Jumpy hands while in sitting trot.

[Palomino]

Whenever I go in to sitting trot or when I trot without stirrups my hands always seem to move up and down. I am pretty good at keeping the rest of my body still but my hands keep on letting my position down. The thing is I find it really easy to keep my hands still when doing rising trot.

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep my hands still?

Palomino.

[Maci]

Be careful when you keep you're whole body still while sitting/riding without stirrups in trot, because you could be tensing without knowing it to keep yourself still. Relax and breath! Make sure you don't grip with your legs, and try to keep you hands low. Try to absorb the movement in your legs and sit "deep". Practice and dedication! I can't think of anything else, right now...

Hope This Helps & Good Luck!
Maci :)

[belle]

Jumpy hands in sitting trot comes from stiffness in the back, so the best thing you can do is relax, and practise. This should help.;)

[Moonlightrider]

Fill a glass to the top with water and run all around the house! Jump over things, go up and down stairs, and all that stuff. It helps with keeping your hands still no matter what the rest of you is doing. Also work on your balance - sometimes my hands move on a sitting trot because I don't have enough balance to stay still, but with my stirrups/rising, I do.

[Gary]

Something that helped me long ago was to keep my pinkies in touch with the mane. Its just a training tool. Not for show. If your a jumper... you grab mane when your learning.. heck i still do.. Im not saying go round with your hands full of mane, but just touching.. By letting your hads flop round you run the risk of the horse getting a high head set trying to avoid the jarring in the mouth, teath ect...

[LindaAd]

Or a strap across the D-rings in the front of the saddle - there's a discussion about this in the Englightened Equitation forum, under the heading Pelham Compromise.

[lamprellsarah]

my boyfriend had this problem i did the run about jump around the house thing with him, he wasn't very good at it!!!!, so that he understood the point more i lunged him, and he had to sit there with two bottles of water and look at them and concentrate on keeping the water still at whatever gait her was in. :p
i am mean
i tryed the strap one as well, (the strap between the d rings), but i found it encouraged him to ride with his hands down there, and so he found it hard to stop because he didn't have the full range you would have if you had your hands up.

[Palomino]

Thanks for the sugestions everyone I'll try them out!

I have just thought about it more and I think that I feel relaxed consciously but I am not relaxed subconsciously.

Palomino.

[floppy]

it'll come gradually :)

[EventPony]

Ack..i have that same problem at the sitting trot..my instuctor is constantly telling me to keep them still...she tells me to imagine holding a glass of water..i do..and it works for a little bit, then when i lose my conccentration.or start concentrating on something else to fix...m hands start moving again..i guess u could try string or baling twine around the neck or bewteen the d-rings...but it might make u start carrying ** hands like that and break the bit-hand-elbow line, ya know? Well..u could also try actually carrying a plastic cup of water with u....unless ** horse would freak.....well..tell me what helps so i can try!

[intouch]

So long as you are on a safe, steady horse, try letting the reins go on his neck and resting your hands on your knees, first, then on your waist, then outstretched to the sides. Keep your shoulders back but relaxed, and follow the movement of your horses back with your hips, ( read what Heather has to say on this, she can explain it better than I can!) Don't do more than a few strides to begin with, and graduall increase it as you become more supple and relaxed. And don't be too hard on yourself, the fact that you are aware of the problem is the first step to fixing it.

[aniukas]

don't worry - steady hands is something that is accomplished over a number of years in the saddle. steady hands is a result of a very balanced and independant seat. keep working on your seat overall and remember to keep your elbows close to your sides while sitting the trot - sticking them out will only make things worse. good luck!

[Liz M]

This may be no help what so ever but if your hands go above or below each other you could try holding your crop across the top of them. I haven't tried this myself but have heard it can be useful. You tuck it under your thumbs along with the reins. Hope this is of help.
Liz

[B W]

You all are so good to be able to keep your hands still while rising trot. I'm still working on rising trot and now working on hands that don't pull on my horse's mouth. I didn't realize how much I was pulling until my friend took the bit in her hands and we practiced "being the horse" and feeling how little movement in takes to feel the "tug". Now I feel really bad for my horse putting up with me. My horse is a "green" horse and I don't want to ruin him. I'm a "green" rider and now I'm wondering if I should get a different horse. I just want to ride without getting in his way. He's a nice horse. Any advice?

[Palomino]

B W, maybe you should post your problem on a new thread as you may get more input. I myself am not very experienced with green horses and I don't want to give you the wrong advice.

I have only been hacking for the last couple of months so I couldn't put any of them into practise. I will try them out when I go off to college in a couple of weeks.

Palomino.

[lamprellsarah]

i wouldn't worry to much, how long have you had your green horse? if he has not shown any discomfort and is responding quiete well to you even though he is inexperienced, maybe you move your hands less than you realise!!
he will tell you if you are pulling a lot and causeing him discomfort.

[Hels]

I'm reassured that other people have bouncy hands at sitting trot, as I was told this only today. I was trying to keep them still but trying to keep in the saddle was taking up more of my attention!