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Re: Fw: [RC] balance/posting - heidiThis is good advice. It's almost impossible to post effectively on hilly terrain, especially if the "hilly terrain" is winding and single track. Trying to do so unbalances your horse...and you... from the movement. You have to learn to ride with your calves, knees, and thighs. However, when you "two point", try to keep your feet under you and your body position basically the same from the waist down. When you go uphill, bend at the waist, grab a handful of mane close to the neck, grip with your knees and thighs, and try to stay centered. You can use the horse's neck to steady your position. Don't push your feet back toward the horse's hips. When you trot downhill, lean back slightly at the waist, grip with your knees and thighs and again try to keep your feet under you. Don't let your butt "bounce" on the saddle...it's a sure recipe for sore loins. Over the years, I have found that deep seat saddles with knee rolls or thigh pads work best on downhills. It helps to teach your horse early on to automatically slow his trot and get his hind quarters up under him on downhills...AND to work on a slack rein. Pulling on his head affects his balance and yours. Teaching a soft one rein "slow down" cue helps a lot. All good advice, Jim. I'd add to the first comment by saying that when you get it "right" with the balance on "trappy" trails, you will find that your upper body stays more or less still, while your hips and legs "follow" the horse as he navigates the obstacles. (I used to be pretty good at this, but age and weight and lack of fitness have had a major toll--I was THRILLED when I captured this feeling on about a half-mile stretch of singletrack at the ride a couple of weeks ago, without missing a beat. Now, if I can just "get it" again for longer!) Getting yourself fit to do this is like fitting up a young horse--you will get glimpses of it from time to time, and then you work on making those glimpses the long-term reality. Your hill advice is right on the money. I've heard it said that whether you are going up or down, you should be in a position more or less perpendicular to what flat would be--so that if the horse magically disappeared out from under you, you would land on your feet. Going down, you definitely want to be sitting deep--I prefer not to "grip" with my thighs, but instead to relax and roll my hips forward, which in turn helps my horse to do the same and tuck his butt. Heidi ============================================================ One would think that logic would prevail. But then, if logic did prevail, men would ride sidesaddle. ~ Bob Morris ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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