Bouncing Too Much In Sitting Trot; don't know how to stop

epcd3000

epcd3000

.:.promise me.:.
Jan 15, 2003
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Ontario, Canada
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Hey there. I'm in a bit of a pickle, here. You see, Boomer has a REALLY bouncy trot, and it's even more difficult to get him do go at a slower trot as he likes to speed up so very much!!!! My instructors have always told me 'to relax, sit deepr in my sit, go with the movement, etc' .. I've tried this with all my might, by I'm still bouncing all over the place! This is really affecting my transitions from trot to canter as well, as I'm struggling to stay balanced and move my leg back whilst struggling to keep his trot slow enough all at the same time. I've been practicing transitions since September, and I feel as though I'm not getting anywhere.
Please, any advice and suggestions are welcome! I need it!
 
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I know just how you feel. The exact same thing happens to me in sitting trot and my transition to canter is in a word "terrible". I used to sit the trot quite well, but had one bad lesson after a stressful day at work, and I just can't seem to get it back again, although my last lesson it was getting somewhat better. What works for me is to tuck my butt under me a little and to imagine a dollar bill or something light resting on the saddle that you want to keep from blowing away. Try to sort of collapse your hips and thighs but keep your upper body held up with your chest up and out. Also keep your legs lightly around your horse for balance, but avoid pinching with the legs, let your legs feel like they are heavy weights pulling towards the ground. As you bump along try to go with the horse so that your belly button is shifted towards the space between the horses ears with each bump. I hope this helps somewhat. I found when I started riding I had an arched back when I tried to sit up tall so tucking my butt under really works for me. I think with sitting trot you really half to separate your upper half of your body from your lower half, which is not very easy, but with practice I'm sure we'll get there!!
 
Squeezing with your thighs pushes you up out of the saddle and makes your back more tense; you're actually less able to follow the motion with your back. Squeezing your thighs also signals a horse to slow down, so if you grip with your thighs you'll eventually end up telling the horse to stop.
 
I have a lot of sympathy for you. I went back to riding a year ago and had to ride consistently withought stirrups in sitting trot, however I never had much troble with it, My fiance however was falling all over the place, apparently it was down to him overgripping with his thighs etc which offbalanced him. The only other thing I can think of to suggest is that you read a book on centered riding and also books on exercises in the saddle and try to put it into practice as this should help your confidence in the saddle which in turn should help you to relax
 
At my last lesson sitting trot went incredibly well for me. This is what my instructor told me: imagine your body as a set of blocks stacked on top of one another. You want to keep all the blocks balanced so that none topple over. Next you want to pull up your upper body so that the space between your rib cage and the top of your hip are as far apart as you can. Imagine your legs have lead weights attached and are pulling toward the ground. Legs should be limp like spaghetti. (but heels down, toes up mind you). Also push your chest out trying to get the maximum space between your shoulders. Look down the track where you want to go and plan your course.

I don't know if it will work for you, but that was the quietest sitting trot I have ever done. Boy, did it feel great!!!!
 
Originally posted by epcd3000
My instructors have always told me 'to relax, sit deepr in my sit, go with the movement, etc' .. I've tried this with all my might, by I'm still bouncing all over the place!
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The idea to 'relax & sit deeper' etc, is right in theory... but you said it yourself - you tried this with all your might... that could be the problem - if you TRY to relax and you concentrate and concentrate on doing so, you actually tend to tense up which makes it alot harder to sit to the trot. Like artermis said, try humming to yourself (that worked for my mum - i was too embarassed to try it lol) or, if you're on a hack, just enjoy chatting to your friends while you're sitting to the trot - that way you really are relaxed and are not actually TRYING to force yourself to relax! :)
 
one other thing I found that helps me is to think about it before I ride. I imagine myself going through the trot, imagine myself sticking to it, and doing really well etc. this started because I was nervous about trotting, and it helped me relax.
 
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