Rising Trot- why do i ride too much?!?!

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amandaco2

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I ride far too high in trot.
ive tried not to but so far failing horrendously.... :( its really adding to any tension issues in me and neddies........
ive put my stirrups down 2 holes but it didnt make much difference.
anyone got any tips how to get my rising smaller..?
 
I tend do it too, more on some horses than others. The best cure is rising trot without stirrups...sorry!! It will give your thighs an excellent work out too ;)
 
Try relaxing your whole body, particularly your hips and knees and think of your pelvis rocking forward rather than actually rising out of the saddle.
My friend said that your head should not rise up and down, it should only be your pelvis and bum rocking forward out the saddle and backwards if that makes sense.
Dont know if thats of any help.
 
im not sure rising without stirrups will help... think it may make me more tense..?
been trying to think of just coming out the saddle a tiny bit...
on B and Pig i can do it ok-ish but K is so bouncy she hurls me out the saddle on her own lol...
maybe i should do sitting trot only for a while and try again in a week..?
its such a stupid problem to have but im sure its having a big effect on being effective as a rider and the horses way of going............
 
I find that what really helps is keeping your heels down. I'm sure every single rider out there can do a with a bit more of that :)
 
Try sitting to the trot(hold the pommel if necessary) and really concentrate on the rhythm,then look for the bounce from the hind leg ,then let the bounce almost lift you out of the saddle and then think about Rowy's suggestions of relaxing and keeping your head in one place,but not stiff.
 
Are you holding in the knee or - more likely - just above it? That tends to make people "fling" themselves to get over the fulcrum it creates. When you rise the joints flex and "sink" slightly into the heel, which means the knee actually slides along the saddle as it opens and closes. This is one of those things that happens "with" the movement, so appears invisible to the outside eye. Is your leg even slightly out in front of you? Are you "on your toe" at all or is your heel always slightly lower than your toe, with a relaxed, stable foot? Can you rise for two beats and sit for one continuously? If you are gripping, riding without stirrups will likely not help - it helps lots of things if you do it correctly and/or for long enough but it can make gripping worse.

"Sitting still" is not about sitting still at all, since the horse is not still. It's about absorbing the movement in as harmonious a way as possible.
 
^^^^ this.
also, think of "letting the horse rise you", rather than flinging yourself out of the saddle. mixing up your sitting and rising (sitting 4, rising 1, sitting 3, rise, sit rise, sit 7, etc etc) also helps.
a warning that helped me was an old nagsman telling me that if i rose that high on some of his horses they wouldn't be there when i came back down again... ;) ;)
also think of rising only just enough to lift your bum off the saddle but leave your breeches' material still touching it...
having relaxed legs, with knees softly off the saddle (at least for a while) and legs as long and loose as possible, definitely helps.
 
I have learned how to rise less to the trot by encouraging myself to sit more correctly in the saddle. When rising, lift your hips towards the pommel and back again, physically push your pelvis up amd forward - "as if you are doing the pelvic thrust" one instructor said to me :D. Normally when I see people rise too high they are slightly behind the movement and gripping with their knees. My RI made me sit on my horse without stirrups and lift both knees up, out and down. This leaves your bum in the ideal position for riding and that really helped me get a feel for my seat - I have also worked without stirrups (starting at walk) and this has helped me ride with a longer stirrup and has lessened my rise also.
 
^^ Agree with hevs ^^

I used to do this and its no good instructors just saying don't rise so high! Its all down to position and being slightly out of balance. With me my lower leg was a little bit too forward and this meant I had to do an exagerated rise (without understanding why). I cracked it by thinking of putting my weight down my thighs towards my knees, which in turn bought my lower leg back, which in turn meant I could control my rising. Also helped dramatically with sitting trot.

Have a look at a photo of yourself on a horse and if you took the horse away would you be standing or would you fall on your bottom.

Not sure how 'correct' this is but it worked amazingly well for me, without seeing you ride I wouldn't know if we shared the same problem :)
 
thanks peeps will try the suggestions tomorrow :)
im not sure when i started to do it as it was never an issue with my older mare- am thinking prehaps it was when i got my coloured as she was incredibly lazy and i guess rising high helped to push her forwards..... so ive kept doing it............
so frustrating!
 
This is something I'm working on too.

I'm coming back into riding after a break and had developed all the bad habits- purching and rising too high and ahead of the movement etc etc. As I'm getting fitter and getting used to my new horse i'm relaxing into the heals and not gripping. I'm also practising really leaning back (not overly but feels like I'm hang out the back!) and just throwing the hips forward - it's all helping. Takes time to develop muscle memory- good luck!
 
Another possibility is that your saddle is actually sitting you badly i.e. in an arm chair position. If this is the case it then makes it quite a physical effort to rise and a s a result you will rise too hig.

Have someone check your position whilst standing still. Are you sitting in an 'armchair' position? Do you find it hard to get your lower leg under your properly? All these things can be an indication that the saddle is not helping you.

This could also be why you find it easier on some horses than others if they have differnet saddles.
 
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