# Slowing my rising trot?



## BeachinIt (Apr 17, 2012)

Subbing! I have this problem...sometimes I end up sitting for two beats instead of just sitting longer for one beat.


----------



## Katz1411 (Jul 31, 2014)

I hum or sing (quietly!) to a rhythm I want to match. Helps to remember to breathe too.


----------



## Ambberxx (Jan 18, 2014)

Arat07 said:


> Subbing! I have this problem...sometimes I end up sitting for two beats instead of just sitting longer for one beat.


i do that al the time and my trainer gets soooo annoyed at me!


----------



## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

Try doing relaxing breathing. You might not be anxious when riding, but the breathing may just reflexively slow your body down as well as relax your seat. 

1. Inhale, count 5 
2. Hold breath, count 7
3. Exhale, count 9 
Repeat!

I had a mare that would get nervous and trot fast like a nut and I would do the breathing to slow everything down, and it really helped me.


----------



## EquineJessie (Dec 8, 2014)

I think practice may be your best bet here.... I had some issues like this while riding a young mare. She felt the need to always go faster than everyone else. Half halts seemed to do wonders. It sounds like he/she changes her pace every few seconds which causes you to get out of the rhythm. You could try to really lengthen his/her strides and slow him/her down as much as possible, just barely trotting. Focus on keeping him/her at this pace for as long as possible, then start posting very slowly, really pushing through every movement. Work at this pace until you're completely comfortable and then start to go a little faster and repeat. This helped me a lot and I also found I had much better control over the horse I was riding. 

When you sit for two beats, don't think of it as sitting for two beats because the time goes by much too quickly. Think of it more as sitting for one beat and feeling that bounce when you touch the saddle. My coach loves to tell me "Rise and fall with the leg on the wall."


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You rise and fall with your horses stride - not by yourself - so how fast/slow you go is directly related to how fast or slow he's going
Try sitting for a while instead of posting and 'feel' the horse's movement - and then go with it
If it helps have your instructor call 'up/down' to you in time with the stride


----------



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Was going to say what Jaydee just did. You go with the horse. You don't push yourself up, stand up, whatever, but allow the horse to 'bump' you up. 

I imagine though, you mean you're wanting to slow *the horse's* trot down, maybe he gets faster & faster? If he's not very well trained yet, then I seriously wouldn't worry about speeds within gaits, until you've got him reliable about those gaits to begin with. Once he's reliable about not breaking gait without being requested, then you can start 'refining' it. But not until you've got something good to refine.


----------



## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Ambberxx said:


> i have a problem with slowing my rising trot, i do it for a couple of seconds then loose the rhythm, any suggestions?
> I have to do this as i ride a very strong, fast youngster who will gallop off with you at any given moment.


How to do this varies somewhat with the circumstances. For example, a horse may be heavy on the forehand. The horse may feel the need to rush forward in order to keep from falling on its face. In this case, the most effective approach would be to develop the strength and flexibility of the hindquarters so the horse can move in better balance.

If the horse has the ability to balance better and control its speed, more emphasis would be given to half-halts.

Rider balance is also important.

Finally, when responding to the horse's movement by performing a rising trot, we can have some influence by how we respond. If the horse is accustomed to our two bodies moving as one, we can slightly alter our movement, and the horse will like respond by altering his. This, of course, takes time and patience.


----------

