Why did I have to ride the big bumpy throroughbred today?

[maria9657]

Well today at my weekly group lesson we started no stirrup work.

Well I did fine at walk and halt but trying to trot with no stirrups on a very bumpy thoroughbred proved to be quite difficult.

I am looking forward to getting to try it again, I was amazed at how unbalanced I really am although I thought that I was doing pretty good in that area.

So if anyone has any tips I would really appreicate it.

Thanks

[DavidH]

Most TBs, if allowed to will trot with a short rapid stride which is very bouncy. Next time try pushing him forward more in the trot and using half halts at the same time. If you can slow his rythm and lenghten the stride the trot will be a lot smoother.

Good Luck

[kedwards]

Dead on David. I was recently thinking about this and it really does seem to be very common with TBs.

I have a friend who had always ridden warmbloods, but was looking for a new horse. She'd looked at a number of TB's and was complaining to me that their gaits were always "choppy." It took me by surprise when she said that, because I tend to associate TB's with longer, swingier trots. And they do tend to have them in them, but the key, as David said, is to convince them to focus on maintaining a slow, steady rhythm.

[hometrotter]

Once you are bouncing around it is very hard to do anything else. You might want to try holding the front of the saddle to calm your seat and relax your legs. Once your seat is quieter you can work on getting the horse going better.