Canter!

[sazzle10]

Hello everyone!!

First just give u an update on 2days GREAT! ride!! Went in2 the big scary feild for the first time this year and he *** an absolute gem! He did (nearly) everything i asked him to and didnt get worked up hardly at all compared to what he used to be like, things have moved on!! Im also hoping to start jumping him and want to take him to our first fun ride in april, fingers crossed!!

Anyway what i really was posting about is cantering. Cheyanne has a really bouncy trot and its hard to sit the trot! I do manage that but when trying to give leg aids in a really bouncy sitting trot i find really hard!

My legs go flying everywhere and end up not giving very good leg aids which means cheyanne doesnt know that i want him 2 canter!!

Sorry if u dont understand this but could anyone give me some tips for my leg aids?!?

Please Please Pleaaaaaase help lol!

Thanks, sazzler! :D

[virtuallyhorses]

Well, I guess you have a couple of options until you get your sitting trot sorted - that's to ask for canter either from the walk or from rising trot. Both work and you wont have sitting problems.

From rising trot you simply put your outside leg back during a 'rise' so that the horse knows its going to be canter and then use your half-halt and seat to ask for canter as you sit - voila! no real transition time in sitting trot.

As for leg aids while in sitting trot, perhaps try not to think about your legs so much but more on your seat - the real aid for canter comes from your seat, that sort of flick with your pelvis- legs are just a 'trick' to ask for left or right canter depart and to prepare the horse 'hey, I'm about to ask for canter' - so if you're out hacking does it really matter?

[FreedomStar]

try tipping your pelvis forward, so that you are sitting on your bum and you can absorb the movement more. Any rider can sit any trot(almost!) if they get the seat right. I used to do this too and I'm working on it, but riders, mostly female, tend to ride with a hollow in their back,a dn that is because of how their pelvis is positioned while they ride. Their back is stiff as a board and so it is much harder to absorb the movement. There's somthign on New Rider about sitting trot. I learned this from someone who teaches natural horsemanship or something, and remembered it when I read about it on NR. It really works too.

Although if you're still having trouble, try asking for canter from 2 point. It works that way too.

[vjwuk]

I have the same trouble, lovely rising trot, turn the corner sit for canter aid and hey the feet are everywhere, the bum bounces, the poor horse is "yup and you want me to do what exactly?".

I am getting there but I have to beg to differ Freedom Star, although I by no means proffess to be any more than a novice I have been trying to master the sitting trot for a few years now on various school horses. Have watched the vidoe, read the book and practised on a stool.

A few weeks ago I had to ride a different horse and after asking for trot and having to sit to get the diagonal I realised that this horse had a trot I could sit to perfectly. I spent the whole lesson doing sitting trot (my stomach muscles complained a tad). Next lesson on my usual horse nothing, so I have a feeling you must be naturally glued to your saddle you lucky thing. If it were only as easy as you make it sound.

[Sooty]

the real aid for canter comes from your seat, that sort of flick with your pelvis

Viv..... this sounds interesting - my instructor has never mentioned this! She has just told me to use my leg behind the girth. Can you explain it a liitle more so I can give it a try at tomorrows lesson? Thanks! :)

[FreedomStar]

yes, it does help if the horse you're riding has a smooth trot, but we're talking about a horse with a much more bumpy trot. The horse I usually ride doesn't have a smooth trot, but it isn't bumpy, it's one of those 'posting trots' which is easier to do on him than sitting. It's hard, and I STILL haven't completely mastered the sitting trot yet, but i'm getting there. Usually for me, it's my lowerback and abs(sometimes) that get a bit sore but that's how I know that I did the sitting trot properly and was able to relax. Try lengthening your stirrups to flat or dressage length if you feel secure enough, and work from there. Even try dropping your stirrups and just work on 'dropping' into the saddle and letting your legs hang long.

[vjwuk]

Freedom Star, I have wondered if lengthening my stirrups might help, when I have looked at Heathers books she almost seems to be standing with just a slight bend in her knees. Logically you have easier movement in your pelvis the straighter your legs are so I might try it next lessons. I have stuben stirrup straps (long) and am on hole 10 but do have a 34 inch inside leg. Try anything once

[Jamey]

Maybe if you tried more work in sitting trot or without stirrups (painful I know) then it would improve your seat and get you more used to it so that when you go into sitting trot for you canter transition, your legs don't fly all over the place :D . Just a thought.

[FreedomStar]

yes, lengthening your stirrups would help a bit to absorb the movement, but mostly it's because riders sit more forward on their crotch when sitting the trot. and it is easier to sit the trot without stirrups. Try dropping your stirrups or crossing them in front of your saddle, and trotting like that. Bring your legs forward slightly and bend them, as if you were riding with really long stirrups. this will make you sit back on your rear a bit more, and it's easier to sit the trot that way. then when you're ready to canter, bring your outside leg back and tap him behind the girth. If you can, without making the horse swerve in, use a little inside rein. and maybe some inside leg at the girth if it isn't working. but if you use both legs, you have to squeeze at the same time.