Western Horse - How to keep going?

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hocknlim

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Apr 7, 2002
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Hi,

Everytime, i go into trotting, it can't keep the horse going.
I heard from people that u nudge at the horse on its side all the time. How do u do that?

And what is the difference between sitting trot and rising trot?

Let me know. Thanks.
 
You shouldn't have to nudge at a horse's sides all the time to maintain a pace as that will make a horse dead to the leg.

Because of the thickness of the Western saddle I find that you have to have really strong legs. And, it is more efficient to use the whole leg rather than just the calf (a soft flapping motion). I had to do a lot of leg exercises when I started Western.

Also, make sure not to pull back on the reins, Western horses are used to going on little, if any, contact and will interpret a pull on the reins as a signal to slow down or stop. (I am still not totally comfortable with this, either, but I'm working on it.)
 
Oh, I forgot the other part of the question - in Western, a sitting trot is called a jog and it should be so slow that it is pretty easy to sit in the saddle without bouncing too much. (Try to flex your back a bit from side to side with the horse, just takes a bit of practice!) You can rise for the faster trot, just let the horse push your butt very slightly out of the saddle at each stride. You should be rising as the outside shoulder goes forward, a good way to make the transition from jog to trot is when you feel the horse's outside hip dip (the side next to the rail), on the next beat you push up. This all seems hard at first, but after a bit of practice it becomes second nature.
 
i've always wondered - if you're hacking and you start the rising trot, how do you know which side is the outside?! i think the answer might be pretty obvious but i'm stumped :confused:
 
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