Re: [RC] [RC] need help - riding a trotting horse - Lynne Glazer
Or just rebalance it so that it is level, if everything else about it is wonderful. ?Use the "chapstick test" to see where the flat spot is.
Additionally, a TTEAM balance rein (or whatever they call it)can help you stay out of his mouth while learning to post. ?7 foot piece of yacht or climbing rope, loosely square-knotted and hanging at the base of the neck. ?Gather that with your reins as if they were bridged, and use it for balance. ?Better than a bucking strap (leather piece that buckles to the front dees) because that becomes a crutch, wrong hand position for going down the trail, but good when the chips are down.
I watched a friend ride on Lost Padres and she was in chair seat, seemed to be because the back of the saddle was downhill--it made her land near the cantle in the posting trot, and she was slumping her upper body to compensate. ?Of course she could have just been tired, too, but it looks like the saddle needs to be adjusted. ?Which is no big deal because it's a ReactorPanel. ?Core strength helps a lot, in any case.
I concur about shortening the stirrups a bit from the dressage position, but you can probably stay in the dressage saddle once its level. ?Your feet must be level in order to find that balance point, no "toes down", you'll be hunting forever. ?And lessons on a school horse would be wondrous, especially on the longe line. ?http://www.alwaysagoodride.com is the most amazing simulator, wonder if there's someone near you with one. ?Sacramento and Salinas, so far, in California. ?Having a classical instructor at your calf and a schoolmaster "mount" was simply amazing the time I tried it. ?Hope to take another lesson when I go up to shoot Tevis.
Very good point - I used a dressage saddle for trail riding for years. ?My current saddle is an ASC Rubicon, and while I like it very much, it does put my feet a bit more forward than I like. ?Not enough to interfere with my posting, though.
The saddle, and the horse, can make posting easy to next to impossible. ?It is not always the rider. ?:) ?Some saddles put your feet too far out in front of you, and that makes posting very hard. ?
Try this: ?with your current saddle, try (at a halt or walk) two-pointing. ? If you find you keep falling back into the saddle, or if it is a real effort to get yourself over your feet, it could be the fault of the saddle. ?Try one which places the stirrups farther under your center of balance. ?
On May 19, 2008, at 10:13 AM, Kathy Mayeda wrote:
You can post very nicely in a dressage saddle.?? One guy who rides the hounds found it very difficult to do an LD in a jumping saddle - probably because there's a lot of "amplitude" when you post with an jumping saddle.
