Question about Posting/ Rising Trot

[J.Everheart]

I have read that posting without stirrups is a good way to improve posting. But I've also read that I am not supposed to grip too tightly with my thighs and instead carry my weight in my heels. If I post without stirrups, won't I be gripping really tightly with my thighs? How exactly will posting without stirrups help? Maybe I'm overthinking this, so thanks for your help!

[Kat]

Well posting without stirrups is supose to to help strenthen your legs witch also helps you balence so when you get good at it you shouldn't need to grip that hard.

I hope that might help abit.

[Roxy]

Posting without stirrups is great for balance and feel as well as fitness. The horse actually will help you rise out of the saddle naturally. You do have to hold on a little though, so what I have told my students is to pretend you are giving your horse a hug with your legs, not gripping with your knees or thighs or any other single part. You will also find that if you do grip with one part more then the other you will feel off balance, often leading to swinging lower legs or perching, or just feeling like you're about to tip off at any minute.
If you can master the gaits without relying on artificial aids such as stirrups (that's right, I consider them an artificial aid) you will be a step ahead.
Good luck!

[J.Everheart]

Thanks for both your responses. I'm finding that when I post in the saddle with stirrups I tend to pitch forward. That must be because I'm gripping too tightly with my thighs.

[Roxy]

This is called "perching: and is very very common in women! It is a sort of "defence" type position and puts you ahead of the center of gravity making the work more difficult for the horse.
You are not alone!! And doing the sturripless work is a great excercise for you to continue with because you will feel unbalanced in this position without the stirrups to rely on, and you should begin to sit back on your rear naturally as you go along.
One good thing I have found that helps students with this problem is to stop with any jumping excercises first off, lengthen your stirrups (if you are using them) and take some traditional dressage classes or Centered Riding classes.
It is also possible that the saddle you are riding in does not fit you properly (yes it has to fit you just as well as the horse) causing your legs to stick out in front. If you can see your toe infront of your knee when you look down, have someone experianced check it out from the ground. We are all built diffrently and it can be very hard to match rider with saddle!
I have all kinds of thoughts on this matter having had several students with this same positional error! It really just takes time to find your balance, and build the muscles you need to help keep you comfortable in an upright position. Don't hollow your back, sit on your bootie and ride on cowgirl! And always think in the back of your mind "ear, shoulder, hip, heel".

[J.Everheart]

Thank you! I had a good ride yesterday. Before, I was leaning forward in anticipation of the trot and starting off unbalanced. Yesterday I sat the trot for a few beats and then began to post. I also focused on letting the horse naturally bounce me out of the saddle and then controlling my descent instead of trying to lift myself up. Both of these things helped me a lot. Thanks for the advice! I love talking about this stuff!

[Barbara F.]

I agree with Roxy that the hugging concept is extremely important to prevent you from pinching with your knees. I guess one concern I would have is that you do have to learn to absorb some of the horse's movement in your ankle joint at some point, so I'm not sure how an instructor would take you there. Also, if you don't have a really strong core, perhaps this is an exercise you should do only for short periods of time - correctly - rather than doing it until you are fatigued and you start bringing your knees up and pinching. A coach would know the answer to that better than I would.

[Geoffrey Pannell]

Try this, when you ask you horse to move forward to walk do so by sitting tall, pushing your hips forward [ think bellybutton to your backbone], push your knees down, lift your toes up, and cuddle the horse with your calfs. So you are practising good good position each time you ask the horse to move forward. If the horse does not go first time do it again and at the same time you press with your legs give him/her a tap on the shoulder with the whip. You are now teaching your horse to go from light aids. Be consistent and patient in this and the horse will move off when you sit tall. Also it is developing an interpendant balenced seat which will help with your sitting and posting trot. Good management is always better than good luck , cheers , Geoff

[Sascia]

I had a leg aid problem and posting without stirrups helped me grip with my lower leg! It really helps your balance too!

[Natasha Sukorokoff]

Posting without stirrups helps improve your balance and helps you be able to stick in the saddle in case anything happened (hopefully not!) and strengthen your legs. It is also a great way to feel the way the horse is moving, so you get a more natural connection. I find that I always grip with my knees, but I have to get out of that.

[Brenda Bowle-Evans]

Here are 2 tips that will probably help you - the 1st one is to make sure that you stomach / pelvic area leads when posting, not your shoulders - which is what is happening when you get too far forward. If you stomach leads, your alignment of the rest of your body will be good. The 2nd tip is everytime you feel that you may be out of position go into 2point postion for a few strides (until you can feel you are balanced over your feet and can keep that position without struggling to stay upright) and then just take your upper body back to the vertical keeping your leg in the 2point position. Having taught for over 25 years I know that these exercises along with time will help. The other point in your question about gripping tightly with your legs - as a novice rider you have no choice but to grip tightly in the beginning as until you have good balance (which takes time ) you have no other way to stay on. Remember books talk about the perfect position but your not there yet and so you have to deal with reality - just the same as with any other skill that you learn - you can't read a sentence before you can read a word. Good luck and enjoy the journey.

[amy]

I'm having the same problem right now! From what I've seen this is pretty common for people just learning to post. I'll have to try posting without stirrups. Good luck, you're not alone!