Rising trot without stirrups

kerilli

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in the post about improving leg position, someone mentioned rising trot without stirrups. thank god for that, cos i was taught it as a child, but when i was having a lesson once with a top trainer and he took my stirrups away and asked me to go into trot, and i asked "rising or sitting?" he proceeded to laugh at me and treat me like a complete cretin for 10 minutes, as he'd never heard of rising trot without stirrups. i'm glad someone else has heard of it!
 
mmmm says something about trainer
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Surely everyone has done that?! How wierd - it's exactly what I'd ask too, and I still do it now if I am on my own and schooling without stirrups, esp if I just can't 'get' sitting properly.
 
yep i was taught that too back in the mists of time... obviously paid off as i once did half a XC course with one stirrup when the leather snapped!
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always did it as a child, then when training some 30 odd years ago, it was 'out' as it encouraged gripping upwards, apparently, then when training on the continent, it was back 'in' again, but only for experienced riders as it does encourage gripping upward, unless you know what you are doing and keep your pelvis in the right position, and of course, you only had to rise by the bare minimum.
Can I just say it's not only good for your behind it's good for your pelvic floor, and you can't ask more than that, s*d gripping upwards !!!!!
 
Pretty standard "hunt seat" torture in North America, and mandatory for kids doing equitation. Along with jumping without stirrups. I was very glad to "age out."!
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One has to be VERY careful about leg position and distribution of pressure though as riding without stirrups can allow the development/continuation of bad habits, especially gripping and deadening the horse to the leg. Lots of people, left to their own devices, get it done by actually putting their leg in the wrong position. For that reason it's almost never done in dressage instruction (even sitting trot without stirrups has its curses as well as its benefits) because for that seat concerns of subtlety and use of aids outweighs the necessity for strength and stability.
 
Yep, it was on the torture repertoire for me to...although I don't mind it too much. It does make you grip up though, so isn't very good for some faults, I believe.
Sitting trot without stirrups is easier than with, I always think...but then I'm odd
S
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