# Help with form... what am i doing wrong



## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

Hello everyone! First off, I'd like to say that I am a novice adult rider. I began riding September 2011 and it was on a very automatic school horse. I went once a week for a half hour a week up until late Nov when I stopped riding due to the holiday madness and planning for a wedding. I switched barns and picked it back up again around March. Again, I began riding for a half hour a week but on more than one horse and on horses that you actually had to direct in order for them to do what you intended them to do. This is where my real riding began. I am now going typically twice a week for a half hour at a time. I took three weeks off in June for my wedding/honeymoon and I finally got back to where I left off. 






I have a short clip of me riding Beauty over two poles. Beauty is a slow started which is why my instructor is telling me to "wack her" which is really me giving a tap on her shoulder to get her going. 

So this is what I see: 

The bad: 
I am posting way too high. I know it's supposed to be bringing your hips forward like a thrust and I feel like I am doing that but from watching the clip it just seems that I am rising way too far out of the seat. I was wondering if lengthening the stirrups would help that? I started with them short and actually lowered the right one and kept the left one short due to cramping in my right leg. I'm thinking I should lower the left to match the right? Would this help at all? I also think I am sitting way too far back. Any tips/tricks/observations to improve that? It feels fluid but looking at it looks like I am trying really hard when I don't really feel like I am when I'm in the actually doing it.

Wrong diagonal! I need to mind that. 

The good:
I think my heels are low enough, my hands seem pretty steady and I made it over the poles without skipping a beat so I'm happy about that. I also corrected my diagonal and kept it correct towards the end. 



Any constructive criticism is so appreciated! I love riding and I am so excited to improve every time I get in the saddle  I hope to be cantering by the end of Sept. That's my mini goal ..


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## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

You are working way too hard trying to post. Let the movement of the horse push you up. It looks like you are pounding back down rather than lowering yourself, too. The energy of horse and rider should match, and she isn't anywhere near your energy level.


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## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

Sahara - I agree totally. Would simply slowing myself down help me not look so exaggerated?


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## Meatos (Apr 30, 2012)

Lengthening the stirrups might help. I'm a little bit behind you in my lessons and I'm always having to play with my stirrups since neither my coach nor I can remember which number I'm at! 

I feel your pain on the lazy horse. The horse I ride (Jake) will happily work all day long if you're riding him correctly, but anything slightly off and he is slow as hell. I got him up to a really quick trot two weeks ago and last week's lesson was frustrating because I couldn't get him going as fast. I do really appreciate it though, because he forces me to think. 

I wouldn't slow down on the post cos that can slow the horse down - get the stirrups right and keep a quick fluid rhythm and hopefully you won't have to work as hard to make Beauty GO.


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## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

I am the absolute worst at explaining things like this, which is why my kids go to an instructor, and not taught by me! LOL I will tell you there are several things you can do to get your energy lower and her energy higher. The best advice I can give you is to read Sally Swift's Centered Riding. I think you will find her book to be a wonderful resource for you and any horse you ride. 

If I summed my advice up in three steps the first thing I would tell you is to breathe, breathe, breathe. Second, look ahead of you, but don't focus on one thing. Sally Swift calls it having "soft eyes". Finally, let your lower back relax and absorb some of the horse's motion. Ok, maybe 4 things: have fun while you ride!


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## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks Meatos.. thinking back on that lesson I think I was going so fast because my instructor told me that she would move with my speed. I was trying to wake her up by getting on her and keeping my post lively lol... clearly it didn't work. I'm riding again tomorrow, I'm going to see if we can lower my stirrups and see if that helps. I feel like I almost come flying out of the saddle sometimes when I rise haha.


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## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

Sahara thank you so much for the book suggestion! I was meaning to go to the book store to pick up some riding books but was unsure of where to start. 

If I am doing one thing right in my lessons it's that I am most definitely having fun! They are the highlight of my week


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I would not shorten or lenthen the stirrups. They are fine. YOu sit pretty well and your hand is not as noisy as some beginners.

I would suggest that maybe you are not really feeling the timing as to when to rise. I would try sitting the trot for a bit until you kind of feel the "push" comeing from the back end. As you are, YOU are posting, rather than "be posted", which is what happens as you better feel when to come up, and how much. 

I horse putting that little into his trot does not need a rider to rise that much.
you will work on getting your feet down , UNDER you and that will help you to be able to rise off of your whole leg instead of just leavering yourself up off your knee (with lower leg out in front of you) 

Stop the motion of the trot t various spots, image the horse magically disappearing out from under you and you just falling straight down to the ground. After you hit, would you remain standing, or fall over backward onto your backside? depends on whetehr your feet are under your center of gravity.

For the very little time that you have ridden, you are doing well. You hold the reins nicely, good lower arm, head is up . Lots of good beginnings going on there.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I'm not an English rider, but I'd say there are two problems here, both of which you've identified:

1: Chair seat.

2: Exaggerated posting.

#1 tends to cause #2, because your hips need to come so far forward before you feel balanced.

Sorry about the quality of my screen capture, but here is a shot near the beginning of your video:










I made my best guess about where your stirrup bars are and drew a vertical line. Sorry about the arrow over your face...didn't notice it at the time, but your face isn't riding the horse so...

As a rule of thumb, for a forward seat, your balance should be over the stirrup bars. About half of you in front, and half behind. Also, in a saddle that fits you, your rump should be in the lowest part of the saddle and your stirrup straps should be straight down - that is the position gravity wants you to be in.

I've never ridden in a dressage saddle, but I've read the stirrup bars are closer to the rear on one.

When half of you is in front and half behind, you are balanced over your stirrups. Then posting is just your horse pushing you up & your body UNFOLDS. Then your thighs resist gravity a little and your body folds up again, bring you down lightly.

It is possible to post in a chair seat, but you have to get used to the 'up' position being well behind the balance point of your stirrups, or you need to lean WAY forward.

My Aussie-style saddle puts me in a chair seat, and that is fine for the sort of riding I do, but it means I either need to post while leaning forward noticeably (top pic) or do so very discretely and accept that my weight will still be a bit behind the horse's center of gravity (bottom picture):



















You might check your saddle fit. If it is OK, then you might be shoving your feet forward as a defense against unexpected stops or slowing, and then posting off of that. It is hard to see in the video because of the size of the video. Ask your instructor about lengthening your stirrups. It might help. Then write down the correct spot.

Someone who rides English may be able to give more accurate advice. You are doing a heck of a lot better than I was at the same level of experience.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

-Your lower leg is loose and forward. I often tell my less flexible adults that find it hard to bring the leg back (shoulder hips and heels alignment) AND keep the heel down to turn their toe out more. It automatically puts the heel in a more downward position. ***This position is incorrect as we want the toe more forward for equal pressure down the leg BUT creating a more stable lower leg (as apposed to a stable thigh) is more important to the rest of your riding.

- Warm up in the two-point and/or standing position to strengthen the leg. Hips forward and sink into your knees and heels.

- After you're comfortable with your two-point and standing position, standing 2 beats is a great exercise to sink into your lower leg and keeping it back.

- FORGET ABOUT YOUR DIAGONAL for now. You have more important things to worry about. What do you think the horse would prefer? a rider who doesn't slam down on the horses back at inconsistent rhythms or a rider who is slightly off balance?

- Try to land further forward in the saddle and think "baby posts" that are "light" and "CRISP". You're working to hard! and the higher you get out of the saddle, the easier it is for you to get out of rhythm.


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## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

Wow thank you all so much for the critiques! It makes way more sense now. I'm so glad I took a clip of myself.. this is the first time I saw myself ride and I had no idea I was posting so high since it doesn't feel that way at all. I think I am sitting way too much on my butt and not enough on my crotch. One lesson before I took my break to get married I was sitting more on my crotch which was really uncomfortable but my instructor said I was posting great. Tomorrow at my lesson I'll ask her about the stirrups and I'll focus on sitting a little more forward and I'll sit for a few beat to get a better sense of Beauty's pace. 

Awesome!! Thanks again.. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress. So exciting!


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## smguidotti (Jul 31, 2012)

Something that I think that will also help you post more comfortably that I did not see mentioned in the comments is that you are using the wrong muscles to post. All of your weight is in your stirrups. 

This is what I do when I feel my posting is off - get rid of the stirrups. 

1) Be comfortable sitting the trot, once you can do this you then . . .

2) POST with out stirrups. It hurts and you will hate it and you will hurt the next day but it teaches you that posting does not come rising from your feet. Posting comes from your thighs! I don't know anatomy very well so bare with me but when you rise you want to squeeze from above the knee and up. You are NOT gripping with your calves! Not only is this good to improve how you post but it also makes thighs look nice too I swear! llololol 

You'll feel like a fool the first couple of times but eventually your legs will become stronger and you will notice how much more your seat improves. 

Someone did mention your timing, well, I don't know any other method that teaches better timing! you're killing two birds with one stone! 

I hope this helps! 

Love, Sara

PS. If you try it, let me know how it goes?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

YOu don't need to ride more on your crotch. You torso position is not bad as is. You can just sit in the saddle, take your feet out of the stirrup and let them hang down. when they do this, your upper body shouldn't change much. Your legs can be positioned further under you with rolling more onto your crotch. If you were a posable doll, you could move the legs back without changing the position of the torso.

When you ride think of your heels as pointing back, toward the horse's back feet, and think of your weight going down , through your leg, PAST the stirrup and out your heel to meet the moving horse's back feet. This will liin you up nicely and make posting as bsms said it, "unfolding, and refolding, right over our the stirrup bars."


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## StephieRides (Nov 11, 2011)

I had my lesson today and I think it went much better. I was way more controlled in my posting and relaxed a little and let Beauty do most of the work. I lost my camera so I don't have a video but I felt a difference. I focused on doing "baby posts" and just moving my hips and not my entire upper body. I also wasn't as winded as I usually am after my lesson. I felt really good today! I tried sitting the trot a few times and the first time I was able to do it but the other times I felt like I was bouncing all over the place. I'm having a hard time relaxing my hips and moving with her but I know that's something that will come in time.. 

Hopefully I will find my camera and post an actual video of my progress!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Yeah, it does take a lot of time to come naturally. I remember when posting was work, now it's pretty easy, though easier on a hrose that gives you something to post from.

Keep it up!


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I would second getting hold of a copy of Centred Riding, there are so many great visualizations in there to help you get the feel of 'getting it right' 

I still rise by her explanation of imagining a stretchy cord attached to your belt buckle, you imagine the pull to lift up and forward out of the saddle, then have to contrail lowering back into the saddle again, it really helped me.

I have recently bought a new copy, I first read it many many years ago, and it is helping me all over again now.


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## tealamutt (Aug 21, 2009)

Great advice here. I just wanted to chime in as another novice rider who started as an adult- time is a big factor in riding. There are really good tips here and the more you try to work on them the more automatic they become but don't get frustrated if it doesn't all come together immediately. 

As far as posting goes, my horse has a huge trot and it helps me to think more about not slamming back down on his back than "rising" to the post. She will do the work to lift you, your job is to absorb the downward motion. Over all you're looking good, I agree your hands are more quiet than the usual beginner, you seem relaxed and like you're having fun! Great job!

Oh and a 3rd on Sally Swift- her book has helped me so much!


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## darlaflack (Aug 14, 2012)

If you can I would get your coach to put you on a longeline (ideally a roundpen) and work on your position, doing exercises, sitting to posting trot,back to sitting. The horse in the video is not being very generous to you. The Sally Swift book is great, highly recommend it. Make sure the saddle does fit you.


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