Please Help

[luv2ride]

Thank you to the two people who responded to my last post "Balance Troubles" I feel much more balanced now. But now I am having trouble because when I begin to post, I tense up and pull on my reins. My instructor tells me to relax and balance off my seat. Does anyone have any ideas about how I can relax while posting.:confused:

[Maci]

Ask your instructor to put a rope (I don't know the horse name for it) around your horse's neck, so you can hold on to it when posting your trot. It will be alot kinder on your horse's mouth to hold on to a rope until you learn to balance yourself properly, when posting. But don't rely to heavily on it, because you won't be able to learn that way.
Good Luck, And Don't Give Up!
Maci :)

[Edited by Maci on 30th Aug 2000 at 06:37 PM]

[olympicprincess]

You can use an old stirrup leather or a piece of baling twine for a neckstrap. Just don't hang on the reins!

[Maisie]

You're pulling on the reins because you probably don't have a very good seat that can balance you enough for you not to hang onto the horse's mouth.

Ask yourself if you are taking the horse or if he is taking you. Try to 'take' the horse (a.k.a. bring yourself back into control over him). Then push out your tummy (imagine a hose fixed to it and try to get a strong spray of water out of it). This usually cures the pulling hands. Don't focus on your hands, focus instead on your torso and your centre. Your pulling hands come about mostly because of an unstable position, so it's probably going to work if you work on your hands alone. You've got to work on your body and position first.

Hope that helped! I used to have that problem too and what I said above worked for me! :)

[Wally]

A trick we used to do to help balance is:

Stand in your sturrups while trotting on the lunge or safe, enclosed arena. Get rid of the reins, tie them up or get someone to lunge you. Place your hand on the horse's withers with your thumb one side of the mane and fingers the other. This is for support. Then once you can trot standing in the stirrups for a while take your hand from the withers see if you can trot while standing without holding on. This should help with your balance and in turn with rising trot. Don't worry it all takes practice and muscle tone, it will come.