Re: [RC] need help - riding a trotting horse - Beth Walker
Well, I'll start off, though there are others on this list with more experience here. ? ?However, my history ... I started Western, switched to English w/ classical dressage methods, then went Endurance. ?I currently am taking dressage lessons and my horse is learning the concept of "contact". ?So ... to answer some of the questions in here:
No - I don't think having or not having contact is a safety issue. ?Western horses are trained to go on a loose rein all the time. ?They stop just fine, and respond to seat and leg when properly trained and ridden. ?Now, that said - I'm not a proponent of bitless, but then I think it depends on the horse. ?If your horse is controllable in a bitless bridle, that's fine. ?However, I am going to guess that he has only been ridden in the arena / round pen so far. ?He might be a bit different out on the trail.
I DO think you should learn to post the trot. ?You don't say how old your horse is, but IMO, a young horse needs to develop their back muscles before they can comfortably accept a sitting trot. ?(This statement assumes that your posting is controlled so that there is less concussion on the horse's back than with a sitting trot.) ?While there are pros and cons to two-point position, if you have trouble posting, and can two-point without slapping down on the saddle, that is better than trying to post and bumping the horse. ?I rode my old boy in two-point most of the time at the trot, because his trot was so big that I could not properly post to it -- way too much loft for my short legs. ?I have no trouble posting with my current horse, who has much less loft to his trot. ?It is not always the rider....
You can go two ways -- you could check into Western trainers in the area or you could check into Dressage trainers (ones who are not obsessed with getting a "headset"). ? Also -- I would suggest taking lessons in posting with a lesson horse to start with, rather than with your young one. ?A lesson horse (hopefully) has fairly smooth gaits, and are older and much more used to unbalanced riders. ?If you want to keep your horse bitless, the Western trainer would possibly have less problem with that, and won't have any issues with keeping your legs off the horse -- that is much more in the western tradition. ? Just remember :: in ANY discipline, there are good instructors and bad instructors. ?Before taking a lesson on YOUR horse, check out their other students and THEIR horses. ?Do they go around in a relaxed manner, or are they tight and upset -- or worse, is the horses' neck upside down? ?etc.
You say your horses trainer has worked to get him to go in a relaxed and easy manner. ?Sounds good. ?Mostly, what you want from your horse is to work relaxed, and learn to use his topline. ?You don't want to try and teach him any kind of "headset" -- emphasis right now should be on "long and low", so that he learns to reach out and down with the neck so that he can use his back muscles. ?The "Long and Low" also gives him some structural support while his is building those muscles. ? That foundation should be present in any discipline: ?Hunter/Jumper (hunter more than jumper), Dressage, Western. ?
Now -- somewhere along the line, most trainers are going to want to put him in a bit. ?That is kind of your decision as to where you want to go with your horse. ? Talk to the trainer that started your horse, and ask for advice, there, too. ?
Sorry this is so long ... hope it helps.
On May 19, 2008, at 8:01 AM, Mellifluous wrote:
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. ? Thanks! ? Mel
