Lesson 7: Beginning to Post theTrot
This lesson will take the student through some additional exercises for trotting in two-point and posting. It will introduce the concept of diagonals. And it will explain to the student what is going on right about now in his or her progress toward riding proficiency. It ends with breathing exercises/relaxation techniques
Review: Two-Point on Straight Lines
Two-point on straight lines
Begin today’s work, after loosing yourself and the horse up with some of the earlier walking exercises, with a review of the best position you can manage in two-point at the trot.
To review:
At the halt, get into the two-point position again. Feel how stiff you are.
Breathe deeply, all the way down into your diaphragm. Still holding the reins and the mane, rotate your shoulders to loosen them. Yawn. Squinch your eyes closed and open them. Smile as big as you can. Now we will deal with what really counts: Open your shoulders toward the back, so that you feel as if you were going to touch your shoulder blades together…almost. But keep your hands where they are.
Tighten your abdominal muscles until it takes the pressure off your lower back. Your lower back should neither be rounded nor arched. (Especially in girls and women, there is likely to be a little arch in the lower back, where your belt crosses. That’s OK. But don’t increase it beyond what occurs naturally.)
While holding your leg position—heels drifting down, calf against the horse—begin to feel the weight on the part of your inside thigh touching the saddle, and begin to distribute the weight and the pressure down your entire leg, from where the thigh begins to touch to where the calf begins not to touch.
Now, ask the horse to walk forward and feel the shifting of his body from side to side in your thighs and calves.
Ask for a trot, and keep your calves as still as possible, while feeling the percussion of the trot-trot-trot-trot on your inside thigh. Do this as long as you are comfortable. Stop and go back to a seated walk once around the arena when you feel your body begin to lose the position.
Start, stop and restart this exercise several times until you become aware of where your body is in space and how it feels when it properly contacts the saddle/horse during a trot. As always, remember to breathe.
