# Posting or Sitting the Trot



## BloodBay0103 (Jan 2, 2015)

I just thought I'd get your opinions here, because I'm curious.
I ride Western, and post the trot. Am I the only one? Or are there others like me? I don't ride in Western Pleasure or anything like that, so I don't see much of a point in trying to sit it, other than improving balance.
How many others primarily post when trotting outside of the English world?
I'm curious.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

I don't but I have seen other western riders do it on occasion, usually to deaden the initial inability to balance with a rough trot, though rarely for any extended period of time.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I post in my Western saddle all the time, while my horses are trotting. 

When I'm long trotting for 2 miles, it's much easier to post.

Of course, when I'm showing, we sit. But we also don't long trot when we show!


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## CowboyBob (Feb 11, 2013)

I set the trot 90% of the time. I did have a parent call me once and yell at me for teaching her child to post in a western saddle.


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

I learned to post in a Western saddle and didn't learn to sit a trot until I was in an English saddle, but my trainer taught things a little differently then most I see. All of her students came away with great basics they could then move to any discipline though. 

If I am trotting for a long time I will post regardless of saddle. If I am just jogging or going a short distance I will sit.


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

It really depends on the horse I am riding. I prefer to sit the trot- but I also prefer to not be jumbled all around.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

I always post, can never sit it. Though one horse I can just about sit it.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

No offense meant, it’s the way I was always taught, that you post if you can't find the rhythm and then sit. I am looking to broaden my horizons.
Why do you do it?
Every cowhand I know laughs at people they see posting in a western saddle unless they are really old or really young. Is this an ego thing with them? (I could see that) Seriously curious…..


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

i post in what ever saddle I am in. for my own comfort and the horse's. I am too heavy to feel that sitting the trot can be good for the hrose's back.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You may now know this, but before my DH starting writing novels, he wrote a few screenplays. We made a film (and then rewrote it for a HS play), a Western called, "The Silver Queen." It was loosely based on Shakespeare's, "As You Like It." The leading female character (I played her) cross dressed (early 1880's), and we rented horses for a day for some scenes. (We shot this in 1983.) I made no great attempt to hide my gender (as performed), and thought it was a great subtle joke to post the trot in a Western saddle, as I had NEVER seen anyone do this, or even talk about it. I thought Anybody who rode a horse would get a chuckle bc nobody did that. I had always been taught, and repeated that a "cowboy" rides the walk, rides the lope and avoids the trot. Even the modern QH has been bred to have a comfortable slow jog to encourage you to SIT THE TROT.
Now, even people here have argued that Everybody from the dawn of Adam has posted the trot in a Western saddle. pfft
The English or flat saddle enables you to post the trot. Swells on a Western saddle just get in the way. I'll never understand why this trend is popular. Most people who can't sit the trot post it standing and then falling on the back of the horse, every other stride. It's just like pounding in a fence post. It sit softly when I sit a trot, and I can sit the biggest, bounciest trot there is. I can also post whenever I please. My HS instructor had us warm up 3x around, each rein, post without stirrups. You never forget it.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I post in western if I'm doing a long trot and want 'big motion' or have a particularly rough horse. I sit as much as I can though. Posting for me is a good way to convey to the horse what I want when they are being asked to do something unusual. (Like give me a 'long and low' or an extended trot).


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

When I was a kid I did English for a couple of summers before returning to western in the fall and oh brother! I got reamed for posting anything longer than a couple of strides to find balance and rhythm, but then again, I was showing at that time. I won't insult anyone by repeating what I was told. It wasn't very nice.

I can see the practicality for the horse for heavier people like Tiny mentioned. I can even see it for the purposes of say a 25 mile timed endurance race, but if you know you are going to be trotting and posting for miles on end why not simply switch to an English saddle? 

I have to agree with Corporal that the western saddle with the bucking rolls, longer stirrups and big fenders, really doesn’t facilitate a proper post. It does seem that this is a relatively new trend in western riding as I have not seen it until the last 10 years or so.


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

Some people prefer a Western saddle to an English one for trail riding (not me) and if they are trotting for more than a few minutes they will post. I prefer to ride English, but if I'm riding someone else's horse and end up in western tack it's not going to stop me from posting if that's what makes me the most comfortable. I do tend to adjust my stirrups short for Western, though still longer than I would in an English saddle, and this helps me post correctly. I can't stand letting my legs hang as low as a lot of Western riders do, gotta have a little more bend in my knee!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I sit the jog and post the extended trot. Most of the open cowhorse trainers I know do the same. You don't have to post, but its not a cardinal sin to do it either. :lol:


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

If the horse has a rough or fast trot I will post - but if it isn't too bad then I will sit the trot. Depends on how the horse rides if my body is screaming at me that I shouldn't be riding today since I got bucked off the day before  haha


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Whether posting the trot is something appropriate for "Western" riders seems to depend on where you are and who you know.

The first book I ever read on horseback riding was "Training For Western Horse and Rider" first published in 1976 and written by J'Wayne "Mac" McArthur who taught Western Horsemanship at Utah State University. In this book, McArthur points out that the sitting trot is the only trot permitted in a Western Pleasure class at a horse show. But he also writes that it is questionable why the posting trot is not permitted. He states that posting was used by the old-time cowboys on the big ranches when long distances had to be covered in desert country before any cattle were sighted. The easiest gait for the horse was the trot and, "These cowboys knew if they wanted to have enough horse left to do the day's work and then to take them home, they had to conserve their horse's energy."

He further states: "Today some dudes look at a western rider posting and see it as bouncing. The method is sometimes laughed at by these same people. After a few miles on a brisk trot, most of these dudes will drop their horse to a walk, because their legs are tired from the stand trot and their stomach can't take any more of the sit trot. Then, as the rider posting the trot keeps on going, they stop their laughing."


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

A thread long gone by revealed regional differences. Folks who needed to trot a long way on ranches posted. Those working on hundreds of acres vs thousands tended to sit everything. Personally, for a few hundred yards, I'll sit. After that, I post. Easier on me, and easier on the horse.

FWIW, my first riding lessons were from J'Wayne "Mac" McArthur. His book is on my shelf.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

If the horse is trotting, not jogging, I post.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

For me whether it is a western or english saddle and I am going a long distance, I would rather trot than canter and I will post this trot. I can trot for miles at the post with no trouble.
If I ask for a nice slow jog I will sit it, english or western saddle. I have a lot of back problems so have trouble sitting a fast or rough trot for long but a nice slow jog I can handle for a while.
It doesn't seem to matter to me which type of saddle I ride in for posting or doing a sitting trot.
A lot of people that I ride with post in a western saddle while on the trails.


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## Fraido (Nov 26, 2014)

I didn't know this debate even existed..:0 I thought posting was something you should always do!


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

All cowboys and ranchers that I know and have ever known, and I post the trot. Only occasionally sit the trot. But we trot long distances. 

The only time I see someone sit the trot in a western saddle is if I go by the show ring at the fair and they are doing it. But they don't do a functional trot.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> No offense meant, it’s the way I was always taught, that you post if you can't find the rhythm and then sit. I am looking to broaden my horizons.
> Why do you do it?
> Every cowhand I know laughs at people they see posting in a western saddle unless they are really old or really young.Is this an ego thing with them?(I could see that) Seriously curious…..



Here is your answer below:



TXhorseman said:


> Whether posting the trot is something appropriate for "Western" riders seems to depend on where you are and who you know.
> 
> The first book I ever read on horseback riding was "Training For Western Horse and Rider" first published in 1976 and written by J'Wayne "Mac" McArthur who taught Western Horsemanship at Utah State University. In this book, McArthur points out that the sitting trot is the only trot permitted in a Western Pleasure class at a horse show. But he also writes that it is questionable why the posting trot is not permitted. He states that posting was used by the old-time cowboys on the big ranches when long distances had to be covered in desert country before any cattle were sighted. The easiest gait for the horse was the trot and, "These cowboys knew if they wanted to have enough horse left to do the day's work and then to take them home, they had to conserve their horse's energy."
> 
> He further states: "Today some dudes look at a western rider posting and see it as bouncing. The method is sometimes laughed at by these same people. After a few miles on a brisk trot, most of these dudes will drop their horse to a walk, because their legs are tired from the stand trot and their stomach can't take any more of the sit trot. Then, as the rider posting the trot keeps on going, they stop their laughing."





boots said:


> All cowboys and ranchers that I know and have ever known, and I post the trot. Only occasionally sit the trot. But we trot long distances.
> 
> The only time I see someone sit the trot in a western saddle is if I go by the show ring at the fair and they are doing it. But they don't do a functional trot.



Cowboys posting vs. sitting trot is/was regional due to distance needed to travel.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Am I the only western rider that never learned to post? I am heavy too. But I don't really have trouble sitting the trot. But then I don't trot for miles either. And right now I have two Missouri Fox Trotters, so if they get too bouncy I just slow them down to a fox trot, problem solved. :lol: But really, I like to trot. I do it on the trail all the time.

What puzzles me is people speak like posting is easier than sitting. How can that be? Isn't sitting natural? I haven't a clue how to post. When I've tried it, I might get it for a few strides but then I get out of sync with the horse and my butt slaps the saddle. Then I have to start again. So I know I'm doing it wrong. But in my mind, sitting is the easy, natural thing to do. Posting is some kind of specialized english riding thing that is out of my comprehension. And I've been riding for close to 20 years. 

Posting just seems so awkward when you don't know what you are doing. And you must have thighs of steel. Sitting is so much easier! I am dumbfounded on how posting can be easier. I am seriously backwards from the rest of the world.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

PS. I only have one friend who posts the trot, and she fancies herself more of an english rider, even though she rides in an endurance saddle. My other friends sit the trot just like I do. We are weird here in Arizona. :lol: I don't know of anyone who posts unless they are riding english.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

trailhorserider said:


> Sitting is so much easier! I am dumbfounded on how posting can be easier. I am seriously backwards from the rest of the world.


You are not backwards. 

Posting to the trot is easier on a really forward, ground-covering trot. On the average QH, western pleasure kind of jog trot, posting would be over doing it. Over kill. 

But with the working trot that some of us do, the momentum provided as the horse's hind leg (that coordinates to which ever diagonal one is on) makes posting pretty easy. It's also easier on the horse. 

Sometimes, when I'm just dinking around, I'll sit a super forward trot over rough ground just for the challenge and exercise. AZ cowboys that have to cover miles post also.

Some of y'all would really scratch your heads if you saw polo players posting at the canter.


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

boots said:


> You are not backwards.
> 
> Posting to the trot is easier on a really forward, ground-covering trot. On the average QH, western pleasure kind of jog trot, posting would be over doing it. Over kill.
> 
> But with the working trot that some of us do, the momentum provided as the horse's hind leg (that coordinates to which ever diagonal one is on) makes posting pretty easy. It's also easier on the horse.


Trailhorserider- This is what I think, too. When I first learned how to ride I didn't take lessons. I was put on a horse and basically had to teach myself how to hang on and keep up. We weren't riding in arenas, we were riding in the middle of no-where, backwoods USA. My horse was always in the back, rushing to keep up. I almost naturally found a posting trot. A sitting trot would knock me off balance and usually always make me lose my previous eaten lunch! I found posting to be much easier! It wasn't until a few years later, when I started posting in my first REAL lesson that I figured out a "posting trot" was a real thing.


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

I had an old cowhand back in the day tell me real cowhands post the trot to save his horse's back over a long day, and many miles. 

I really wanted to be a cowhand, but life had different things in store for me, or I made the wrong choices, but 100 years later (feels like it anyway), his words still ring in my ears. So I post the trot.

Added: We have polo grounds a few miles down the road. Love watching the matches (hope that is the correct term), and love to watch them post the canter. Easier said then done!


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Thanks Txhorseman, that was very informative! 

So why the initial changes in attitude towards not posting the trot (both in and out of the show ring)? Do you suppose it is the propensity for ranchers to trailer their horses out to the particular section they would be working that day, so as to save the time needed to ride out? What has changed in the riding society that it has come back into popularity? 

Apologies, I have an annoyingly curious mind.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

trailhorserider said:


> Am I the only western rider that never learned to post? I am heavy too. But I don't really have trouble sitting the trot. But then I don't trot for miles either. And right now I have two Missouri Fox Trotters, so if they get too bouncy I just slow them down to a fox trot, problem solved. :lol: But really, I like to trot. I do it on the trail all the time.
> 
> What puzzles me is people speak like posting is easier than sitting. How can that be? Isn't sitting natural? I haven't a clue how to post. When I've tried it, I might get it for a few strides but then I get out of sync with the horse and my butt slaps the saddle. Then I have to start again. So I know I'm doing it wrong. But in my mind, sitting is the easy, natural thing to do. Posting is some kind of specialized english riding thing that is out of my comprehension. And I've been riding for close to 20 years.
> 
> Posting just seems so awkward when you don't know what you are doing. And you must have thighs of steel. Sitting is so much easier! I am dumbfounded on how posting can be easier. I am seriously backwards from the rest of the world.


Posting is, indeed, awkward when you don't know what you are doing. The sitting trot can be awkward for the same reason.

The ease of a rising (posting) trot or a sitting trot depends both on the horse and the rider.

When sitting a trotting horse, many riders simply let things happen. The horse goes up. They go up. The horse goes down. They continue up because of momentum. Gravity takes over and they start coming down. In the meantime, however, the horse has started upward once more. The rider's seat and the horse's back collide. Muscles of both tighten as a reflex action, and the next collision is even worse.

To perform a good sitting trot, the rider should be both well balanced and relaxed (read: "no unnecessary tension in the muscles"). With muscles relaxed, the rider's body is free to move with his horse and descend as the horse descends rather than his body's action being delayed.

The rising trot was designed as a way of making the trot easier on both the rider's seat and the horse's back. When performed incorrectly, however, it can be even harder on both -- especially the horse.

Riders who try to lift their bodies with their leg muscles will probably become unbalanced. Their actions will probably be slow, and they will seldom keep in rhythm with the horse's movements. They also tend to release all tension in their muscles when they want to descend and end up plopping onto the horse's back.

If the horse's body does not have enough momentum to propel the rider's body upward, the rider should do a sitting trot. Ideally, the rider should let the horse propel his body upward. The rider only draws his hips forward to keep up with the forward motion of the horse. He, then, controls his downward movement to return softly into the saddle. Good balance and freedom of movement are critical for a well performed rising trot.

It should also be noted that there are other ways to modify both the movement of the horse and the rider to make trotting more comfortable.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Mia naturally has a gentle jog. It is very pleasant to ride, but it would be almost impossible to post her jog. Her jog, however, covers ground at about 3 mph. She sometimes jogs when I'm leading her from the ground, and my 2-legged walk and her 4-legged jog get along fine! Sitting her jog is more comfortable than sitting her walk. But if she starts to extend, the trot gets rougher and she is pushing me up out of the saddle...so skipping a beat saves her that work and makes it smoother.

Part of the cowboy tradition came when when saddles were built to ride like this:



















Saddle cantles then ran about 5 inches at a minimum, and I've read some were 9 inches! The main goal of a rider in the badlands in 1890 was staying on a horse who often was barely broke. Falling off could kill you - if not the fall, then being alone 30 miles from help with a broken leg. And if you were moving a herd a thousand miles, you didn't rush the herd. Move them fast, and the cattle would lose weigh and the cattlemen would lose money.

To save the horse's back, the rider rode with a loose back. His hips were a hinge and his lower back flexed with the horse. It was an effective approach to riding based on their goals and the need to stay alive in rough country, alone, with no cell phones and no hospitals and often no one who had more than a vague idea of where you were.

Riding should be judged by what works for an individual's horse, gear, and goals. When I trot Mia on the little ATV trails near my house, I usually sit. Why? Well...we aren't going anywhere anyways. She has a very pleasant jog. And the trails are rocky and she is barefoot, and a faster trot is obviously "OWWYYY" to her. So I sit the trot or jog more often than I post - in a western saddle.

In an English saddle (mine are now sold), she obviously preferred me to post. The weight distribution of a western saddle cushions her back enough to compensate for my sitting trot, while the English jump saddle did not.

Position also plays a role. If your heels are directly under your hip, it is easier to post. You simply unfold your body. If you post like I do, with your crotch only coming an inch or so out of the saddle, it is every easy.

However, if you ride a western saddle the way Larry Trocha says works best for reining and cutting - on your pockets - then posting feels awkward even though I learned to post long before I learned to sit a trot. My first riding lessons, after all, were with J'Wayne "Mac" McArthur at Utah State in the 70s. But if you sit like this fellow in the 1920s (kind of how Trocha says to sit)










then posting will feel awkward. At least, it does to me. So it all depends on what you want to do and what gear you use to do it with and how your horse is trained.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

Does anyone know where the word posting comes from? My understanding is that it was in England or Europe in the days of horse and coach. People would "post a letter" and this letter was delivered from city or town to city or town by mail coaches. These coaches usually had a four or six horse hitch and to help the driver there would be a light boy riding the fore, near horse so he could handle the two front horses. The coach horses usually travelled at a trot and the boy riding would rise and fall "post" in time with the horse's gait as it was more comfortable for him over long distances, hence he was dubbed a post boy because of people posting their letters, and the rise and fall at the trot was then called posting.
Anybody have any other ideas?


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> Thanks Txhorseman, that was very informative!
> 
> So why the initial changes in attitude towards not posting the trot (both in and out of the show ring)? Do you suppose it is the propensity for ranchers to trailer their horses out to the particular section they would be working that day, so as to save the time needed to ride out? What has changed in the riding society that it has come back into popularity?
> 
> Apologies, I have an annoyingly curious mind.


 Good question! While for the most part you read that sitting the trot is western and posting is English. I would think (without researching) that sitting the trot(jog) had came from showing or regional differences rather than discipline? I have really never put much thought into it but it would be interesting to know.

Even with trailering I still post a ground covering trot. I notice I sit more when working in the arena but today just for fun because of this thread I forced myself to sit the trot for quite a ways headed back to the trailer...LOL.. I might be sore tomorrow, what a work out!


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

If the rider is able to perform both a good rising trot as well as a good sitting trot, the choice should probably be determined by the movements of the horse. 

In general, the rider should not attempt to do the rising trot unless the horse's movements propel his seat upwards. On the other hand, if the horse's movements make it difficult for the rider to follow in a good sitting trot, the rider should probably post. That said, the rider may be able to influence a change in the horse's movements.

In the former case, the rider may try to create a more active trot which creates greater movement in the horse.

A rider may, also, be able to smooth out the movements in a horse whose trot he is unable to sit. For example, if a rough trot is caused by the horse hollowing its back, the rider can try to get the horse to round its back. If the horse's trot is rough because the horse is tense and his movements stiff and mechanical, the rider can work at helping the horse relax.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I'll add a couple of half-baked thoughts. I recently have tried changing my way of riding in a western saddle, from this:










to one more like this guy:










That is more 'on the pockets' and with a bit of slouch in the back - not much, but a definite slouch.

I've only tried it a few times this week...too many 30 mph wind days, and we're supposed to get gusts to 45 mph today. :evil: But when I ride like that, I'm finding it easier to sit the trot up through about a medium trot. My mare seems quite comfortable with me sitting it, too. She was kind of fussy the first few times, but she is kind of fussy every time I make a change. But then she seemed content to trot at a medium pace, unlike how she acts when I sit the trot using the first position. She canters well that way, too.

Would I want to try sitting that trot for 10-20 miles? Probably not. In truth, I wouldn't be up for posting a trot for 10-20 miles, either.

Also, it is pretty common to 'shift gears' earlier in western riding. Rather than a fast trot, many western riders prefer to switch to a slow canter. The jog replaces a fast walk. If I had to choose between 10 miles of Mia's relaxed jog and her fast walk, I'd sit her jog any day of the week. Trooper's relaxed canter is collected enough to be pleasant to ride, more so than an extended trot would be. (Mia's canter still needs work...some days it is relaxed, and some days more jackhammer like). Meanwhile, everyone who has ridden little Cowboy (the mustang) agrees: his canter is glass smooth, and his trot makes you expect to pee blood. No one deliberate trots on Cowboy for more than a hundred yards...but you could roll a smoke while cantering on him, if so inclined.

I still think much of the post western / do not post western is rooted in the distances folks want to cover. But it might also be rooted in different goals, different seats (pockets vs dressage) and a difference in when you want to switch gears.

Although I've been doing it for a few years now, I still qualify as a beginning level rider, so take it all with lots of FWIW. Thinking out loud, which can make a guy look foolish!


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Interesting thoughts bsms. I was always taught to sit the pockets and keep the feet long and the heels low; IMO it makes it easier to keep the lower back loose and sit all the trots especially as we get older .

You've got me wondering about the regional influences Hmmm......


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## gee50 (Dec 31, 2014)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> No offense meant, it’s the way I was always taught, that you post if you can't find the rhythm and then sit. I am looking to broaden my horizons.
> Why do you do it?
> Every cowhand I know laughs at people they see posting in a western saddle unless they are really old or really young. Is this an ego thing with them? (I could see that) Seriously curious…..


I post as my saddle horse is a TB (17h). TB's are notoriously bouncy. Most 15.2H or smaller QH are plenty smooth to sit and trot. Most QH's don't have much of a difference between slow trot and fast trot. A well trained saddle horse will lope for fast trot. My TB walks almost as fast as a QH can lope. His trot is as fast as any saddle horses can canter.

Yes some of it's ego as most cowhands never been on a TB, OTTB, SB, WB, Hunter/Jumper or the like. Now days due to my back I can't even handle a gaited horse.

Posting is for balance and comfort of the horse. On a smooth riding horse you can rock your pelvis in the seat. Any rider with a stiff back in the seat of the smoothest horse is gonna irritate the horse.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

> I post as my saddle horse is a TB (17h). TB's are notoriously bouncy. Most 15.2H or smaller QH are plenty smooth to sit and trot.


I sit the TB I ride- but I still post him to warm up etc. My reason for sitting him is similar to bsms' cowboy explanation. He has a tendency to pull a 'triple axel double back flip' when anything slightly suspicious pops out so I like to have my butt down as much as possible. Note: I've always been told that bounciness of trot comes from the angle of the shoulder. The steeper the shoulder the more bouncy the trot. However it is my limited experience that the short round qhs are an easier ride than the taller leggier ones. 

On sitting vs. posting and western vs. English:
I am an english rider- dressage specifically. A dressage saddle is designed to give the rider a deep seat- for sitting. Any posting is done at the lower levels and is very very shallow. The object of this is to have a longer amount of time where the rider can communicate with the horse through her seat. So english= sit to me. although I do know that h/j and endurance riders prefer posting. Recently I've been riding in a western saddle to practice for a Western Dressage demonstration- I've found that it makes sitting more difficult actually because the stirrups are positioned more forward and less mobile so I cannot get my legs under me and ride loose through my seat. It also makes posting more difficult.The only position that kinda works in this saddle is the 'feat on the dashboard' position- which I cannot use in Dressage. So the horse I ride just has to do a collected trot for my benefit. Poor guy. Ah well at least he doesn't have to for long.

Pictures: reining position vs. english dressage position. Note the position of the hip in relation to the heel. Both allow one to sit the trot.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

It really just depends on the horse for me. Generally speaking though, I post- and I'm 100% a western rider. With a nice little jog, I'll sit because it makes no sense to post- but I am usually moving along at a good working trot and it's not particularly fun to sit the trot on a steep shouldered trotting horse xD I'm capable of it...I occasionally hop on bareback and will sit the working trot, but I personally feel like if my horse is going to carry me the least I can do it help with my weight a little bit and stay off their back. Makes me cringe to see riders sitting the trot who have no business doing so, repeatedly slamming into their horse's backs.


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## mmcleodk (May 2, 2015)

I learned english originally so its instinctual for me to post even now that I'm riding western, just so much more comfortable!


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

If it is a nice jog and my horse has collected himself I always sit the trot. I will do either on a faster working trot. I sit it if he is being a butt and I really want him to slow down and post if I am looking for the faster speed.


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## SEAmom (Jan 8, 2011)

Sitting or posting depends on the horse and the gait. I do both on my horse depending on what I'm doing at the moment. For his everyday, moving along trot, posting is much more comfortable. He is not a particularly smooth-gaited horse. At all.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I think whether or not a rider posts or sits is a personal decision and should be based off of what kind of trot they are riding, and what they are trying to accomplish ^^


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## HorsesDoFly (May 23, 2015)

Oh boy........ I so want to say it's a Texas cowboy thing to laugh when you post......Sort of like you can tell where someone is from by the hat shape and size. I work a cattle ranch in Colorado and I post when riding a long ways at a trot. At times I see some of the men post but they tend to be the trained riders.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

HorsesDoFly said:


> Oh boy........ I so want to say it's a Texas cowboy thing to laugh when you post......Sort of like you can tell where someone is from by the hat shape and size. I work a cattle ranch in Colorado and I post when riding a long ways at a trot. At times I see some of the men post but they tend to be the trained riders.


The Texans I've worked with in CO, WY, NV, UT, and MT all post. Everybody I know who rides many miles a day posts. And their horses do a normal trot. Not a show ring jog.


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> When I was a kid I did English for a couple of summers before returning to western in the fall and oh brother! I got reamed for posting anything longer than a couple of strides to find balance and rhythm, but then again, I was showing at that time. I won't insult anyone by repeating what I was told. It wasn't very nice.
> 
> I can see the practicality for the horse for heavier people like Tiny mentioned. I can even see it for the purposes of say a 25 mile timed endurance race, but if you know you are going to be trotting and posting for miles on end why not simply switch to an English saddle?
> 
> I have to agree with Corporal that the western saddle with the bucking rolls, longer stirrups and big fenders, really doesn’t facilitate a proper post. It does seem that this is a relatively new trend in western riding as I have not seen it until the last 10 years or so.


I post in a wade tree saddle with bucking rolls all the time. A good post doesn't mean you need to leave the saddle very far. I post vs sit about 50 -50. Really depends on what I'm doing and what I'm doing it on.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

The horse doesn't know how much air is between your rump and the saddle. My goal in posting is to get my rump clear but leave my jeans touching. Get the first done, but usually go too far to claim success at the second. Still, it works well for me posting in an Australian saddle. I took the bucking rolls off my A-fork saddle, but it would still work if I had left them on. I figure what goes up must come down - and the less distance it goes down, the easier it is to be light.

As for time frame - that is how I was taught for western riding when I took lessons around 1977. Didn't do much riding between then and 2008, but I was told and taught to post western in the 70s. It isn't new...:wink:


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I love [email protected]!:

My goal in posting is to get my rump clear but leave my jeans touching.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

About the only time I'll post is when I'm out of riding condition and my tuckus is really sore from being in the saddle too long. Unfortunately that doesn't take too long these days. LOL


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