Comments on The Posting Trot: Then again, maybe it WAS me...

Oh... blushesI guess I'm going to have to try ...

2008-12-07T20:12:00.000-05:00

Oh... **blushes**

I guess I'm going to have to try harder...

;-)

From your 5 foot even pal in America you are a gia...

2008-12-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

From your 5 foot even pal in America you are a giant!!

Mmmmm. Seems I'll have a little more book shopping...

2008-12-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm. Seems I'll have a little more book shopping to do... Great suggestion! Indeed, I thought sitting would help, thanks for the confirmation. However, I don't know if my beginner's sitting trot will be of much help. It's not too bad, but it's nothing like what I've seen in some of the videos I've watched on blogs by more advanced riders. I've only been riding for a little over a year so... But I'll certainly discuss it with coach and see what she thinks. As for the long legs, well, I'm only 5'3" so I've made my peace with never having anything that remotely feels like long legs... I'll definitely have to give the thigh rollback a try though! I'll let you know! ;-)

Oh yes I struggle with gate opening from the saddl...

2008-12-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

Oh yes I struggle with gate opening from the saddle as the physics just dont compute in my mind, I just need to do than to try and figure out how.

Yes on the sitting, I belive and I refer to my BIB...

2008-12-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

Yes on the sitting, I belive and I refer to my BIBLE (Practical Dressage Manual, Bengt Ljungquist) that both shoulder and haunches in should be done at the sitting trot. Hence why both of these movements are not asked in the tests until Second Level. First Level requires that all movements other than the Extended Trot be performed sitting. I can do shoulder in while posting, but I think the leg would become jumbled while posting for haunches in. In my thought the true key is the long leg and being able to sit DEEP. It is fairly gross but Ihave been known to physically grab my inner thigh and roll the fatty portion back with my hand to get deeper. The Lendon books have some great exercises in the saddle you can do to loosen the hip and thigh and create the longer leg.

Jewel! Hahahaha. I can totally relate! Nice to kno...

2008-12-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

Jewel! Hahahaha. I can totally relate! Nice to know I am not the only rider that had to go through that awkward phase.

I am also an overthinker. I keep asking coach "But why??? I don't understand!!!" desperately trying to feed my brain some logical explanation for "this move" or "that position" it can chew for a while. But then coach looks at me with despair and simply says "Well, they're just taught that way Marie! There's no other explanation!".

I'm such a hopeless intellectual, and sports in such a new language for me. I'll pull through though, I'm confident, I remember feeling just the same about shoulder in just a few weeks ago!

Stretching is a great idea too and thanks for reminding me to stay supple and relaxed, I think that will help a lot!

Question: She has me do it while posting, would it be any easier if I was sitting the trot???

Cheers!

Great idea Jesterjigger! I'll try that. I'll have ...

2008-12-07T12:39:00.000-05:00

Great idea Jesterjigger! I'll try that. I'll have to do inconspicuously though, so coach doesn't pick it up...

For me what worked with shoulder in when I realized I was hanging on to outside rein is visualizing me "pushing" the shoulder towards the inside track, not bendimg the horse with reins. Thereafter, I started to use just the right amount of outside rein because I wasn't pulling anymore, I was "pushing". It ended up being just perfect.

When I was learning haunches in I would get myself...

2008-12-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

When I was learning haunches in I would get myself so contorted in the saddle I looked like I had palsy!!! I think it might be the first true exercise where you have to disengage your hips and legs and trust that your upper body knows what it should be doing. I think the biggest help for me was to really stretch my own legs and hips prior to going to work on the movement, seat must be deep and independant for legs to work as they should. The human body seems to be the spoiler in great success at riding. I tend to over think each movement so that does nto help either...

I think that it sounds like you've analyzed what h...

2008-12-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

I think that it sounds like you've analyzed what happened pretty well. I tend to hang on the inside rein at shoulder in though, not haunches in.

When I taught my older gelding haunches in the only thing that helped was to start in shoulder in, and then move his haunches over so that we were now in haunches in, but kept the same bend the entire time.

I *just* started haunches in with my mare, and what worked for her was to ask her to move her butt over with the outside leg, while otherwise riding normally. Then I added inside leg to ask for the bend. It was gradual enough and worked in a way that clicked in her head, so I didn't have to do anything with the reins. Of course, I didn't figure that out until last lesson, so we'll see if it works again. She has a wiggly butt to begin with, teaching her travers is probably going to be the bane of my existence, because right after we do it she wiggles her butt *everywhere*, asking if this is what I want when I just want to go straight.