# Critique my posting/rising please



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

Okay, firstly, I would like to apologize for the very blurry video. My friend did it with his phone. You'll see me better at the 30-50 second mark. It's a short video, but I just wanted some pointers. I know my legs are not entirely visible.. I think I look really stiff (I don't feel that way though), but then again, I never saw myself on video- so I can't tell what's correct and what isn't as far as the hips are concerned. 
My trainer was talking about me being in walk-trot class in the fall for shows, but I just wanted to see how I actually looked.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_referrer=watch&video_id=kPT2yInCbvs


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Can you check to see that you've uploaded your video correctly to Youtube/copied and pasted the link correctly please


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

yeah, not working for me.


----------



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPT2yInCbvs

*I accidentally linked to the user page. Here is the video, skip to 40 seconds or so- I am the one in the dark tan breeches, closest to the camera. Very pixalated, but you can see me posting a few strides clearly.*


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

How long have you been riding and in lessons?

It looks forced/mechanical, so I'm not sure where in your learning process you are at. You have good rhythm though.


----------



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

Skyseternalangel said:


> How long have you been riding and in lessons?
> 
> It looks forced/mechanical, so I'm not sure where in your learning process you are at. You have good rhythm though.


oooo I knew it! I've been riding for two years now, off and on. This year, I've started consistently riding twice a week. I knew there was something off, so I decided to video  
I believe the problem lies in my hip- since I'm a bit stiff there. My leg position is also somewhat forward, which is something I need to work on as well. One might be causing the other.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Its not easy to tell from that video - maybe you're trying a bit too hard which makes you rather stiff and resistant - just relax without going into 'sloppy' mode - sort of soften the edges a bit


----------



## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

You have it correctly. Your lower leg is a bit too forward. This sits you back on your bum a bit, making it harder (and more work) to post forward.

Open you hips a bit and allow your leg to wrap around the horse. That said, you have very good feel for the movement of the horse and your timing is very good. That is the hardest part of it all, IMO. I see you progressing quickly. Just realx your leg, which will help relax your seat and back. With your good timing, it will all fall together very soon.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Yes, agreed on relaxing your hips and having your lower legs wrap around the horse. 

Good rhythm is a great place to start! The saddle could be causing your legs to be very far infront of you, which moves your center of gravity. Not a big deal, just makes it a little harder to allow the horse's impulsion from the trot lift you up so it's a more relaxed and smooth post.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

you are on the paint horse, right?

if that horse offered you a bit more energy , I bet you'd post better.


----------



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

tinyliny said:


> you are on the paint horse, right?
> 
> if that horse offered you a bit more energy , I bet you'd post better.



Yes, I'm on the paint. Haha he is a little slow at the trot. He was a western horse before switching over to english. I'm not sure for how long though.


----------



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

Skip to the 8 minute mark, thank you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd060vAgDgg

Another video of my trash riding. I feel terrible posting it here, but alas, this is the correct forum..
I'm the one in the dark blue vest, chestnut horse with shavings in the tail-that's another story..He needed an obscene amount of leg. Quite frankly, my legs got tired and gave up on me a few times, but I tried my best to push through it even though my horse stopped shy of the corners until later in the lesson (not on film).

I notice I'm more up and down, flail around, with my posting instead of forward and back. Forward and back feels unnatural to me..
I've taken yoga classes, I stretch- I'm just not flexible, so riding is hard. My trainer kept telling me to put my leg back, well, I do honestly try hard to, but the problems remain: I don't feel my legs slip forward, and I don't feel the girth, so it's hard putting my leg behind it. It also hurts pretty bad. The muscle weakness/stiffness is almost catatonic. 
Oh and silly me picked a saddle without knee rolls, so that didn't aid me much.  I laugh now, but I'm mentally drained and deadbeat.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

video is marked private. you have to check your youtube settings.


----------



## Vintagesteel (Sep 22, 2015)

Alright, it's public now.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

thank you. I can't offer much specific advice. I find posting in a hunt seat saddle very hard to do. you really need a lot of impulsion, and you don't have it there.

but, I think, all in all, you are not doing so poorly. don't be hard on yourself. it's hard to learn a lot when you just go around and around in an arena with several other persons, and get really only a few opportunities for remarks from teh instriuctor. really, to learn to ride, you HAVE to get out of the arena and go on REAL ground. 

that said, all in all, you're doing ok. one thing I can say is to work on keeping your hands quiet while you do other things. think of your thumbs as lasers that point, literally, at the bit rings of your horse's mouth. you must keep that direct point, so, you'll have to open and close your elbow joint in order to keep your thumbs lasered in on that mouth / bit.

hang in there, you're doing just fine!


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Still good rhythm, fairly steady hands.

That horse should be going a little more forward  So you don't have to push off your stirrups to post, but instead use your muscles to gentle come down from the horse's natural impulsion pushing you up.

9:45 onwards, MUCH better forward trot. Your posting already looks better.. just don't make your own rhythm by pushing off the stirrups.. which you started to do close to 9:55.

That little part that starts at 10:45 until you leave the screen looks good! 14:58 looks even better, just don't be tight be looser so that it becomes more relaxed through your body.

And just a little advice... be kind to yourself. You're learning, and your legs are actually MUCH improved from the last video you shared. They're far from stupid


----------



## Gossalyn (Sep 12, 2013)

Agree w/ the last two posts... It's good to be realistic about your abilities but you are being too hard on yourself. and just a heads up, the self-doubt, criticism etc. from what I can tell that never goes away.. this is a one step back two steps forward process at best. and when you're one (or two) steps back.. you just need to breath and know you will work through it. It's best not to feed into those thoughts. You are not stupid, and your posting isn't either.  Just keep riding...! and enjoy that ride!! 

oh. p.s. I had that "put your leg" back frustration with a trainer. I obsessed and tried unnaturally just to "put it back". For me, it turned out to have nothing to do with me physically trying to get my leg back. It had to do with my THIGH position. Do you know the exercise where you grab around the back of your thigh and pull the parts of your thigh that contact with the saddle back behind you? I did that exercise and it helped tremendously with my lower leg position. Because after all, my lower leg is attached to my upper leg and one definitely has a lot of influence on the other! Give it a try and also try getting your weight down into your heels and it should help with that.. If something hurts more than a stretch, it's likely not right. There's good pain and bad. 

here is a link to a video of a girl doing this exercise (around the :37 mark) I would argue she might be pulling her entire leg back, but the idea is to rotate your thigh so that instead of the inside/back part of your thigh being on the saddle, the inside/front part is.


----------

