sitting trot... pls help.

[minx]

hey folks... i know that i have posted this question before, i hope you won't mind 'cos i am very unhappy and really need help.

i have been riding twice a week for 6 mths, i see no improvement in my sitting trot. i still flop and bounce like a bag of potatoes, i am constantly falling on my nose.

i requested to be put on the lunge. i did it once (last week), it didn't help much. i used to look forward to every lesson when i was riding ponies. my sitting trot wasn't that good either but i find it easier to sit on ponies. i am now riding 16hh horses and i feel that i am getting worse each lesson. i have started to dread so much that i am thinking that perhaps riding is just not for me, maybe i should just quit. it is like a love-hate relationship, i look forward to riding yet at the same time not.

a) my instructor keeps asking me to lean back, i always follow instructions, but i bounce even more.

b) i do try to sit straight but not stiff, i do try to lean on my seatbones, i still bounce.

c) i can't seem to sink most of my weight into my seat.

d) i try not to grip with my legs, but if i don't i'll bounce out of my seat and fall off. i'm not afraid of falling. what i want to achieve is to stay on top and sit, not bounce.

e) u see, if i bounce a lot and fall on my nose or bounce out of the saddle, i grip (is this getting confusing?). it's wrong and tiring for me.

i need your help... can u tell me the factors that affect our seats in the sitting trot? what's wrong with me?

1) should your legs be long and low or should you lift them up a little and wrap them comfortably around the horse's belly? (we trot w/o stirrups)

2) what if you ARE sitting on your seatbones yet still bounce?

3) does our body shape affect the way we ride?

4) what about the clothes/boots we wear? i wear track pants and long boots. i have a pair of jodphurs but haven't been using them.

5) my fellow riders have no problems (doing the sitting trot) with the saddles at all, and i know that they generally fit the horse but not necessary the rider. so why me???

i had a lousy lesson today. i was so very, very discouraged that i felt like walking out of the lesson halfway through. we had to sit to the trot and go round and round the arena non-stop. i sometimes had to stop for a sec to rest. my instructor said that she saw no difference in the way that i was sitting, even after the lunge. after the sittin trot i was so discouraged that i didn't have the heart to do the canter. i tried, but i couldn't get the horse to canter. i felt like such a burden 'cos i tend to waste a lot of time. i'd trot round and round but still couldn't get a canter. in the end i gave up and let the others try it out instead... they did well. i have been having trouble getting the horse to canter for the past few weeks, perhaps it is out of discouragement. i used to be pretty good in it.

i have no problems at all in rising trot. if i manage to get the canter, i can sit pretty well.

i find it difficult to try out Heather's method in the middle of a lesson... my fellow riders don't know this method but they can do it. i have tried practicing it on a stool, but when i am on the horse everything goes berserk. i am always very willing to learn, but i have been so disappointed for such a long time, i feel like the slowest learner and the lousiest rider in the world.

pls help... i have been on the verge of tears lately. have been thinking of giving up but persevered out of my love for horses and riding. after today's lesson, i thought maybe i should... but that means no more riding/horses. i cannot change instructors (there are only two, and i need to pay more for the other instructor, can't afford). this is the only centre that offers riding lessons for the public, the only one that i can afford.

maybe u can share some of your personal experiences with me? i know this is a very long post, hope that you won't mind. i guess i better end now... bye.

minx

[Wally]

Don't worry, you're not the lousiest rider in the world. I'm useless at sitting trot too. My back is shot to bits after various accidents and a mis-spent youth. I find it difficult to absorb the movement of the horse without pain.
(that's why I did away with trot and have Icelandics that tölt, it's cheating but who cares!!)
I did a training course a few months ago in England riding normally gaited big horses. I'm used to being in the saddle for up to 8 hours a day. After one hour a day on normal horses after a week I was crippled.
It's just a practice/balance thing. Keep trying Heather's methods one day it will come right. It is never worth getting upset, riding should be fun. There's loads of us out here that have failings in various departments. Some horses do have powerful gaits that can be difficult to sit to. Keep going, forget the lesson one week and go out for a jolly good thrash and enjoy yourself. Go back to sitting trot later.

[Emarmite]

Hi minx,

Please do not despair, I have the same problem and I have been riding for a year. Not only do I have aproblem with sitting trot, I also find it very difficult to sit for two when trying to change diaganol.

Please do not give up, but like me maybe you are trying too hard and are making it worse, I think that is my problem sometimes.


Just relax and do not worry about it too much and it will come (I will also try and practice what I preach)

Good luck and sorry I can not be of any more help

Beverley

[Allie]

Is it possible for you to ride bareback? I find that it helps tremendously with sitting trot. If you do get to, just concentrate on keeping your legs totally relaxed. dont't ense up at all, just let them drape there so you can get the feel for it. A lot of sitting trot is in your lower back. You have to learn to flex your back with the horse's movement, which I think is one of those things that just "clicks" one day.

If you can't do bareback, try to do the same with the saddle, but it will be a little harder. Try as hard as you can not to tense up your legs at all, and to just relax. This is much easier said than done, so don't feel stupid if you can't get it easily. Just keep practicing, and don't give up! :)

Allie

[DaveB]

I can't be of much help as far as sitting trot goes, I am only just getting the hang of it myself (I am no good at it, but I don't moan and groan whilst doing it anymore) I can only offer this piece of advice, don't give up just because you can't do something. Think about all the things you can do. Sitting trot will become easier eventually, try not to worry so much, and perhaps it might just fall into place.

~Dave~
______

[Sue Carnell]

Hi Minx,

Unfortunately it is very common for riding instructors to take away their pupil's stirrups and make them trot round and round the arena in an attempt to teach sitting trot.
As you've discovered, it doesn't work. As soon as the rider starts to bounce, it's usually too late and the rider can't regain her seat. This usually means that the horse becomes
hollow and jarring in his movement too, in an attempt to avoid the discomfort he must be feeling. The rider
bouncing along, is simply learning how to bounce. :(
There is a prime example of this common error on Heather's video, where she shows home video of a rider having lessons
at various riding schools.

If you came to Heather's, we'd teach you on the simulator exactly how to sit the trot. We'd then put you on the lunge, on a comfortable saddle and a schoolmaster horse, to
give you practise. You'd begin with only a few steps of trot and then back to walk, before you lost your rhythm, gradually building up the number of steps you can sit. We'd keep the horse trotting very slowly and stop immediately if he hollowed, or became rushed. In this way, you'd gradually build up your ability to sit to the trot, ready for you to take your new skill home to practise until you could sit as many times around the arena as you wanted. Starting with a slow, steady trot, gradually building up the power and impulsion, only when you're ready and never racing around.
It's never a good idea to sit to the trot, until the horse is working correctly. He can't support you properly and will be more uncomfortable and more likely to bounce you,
thus it isn't good for either of you.

Your instructor may not have the simulator, or the skill to teach with it yet, if she did have one, but she should ask
you to only sit as many steps as you can cope with, keeping the horse nice and steady and comfortable, with your going into rising and back to walk to start again if you feel you're going to bounce. Most people can sit a couple of steps and can build up from there. Make sure you keep your hands down, as this will encourage your body to stay down too, whilst your learning at least. It's not your fault your instructor's attempts at teaching you aren't suiting you. Although you may feel that the other riders are coping very well, I doubt that all of them are sitting the trot skilfully, or comfortably either. I meet people just like you practically every week, some of them have been riding for many years. A lady I taught only last week had been riding since she was a child and now in her 60's, simply didn't sit the trot at all on her 12 year old horse, as she felt she couldn't do it and didn't want to inflict herself on him and make him uncomfortable. She couldn't normally ride for more than 1/2 hour to 1 hour, yet coped happily with a 2 hour private lesson with me, twice in one week
and was amazed to discover that she could sit the trot easily, once she'd been shown how.

You really are not alone, maybe you could print out this reply and give it to your instructor, if she's the kind, approachable type? :) Good luck in your quest, I'm sure you'll get there and then find the next problem to conquer,
just take it steady and one step at a time!

Sue Carnell

[Mossy]

Minx
If it is any consolation sitting for ages being bounced on a lunge at "sitting trot" is my idea of hell. I have been there far too often. My tip for what it is worth is to see if you can organise yourself a lesson on a horse or pony with a nice broad back and that is well schooled on or off the lunge and then relax. Trying to learn to sit to the trot on an unschooled toast rack is hard work. Breedy types are lovely but if slim and badly schooled no fun for lessons that include novice sitting trot. Incidentally can you sit to the trot for canter transitons? If so think about what you do then when you are not thinking about it - sorry if that sounds daft - and try to repeat it but without the canter aid.

Wally
This crosses with the thread on teaching people to hack. The establishemnts round our way are either mainly trekking yards who do not teach, or teaching establishments, who as policy will not take adults out hacking until they have reached a "specified standard of riding" so the chance to remove the tension for once and relax with a horse just does not occur for novices, or even for non novices who do not match the specified standard and style of riding. I know it helps, for all sorts of reasons, to be safe before you venture onto the road but there is room for a happy medium surely!




[Edited by Mossy on 24th Jun 2000 at 08:42 PM]

[Wally]

Mossy,
This is a sad state of affairs. Surely hacking, and generally mucking about is what riding is all about.

I'm horribly spoiled. We have little or no traffic where I am. All our novices are capable of riding our horses along the roads we have. Thankfully our horses are very good too.
All our roads are commonly grazed by sheep and have livestock all over the place.

Going round in circles only has one advantage, you get very good at going round in circles! Or incredibly disillusioned. To ride a horse you need to understand him in every environment. All my hacks are, I hope, educational. I try to encourage the rider to look at the horses ears, the way he is going, all sorts of things. Then to anticipate him. To hell with sitting trot can you open a gate while mounted, to my mind just as important.You have to have a balance for the sake of the horse as well as the rider.

[Rebecca]

I wondered whether it would help if you tried really concentrating on sitting to the walk? It is a lot easier, but I think I'm right in saying it has a lot in common with how you sit to the trot. So maybe if you really concentrated on the movement you're making in walk (and how your pelvis is moving alternatively left and right a little every time it moves forward and back, so it's like a slight diagonal movement) than this would help you translate the feeling into trot, which is much joltier and faster, obviously, but the same sort of movement.

Perhaps you could ask your instructor if they could just let you keep rising, and only get you to sit for a few strides every now and then, when they're watching? You can always invent a slight back pain as a reason for not sitting all the time.

Hope it gets better!

Rebecca

[highland]

..but just to let you know, I had to work REALLY hard to sit to the trot, until I rode a 17hh horse - fat, with a VERY broard back - who LOVED trotting. This wasn't in my lessons, just in a field on a womans horse!! I was just doing a bit of trotting, and I had never really trotted (sitting) before because I hated doing it at the school!! But this horse made it SSSOOO comfy, it was so much easier than the r.school. So just think - u've probably got the raw deal horse wise, and have a difficult one! Plus, try just doing a few strides - maybe 3, when you go into trot (you can do this at the school-without the instructor yelling at you!) just b4 going into rising trot! I find this the easiest time to do it, and even tho its only short, IT WILL HELP!!

DONT GIVE UP!

good luck - trust me, we've all been thru it!! soem still are, others avoid it!! Hahaha - otherwise, buy an icelandic!! lol

[minx]

thanks for your encouragement, i feel better after reading your replies. boy i wish that my instructor could be as understanding as you folks. now let me reply to everyone of you....

Wally- Mmmm... the horse that i often ride has an ok gait, i mean, it's not so powerful and not so smooth either. my instructor keeps telling me that he's easy to sit on. not very helpful actually. she can (of course) but i can't. i wish that she could be more understanding and sensitive. i don't experience any pain whatsoever anywhere but i sometimes do get stomach cramps (esp in the morning i don't know why) due to the constant bouncing. i've been practicing Heather's methods and i do hope that one day it will just "click". it is very hard for me to enjoy 'cos we do the sitting trot every lesson. my instructor is very critical and has this "practice makes perfect" mindset. i must say that she is an ambitious women. tried to just forget about it but i couldn't, not when i was hanging on to dear life and falling on my nose and constantly hearing what my instructor had to say. well... i have another lesson tomorrow and i've got this dreadful feeling at the pit of my stomach... i hope that it'll be better.

Beverly- i do bounce a little while changing diagonals too, but because it is just a short time i'm not really sure if i've got a problem with that... i always try to enjoy my lessons, i enjoy it when we do rising trot. i always go to my lessons in a positive attitude, but it is getting harder to do that now. i've been trying to overcome my discouragement. i posted that message immediately when i came home from my lesson and it did help when i received everyone's replies.

Allie- unfortunately, no, we can't ride bareback here. i have been practicing how to flex my back on a stool. do u use Heather's methods while doing the sitting trot? i do try to relax my legs, but when i do i'll bounce right off the saddle. is it right for my instructor to say lean back? when i do so i bounce even more. i don't think it's right 'cos when i do so i wouldn't have that imaginary vertical line. but i guess that it was the best advice that she could give.

DaveB- thanks Dave, for the encouragement. yeah, i'm waiting for the day that everything'll just fall into place. right now, i'm just trying to turn a deaf ear on my instructor and enjoy my lesson. i guess the best thing to do is to ride without holding any high expectations for myself.

Sue- what you said was very right. although i am sitting on a saddle i can somehow feel the horse's back getting stiffer and stiffer. as a result, i bounce even more. i can actually do pretty well for the first few strides. in fact, yesterday i was a bit amazed for the first few seconds when i sat so comfortably. but my joy disappeared in a flash. i wish that my instructor could let us do short bouts of sitting trot 'cos i feel that it'll be easier for both the horse and rider. when i started to bounce a lot my instructor just went on and on asking us to do circles and serpentines. unfortunately... i live so far away from your place, in Asia. yes, i bet that the other riders do not feel comfortable at all in sitting to the trot. but i 'd like to at least be able to sit instead of bouncing around like a bag of potatoes. well... my instructor is, unfortunately, not very approchable. i'm afraid that she might get offended. thanks for your advice and i certainly do hope that it'll get better. i am always very willing to learn, i just need my instructor to come down to my level and understand. believe me, i have expressed my difficulties before. all she said was... PRACTICE.

Mossy- i was being lunged on a super-bumpy horse. he doesn't have springy strides but each and every step is so heavy. he has a tendency to lean a lot of its weight to the front. it was hell. i guess my instructor gave me that horse 'cos she thought that i'd learn faster. but i feel that she should give me an easy horse first. i wonder if she ever tried to come up with new methods to teach, or does she just teach and forget about every lesson? the lessons are getting rather lifeless (the horses feel extremely bored, they know what comes next), we do the same stuff every lesson and it can be very boring and tedious (sitting to the trot for almost 3/4 of the lesson). the horses here are all throughbreds, and they are not very responsive to leg aids, i guess a lot of school horses are like that. as for canter transitions... no, i cannot sit well to the trot, that's why i have been having difficulties getting a canter since i started to ride big horses. i've never been to a hack in my whole life, i wish we could 'cos i'd like to relax a bit and have fun.

Rebecca- Mmmm... i will try out your suggestion tomorrow. i don't think i want to invent back pains... :) there was once when i fractured my rib and when i went back to riding i did tell my instructor that i wasn't fully recovered to avoid the sitting trot though i was actually not in any form of pain and had fully recovered. but that was the only time i ever did that.

highland- it's all thoroughbreds here! i can't keep horses at my place, only vehicles. i have to follow instructions or else i'll get critisized and that blows off my self-esteem. riding is supposed to boost my confidence but i feel that i am heading in the opposite direction.

[highland]

Many would say, "Go and speak to the instructor - you don't sound too happy with her.." But I know how hard that is and like many, I cannot speak to my instructor bout that sorta stuff! About the going into trot thing, i tend to do my few strides of sitting until my instructor yells "RISING TROT", I suppose its my rebelling streak coming out!! hmm...but I could see how that would effect your confidence in a group lesson!
do you have ne friends with horses? or possibly a school loan type thing? Could you ride one for like 1/2 an hour per week? If you haven't got the cash, then if its at a scholl you could possibly ask to work for it?! This will AMAZINGLY help you, as just being able to do what YOU want to do, and focus on little things such as transitions, which you dont have time for in a lesson. But then again, this might not be possible!!
I hate to say it but your instructor is right in saying thats its PRACTICE, but she should care and possibly give you five mins after the lesson to do some privately. After all its in the horses interest, and therefore it would be better for her. If your not scared of asking her (which i am of my instructor!) then possibly ask if you can start 5 mins earlier, or 5 mins later at the end, so that you can practice without the group watching? But to be honest, I know how hard this is, and its DAMN hard to ask this sorta stuff!

Good luck what eva u do...

Highland

[minx]

highland,

it is true that i am not happy with my instructor, i did speak to her and thought that it was a waste of time. practice definately does makes perfect... but we gotta practice smart, right? i just wish that she could change methods a little instead of sticking to the same old routine all the time even when it doesn't work. she's not the approachable type, i had to take a deep breath before i went forward to express to her my struggles. i don't think i wanna do it the second time.

i live in Singapore... do you know where it is? riding is not a common sport here so those stuff that u have mentioned is quite impossible... i can't work the horses for them! they wouldn't trust me, they've got their very own, experienced and professional, trainers to do that. i don't think my instructor'd trust me to work a horse.

anyway, thanks lots. i have a lesson tomorrow, wonder how it'll go...

[Sue Carnell]

Minx,

You say that there is another, more expensive instructor. As your own is so unapproachable and you are getting close to giving up, could you not try a lesson with the other?
Maybe have a chat with her first to see how amenable she is to trying out different ways of improving your riding? Perhaps you could then have a lesson once a week, or once a fortnight with her, instead of twice a week with your current instructor? A quality lesson once a month would surely be better than giving up, or suffering twice a week.
Maybe then if the new instructor improves your riding and you want to go back to riding twice a week, you could go back to your original instructor, with maybe a refresher every now and then from the more expensive one. This might give you the confidence to approach the former instructor and insist that you don't do sitting trot for minutes at a time, if the horse, saddle and ability don't warrant it.

From this thread there do seem to be a lot of people in a similar position and just as frightened of approaching their instructors. It doesn't seem to matter where in the world they are. I think it's a great shame, riding is supposed to be enjoyable, even if it can be frustrating at times.

Sue Carnell

[minx]

thanks Sue... but unfortunately, both instructors are sisters, and the other is more outspoken, as a result, she tends to speak out what is in her mind. if she thinks we're stupid, she'll just say it out loud. not saying that i am but just a matter of speech.

there was twice when my present instructor was ill, so this other sister took over her classes, w/o charging us extra money of course 'cos that'll be unfair. it didn't help much (though at that time i was riding ponies and it wasn't that hard), they both use the same approach in teaching.

the reason why she's paid more is because she is in charge of training dressage riders to compete, and she's one of the prominent shareholders at our r.centre.

it is sad of course, that many instructors seem to be so intimidating. i have not been able to enjoy my lessons consecutively for months, constant discouragement can be very testing to me.

i am always very willing to learn... if something goes wrong in a lesson i'll do some research and read as much as i can.

i have tried to work hard by not working hard at all. i hope u know what i mean.

i'm always the earliest (among my fellow riders) to arrive at my r.centre so that i can observe others ride.

i'll try it out again and see how it goes... i hope that i'll have the determination to persevere. hopefully everything'll just fall into place.

[Allie]

minx- I honestly haven't ever read through Heather's pages, so I don't know what her methods are! :) My two horses are laid back Quarter horse types, who have this really slow heavenly trot. As long as you don't let them go too fast, it is the easiest thing in the world to sit to. (makes it kind of hard to post though, because there is no action to throw you up). Generally (for me anyways), the slower the horse is going, the easier it will be to sit the trot. I think when your instructor says lean back, she may mean sit back, as in sit in the deepest part of the saddle. Rather than thinking about leaning back, try to think of it as not leaning forward. you are correct in thinking you shouldn't lean back past that imaginary vertical line. You have also said it was easier for you wen you were riding ponies. Could you possibly go back to riding the ponies for a few lessons?

Allie

[Jo]

Hi Minx,
sitting trot is used to help your balance and position. The idea is that you sit totally relaxed with your legs hanging straight, heels in line with hips and shoulders, back straight without being stiff or hollowed. Six months is not a long time to perfect such a position so don't get despondent. Tell your instructor you want to concentrate on your position in walk before you trot at length again. Try ten strides of walk followed by five of trot and back to ten of walk and so on...This will give you the chance to trot quite a lot without losing balance or tensing up. Your legs should be long and gently caressing the horse's sides - definitely not "knees up" and gripping. But try it in walk and get your balance and position right before you trot. Tell your instructor - YOU are the one paying and if you cannot do something she has been teaching you for a while, she needs to look to her methods, maybe.

[Edited by Jo on 25th Jun 2000 at 08:55 PM]

[minx]

sorry guys.. can't keep u updated on my sitting trot 'cos i freaked out at the last minute and chose not to attend my lesson. i've been feeling very emotional, haven't slept for the whole night & have started to fear, i feel myself trembling at the thought of riding.

no, i'm not scared of falling, not scared of embarrassment. i just feel emotionally unstable. u see, i used to work at my r.centre, and i was critisized a lot too. i lost trust in them (broken promises) so i quit. in my mind, i sort of associate that place as a chance to get a good scolding.

i guess the main reason is that the discouragement has been building up due to being constantly told that i am not good enough.

i go there to learn to sit and have fun, not learn to bounce and get used to criticisms. i feel that once i go to that place i get put down by people.

i just need some time to resolve the unfinished businesses within and get a grip on my emotions. i only had one day to rest (emotionally) and it wasn't enough for me.

so thanks for the encouragement, and also your advices... i will keep them in mind.

minx

[Rebecca]

Minx, please don't be discouraged! Really it sounds like they're awful instructors, and it's you that's been doing them a favour for sticking with them for so long. That's not a very positive way of looking at things, I know, but I really don't think it's your fault if they can't do their job properly! I understand you might need some time out, but please don't feel so bad about it. Also, keep us informed.

Rebecca

PS If you don't ride there for a bit, maybe you could save up for a riding holiday of the tuition sort, since you don't seem to have many options where you are at the moment?

[Wally]

Some so called instructor need to take a close, hard look at THEMSELVES. They are not invincible, They might come to think they are, but no one ever stops learning.
I bet if you were to ask Heather Moffet she would admit to failing in some areas, go on ask her! We are all human, no one has the right to tell anyone they are no good, why, in the name of all that is horsey, did these people become instructors if all they are going to do is put their clients off riding, don't they have a living to make?

You are not use less, if you go by that reasoning none of us here, on this forum should be around horses because we ALL have failings in some areas. Find a new place to ride, somewhere with a laid back fun attitude. But don't give up. You owe it to every one on this forum.

[minx]

no, rest assured, i will not give up riding. well... that's the problem, i DON'T want to give up. this r.centre is the only place that i can afford to have lessons. there are only three riding schools here. i want to quit at my present r.centre, but if i do so i will have no place to ride. i need to pay membership fees and riding fees for the other two.

i do not think that i am useless. but sometimes, accumulated discouragements and criticisms can bring about tremendous stress. i am human, i have feelings and i need to take a break.

i must say that there are a lot of unspoken disatisfaction between the management and i because of my previous experience as an employee there. this incident has somehow affected the way they look at me as a STUDENT. my instructor is taking things too personally, so i know that it is not my fault.

each of us needs some form of support from our superiors. because my instructor is teaching me, because i am under her, i need some assurance, understanding and support. we all need support from the person who is "in charge" of us. because he/she is likely to be the best person to help us through our struggles in that particular area, they are more experienced, they can give the best advices. scold me if she wants if i disobey or break the rules, but don't scold me because i don't know how to master a certain skill or because she wasn't happy with me when i was an employee there.

bygones! i wasn't happy with her too but i'm no longer working there and i've never held a grudge against her. it is her own unfinished business. i clearly know that it is not my fault, so rest assured.

for example, would you be happy to work for a boss who doesn't believe in you and picks on every single thing that you do?

right now i am taking a break from that place. after this break i will go back and see how it goes. if it still doesn't work i am afraid that i will have to leave that place. but it doesn't mean that i am going to quit riding forever.

as for that riding holiday stuff... i am searching for a place, a neighbouring country like Malaysia. well, just want to tell you that i am not giving up, just taking a break.

thanx folks, for the support. i actually feel better now. glad that i chose not to go this morning 'cos i really need the emotional distance.

minx

[Mivs]

Hello there Minx; I just read through your post and am saddened by what you are going through;

Like you, I didn't have a very good lesson either last yesterday; Couldn't get the horse to walk with any sort of impulsion. In sitting trot, my heels wouldn't stay down thus I spent most of lesson trying to keep my heels down in sitting trot; When I forced the heels down, I started bouncing around so much that I had to hold onto saddle or fall off!! Another problem is that can't do sitting trot without holding onto saddle and my reins were all over the place as the horse kept cutting corners, trotting to centre on school!!! Thus I guess we share having a bad lesson;

What I wanted to say is that if you are really dreading having your lessons, why don't you in the meantime forget about lessons and do something like hacking, where there is no presure from anyone; This could help you to enjoy having a riding lesson again and also forget the hurtful/ unhelpful way in which you are taught;

[highland]

you sound unhappy, i guess all my probs were pretty small, i've neva felt in such a way that i dreaded going. But i spose its helped by the fact that i can just change if i want, after all i've got quite a lot of schools near me, (about 5).
How much are these other schools? I think u have 2 lessons per week, so y not change it to 1 per week at one of the others. If your that unhappy then it mite be wise, though its a scary thought! I'm also changing, and I'm going straight into an intermediate/possibly advanced lesson after having private lessons! I'm petrified!! But go and have a look at the other schools, even if its only 1x per week u mite get more out of it!!

good luck and make sure you :) and the world will smile with u!!!

highland


[Edited by highland on 26th Jun 2000 at 07:37 PM]

[Sarah Jane]

Minx,

I just wanted to say don't give up whatever you do. I have been riding for Eighteen months although I used to ride as a kid. I had to go right back to the beginning.

I went through the whole sitting trot thing. Then I seemed to get it. Then something else went astray and I couldn't sit to canter. After that I seemed to be OK for a while.

Then I started jumping and all my balance went I am now trying to get to grips with the jumping and I've lost all my confidence. I can't sit to trot, can't sit to canter and I've now fallen off quite a few times over jumps. I've felt like giving up but I want to get my own horse and I am determined that I can do this.

So next time you can't sit to trot, remember you are not alone, give it your very best and think of every positive thing you manage to achieve.

[Gilly]

What a lot of mail on the subject! I can add to this. I've been practising the same over the last few weeks and without stirrups. I took a tumble on a corner recently as I simply bounced off and the confidence plummetted to zero. However, I then took a very intensive private lesson, where she concentrated solely on my sitting trot. The secret is to let legs hang long and low. Relax your upper body but keep your ribcage up. Loosen your shoulder and FLEX your lower back in and then straigten to absorb the movement of the horse. It works but only with practice and recognition of when to flex and when to straighten. Give it a go. It worked for me and now I can sit trot without stirrups quite comfortably for a reasonable period of time. (having said that - I'll probably go and fall off when I have my lesson on Friday).. Don't give up - the highs will really outweight the lows!

[*Anna*]

Hi Minx, Just to let you know that I have the same problem when it comes to riding big horses - I find it so much easier to do sitting trot on a pony or a small horse. And don't feel too disheartened about it - we all have weaknesses, bad lessons, evil instructors every now and again and you will improve. I've been riding for an embarassingly large amount of years and there are still many things that I do wrong or could improve on which I am realising now I'm taking lessons again. Riding should never be an ordeal for you - is there no way you could switch schools? Maybe help up there in return for a discounted or free ride?

[minx]

thanks for your concern, i am doing fine now. i skipped one lesson to take a break from all those discouragement. and when i went back i happened to get a horse with an easy trot, things were much better that day and i did try to flex my back, my sitting trot was much, much better on that lesson.

i have also been doing jumping, and jumping is one of my strengths :) i love jumping, it gives me the thrills and i feel close to my horse. so i've been enjoying my lessons lately, thank God. i need the ups to keep me going on. but i know sooner or later i have to do the sitting trot again. and i want to learn, not escape. it's much better to master it than to escape and get so stressed every lesson.

so thanks for your concern! i will keep u updated on my sitting trot!

bye...
minx

[Mivs]

Gilly, you say that you flex your back in and out doing sitting trot? How fast is your horse's trot?

I was able to do it when Heather showed me sitting on her saddle with the seatsaver. Back at school, (with no seatsaver)The horse I ride has a very fast up and down movement thus I am unable to flex my back in and out at that pace. It is simply too quick. I have tried slowing his trot now but unfortunately, it doesn't slow down enough!! But I still try and hope to do a perfect sitting trot one day!!!

[minx]

That's the problem... i have trouble flexing my back when the trot is too fast. i can't catch up!

[Maisie]

Oh dear...well, one thing I can say is that DO NOT EVER EVER GIVE UP! Just hold fast to any glimmer of hope you have and keep it there! Build on your confidence. When you have a good lesson, remember it, then recall what you did back then that made everything go so well. Forget all the bad lessons - just erase them off your mind.

Okay, now for the sitting trot bit...Heather's method works but takes quite a bit of knack to learn without the right equipment (eg. the simulator, etc) and horses, but I'd like to point out a few things. These are all what I do and so far they've worked - I actually LIKE sitting trot now! :)

There is no way you can be TOTALLY relaxed in the saddle - that would mean lying flat out - cos you still need your muscles to hold your body upright! And if you didn't already know, trying to relax totally, worsens your seat. Having a good seat means having good muscle tone, and for one thing, your weight shouldn't be concentrated on your seatbones - they should be in your thighs. You should be a framework around the horse, not just a load on top of him. Think of sitting like you were going to levitate...it works.

Also, push your guts out really hard, as if there were a water hose fixed to your belly and you wanted to push the water from your belly out. Try to make the 'water' a strong spray, not just a light sprinkle. Keep it that way as you inhale and exhale, and if you can do it, keep it that way when you go into sitting trot. It reduces the bumps TO A GREAT EXTENT - I can't even really feel them now!

Finally (yes, I know this is a VERY long message), when you're trotting, concentrate on your breathing and keeping the shoulder-hip-heel line, and on keeping your weight down in your thighs.

I really hope this will help because it helped me! Please tell us if you get it right! :)

[Maisie]

With your regard to your riding in Malaysia, I have this very good place in mind. It's called Riders Lodge and the people there are really friendly and the horses are all very nice. Even my mom, who is usually terrified of horses, was coaxed onto the back of a gentle old skewbald. They've got a website - go visit at http://www.riderslodge.com.my

It's a bit expensive, but the quality of the service you get there makes it all worth. You don't need a membership to go in or anything, which makes it EVEN better. The head instructor's Peter Smith, who knows the Singapore Polo Club's riding manager, Dorne Nelson. There's even space for trail rides! I really think you should consider it. :D

[Mivs]

Maisie. thank you for the reply. I am having a lesson next tuesday so will practice until then and will update you on how I get on!!! I am full of renewed hope!! *giggle*

Got to go do some work now

Miriam

[Peace]

Minx - You may be interested to know that your instructor has a clone who teaches in South Carolina! After that sleepless-night-before-the-lesson experience, I took about a six-month break from riding. I began again two months ago, in a different discipline at a different barn. I am still very inexperienced, so take this advice for what it's worth, but there's a book that helped me learn to sit the trot. It's called "Getting the Most from Riding Lessons," by Mike Smith, published by Storey Books. (I can't canter, can't do a rising trot w/o holding onto the mane, and grow faint at the mere idea of jumping, but following these pictures and instructions did teach me to sit the trot!) The technique may be what y'all are describing as flexing the back - you roll the tops of the hipbones forward with the shock, and quickly roll them back again. Forward with the shock (and back). I'd also try it with stirrups - I think I'd be tempted to grip without them. You have to keep your upper body still and erect and your legs have to be fairly relaxed for this to work. I wish you the very best! Sally

[Gill]

I've just read all this thread with great interest. What a shame that something which is supposed to give you such joy, ie learning to ride, is causing such grief. I think the problem here is most definitely bad instruction, or innapropriate instruction at least. A good teacher will make you feel "enabled".
These teachers seem to be causing major hangups for people which then block their learning.
I am having lessons again, after many years, only because I needed to learn to ride a particular difficult pony. I was terrified to go at first! What did I think she was going to make me do?
As it turns out I really love my lessons! My teacher thinks her way around putting things across, and if one way doesn't make sense then she tries another. She praises for all the good achievements. I am still happy about our "shoulder in" this week which was the best so far, but travers....well when I understand it my pony might perform it! But I won't lose any sleep over it. I'll go for a ride along the beach instead. I feel sorry that your enjoyment is being spoilt by these people with closed minds, it does not have to be that way.

[Peace]

Gill - I completely agree about bad instruction. When I was a classroom teacher, I felt my greatest challenge was to convince my students that they enjoyed the subject. I despise watching the reverse happen and seeing an instructor actively work at destroying a student's confidence. It's unfortunate that some people go into teaching, not to mentor, but to control and to dominate. I'm lucky to have found a wonderful instructor this time, whom I unfortunately must leave when I go back to college at the end of this month. I learned one thing from my first experience, though - if an instructor doesn't allow me to first observe his/her teaching, I don't sign up for a lesson!

[Wally]

I couldn't agree more.

I really get cross at instructors that bully and name call thier pupils. What are they trying to acheive? Happy confident riders or an empty riding school. The most important thing is to ask the client what they want from lessons. If they want to go to the Olympics then you need to be persistent and demand high standards.If all they want to do is enjoy a relaxing hobby as safely as possible then who cares if they ain't perfect. Safe and effective are the main aims.
There isn't enough giggling in riding schools if there was 90 percent of folk could ride better!!

Today my friend and I has a jolly good mess about. Neither of us are the bravest rider but we had a bareback thrash. We stayed on because we laughed so much we were limp and relaxed, you can't bounce when you're killing yourself laughing.
More light hearted riding please!!

[Sharmoore]

This works for me. When I sit the trot, each hip rocks side to side, in rhythm with the trot. My left hip drops, then my right hip drops. Each leg is alternately pressing down into the stirrup. Imagine you are hopping on your left foot, then your right foot, but standing in the same place. Or, as if you were standing on a teeter-totter or see-saw, sideways, and rocking from side to side. You'll feel your lower back start to loosen, and you'll begin sinking into the saddle. Breathe deeply occasionally, and look ahead to where you are going, don't look at the ground. Good luck.