Jockeys have a couple of options when it comes to riding a horse at a trot. If you are riding a trotting western horse (a slow trot) then of course you are going to sit the gait. Any horse moving slowly at this pace should be ridden sitting in the saddle.
But what do you do when your horse is trotting fast and with high knee action? You can also learn to sit at a trot, but it is very difficult and almost impossible for a considerable period of time.
Instead, riders learn to post in the saddle. The ride is a smooth rise and fall in the saddle in unison with the horse’s gait.
Remember, the trot is a two-beat gait with the horse’s diagonal legs striking the ground simultaneously. For example, the horse’s left hind leg strikes the ground at the same time as its right foreleg strikes. Then the other two hit the ground together, and so on.
This action can be very jarring for a cyclist. Publish alleviates that problem. When a rider takes up a trot, he rises from the saddle in unison on one pair of diagonal legs and sits down on the other pair of diagonal legs.
Executed correctly, the horse’s movement pushes the rider out of the saddle during one stride and then the rider lowers himself back into the saddle with his thighs during the next stride. This becomes a rhythmic rise and fall with each step.
It sounds easy! But, here’s the rub: When riders first learn to post, the movement is described and maybe shown to them, but not fully explained.
HERE IS THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE RIDERS LEARNING TO PUT ON: The rider puts excessive weight on the stirrups in an effort to get up from the saddle. Standing in the stirrups creates a seat that is contrary to good positioning and makes it much more difficult!
Posting from the feet like this causes you to rise too high in the saddle, only to drop too hard on the horse’s back. Also, it prevents you from feeling the action of the horse and learning to move with the horse instead of independently.
SOLUTION: If you find yourself making this very common mistake and can’t seem to figure out a way to get past it, try posting without stirrups. Without the stirrup as a “crutch”, you’ll quickly have the feeling of letting the horse’s action push you up, rather than generating that propulsion with your feet. After all, you can’t stand on a footboard that isn’t there!
Once the horse pushes you up, you use your thigh muscles to gently maintain your balance and lower yourself back down into the saddle. However, stay loose. Don’t tense up in anticipation of using those muscles. If you stay relaxed, posting will be much easier for you.
After landing in the saddle, the action of the horse picks you up once more. This up and down action continues. Of course it depends a bit on the horse, but the post should generate a little movement, no more than a few inches. And exceptional cyclists will post with such a fluid motion that they appear to float up and down. You don’t see a defined up and down but rather a sweeping action. That should be your goal.
My advice is that when you are learning to ride and publish, learn the right way to start. Feel the horse, let the horse create the propulsion that lifts you out of the saddle, not your feet. You will find that by doing this, you will be only a few inches out of the chair and will feel your way through the chair and into your seat much better.
Publishing will become second nature after your initial learning process. It is very similar to riding a bicycle. After learning how to post at a trot, you’ll be able to post on any horse at any time in the future! You will probably experience an “AH-HA!” realization when you “get it” and you’ll never forget how!
Good luck. For more horse riding tips visit www.horseridingvideos.org