setting off on the right diagonal

[raggydoll]

Ok this little problem is driving me potty and mystifying my instructor :rolleyes:

On one rein i can go off on right diagonal no probs. On the other no matter no hard i try i cant get it and i dont understand why. I can even be watching her shoulders and STILL manage to get it wrong. So far i have tried
having her put Bim on the lunge so i can just sit and feel the movement
looking right over my shoulder to eggagerate the movement
waling over poles and saying which leg is going over when
saying up, down or 1,2
riding bareback
watching her inside shoulder

Instructor says not to worry as she sees competition judges doing it wrong and at least i check and correct it (mostly :o ) But neither of us can understand why i cant do it on one rein only :rolleyes: :o

Any suggestions???

[Keket]

Well, horses are left-handed (hooved?) and right-handed just like we are. One direction may feel different from the other, and it could be that putting you off. It looks to me like you've tried everything I could suggest, so it may be a matter of just trying to shut the brain off and go with the horse's movement. An extended trot may help, as it exaggerates the movement.

I'd advise against looking down at the shoulder though. Even just looking down with your eyes can mess you up. This puts you off balance, and if you're not right on in the saddle, you won't get it.

Not that I'm one to talk about diagonals, seeing as I've only just figured mine out after three months. :o

Good luck!

[Skyhuntress]

A lot of people run into the problem you do.
I know I did. I was perfectly fine on my left side, but my right always screwed me up. Just give it a bit of time. When you are riding on the right (that's the side you have no problems on, yes?) concentrate on how it feels, how the horse feels beneath you when you are on the right diagonal. You might have to check your left a bit more often, but eventually you'll get the proper 'feel'

Don't feel bad. I've seen grand prix riders, dressage and jumpers post on the wrong lead during SHOWS.

[LindaAd]

Try setting off in sitting trot, and feel the hind legs move, so you know when you're supposed to start rising. It also helps if you say "sit, rise, sit .." so you know when to rise. If it's wrong, sit a stride, then rise again. It comes with practise.

Linda

[kedwards]

Most horses do tend to be somewhat unevenly developed. One hind leg can sometimes have a little bit more thrust than the other, so it pushes you a little more out of the seat and makes it easier for you to post on that diagonal regardless of which direction you are trotting.

It might take more practice, but you will eventually develop the eye and feel for it. If you sit the trot, you should feel your inside and outside hipbones being moved with the swing in the horse's hips (first right is higher, then left, etc). You rise when the inside hipbone is pushed forward and upward (which happens when the inside hind leg is bearing weight.)

[Tangle]

I'm with Kedwards - most horses are unevenly developed to a greater or lesser degree. The more uneven they are, the more they have a preferred diagonal. The more they have a preferred diagonal, the harder it will be for you to rise on the other diagonal, irrespective of whether it's "correct" for the rein you're on or not. (I often hear it descibed as the horse "pushing" you onto one diagonal - whether or not they conciously do it I haven't a clue, but it does feel like it :p).

As a double check, do you have the same problem on other horses? Do other people have the same problem on Bim?

Assuming she is the problem.... for the moment it might be worth remembering that on that rein you need to start rising and then change the diagonal so it feels "wrong". You'll also (probably) need to focus really hard on keeping yourself even and not allowing yourself to follow Bim's irregularities.

The more you can make yourself ride evenly (however uneven she may feel under you) the more you'll help her to develop more evenly. So no pressure :D

[Lindsayanne]

Could be something other than the obvious... a young riding student of my instructor's was having the exact same problem, and somehow figured out the cause of the problem was that she always carried her backpack on one shoulder. When she began wearing both straps evenly her back muscles evened out and she's been picking up that diagonal great ever since!

[Wally]

Go into a few sitting strides, then feel the rise and fall of your seatbones and hips, when you feel your outside hip drop, rise on the next stride!

[NoviceNic]

I can get the right leg when on the left rein but not on the right rein. So instead of counting 1,2 and rise I count to 3 and then rise. Don't know why it works but it just does. See how many beats you need to sit before you rise to the right leg and then count those beats next time and see if that works. Hope I explined it well enough. Its a bit difficult to explain sat on my bum at home. :p