# Sitting Trot?



## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

haha its hard! i still remember learning that.... i HATED it, but now i love sitting the trot! try riding without stirrups (warnin: you WILL BE VERY SORE the next day!) 
and remember to relax, it will take practice to master it!


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

haha and you can tell us all about the blisters afterward......  just teasing, i never got blisters.....


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## kaykat31 (Feb 15, 2009)

I ride a SUPER bouncy pony & have to do sitting trot on him, I practice it a TON.Practice makes better(no one can be perfect).Remember to have a relaxed body & let your leg stretch down & push down on your seat into the saddle.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

You know when you canter you squeeze your stomach muscles when you go up and relax when you go down to keep yourself in the seat? (Or something like that... Hard to put in words. :?)

It's _a bit_ of the same principal. You use your stomach muscles to absorb the shock, just like sitting canter. 

Completely relax your thighs and let your stomach muscles take the impact. It's super hard to explain, but I promise you'll feel it.


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## easyluckyfree (Sep 28, 2009)

hahah, i'm already sore from todays lesson. trotted the whole time without the privilage of a break at all hahah, someone told me that i'm going to have more trouble because i ride Turtle and he's really a very un smooth, and he's fast. Is there any way to even explain it, because seriously, i have no idea what to do besides from what my trainer told me to, 'use my lower body and plant my but in the seat' which seems near impossible for me


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

^^^

That's the real problem with sitting trot... It's not something that can be explained easily. You just have to learn to feel it. Again, you'll get it!  It took me forever, but it just suddenly clicked.


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## anrz (Dec 21, 2008)

One more thing: remember to not try to grip with your legs, as Brighteyes also said. You want to have your legs relaxed and engage your core to keep yourself in the saddle.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

oh! a trick i learned that helped me feel the horse is: close our eyes! only do it when your alone in the arena, and for short periods of time, maybe just down the longside or something. but i find it helps, haha


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I ride western, so maybe I shouldn't even say anything, lol, and I haven't a clue how to post, so all my trots are sitting. :lol: But I find that the trot is smoother if the horse is collected. So that helps make it easier to sit. :wink:


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## Gidji (Dec 19, 2008)

Sitting trot is pretty difficult to master, so I'll try and explain it as best as I can. You really want to relax your legs, no gripping! Sit tall in your saddle, good posture is key to a good sit trot. Remember to use your stomach muscles, suck em in and up  Its hard to explain but relax your legs and let your upper body take it. I'm sure some of the dressage riders on here can give you a much more helpful explaination because it really is quite hard to explain.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

Just remember to try and not brace your back a lot. that can be REALLY uncomfortable on a bumpy horse, and that can hurt your back if it gets jarred a lot.
let us know how its going


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## DarkEquine (Aug 29, 2008)

Not sure if this is the "right" way to do it, but I learnt by slowly reducing how high I posted in the saddle. From having my butt leave the saddle entirely each time I rose, I gradually lowered myself until eventually I was "posting" but was still in contact with the saddle. It trains your muscles without you realising it and from there the transition becomes easier. Not sure if I explained it right - it's weird but it worked for me!

Oh, and also, try practising it just after you come out of a canter, it's easier because your butt's already in the saddle. Just a little tip that helped me. It's hard, but you'll get it!


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## ThatNinjaHorse (Jul 26, 2009)

try this
Sitting Trot Woes


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Here's the way I used to help students with it. I would have them watch my dog's back move at the trot, and really pay attention the the way the animal's back muscles move; that when a hind leg comes forward and pushes off, the back muscles on that side rise, and the other side falls. 

Sitting the trot well requires that you allow your seat bones to follow that motion, that your left seat bone rises and your right set bone drops as the left hind comes forward. Any squeezing or gripping trying to hold yourself in the saddle produces that familiar bone jarring pounding. 

Most common mistake is that by trying to be still, riders stiffen, then bounce

Being lunged or briefly grabbing the pommel to pull yourself into the saddle to feel the motion is a big help. 

Correct position, with your seat bones under you, your back flat and relaxed, neither leaning forward or back makes it much easier.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

try doing it without stirrups then you wont be tempted to put your weight in them (thats what makes you bounce), relax your legs, dont try to grip it makes you bounce more and will hurt your legs! sit deep in the saddle. then try it with long stirrups.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Every watch Elvis Presley do that thing with his hips? They kind of go side to side very rapidly? He probably could sit any horse's trot very well. Sitting trot involves letting your hip bones come forward and back rapidly and actually translates into more of a sideways movement. I like Maura's idea. Watch you horse trot from the ground and really pay attention to how the shoulders move. I may get locked up for this, but I actually practice moving my hips for sitting trot while I'm driving. If a song comes on with the right tempo, I sit my trot. It takes a lot of stomach muscles to keep your hips following. A supple lower back is required. If you're tense there, you'll bounce for sure.


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## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

As a western rider I do post at times. However I have never had a problem sitting a trot. Do it all the time. It seems that people who ride English seem to have a big problem sitting the trot. I now others who have the same problem.

For me it comes from keeping your heals down deep and keeping your body relaxed and a lot of use of your leg.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

nrhareiner said:


> As a western rider I do post at times. However I have never had a problem sitting a trot. Do it all the time. It seems that people who ride English seem to have a big problem sitting the trot. I now others who have the same problem.
> 
> For me it comes from keeping your heals down deep and keeping your body relaxed and a lot of use of your leg.


Please, there's no offense intended here, but it's probably because you're on a nice comfy Quarterhorse or otherwise broad backed breed. My friend used to watch me struggle to sit my high withered TB's horse. She would laugh her butt off while I bounced around like a piece of jello. She let me try out her QH, and I was stupified to find there's almost no movement when he trots. It's night and day. Western riders are very good at sitting back on their pockets and keeping their hip angle open to absorb the motion, so you do have a significant advantage there. If you lock your hips or back, it's all over.


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## easyluckyfree (Sep 28, 2009)

I'm still finding this so difficult. I have trouble like, staying in my seat completely when I'm going from cantering to trotting, or trotting to walking, so you can imagine how hard this is. Especially since Turtle's so known for being real bouncy and even spooky


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

easyluckyfree said:


> i have no idea what to do besides from what my trainer told me to, 'use my lower body and plant my but in the seat' which seems near impossible for me


If that is all your trainer is telling you then maybe you need to work with someone that can be more helpful for this problem.


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## dressagexlee (Dec 15, 2009)

Remember that it takes a level of _suitable fitness_ (meaning, bicep fitness is not something required for sitting trot. A different muscle group is conditioned for it.) to be able to maintain a proper sitting trot for an extended period of time. 
Sitting in short intervals at first, then slowly lengthening the time that you sit is just one of the ways you can help condition your body to the concussion, help build core strength, and aid in establishing a balanced, steady, independent seat (meaning, you won't be bouncing up and down so much after you get fitter!). Doing seperate exercises like stretching, yoga, or pilates can also aid to increase these attributes to help with sitting trot, or any aspect of riding.

Then again, fitness applies to everything. I remember how difficult it was to _post_ the trot, now I look back and think, "That's easy stuff!" 
But I guess if I quit riding for some reason and then came back to it after a while, I'd probably have to start from scratch! ~


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## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

MyBoyPuck said:


> Please, there's no offense intended here, but it's probably because you're on a nice comfy Quarterhorse or otherwise broad backed breed. My friend used to watch me struggle to sit my high withered TB's horse. She would laugh her butt off while I bounced around like a piece of jello. She let me try out her QH, and I was stupified to find there's almost no movement when he trots. It's night and day. Western riders are very good at sitting back on their pockets and keeping their hip angle open to absorb the motion, so you do have a significant advantage there. If you lock your hips or back, it's all over.


Although there are some QH like your WP lines who have a nice comfy trots when you get into your true performance QH their trots are much bigger and drive much more then what you get from a WP bred trained QH.

I have even ridden friends big dressage horses who they have a hard time sitting the trot on and I have little problem. I just think it is b/c it is what Western riders do.


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