posting without stirrups

[horse luver876]

hey when i post without stirrups my knees just wont stay on the sadle any suggestions :)

[mustang fan]

not trying to sound mean but.... grip grip grip grip! that is the key it also takes ALOT of practice!! practice makes better :) well what i mean by grip is keep steady contact with the saddle. :)

[UnsettledDust]

No advise sorry just a 'why do people want to do rising trot without stirrups?)

Kirsty - She who is uninclined to do any work without stirrups full stop!

[Cheeky]

Hey ... practice, baby!

answer to rising with no stirrups: muscle building!!!! Makes ** legs ache (a good thing), strengthens your muscles, tests ** balance and control ... and most of all jst muslce building :)

chow

[Bay Mare]

I'll be different (as usual :rolleyes: )

DON'T GRIP

If you grip you will only bounce more as gripping = tense muscles = not relaxing = bouncing.

What are you like at sitting trot? That may not seem as though it answers your question but if you're bouncing at sitting trot then rising trot without stirrups is probably not going to be that comfortable either. Work on your sitting trot AS WELL.

Think about relaxing your legs, they should just 'hang' rather than actually 'do' anything. When you're doing rising trot without stirrups (great for showing you how weak you are ;) ) you should make the movement as small as possible, it really isn't a 'rise' but more of a rocking. Let the horse 'rock' your hips forward to 'rise'.

UnsettledDust - it's a great exercise for strength, it's also good for working on the rising trot with stirrups as you can't use the stirrups to stand up in (obviously because they're not there .... :o ) and helps you to get a nice smooth movement without the hoiking up and down that you often see! It's also a good exercise for if you lose your stirrups, if you can still carry on without your stirrup then it's not going to be a problem for you if you're in a test or show. We also used to do a bit with one stirrup again for in case we lost our stirrups, one way was easy, the other more difficult. It's great for your balance too!

[galadriel]

Hmm...Unless you're having trouble of some kind with balancing or keeping a softer seat, why do your knees have to be on the saddle? You should be using your calves and thighs; if your knee comes off but it doesn't cause you problems with whatever you're doing, it's not such a bad thing.

I've only ever recommended "gripping" for one student, and that was a temporary thing to help her figure out what to do with her legs. She had her whole leg pointed out so much that her only contact with the horse was at her seatbones. (Now, THAT will interfere with your seat and with your ability to ride well...) For the typical rider, gripping will only bring your heels forward, your calf off the horse, and make you bounce (as Bay Mare says).

[Pickles]

When I was shown how to rise without stirrups I was told to turn my knee out slightly away from the saddle to put my inner thigh muscle onto the saddle.

It is this inner thigh muscle which we use to rise (plus movement of the horse) when we can't rely on the stirrups.

in other words don't worry too much about your position when doing this exercise, it is only an exercise and not a long term way of riding.

[qwerty]

I learnt to rising trot without stirrups (and canter!) and found it really helped me.
I used to have a similar problem but had to sit tall and imagine my legs were hanging really heavily like wet towels. Sounds odd but it worked!!! I slight tilt of the pelvis is all you need to "rise" so your legs can stay still.

[kedwards]

If there is a downside to doing rising trot without stirrups, it's that many people grip with their knees too much when doing it (I'm one of them), instead of having the thighs and calves remain the main contact points. If you are getting on just fine without gripping with your knees, that may be a good thing.

On the other hand, if your knees and toes are turning way out, then you may want to adjust your position. Try pivoting your leg at the hip so that the inner part (not back) of your thigh is against the saddle. Don't force your legs straight and your knees way down, but allow your legs to rest in the same position they would when you have your stirrups.