How long to master the rising trot?

B

Bluebelle 71

New Member
May 18, 2009
9
0
0
Hi all

I am very new to horse riding at the lovely age of 37! I've had 5 lessons so far and 1-3 seemed fab, real progress although a bit messy. However lessons 4 and 5 have really been frustrating. Losing my stirrups, horse not even moving faster than a walk for me and when he did I was falling forward, feet shooting forward, and bumping in and out of saddle.

To be honest I am not sure what my legs are supposed to be doing. I am being told to relax the lower leg, keep them back, give him leg or something...then I read you need to have your legs wrapped round him but no knees I am really confused what the heck I should be doing with these legs of mine, help!

I've got a block booking of 7 more lessons which are in a group. We all started at the same time and I feel they are advancing past me which is disheartening when I cannot master the rising trot and some are going into canter already. After this lot of lessons I will decide whether to continue and not sure if I want to do a group thing or private lessons. Does anyone do one private every two weeks and how does this fare with their progress?

I also bought some basic short (jodhpur?) boots and these feel a bit big on me (bought off ebay). I have to wear big thick socks - which also stops my legs getting pinched by the stirrup leather things. Do you think the wrong sized boots are hampering my progress as in I dont have proper control? I dont know whether to get new boots...

Sorry lots of questions but I am a perfectionist and really want to master at least the rising trot :)
 
Hello and welcome to New Rider!

First thing I'm going to say is don't get disheartened with your progress. Horse riding is two steps forward and one back, all the time! I have had my horse for nigh on 9 years now and still have good and bad days - so please persevere!

Firstly, I would say that as an absolute beginner, private lessons if you can afford them are a must. Group lessons are fine once you have learned the basic walk, trot and canter, but when you are learning from scratch, you cannot beat the one to one tuition that you get from a private lesson. Even with a samll group, you have to share the instructor, so my advice would be that until you can trot and canter confidently, you have just a half hour private lesson each week.

Secondly, your boots. If you have to wear massively thick socks, then they are too large for you and wearing boots that are too big is not helping. Go to your local tack shop and buy a cheap pair of jodphur boots - I would shy away of buying anything like boots of Ebay, because even if they are your size, you have no idea of what they are going to feel like once on.

Good luck - and keep at it! Believe me I was once in your shoes - an adult rider who was starting from scratch! Persevere, please, because you won't regret it!!

PM
x
 
To be honest (trying not to be mean at all) I find perfectionists the hardest people to teach.

Others after getting the basic idea just get on with riding the horse while the perfectionists worry what their legs,arms etc are doing. I am not saying position is unimportant but I firmly believe being able initially to get the horse to do what you want takes precedence.

Look at those who are getting to canter, I doubt their positions are perfect but they probably just get on with trying to get the horse to go where and how fast they want.

After 5 lessons some may be in a position to try canter but the majority will still be improving trot. If you are still struggling to get trot (unless you are always lead file which is another issue) you may need to ask for a couple of private lessons. Personally I find adult beginners gain more generally from group ride order (drill) work but some do need a couple of one to ones .

Yes the wrong boots will make life very much harder but essentially forget about feet shooting forward, the missed rhythms and just concentrate on getting the horse going where and when you want.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, especially interesting from the instructors point of view (I assume you are eml?)

I appreciate what you are saying about the perfectionists, I must be a nightmare to teach at times :o but it was just cos I was doing so well then I went backwards. I do need to just chill out and enjoy the time though as my hour each week goes so quick and I dont want to get off the horse! Apparently I have a very bouncy horse which makes the trot harder, is that right? the instructor is considering putting me on a gentler paced one I think.

The reason I ask about the leg thing is that every week she is shouting to me 'legs back' and shouts for me to get the horse going quicker while I'm riding but its hard when my feet seem to be in the wrong place to do it. Im still better than I was on my first lesson so I guess I'm just a slower learner.

One of the cantering riders used to ride as a child, the other lady seems a real natural at it. Ah well, I guess I need a few one on one sessions :)
 
Yes I am an RI Bluebelle, I teach (or did before recession) about 200 people a week.!!

Don't get too worried about comparative progress. My adult beginners can vary from cantering on about lesson 6-10 to taking months or even a year to be competent in trot. They all get there eventually.

The horse you are riding is vital, I personally find it easier to teach trot on one with a pronounced even bouncy rhythm however it really helps if at the same time they are saintly enough to just follow the one in front provided the rider doesn't interfere!

What stage have you got to in trotting, are you struggling to keep rising and if so how were you taught to rise?. After several decades of teaching I can generally get an adult rising correctly(ish) after a few strides but that is after many experiments and my later pupils developed a far better feel for trot than those I taught as a new teacher.
 
Thanks again for your reply.

I was told by the instructor it was harder on a bouncier horse and everyone that has ridden him says he is v bouncy, i feel like a pea in a drum sometimes!

To learn the rising trot the instruction at first was v short. We were basically led by someone who got the horse to trot and then we had to learn 'up, down' when it was trotting. This was on the first lesson. They have covered a bit about the horses front leg and when you are out of the seat but to be honest I am struggling to do anything but look forward at this stage.

Where I go wrong is that I start off ok then the horse's bounce sends me off balance, my feet slowly slip through the stirrups, legs going more forward making it hard for me to rise unless I am rising forward instead of up. My feet then slip out of the stirrups as I try and get them back onto my toes and it just goes to pot. I also have a tendency to raise my hands to high on the reigns which I think is causing the horse to stop any trotting.

Last week for some unknown reason he wouldnt go into trot at all for me, despite me trying to squeeze, kick etc. The instructor had to use the whip on his back which I didnt like, I think he was just tired from the hour before.

Edited to add: They have recently started shortening my stirrups to help me stay in them a bit more which seems to help but my legs are still too far forward apparently.
 
Oh Bluebelle I wish you were close to me so I could show you...

Up..down etc and introducing diagonals (the bit about front legs ) is just how not to learn a good trot...I know ...I taught like that years ago when I started. Instructors using a whip would be sacked by me and shortening stirrups (unless RI had them too long to start with) is not a solution.

I assume you are now trotting as a ride so if you can when the instructor says prepare for trot shorten your reins while nudging or squeezing depending on your horse the when they say trot on, loosen your reins and grab the neckstrap or saddle with your inside hand sit for a while until you feel the trot rhythm and then just let it bounce you gently out of the saddle in the same timing. Dont go high, dont use thigh or back muscles just let the horse do the work. Once that is working using your legs to control the horse will become much easier.

Edited to add you should be rising forward not up...think shoulders goign toward horses ears
 
As another relative beginner I would say have some private lessons. I have been having a weekly 45 minute private and I have progressed so much. You get one on one attention and can stop and ask if you don't understand something.

My RI does quite a bit on the lunge to improve my seat and position and I find it really useful. I can concentrate on whatever we are working on specifically. Usually we do 25 minutes on the lunge and then go off the lunge for the rest.

I would definitely get a better fitting pair of boots. I had ones that were a bit big and I felt like I couldn't keep control of my feet. It was much better with the right size boots.
 
When i started riding 5 years ago at the same age as you i had private lessons once a week but also i just hired horse out once a week and just played on him which helped alot as it helps to relax you helps with ballance and you learn to trust your ride without ri looking over you. 5 years on i have 5 horses and still have private lesson every week as like driving you get into bad habits. just try and enjoy yourself you will get it :D
 
Hi Bluebelle,
I started learning to ride as an adult begginer back in January. I had one group lesson and almost quit cus it was so traumatic (was put in a group of kids). After that I went to a different school who insisted that your first few lessons were private ones. My instructor is fantastic, if I don't understand she starts running round the school like an idiot trying to demonstrate lmao. Rising trot took me between 2 and 3 months to learn and I found it tricky. I would agree with letting the horse push you out of the saddle at first, just until you get used to the rythm. Also what you have read about keeping the knees away is what I have been taught. When my instructor says leg on she has told me that it means lower leg as you have a tendancy to tip forward in the saddle if you grip with your knees. I have a video of one of my first successful rising trots on youtube if this helps. You can also see my instructor showing me how to control your legs so this might be useful to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgkUNe49cPk
 
Hi everyone

Thanks for your comments and tips, I will definitely try what you said eml, I think I was doing more of that at first in lessons 2 and 3 as I had to hold onto the front of the saddle to get my balance - I couldnt let go with my hands and just hold the reigns at all at first. It will be hard to ignore the instruction though cos as soon as the trot gets going she shouts up, down!

It may only be coincidence but the last 2 lessons I have had a different instructor and I dont like her way of teaching as much, she can be quite negative about the way you ride whereas the other lady is always positive and encouraging. They are both out at the same time as we are a large group of 8 split into two different areas so it would be awkward asking to swap as I booked with a large group of friends to do it.
 
Hi Bluebelle, I've been learning for about 3 months and I took up riding late too (at 30).

I have only had private lessons so far and I would feel really intimidated in a group lesson as I am a very slow learner- if you can afford it I think private lessons may help you progress more quickly. Although after 10 lessons I still cannot do the rising trot very well and have been thrown forward or to the side a few times. I get it for a few steps and then it goes wrong. On my last lesson I was totally out of time with the horse and I felt very disheartened afterwards (unfortunately that was the one lesson that my husband came to watch!!:mad:)

I have found that some lessons you feel like you have got something nailed, but then the following week it goes back a step and you feel terrible. As my RI said to me, "welcome to the world of riding!!!"

I don't have any real advice for you, but I hope it helps you a bit to know that there are others going through this at the same time :) There are only really youngsters at my school and its quite upsetting to see them whizzing around like they were born on a horse and then I plod in and get it all wrong :rolleyes:. So I find it very encouraging that there are others who are late to riding like me and are also finding it hard to master. We WILL get there :D
 
Aww thanks for your post Cookie Monster, it did make me laugh about you plodding in, thats how I feel but I am determined to crack it!

Doomkittycleo you seem to make it look so easy! I feel like i am whizzing round at 100 mile an hour with no control of me or the horse.

I've bought new boots today and they feel great. My lesson is not til Thursday so I will see how much difference they make, hopefully it will cure all my faults but I think that is maybe a little optimistic :D

After this next session I think I will ask for a couple of private ones too.
 
:o Bit late because you've bought new boots... but I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I don't find it comfortable to ride in just short boots alone... you need chaps, leather/suede zip up things that cover your calves... otherwise I find I get pinched!

You might still be able to use the boots you got from ebay with these.

Good luck, mastering the trot :)
 
My RI starts all new students in rising trot by having then lean forward and put their hands on the horse's neck. Relax your legs and your weight will go into your heels (do not grip with your knees) and rising will be effortless. eml, have you ever tried this with your students?

This also helps with opening and closing your elbows so that when you go to trot without holding on, your hands will not be going up and down with your body.

I wish this RI had been my original instrucor! A friend of mine who is over 60 has been riding with her for 4 months and is doing a great job!! Even has sitting trot down already.
 
Hi Rips

Yes I have trouble with pinching too and the large boots were ok as I wore big long ski socks to stop the pinching. When I bought my boots today I also got some suede chaps however I have a problem with those - posted another thread about this as I seem to have midget sized legs!

Laura Jeanne, nobody has mentioned my elbows just yet. Either they are doing what they should or that I have more serious problems to iron out before they tackle them parts :)
 
Bluebelle
First thing i would say is don't lose heart riding is rhe most amazing thing is the world once it clicks, an believe us it will.
You said that in trot your legs go forwards - its not the most comfortable thing in the world but try sitting more on your pubic bone than on your coxyx - this will naturally move your legs back into the correct position under your hips. And as someone said above, just let the horse lift you into the rise, i don't think the 'up, down' shouting helps as it gives totally the wrong impression. The horse's motion should rock you forwards and then you should lower yourself back.

To be honest though after 5 lessons I wouldnt expect anyone to master rising trot it took me months!
 
Hi Bluebelle,

Different things take longer for different people. Don't worry; you may pick up something faster than the other people in your group.

I learned the rising trot very quickly but the sitting trot was my nemesis. With my friend, it was just the opposite. She could sit beautifully but she had problems with rising.

I agree that private lessons are better to start out with.
 
Sorry TEmily but I totally disagree with this advice. It is better to have a leg too far forward, something which happens to beginners because of tightness in the inner thigh muscles/tendons, than to perch on your pubic arch to make your legs look correct.

Unless you have your seatbones on the saddle you lose all the signals that a slight movement can give, think of seatbones like rockers on a rocking horse and balance yourself on them.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom