Sitting Trot Without Stirrups - Please help!

[Mistertron]

Ok i have always been fine doing sitting trot with stirrups. I never felt unsafe or too bouncy and in general i have never felt like i would come off the horse (this has nothing to do with my previous thread :p). HOWEVER the past two times i have done this in my lessons i have felt really unbalanced :(. I don't feel comfortable or safe and feel like i am going to come off at any moment. I must look ok as two different RI's have never commented about it but it's now making me a bit nervy. I don't why i suddenly feel like this when i am riding the same horse i used to be fine on. In fact she has the most 'sitable' trot out of all the RS horses.

What has happened?? and any tips on feeling 'safer' next time?

[coss]

stirrups often make people feel more secure. without stirrups you have to really sit deep and absorb all the movemetn through your back with your legs hanging long. rather than pushing your weight through the stirrups, you just push your weight down.

crucial thing - relax, its hard but it helps. try and get a more collected trot to begin with as this won't be bouncy.

[horseygirl123]

Now I'm the other way around, i feel more comfortable sitting the trot without stirrups :rolleyes:

I guess the key is to allow your legs to hang long, put your weight into your heels and hug your horse with your lower leg, even grip slightly with your calves if that helps to start with

hope that helped :D

[rhsw]

Now I'm the other way around, i feel more comfortable sitting the trot without stirrups :rolleyes:

I guess the key is to allow your legs to hang long, put your weight into your heels and hug your horse with your lower leg, even grip slightly with your calves if that helps to start with

hope that helped :D

Me too, I feel more comfortable sitting the trot without stirrups, like others have said, let your legs hang long, heels down.

You know what, I was saying to myself a few weeks ago, I know I am due a fall, and I got tense abit, then when I had my fall, guess what, I felt so relived, chilled out about it, and since then I have been totally relaxed doing my lessons, perhaps you thinking too much about this fall?

[Afellpony]

Try and relax and sit soft. Remain soft through the hips and back and try not to become rigid. Make sure you're sitting in the deepest part of the saddle. Keep the trot slow - and - remember to relax. If you stiffen up, you'll find this makes you bounce. Try to put your fall out of yur mind and concentrate on the present.

[Nazdaq]

I understand where you are coming from mistertron as I too feel this way when I try sitting trot without stirrups. Haven't tried in ages though so it might be better now :o
sorry I don't have any other advice as I haven't sorted my own problem with this yet (still getting to grips with canter first!) :D

[Crazy Mare]

Try to keep the trot as slow as possible, relax and remember to breathe.

Sounds daft but when I first tried sitting trot without stirrups I used to hold my breath. This made my body tense up and a tense body bounces all over the place ;)

I find it easier not to grip with my legs at all but let them hang long and loose against the horses side, if that makes sense.

I have had some RI's tell me to grip and others tell me not to grip but not gripping works better for me.

Good luck,

CM x

[Maddison's girl]

try doing it little and often, the longer you are bouncing for the more tense you will become and the more you will bounce :D Just do a few strides at a time then go back to rising. After a while you should be able to build it up.

As crazymare said remember to breath!

[Sarah1710]

Now I'm the other way around, i feel more comfortable sitting the trot without stirrups :rolleyes:

Same here! Sitting trot bareback is easier than with stirrups too IMO. With stirrups I always seem to bounce too much...:o

[vonandiz]

I haven't really any advice to add - I was completely unable to do sitting trot with stirrups without feeling awful until my RI took the stirrups away...when I got them back things started to improve. I know you said that your horse has the easiest sitting trot but maybe you should try another just incase you suit another more. I'm sure it will start to get better again soon. :)

[kiwigirl]

Yep just wanted to add been there and experienced that horrible feeling of bouncing all over the show without stirrups!

I have had the opportunity to this on 3 different horses and they were all totally different. One was so much smoother that I felt totally comfortable. Also being as relaxed as possible allowing yourself to sink into the saddle and absorb the movement definitley helps. Looking back I think my RI was totally mean as she made me do stirrupless trot for an hour at a time on a very bouncy horse (there was alot of pommel holding!) I now have a nicer RI and only do stirrupless for 10-15 min each lesson to help my lower leg position.

On Friday did strirrupless rising trot - oh those hip flexors are now aching!

[gone24now]

I've just started with the sitting trot, no stirrups. I have found that relaxing and using my thighs to grip has helped a lot. I found that gripping with my calves didn't help as much as my thighs. My RI now has me sitting trot without stirrups for 10 paces and on the fly use feet to get back stirrups for 10 paces into a quick post and then losing them again in 10 paces. This has given me more confidence in that I now know that if I lose them anywhere at anytime I can recoup and get them back quickly. It's kind of a fun drill to do too.

[Nazdaq]

Um....I thought we weren't supposed to grip....correct me if I'm wrong???

[Method_Acting]

Have you fallen off recently? I've never had a problem with sitting trot without stirrups until I fell off twice in one lesson cantering:o now when I feel the slightest bit unbalanced I worry a bit.

Try and slow down the trot to begin with, so it's more of a 'jog'. Keep your shoulders back, sit up straight and keep your head straight. I seem to follow where my head is going;)

Keep your legs quite relaxed and long, and your inside leg in contact with the horse's side. Hmmm I can't think of anything else. Just concentrating on keeping your body straight and always making sure you're sitting up tall, or leaning back slightly makes me feel more secure :)

[rhsw]

Um....I thought we weren't supposed to grip....correct me if I'm wrong???

no we not suppose to grip, it only makes the horse want to go faster

[mayoguinness]

You've just got to relax, I used to find the same but now I'm more comfortable without stirrups, somehow it gives me more balance when my legs hang lower, guess thats why I like bareback:) Just a matter of getting used to it;)

[Nazdaq]

I have just managed to get my sitting trot WITH stirrups alot better, and its thanks to Pibstar who said sit right back on your bottom. This helped me have a deeper seat. I can't wait to try it without stirrups in a lesson. :D

[Steph351]

I was always taught to relax - tense you just bounce everywhere
absorb the movement by letting your hips move with the horse, dont try and fight it but keep in rhythm
and to try and push your weight evenly down into your feet
The more often you do it the easier it becomes

[Chels&&Cleo]

Now I'm the other way around, i feel more comfortable sitting the trot without stirrups :rolleyes:


Thats the same with me! Lol x I Love riding without stirrups I Only Get Really Unbalanced when i canter with no stirrups and then slow down from canter into fast trot i go really bouncy n slip side 2 side its just the fast trot that i have got to learn to sit without bouncing x

[Laura+Phantom]

I imagine that from the waist down I am made of jelly...and totally relax :p It does help, and no, don't grip :)

[gone24now]

[QUOTE=rhsw;1302568]no we not suppose to grip, it only makes the horse want to go faster[/QUOT

I don't think I explained this right, it's hard to describe. My RI with suggestion from my DR. who is her husband, suggested to "think" of using my thighs ever so slightly to help me with position to accomodate for my hip/knee issue. I should have explained the situation, and it has done nothing to the gait. :)

[Kittycat]

I had to do a lot of sitting trot with no stirrups at the weekend, and again found it easier than with stirrups. I was on a very whizzy NF and actually felt I had better control, his trot was nice and steady and he didn't keep trying to speed up, probably because I was clamping him with my thighs!!!:D In a normal trot with stirrups he will speed up periodically and given half a chance try and canter, so I was quite pleased!

[Abserd]

I find sitting trot much easier without stirrups - haven't cantered (intentionally) without stirrups! but when i did my position was the best i'd ever done - said my RI - then i told her my feet had come out the stirrups!! It was much more comfortable, although i think i may have slid off after much longer. I find it hard to relax as i'm tensing my shoulders due to (blushing slightly) being a bit too over endowed for riding!! Maybe i need scaffolding!

[lindiak007]

Yep just wanted to add been there and experienced that horrible feeling of bouncing all over the show without stirrups!

I have had the opportunity to this on 3 different horses and they were all totally different. One was so much smoother that I felt totally comfortable. Also being as relaxed as possible allowing yourself to sink into the saddle and absorb the movement definitley helps. Looking back I think my RI was totally mean as she made me do stirrupless trot for an hour at a time on a very bouncy horse (there was alot of pommel holding!) I now have a nicer RI and only do stirrupless for 10-15 min each lesson to help my lower leg position.

On Friday did strirrupless rising trot - oh those hip flexors are now aching!


Don't tell me about strirrupless posting trot . I did it on Friday as well.