Horseback Riding 101

Lesson 7: Beginning to Post theTrot

Theory and Philosophy Pertaining to Skills at This Level

By now, you know whether you’re going to have an easy time learning to ride, or whether it will be somewhat difficult. Guess what? You’re probably wrong. Virtually everyone can learn to ride, and virtually everyone has a gait that is natural to him or her. For some it is the trot, for others the canter. If you’re running into frustration with the trot, work through it. When you’ve mastered it, the canter is coming up and that’s going to be your easy gait.

If you’re having an easy time with the trot, the canter may be more difficult for you, or maybe not. A few of us are just plain built to ride and all of it comes easy. But that, too, opens the proverbial can of worms. If it is all that easy, a rider may not take the time to truly learn the techniques or why they work. At some point, intuition and skill will not be enough, and the rider will need a bag of tricks to draw on, and that is the bag of tricks you are beginning to learn right now.

Here’s an important one: if you are feeling unbalanced, sit down and sit deep. Your instant reaction is likely to be to reach for the neck. What happens if the horse dips his neck just then? His back will always be there, and you can sit on it, and further regain your balance by snagging some mane close to the pommel as well.

Sitting deep works when the balance issue is yours, and not the horse’s. If the horse is doing something that makes you feel insecure, like moving up to a higher gait and you don’t know why, you can sit and pull him back. But if you get the sense that he will resist that for the moment (and this is another important hint), then get in two-point, heels down as far as they go, eyes up and a good bit of mane in the hand along with the reins, of course. DO NOT STAND IN THOSE STIRRUPS. Make sure at all times that your two-point position includes plenty of bend in your hips and knees. Then drop your torso toward the saddle. You’ll hear an instructor say it as ‘get close to that saddle.” Doing this in two-point is the equivalent of sitting deep in a seated position. Both lower your center of gravity—keep you from being top heavy—which makes it easier for you to balance, and easier for the horse to balance you.

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