Tips for rising trot please!

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Cat_08

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Hello All,

I am currently trying to master the rising trot, so far my rhythm seems to be off and I am struggling to make it 'click'.

Any advice or tips would be very gratefully recieved!

Many thanks
 
I think rhythm is something that you'll find comes with practice - don't try too hard to force it, maybe just try gently bouncing in time with the horse's movement and you will start to feel when the horse's movement is throwing you slightly upwards and out of the saddle. Thinking back to when I used to help with riding school lessons, it was the people who tied really hard to shove themselves up and down who took longest to get it.

Can you have some lunge lessons? It will be easier to "feel" if the horse is moving forwards in a good trot, not a shuffly lazy one, so it may be easier to pick up if someone else has responsibility for speed and control of the horse.

Being on the correct diagonal is more tricky. I used to just get it naturally when I was a child but coming back to riding as an adult, even after several years, it still doesn't come naturally (it's quite embarassing). So I have to check - you need to be sitting as the horse's outside shoulder comes back. That's the way I find easiest to check it.

Good luck!
 
Soften the hip, knee and ankle, allow your weight to drop down in to the heel. Let your knee and hip act as hinges to follow the movement. One key thing I teach is that its about the down not the up - keep the up small and soft, the down is where you need control though, so you avoid standing and crashing back to the saddle. As you "down" aim to brush the saddle without sitting in it. Sometimes holding a neck strap or chunk of mane half way up the neck helps with that.
The softer and more relaxed you can keep the joints the better, gripping or tightening is counterproductive.
Try not to think of a stand and sit, its a rise and down but all in a "standing" position, more like a mini squat
 
Thank you for your very helpful reply Widgeon! I am currently learning on the lunge. The horse I ride is pretty lazy so she will just stop trotting when I am not doing it right, but the lunge makes her a bit more consistent. I think I do try too hard and shove myself into the air, so I will bare that in mind and try to follow the movements of the horse more.
 
Thank you Roxylola! I am riding again on Saturday so I will put those things into practice. I will definitely try to control the down part more (sometimes it's more of a crash down). I think I am probably going up too high.
 
It's a common issue when starting to learn to rise, to rise too high and that means you take too long so can struggle with the rhythm. Rising trot without stirrups or even better bareback is good to fix that. :)
 
Cat_08 said:
Noted, thank you very much Meowy! (A fellow cat lover!)
Click to expand...

You can't see it but the cat in my avatar (the lovely Kasper) is sitting on a horse as the blue is the colour of the rug. He's not mastered trot yet as he really only likes it if the horses stand still when he sits on them. ;)

ETA bigger version of the pic.
 

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Hips forwards, always, and the shoulders can come a little forwards as you sit. If you land vertically you'll come down with a bump, if you have taken the hips forwards you can then fold the joints to lower/push your bum back into the saddle, and you'll control the landing.
 
Definitely relax and stop thinking about it! It will suddenly just click. It also helps if the horse is actually taking you forward in a nice forward trot.

When I came back to riding as an adult my instructor got me doing rising trot without stirrups and that’s a great exercise for finding your natural trot because it’s enough effort as it is doing it without stirrups! You definitely won’t be accidentally rising too high.
 
sbloom said:
Hips forwards, always, and the shoulders can come a little forwards as you sit. If you land vertically you'll come down with a bump, if you have taken the hips forwards you can then fold the joints to lower/push your bum back into the saddle, and you'll control the landing.
Click to expand...
Thank you sbloom, I think I was starting to get the hang of that right at the end of my last lesson. That's it more of a forward/back, instead of a direct up/down?
 
ownedbyaconnie said:
Definitely relax and stop thinking about it! It will suddenly just click. It also helps if the horse is actually taking you forward in a nice forward trot.

When I came back to riding as an adult my instructor got me doing rising trot without stirrups and that’s a great exercise for finding your natural trot because it’s enough effort as it is doing it without stirrups! You definitely won’t be accidentally rising too high.
Click to expand...
Thank you for those tips! The horse I ride is lazy so it is tricky when she suddenly goes back into walk, but I would rather that than a horse which starts going into canter. I've just started to learn as an adult, with no previous experience but I am really enjoying it so far. I will give the no stirrups a go :)
 
If you can get the horse to trot freely forwards, it can help to think of "letting" the horse push you up and you control the sit back down.

You'll get it soon, don't worry :)
 
Try rising as little as possible, just enough to lift yourself off the saddle.
Concentrate on the sitting - control the downwards movement, don't just sit back down!
 
Hello,

I just wanted to say thank you again for all your lovely replies!

My instructor said I have improved a lot, which I am over the moon about. I am still rising a little too high and need to work on that but I have got the timing! I was also on a new horse, who was slightly less lazy which made it a lot easier too!

Thank you again guys :)
 
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