Trot Diagonals

[lilyhopkins_]

I feel like a utter novice for writing this but I'm really struggling at the moment. Ever since I started riding (10 years this year) I've struggled to get the right trot diagonal. I didn't learn to ride at a riding school, instead with an ex dressage pro and for some reason she didn't find it necessary to teach them until later on, and other people tell me it's one of the first things they learnt at a riding school. I left before I could really master it.

It's only really become a problem in the last six months, when I brought my first horse. I can't tell if I'm on the right diagonal or not so I go along oblivious as anything. I can feel no difference between being on it or not. The last four days I've had two people point out the fact I was on the wrong diagonal. I'm quite a sensitive person so even though they were just trying to bring helpful, it feels like they're picking out my flaws.

I've tried the whole sit when the outside leg is under the horse and all that but I just can't tell. I try and look but I find it so difficult to tell. I'm really at a loss at what to do, would have a lesson to try and help but short of money at the moment. I just don't know what to do.

 

[eggs]

If you trotting on a circle and look down at the outside shoulder you sit when it moves back towards you. Once you get used to this you will probably learn the feel of which diagonal you are on.

 

[Jnhuk]

I always have found it easier to link your rising to the outside shoulder going forward. So one tip would be look for that and verbally say something up or now etc... and keep that going whilst rising then go into sitting trot and learn to feel what is happening when you should be rising
Feel takes time to develop and practice makes perfect but I wouldn't get in a bother about it
http://stridesforsuccess.com/correct-diagonal-in-trot/

 

[EventingMum]

With pupils who find it difficult I firstly get them to look at the outside shoulder and actually say sit or back when it appears to come back towards them regardless of when they're rising. Once a rhythm is established ie sit,sit,sit...., then continue saying it out loud and focus on whether they're sitting or rising in time with what they are saying. If they're sitting when saying sit they're on the correct diagonal, if rising they're not. For some people initially coordinating what they're seeing and identifying whether they're sitting or rising at the same time doesn't work so breaking it down into two separate activities helps. Hope that makes sense!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I am the worst at diagonals! No matter what I try I will always, without fail, set off on the Right diagonal, even if I am on the left rein. I change within a stride but nothing I do makes me set off on the left!

 

[lilyhopkins_]

With pupils who find it difficult I firstly get them to look at the outside shoulder and actually say sit or back when it appears to come back towards them regardless of when they're rising. Once a rhythm is established ie sit,sit,sit...., then continue saying it out loud and focus on whether they're sitting or rising in time with what they are saying. If they're sitting when saying sit they're on the correct diagonal, if rising they're not. For some people initially coordinating what they're seeing and identifying whether they're sitting or rising at the same time doesn't work so breaking it down into two separate activities helps. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks, this actually makes a lot of sense! I'm riding tomorrow so I'll give it a go then.

 

[ycbm]

I've been riding over forty years. I still look

 

[poiuytrewq]

I feel for you!
I never knew and find it near impossible to tell. However i automatically without fail always got it right anyway so it never mattered!
Just recently I restarted riding properly and had a lesson and got it wrong twice
It really bothered me because i have no idea how or why!?

 

[LHIS]

Ah trotting diagonals are a tricky thing for me too. I only discovered them relatively recently and i've been riding on and off for about 20 years. One thing I am amazingly good at is automatically going onto the wrong diagonal. However I've worked out how to work out if I'm on the right one (which I'm almost certainly not) and switch quickly. I have learnt the 'feel' of the right diagonal too, so I understand that bit now, so I just need to crack getting onto the right diagonal in the first place!

Don't worry OP, it will come.

 

[FfionWinnie]

If you sit for two beats (or indeed stand for two) you'll change. Personally I only look at the inside shoulder and when it's back I'm up / rising. Main thing is not to panic about it. You might find your horse throws you onto it's preferred diagonal so the first thing I would do is practice just changing back and forward out hacking lots of times.

 

[Sukistokes2]

There is a Heather Moffat video on YouTube that gives a good way to know without looking. I still have to look but there you go.

 

[alainax]

I seem to do it backwards to everyone else, same with canter leads lol.

Before I could feel it I would look down at the inside shoulder. Since you are either up or down with trot you don't really need to think about where it is going, just if you should be sitting or up. When the inside shoulder is "gone" you should be up. I find this easier as it's easy to spot a missing shoulder!

With canter they say look for the front leg which comes up highest. Impossible on a Friesian who brings both up as high as the other. We can all feel the 123 of canter, so I simply used which ever leg was making the 3 thump, was the one we were leading on.

 

[milliepops]

If you sit for two beats (or indeed stand for two) you'll change. Personally I only look at the inside shoulder and when it's back I'm up / rising. Main thing is not to panic about it. You might find your horse throws you onto it's preferred diagonal so the first thing I would do is practice just changing back and forward out hacking lots of times.

Agree, keep practicing and it'll come. One of mine makes it really obvious (imo) and over the years riding her I learnt to feel it on any horse without needing to look but I don't think I could put into words what it is I feel, it's instinctive.
Some horses don't give you that much of a feel and that makes it harder to tell without looking. If I'm in any doubt I also look at the inside , that's how I was taught yonks ago and it just stuck.

 

[william95]

With pupils who find it difficult I firstly get them to look at the outside shoulder and actually say sit or back when it appears to come back towards them regardless of when they're rising. Once a rhythm is established ie sit,sit,sit...., then continue saying it out loud and focus on whether they're sitting or rising in time with what they are saying. If they're sitting when saying sit they're on the correct diagonal, if rising they're not. For some people initially coordinating what they're seeing and identifying whether they're sitting or rising at the same time doesn't work so breaking it down into two separate activities helps. Hope that makes sense!

I do exactly the same as this when I first teach people trotting diagonals except I start off with them saying "now" in walk every time the outside shoulder comes back as they can often see the movement more easily in walk for the first time and then I move onto teaching it in trot as above. Good luck!

 

[silv]

I can tell by the feeling but not by looking, been like this all my riding life. Went through it again with my trainer recently she had me put different coloured bandages on each foreleg so I could just have a quick look down and it has helped. I can watch other riders and have no idea what diagonal they are on.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Another comment about it. It doesn't really matter if you are on the "wrong" one, as long as you are not always on the same one. That is far more important in terms of helping your horse to be sound and equal.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Another comment about it. It doesn't really matter if you are on the "wrong" one, as long as you are not always on the same one. That is far more important in terms of helping your horse to be sound and equal.

Exactly! And if you are riding on the Continent, the 'right' leg here is considered to be the 'wrong' one!

 

[sasquatch]

I am the worst at diagonals! No matter what I try I will always, without fail, set off on the Right diagonal, even if I am on the left rein. I change within a stride but nothing I do makes me set off on the left!

I'm the same, I nearly always strike off wrong and then when I get the right one I change to the wrong one. Had a lesson tonight and the only times I managed to get the right diagonal were after several strides of sitting trot.

I had to be taught how to do them properly for my Stage 1, where we discovered I could get them right nearly all the time when not riding my own horse!

 

[rachk89]

It can be difficult and the key is to practice. As someone else said the horse can throw you onto the wrong one if they prefer it.

 

[Abi90]

After 23 years of riding I still have to look to double check!

 

[Karran]

Exactly! And if you are riding on the Continent, the 'right' leg here is considered to be the 'wrong' one!

Yes! NEVER had a problem with my diagonals before I moved to Spain and then learnt to do it on the other leg. Now I simply cannot get it into my head to go back onto the "right" leg.

 

[Embo]

I can definitely feel when I'm on the wrong diagonal.

However - I still feel the need to look and even then I get it wrong and have to change

You will eventually learn to feel it I still need to learn to stop relying on my eyes as they don't even help lol

 

[Annagain]

I still have to look on one of my horses but can feel it on the other.

I find sitting for a few strides when I start to trot so I can pick when to rise is easier than going into rising on the wrong diagonal and switching.

 

[Kingfisher95]

I am exactly the same! I'm a largely self-taught happy hacker who has recently decided I want to improve my riding instead of just pootling around as I have done for the past 15 years! The number of times I get called for diagonals is ridiculous. I do have a vague memory of being told to look at the inside shoulder and rise as it is coming back, however having now been told to sit as the outside leg is coming back the instructions manage to get totally mixed up in my head!

I would be interested to know why the Spanish use the other diagonal?

 

[scats]

If I have clients who struggle with knowing diagonals without looking, I get them to change on to the wrong one and ride a ten meter circle. They start being able to feel it then.

 

[Floxie]

I am the worst at diagonals! No matter what I try I will always, without fail, set off on the Right diagonal, even if I am on the left rein. I change within a stride but nothing I do makes me set off on the left!

I do this! If I rise when I think I should on the left diagonal, I end up on the right. If I try and outwit myself by rising when it feels 'wrong' on the left diagonal - I'm STILL on the right. Cannot do it.

After 20 years of riding I finally sussed it yesterday. If I'm always going to be on the right diagonal, then when I start trotting to the left, I just immediately rise for two beats and get on with it. Worked every time so far. I feel like Charlotte Dujardin or something.

 

[Kezzabell2]

ME too, I always start on the wrong diagonal, I always have to look down and sit sit then change! but if I'm honest, I've spent so many years as a happy hacker, and only started having lessons in the last couple of year, since I bought a youngster, that I actually totally forgot which was the correct diagonal. So I look at the outside leg, as it goes forward, I rise.

Its funny I read on here a while ago that some people find one way easier than the other and since then I've notice that when I'm out hacking I do have a favourite leg to rise to, and when I try and change it feels really different, like I'm a bit twisted, so I'm trying to do more on my non favourite leg.

 

[Maesfen]

Another comment about it. It doesn't really matter if you are on the "wrong" one, as long as you are not always on the same one. That is far more important in terms of helping your horse to be sound and equal.

Kexxabelle hits it exactly!

I'm never in a school so outside/inside doesn't mean a lot to me but I always swap diagonals each time I trot just to keep things level even when horses try to throw you onto their favourite diagonal; you just have to learn to adapt to it but it's easy to tell which one you are on if they have a favourite because the 'wrong' one will usually feel uncomfortable until you've settled into its rhythm.

 

[scats]

Kexxabelle hits it exactly!

I'm never in a school so outside/inside doesn't mean a lot to me but I always swap diagonals each time I trot just to keep things level even when horses try to throw you onto their favourite diagonal; you just have to learn to adapt to it but it's easy to tell which one you are on if they have a favourite because the 'wrong' one will usually feel uncomfortable until you've settled into its rhythm.

Out hacking yes, I always change, but in the school, being on the right diagonal frees up the hardest working leg on a circle, the inside hind, so when it's under the horse, you are off its back.

 

[touchstone]

Except I do it the other way, you are sat as the inside hind is on the ground allowing the horse to balance better, and it makes the use of your seat as you sit create impulsion from the inside hind.