Maintains outline in sitting trot, but not rising

[joy70]

anyone help me?? what am i doing wrong???

Had a schooling session with my boy yesterday, and my friend very kindly offered to come and help be my eyes on the ground, she also put out some trot poles on the corners for me! as todd gets very bored easily in the school.

We did some very nice work, and he softened in his mouth and came down into a beautiful outline, although a little low at times, my friend suggested that as we were heading (pardon the pun) in the right direction to let him work were he felt comfortable, so we did! she asked me to take up sitting trot, something i don't do very often! but we assumed sitting trot and this hollow backed on the forehand neddy of mine was transformed into a beautiful lil dressage pony, lovely paces nicely soft in the jaw and a beautiful outline, i was beaming :D my friend then asked me to rise to the trot, which we did, and then sit again, we did this for a while, and assumed walk.

My friend noticed that while he would work beautiful at sitting trot as soon as i began to rise he would stop working thru his back end properly :confused: so what is it that im doing wrong!

we continued the schooling session, and did some canter work, his canter was quite good too and he did very well, after jumping some grids and fences i went back to trot, sitting, then tried rising and he seemed to continue working through this time!

so what am i doing wrong that he won't work properly in rising trot, or is it just that he needs more time to warm up to work through at the rise???

bear in mind, thsi is probly the first time in nearly 11 years that he has EVER worked properly and im sooo chuffffed! :D

[Piaffe]

hey - well done matey!!:D 'tis very very nice when they feel all light underneath you and in your hands.

I am wondering if you tensed up as you started to rise to the trot, causing him to stop working from behind? Either that or he may have got to the point where he felt he'd done enough work for one day - especially if he's not used to it - he may have been tired?

At least you've got something to work on though - practice rising and sitting trot, work without stirrups etc and see how he goes.

[Yann]

I'm not suggesting it is in this case but if the rider's technique isn't good in rising trot - ie getting behind the movement and bumping down in the saddle or unsteady hands could cause the horse to hollow.

Normally a horse should be able to take rising trot more quickly then sitting trot, I've always been told not to do any sitting trot until the horse is well worked in.

[virtuallyhorses]

Yes, perhaps ask someone to check your rising technique - it could be balance, or that your legs become ineffective or that your hands become unsteady.