RE: [RC] need help - riding a trotting horse - Ranelle Rubin
Mel,
First, I would not sit a trot on an endurance ride (too hard on your horse's back over that many miles), or start a ride without a bit (or at least a hackamore) on an endurance ride. Your horse who may be behaving beautifully in the arena now without a bit, may well be a different animal in the herd mentality of an endurance start. This is only my opinion, so I am sure those who ride bitless will argue this point...have at it, and ride YOUR ride. I have seen way too many "bitless" riders at the start of a ride on horses who were not in control..and it ticks me off when they use my well-trained horse who is behaving himself as brakes! By the way, if anyone ever gets behind me doing that, they better be prepared to "slingshot" past me when I see a clear spot to "circle"..did this at the start of Tevis last year when one rider would not get his halter-ridden horse off my ass! He yelled profusely at me as he went flying by. Ever notice how many "U-necked" horses there are in endurance?? Just look at how over developed the under side of their necks are. When a horse is allowed to travel this way, it creates all kinds of problems for them.
Second, I would find yourself a GOOD dressage instructor who understands your focus is to ride a balanced seat and get really good at a posting trot. Creating muscle memory for yourself and at the same time, teaching your horse to travel in frame will serve you very well in future years. His body will develop properly and balanced, and he will last longer in the sport. Make sure this instructor understands you are an endurance rider who is not interested in competing in Dressage (unless of course you are).
Third, don't give up!
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
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From: brio_gal@xxxxxxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] need help - riding a trotting horse Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 11:01:37 -0400
Ok guys, I REALLY need help here. I am sooooo confused.
First off, let me establish my history...I have not ridden a trotting horse since I was a teenager (eons ago), I used to post well but I was also younger and in better shape. Now I am chubby and spoiled to riding pasos. Yes, I am one of those gaited horse riders that is a disaster once you take them off a gaited horse. I don't ride with my feet on the dash like many gaited riders thank goodness but I still have issues.
My Arabian is almost ready to come home from the trainer from being started under saddle. Once home, I plan to ride the soup out of him and keep him in the great condition that he is in. I visited him at the trainer's and he was a real gem. He was willing and patient, very very light and responsive. But, when we trotted, I fell apart. Part of the problem is that I ride in a more "western" position with my stirrup length. I found that my attempts to post failed miserably and I ended up off balance and extremely uncoordinated. My poor horse was not happy with me but tolerated it. I think that even if I shorten my stirrups, I am still going to have issues with posting. It has been too long and I am extremely rusty. What is going to be my best course of action?
I asked the authority on trotting in my circle of horsey friends. She is a h/j person. She wants me to switch to a forward seat saddle (I had planned to ride him with my dressage saddle). She says that the dressage saddle will not put my legs in the right position for posting that that I need to learn to ride "english." The only problem is that the h/j riders I have seen do not ride in the manner that my horse has been trained to accept. The trainer has worked hard to make the horse go in a relaxed and easy manner. Therefore, he is used to being ridden on a loose rein and responds well to that. He does not like someone having "contact" and does not appreciate it. He also does not require you having your leg on him like I see h/j people doing with their horses. Oh, and he is also being ridden bitless. I guess in many ways, he is a western trained horse? My friend said that it is a safety issue and that I should have contact with his mouth. Should I get him home and take some h/j lessons, bit him and start working him that way? I looked into finding a centered riding instructor in my area because that sounded more appealing but I have not had much luck finding someone in my area.
Is there some way that I can keep him the way he is and learn how to ride him at a trot in a way that makes us both happy. I like the fact that he can be ridden bitless on a loose rein and doesn't require me to pump him along with my legs. I never really thought about trotting and now it is all I can think about! I want to do what is best for my horse and from what I gather, posting on long rides will be much better on him than trying to sit the trot? What do you guys do, how do you ride? BTW-my trainer has been sitting the trot.
He comes home in a week so I need to figure something out. I will be walking and cantering him a bit but I really don't want to trot him much until I get things situated.
