I always feel l like I am on a
tilt-a-whorl on a playground when I post on the “weak” diagonal or
like running with one leg shorter than the other. I do however find once I get
into the correct diagonal on the “weak” side my horse does move out
easier but tires faster. From the information that has been posted I will work
longer on the “weak” side and see if it can strengthen up
Another Susan
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Don Huston Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
10:57 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Diagonals
Hello Susan,
Very interesting and not confusing. The one I call the smooth side is the
easiest to ride, more flowing like you said but with less lift. I call the
other side rough because in addition to more lift there is a little something
extra in there that makes it harder to ride and sometimes late in a 50 the
saddle pops up occasionally and hits me in the butt just as I'm sitting back
down from the post on that diagonal. Might be a tired thing but it only happens
on the rough side.
The reason I'm not using strong or weak side is because I'm not sure which is
which yet.
Your description of "feeling forced" is interesting. Maybe there is
more lift because I'm working harder. I will try to sort out who is lifting
who. Thanks,
Don Huston
At 08:13 PM 11/11/2009 Wednesday, you wrote:
I'm bored so I'll toss my 2 cents in here... to probably thoroughly
confuse you! :)
What you're describing is weird because usually the weak side is the one that
feels "rough" or uncomfortable to post and it's that side that you
should post (whether you like it or not) to build it up and make him even-even,
but the way you're describing the post getting a lot "higher" makes
that side sound "strong" and that's confusing. Maybe what
you're calling "rough" is not the same thing we're thinking of when
we hear it.
When I ride a "rough," "weak" diagonal it's really easy to
tell... it feels forced, and if it's really weak I'll literally be pushing off
with my feet to rise for the post. My body wants to switch to the other
diagonal. If I just start posting without thinking about which diagonal
I'm on, my body will ALWAYS choose the strong side. The strong side has a
more flowing rhythm suitable for posting.
I think you should focus on "strong" vs "weak" instead of
"rough" vs "smooth" because maybe the horse just has a
naturally strong trot that feels rough to you. In that case, that might
be his stronger diagonal (even though you describe it as
"rough"). If you just ask yourself which side is strong and
which is weak, you'll get a better answer I think, then just work the weak
side. Figure it out by feeling whether your pushing at all to rise-- if
you are, that's the weak side, the side that needs work. You could also
just pick up the most natural feeling diagonal then sit two beats to switch to
the other one (now you'll be on the weak diagonal) and work that one.
Something else you might want to do is ask someone else to ride the horse and
get their opinion of which side is stronger/weaker.
What are the chances that this was helpful?? Slim? None?
hahaha Anyway, good luck with it! Your horse is lucky that you
care.
Susan
From: Don Huston
<donhuston@xxxxxxx> To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wed, November 11, 2009
10:11:45 PM Subject: [RC] Diagonals
Thank you all for your opinions and descriptions. It is always good for me to
get a recap on the mechanics of the rising trot. I do not have an arena but I
ride some crooked trails and also circle him around scarey bushes and such. I
also switch diagonals a lot (ever since Marci C was so kind to teach me at
Eastern Mojave years ago) and I have noticed that the rougher side has remained
rough and the smoother side smooth.
I am going to do some real circles in some meadows and determine which diagonal
is rough and check his legs for problems. On straight stretches it also amazes
me that I cannot see any difference in how the horse is moving his head or the
rhythm of his hooves when I change diagonals but suddenly my post gets a lot
higher.
BUT...once I determine which is which I still do not know if the diagonal with
the higher post is weak or strong. I want to know which one I should spend more
time on to even out my horses diagonals.
Don Huston
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