones.

Charlotte DJ has a beautiful position.
http://www.stepintodressage.com/comprider/images/Charlotte Dujardin with Walegro 3.jpg

Her thigh is loose and relaxed, the weight goes into the heel and her seat bones are plugged in and shoulders back to take the bounce through her lower back.

I appreciate this might not be easy for you as you have some medical issues? Lunge lessons are amazing.
 
abitodd said:
How lovely to see a horse with the hind leg matching the front!

As others have said,it can be the inner thigh that prevents a deep and sticky seat.
Try taking your legs(from the hip)away,like you are going to do a pony club kick,one at a time,then together. Obviously in HALT or walk on DeeDee:).
Or borrow a wide cob once a week to stretch those important inner thigh muscles.
Click to expand...

Part of the problem is the nerve problems in my right leg, i feel (well i dont because i cannot) but i know that i have to be gripping, which is why i tilt forwards. Im thinking lunge lessons but i know this isnt a wise idea. lol
 
LEC said:
For me you look like you are gripping with your thigh and your upper body position is slightly out so you are not plugging in with your seat bones.

Your shoulders need to be further back, your thigh further back and the weight going into your seat bones.

Charlotte DJ has a beautiful position.
http://www.stepintodressage.com/comprider/images/Charlotte Dujardin with Walegro 3.jpg

Her thigh is loose and relaxed, the weight goes into the heel and her seat bones are plugged in and shoulders back to take the bounce through her lower back.

I appreciate this might not be easy for you as you have some medical issues? Lunge lessons are amazing.
Click to expand...

I think we cross posted :D

Yes i have a nerve disorder in my right leg (which is starting to extend to my hip and pelvis) and problems with my SI joint. I have improved a lot from this:

n670970977_1904587_6436257.jpg


I am havign regular lessons but i do think lunge ones are now the way forwards *gulp*
 
black_horse said:
Im worried ill reach for them...i am better without my stirrups
Click to expand...

Lovely horse ,and I dont think the problem is your riding. That saddle looks a nightmare.Its a dead giveaway that if someone is better without stirrups ,the stirup bar position is wrong . If the stirrup bar position is wrong for an individual rider,as soon as any pressure is applied to the stirrup,the body has to compensate. stick a couple of martingale stops on the stirrup bars ,infront of the leather and see how it alters your position.
 
Mike007 said:
Lovely horse ,and I dont think the problem is your riding. That saddle looks a nightmare.Its a dead giveaway that if someone is better without stirrups ,the stirup bar position is wrong . If the stirrup bar position is wrong for an individual rider,as soon as any pressure is applied to the stirrup,the body has to compensate. stick a couple of martingale stops on the stirrup bars ,infront of the leather and see how it alters your position.
Click to expand...

I am supprised by this as the saddle is really comfy and has been adjusted to my issues but will definetly try this :)
 
Shoulders over the hips, and imagine your seat bones are like prongs plugged into a socket- even and straight. Open your thighs and drape the legs down and allow the horse to go under you.

Lengthening the stirrups is a great tool for lengthening the leg, you want to "reach" to open the thigh and develop and longer leg, so when your stirrup is to the correct length, you can sink into it.

And I think the biggest part of it is wanting it bad enough. I have a big bouncy moving gelding that I used to get out of breath in the tests dying for the canter work to start. I finally said, "enough! Suck it up buttercup." (or my trainer did, rather, haha.) So, on schooled dressage horses, unless I was warming up or stretching, I had to sit. All the time. Every movement. Cold Turkey. Took about a month of sitting trot boot camp, and at the end I had a clinic with an instructor from the Spanish Riding School, and he told me I had a beautiful seat, twice. :) So it made it worth it!
 
It's taken me a good two years of lunging without stirrups to be able to sit to my boy - I couldn't even rise when I first bought him!

To me it does look like your bracing yourself rather than relaxing into her - I understand it's an issue with your leg but it should mostly come from your core - have you tried Pilates?

I would be trying to get a nice pinging trot from her - going nicely forwards and I front of the verticle - difficult I know as she looks very very forward going ;)

The more she relaxes and swings the easier it will be to sit :) and stick with the lower levels of competition where you can rise :)
 
I have the same problem, I find sitting trot very tough on R because he finds it easy to extend. Similar to the advice above:
- practice, practice, practice. I do a little and often, and then try again and again. If you can try to work without stirrups.
- breathe! I don't breathe, then I get out of breath which makes me even more tired and I colapse even more.
- I think there is a lot to Henbug's suggestion that the difficulty comes from the forward movement. R has just about started doing an extended trot that has a vertical movement to match the forward movement (before he would go "right, easy peasy, I can do this!" and take off without necessarily lifting off the shoulders) and it's surprisingly easier to sit to that trot than his earlier attempts.
- practice on circles. I find the I need to use my lower inside leg on circles more to keep the bend and that relaxes the thigh.
 
I have nothing to add that hasn't been said - Paladine took the words right out of my mouth (or keyboard...), last week was "position week" where I am riding at the moment, and they had us with no stirrups all week, rotating ankles in cater, lifting legs out to the side etc. I haven't been able to walk properly for a few days....

Off topic, sorry, but did you by D privately or from a breeder/yard? I only ask as she is exactly the sort of horse I would be looking for!
 
You've had lots of good advice and I see the photos are gone now ;) but, at the risk of being attacked for being unsupportive, I would also like to see the horse trotting in a slightly more balanced, soft manner. Yes, she is admirably active behind and it's great that you are letting her be that way, as so many people tend to stifle that to make the horse more "comfortable" but, if I remember correctly, in the second two photos the front and hind footfalls are not in sync, she is landing front foot first. This may be a trick of the timing but more likely she is dragging you around a bit and tipping forward, with the back end up like the back of a pick up truck. (Does that analogy work here?) Sitting isn't just about gritting your teeth and sitting on what the horse gives you, it's about making the horse soft and ridable, so your seat give the horse room to rise into and invites her up, and she comes softly into you, not just pushing you out of the way.

Some of the Mary Wanless and Sally Swift visualisations might help, along with the more "traditional" approaches, particularly if you are struggling with your own soundness.

Just a thought.
 
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