girl riding an orange horse

Sitting the Trot

Open source coded by Morgan Coyle

Demystify the sitting trot with these steps...

Steps

Make sure you have mastered the posting trot before attempting to sit the trot

  1. Establish an uphill, energetic walk
  2. Establish a thorough contact so the bit connects with the horse's mouth, but not too tightly
  3. Maintain good posture. Hips should be loose. Look where you want to go
  4. Engage your core to ready yourself for the trot transition. Don't lean forward
  5. Once you are ready to trot, squeeze both legs on the horse's sides at the girth
  6. Once the horse stars trotting, stop squeezing your legs
  7. Allow the up-beat energy of the horse's back pass through your body
  8. Continue to engage your core and allow your hips to relax
  9. Go with the motion of the horse's trot, not against it
  10. If the horse goes too fast, sit heavier in the saddle to tell it to slow down
  11. If the horse goes too slow, tap its side with your legs. Don't clamp your legs on the horse
  12. Continue to trot at your own pace. You may transition up or down from here

DOs & DON'Ts

DO

DON'T

Relax

lavendar symbol with lavendar coloring meant to relax

Relaxation in the body is key. If your body is supple, especially your hips, then you will move more freely with the horse.

Tense

red traffic cone

If your muscles are tense, then you are going to bounce in the trot. The bouncing motion will irritate the horse. Tension is a mistake most beginners make because they are told to “hold a tight core”. While this is true, you must not be too tight. If you are too tight your position will hinder the horse's natural movement. Tension can also cause you to lean forward, lose balance, or fall off.

Create a collected trot

horse trotting with rider

To sit the trot, you must create a trot that is capable of being sat. Establishing a collected trot ensures the horse is lifting through its back and thus the motion of the trot is much easier to sit.
When the horse is collected, it is engaging all the proper muscles, so it builds the right kind of fitness.

Create an uncollected trot

hollow back versus correct back

If the horse is trotting with a hollow back, then the motion of the trot will be difficult to sit. A hollow back might lead to injury as the horse is not using its muscles properly.

Sit deeply in the saddle

dark horse with female dressage rider. Rider sits deeply.

Think of letting your body become one with the horse’s body. Relax your seat & legs. Let your legs hang in an elongated manner. Point your toes up. The fleshy part of your inner thigh should carry most of the weight.

Visual: Think of standing on the ground with knees slightly bent. That is how you want to look while sitting on the horse. If the horse were to suddenly disappear from beneath you, you’d want to be able to land on the ground without falling.

Bounce in the saddle

dark horse with female dressage rider. Rider sits deeply.

Bouncing on the horse's back is irritating to the horse and equally uncomfortable for you. If you start bouncing, post the trot until you can create a collected trot. Maintain posting trot for ~5 strides then try sitting again. Repeat as needed.

You can also try transitioning to walk for ~5 strides, but don’t create a downhill energy in the trot transition.

Troubleshooting

Issue

Solution

The horse won't trot

There could be a few issues…

Potential Issue #1: Incorrect Aids
  • Ask with both legs
  • Make sure you are not pulling on the reigns too hard. If you pull back on the reigns during the transition, then the horse will be confused (and possibly uncomfortable) and won’t want to trot.
  • Make sure you are not pulling unevenly on the reigns. If you pull sharply on the left reign, the the horse will be forced to throw its shoulders to the right. Once the shoulders are out of alignment, the horse cannot pick up the trot transition.
Potential Issue #2: Horse Ignores Rider's Aids
  • If the horse ignores your aids, then give the horse a warning before escalating to a sharper aid.
  • For example, ask for trot by squeezing both legs, if the horse doesn’t trot then kick with your legs. If the horse ignores the kick then tap the hindquarters with a whip. If the horse ignores the whip, then ask a person/friend/trainer to crack a lunge whip while you ride, so the sound of the whip encourages the horse to trot exactly when you ask the horse to trot.
    • Cracking a lunge whip method is especially helpful for horses who need more forward encouragement without harming the horse.
  • Correct the horse the instant it refuses/ignores your aids. If you wait too long to correct the behavior, then the horse will be confused as to what you are asking.

    • You must train horses with clear communication, so they can easily understand. Remember, they cannot speak human language; they only speak horse language. Use their language to communicate with them.

The horse trots too fast

There could be a few issues...

Potential Issue #1: Collection
horse uncollected versus horse collected
  • If the horse trots uncollected (i.e with a hollow back), then the motion is going to be difficult to sit. Horses can trot fast as long as they are also collected, so the real issue is the horse needs to collect. (Speed is often not the issue)
  • In order to get the horse collected, make sure you are pushing the horse into the reign contact and they are actively searching and accepting the reign contact.
  • Try these exercises to get the horse more collected:
    • Walk or trot a 20 meter circle and place their haunches to the inside of the circle. Repeat on the other side.
    • Walk or trot a serpentine to get the horse loosened up and ready to accept reign contact and lift its back. Repeat on the other side.
    • Walk or trot down the long side of the dressage court (or just walk or trot a straight line) and tell the horse to move their haunches in. Repeat on the other side.
    • Walk into a turn. In the turn, tell the horse to shoulder in. When the horse’s inside hind leg steps underneath its body, ask for the trot

When the horse’s inside hind steps underneath its body, it will be ready for any transition. The amount of bend in the horse’s body will encourage the horse to lift its back for a more collected trot. Always repeat on the other side, so the horse develops muscles evenly.

Potential Issue #2: The Horse is Nervous
  • When horses get nervous, they enter flight response
    • Flight response makes the horse want to run
    • If your horse is in flight response, find the quickest way to get them calm. Try the relax reign circle excecise:
      1. When the horse speeds up, turn the horse in a tight circle
      2. While in the tight circle, disengage the hindquarters
      3. Keep disengaging the hindquarters until the horse relaxes
      4. Only release the horse from the tight circle when the horse relaxes
      5. Repeat if neccessary
cowboy riding a horse in a bent cirlce

The relax reign exercise helps the horse exit flight response. The bending motion of the circle combined with the disengagment of the horse's hindquarters promotes a physiological calm response similar to swaddling a baby with a towel. The circular motion lulls the horse while activating the thinking part of their brain as opposed to the flight part of their brain.

Potential Issue #3: The Horse Doesn't Understand
  • Sometimes riders don't know the horse's background & previouse experiences
    • Horses might not understand the trot yet.
    • It is the rider's responsibility to ensure the horse understands all aids and cues before asking the horse to trot (or do any other activity)
      • If you suspect the horse doesn't understand the trot, then don't push them harder
      • Instead, opt for taking a step back
      • Make sure they understand simpler concepts like:
        • Moving away from driving pressure
        • Accepting steady pressure
        • Respecting the rider's space
        • Accepting a rider on their back
        • Walking, stopping, turning, different yeilds, etc.
      • If the horse still doesn't understand, then consult with a trainer: the horse might be missing crucial pieces of its foundational learning

I bounce in the trot

This is a rider issue. Riders bounce when they have a bad position in the saddle. Here are some things the rider can do to fix their position:

Solution #1: Take Lessons with a Trainer

  • Find a reputatble trainer
  • Tell the trainer that you struggle with bouncing in the trot.
    • The trainer can give you exercises to do in and out of the saddle to help you maintain your balance.
    • They might even put you on a lesson horse who can help you sit the trot.
  • The trainer might give you a lesson on a lunge line, so you can focus on feel & body position. horse and rider on lunge line in covered arena

Solution #2: Stretch Before You Ride

  • Stretch your legs and entire body before you get in the saddle.
  • If your body is supple and able to go with the motion of the horse, then the horse will have a much easier time carrying you.

Do these stretches on both sides:

  1. Lying Lotus woman streching lower back by laying on the ground with legs bent
  2. Hip Aductor Forward woman streching hip aductor forward with one knee on the ground and the other bent in front of her
  3. Calf Strech. Heels Down. Toes Up leg half on block with heel streching down

Solution #3: Neutral Spine

  • Keep your spine neutral, so your spine aligns with the horse's spine. This posture is effective for sitting the trot. spine is neutral so it doesn't tip forwards or backwards

    Visual: Think about trying to balance a bowl of water without spilling. If your pelvis is unbalanced, then you will spill the water.