# English trot vs. German trot?



## Luce73 (Dec 7, 2012)

(Not sure if this is in the right place, please move if it doesnt belong here)

My dad asked me today about an article he had found on the BBC website, in which there was mention of a difference between "English trotting" and "German trotting". He was wondering what the difference was between the two, and I have no idea. Now I'm curious too! It sems from the context like its intended as a difference between posting and sitting the trot maybe? I think think this place is my best bet with all you knowledgable horsepeople on here! 

Thank you in advance for any replies!! 

The article is about a german cavalry officer riding an english horse. 

Here the paragraph about the trotting: 
'The horse had as little fun as me. I had not yet learned English trotting, and when the order came, the horse knew, but I did not and trotted German. After half an hour the toughest beef steak would have become tender under my saddle. But oh my buttocks!'

And here the link to the full article: 
BBC - History - World Wars: The Human Face of War


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Might be the difference in posting trot and sitting trot??


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

Ok. So I rode English/Dressage in Germany for 8 years and and 2 years in the States...there is no difference in the trot itself or in how you ride it (you can either post the trot or sit the trot), unless something has changed since 1992?


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## piglet (Oct 2, 2012)

Perhaps he was meant it "tongue in cheek"?


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Reading the article it says he was given the opportunity to learn to ride. I would say that it was just tongue in cheek way of describing his difficulty in learning to trot.

He would have been taught the military way which was and still is, tough. Saddles were flat and hard and he would have been made to do a lot of sitting trot until his seat was established before being taught to post.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

German trot v English trot.

A horse trots as a natural pace regardless of which nationality it is labelled. However the action of a British pony - ie Exmoor or Welsh can be short legged and therefore short paced. It will feel uncomfortable to a rider used to riding long legged German horses (ie Hannoverians or Holsteins) in sitting trot.

English cavalry will move in formation by using the rising trot especially over tarmacced surfaces. Rising trot is a method by which a troop of cavalry can be better kept together in formation.

Rising trot is a means to alleviate the concussion on the rider produced by the sitting trot on hard surfaces. Sitting trot calls for a certain expertise in the rider who must be able to absorb the upward thrust generated by the horse when in trot. Cavalry troops were often conscripted and their riding ability was often questionable. Generally speaking the officers had more riding skills and a better class of horse.

The alternative to trotting, either sitting or rising is to ride in collected canter.

For a novice male rider learning to cope with the trot, the issue is not so much a bruised butt - rather is it a question of a bruised under carriage. Rising trot is the easier pace to learn.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

German v English

I used to ride often with German holiday makers who had travelled to Wales to see the countryside. I cannot remember one who was a 'weak' rider - they mostly had been well schooled to ride. What they envied of riding in Wales was the lack of formality. Mind you riding at speed a Welsh cobby horse, over pot holed, uneven, boggy ground covered with heather, did call for a certain level of riding ability. Still it only took a day to show them how to cope. I enjoyed riding with them. 

Ps Thinking back, there was one Dutchman who did withdraw early in a trek - maybe because he could not cope with the English trot - I never thought to ask him.


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## Fahntasia (Dec 19, 2011)

Barry Godden said:


> Ps Thinking back, there was one Dutchman who did withdraw early in a trek - maybe because he could not cope with the English trot - I never thought to ask him.


 
Bahahahahaha!!! :lol:


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## Luce73 (Dec 7, 2012)

Thanks everyone!


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## Mike Zimmerman (Oct 30, 2011)

Posting was invented by English mail carriers and in the past was reffered to as riding like the English.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Mike, I'd be interested to know where you discovered about the English post carriers using the rising trot.
Much of how we Brits ride goes back to the military but yes it is conceivable that postal riders used the trot - which is a natural pace for English bred horses. 
But my guess is that the cavalry were rising to the trot long before the postal service got around to using it in the countryside to deliver parcels although it is logical that they did especially if the postman was an ex cavalry trooper.

But it would be interesting to know.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The Household cavalry ride sitting trot when they're on any sort of ceremonial occasion, performing in Musical Rides or when riding through London
I would think all the gear they carry makes posting trot difficult
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Zojs-qheU


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

FWIW:

http://www.horseforum.com/english-riding/origin-posting-57294/


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

This link seems to agree with the postilion theory - makes sense to me
Riding the Trot


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