The Second of a Series on how the horse moves it’s body and how riders can help their horses!
Hello everyone,
So last month we talked about Foot Falls. The Foot Falls are how the horse moves their feet. What foot goes when and then what one comes next. And last month we talked about the walk. Just to recap the walk is a 4 beat gait. This month we are going to talk about the Trot.
The Trot is a 2 beat gait. The horse has 4 legs, and the trot is only 2 beats. So that means that 2 feet have to move with each other. The Trot is a Diagonal Gait. That means that the Right Front (RF) moves at the same time with the Left Hind (LH). The diagonal pair of feet move at the same time. So the Left Front (LF) and the Right Hind (RH) move at the same time.
So again the trot foot falls are like this: The RF moves at the same time with the LH, the LF moves at the same time with the RH, and then it just keeps repeating that way.
Now I want to talk about Correct Diagonals in a posting trot. A posting trot is where the rider moves up and down with the horse’s trot. You come out of the saddle and kind of stand in the stirrups and then sit down in timing with the horse’ s diagonal feet.
To post properly you need to engage your abs and quad muscles. Those are the muscles you need to be using to post the trot. Your upper body should not lean to far forward to bring yourself up in the saddle and then you should sit down softly and not just let your weight slam down on your horses back. Keeping the abs and quads tight the whole time will make you a better rider and give you the proper posting trot.
Now, there is a correct diagonal that we have to post with. There is a saying “Rise and Fall with the Shoulder on the Wall”. The wall meaning the fence line. So you stand in your stirrups when the shoulder on the fence moves forward. So, Rise and Fall with the Shoulder on the Wall. If you are going around the arena to the right (to the right meaning your right hand is in the inside of the arena) at a trot, you will be rising when the LF and RH move forward, and then you will be sitting in the saddle when the RF and LH move forward. What this does is it gets your weight off the horse’s inside hind foot when it is moving forward. The inside hind foot has to work harder than the rest, so if we get our weight off of it we are helping our horse move better and easier. So that is what a correct diagonal is.
Now, in the military when they used to trot their horses over long distances they would post the trot. In a straight line there really is no correct diagonal because there is no inside foot. But what they would do is they would post for a while in the right diagonal and then an order would be called out to change that diagonal to the left one, then they would trot awhile in that diagonal. The reason being is that if you post in the right diagonal all the time the horse will get tired on the left hind and will get uneven muscle development. So they would change so as to not get one leg more tired than the other and then the horse could trot for a longer period of time.
Home work:
Ask your horse to trot with you on the ground first. Watch the feet and train your eye to see the diagonal feet moving. You can even put boots on the RF and LH so that you can see the diagonal pairs moving better. Then get on your horse and ask him to trot, look down with just your eyes (not your whole head or you will be putting to much weight forward on your horse’s forehand) and learn to see when the shoulder on the fence is moving forward. Next try to stand and then sit in time with the feet. (Posting) Remember you should be standing when the shoulder on the fence is forward and sitting when the shoulder on the fence is back.
Test:
Have a friend come over and test you on the diagonals. Start posting when you think you are in time with the feet. Let them tell you if you are or not. Get a friend that you know can see what they need to see to tell you right. Go each way getting your correct diagonals.
Eventually you should not need to look down any more with your eyes to see if you are on the correct diagonals. You should be able to just feel it.
Next month we will be talking about the canter and right and left leads.
Later in the series we will talk about changing our diagonals in the trot, so get good with this first.
I want to thank every one for their questions relating to this series, keep them coming, I am always here to help and no question is to small to ask!
Email me with questions at chelsie@chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com
Thank you,
Chelsie Kallestad
www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com
928-713-3468
