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Discussion on The Arab Trot...
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DK | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:51 am: |   |
Hi, I've got this one consistant problem with ridng my horse. He is purebred Arab and has the bounciest trot I have EVER ridden. His trot is gorgeous to the eye, it flows and looks like an Olympian dressage horse's trot, but you CANNOT sit it. It bounces you sratight up, and I don't want to hurt his back by trying sit it, but I have to learn to for showing.I've tried to ride him without stirrups but it's so bouncy that it almost throws me out of the saddle. After that I tried having someone lunge him, with me riding without stirrups, one hand on the pommel and the other on the back of the saddle but it didn't help at all. Then, I figured that it was something that I was doing wrong so I asked my trainer, an excellent rider, to try to sit his trot but even she couldn't. Everyone that I have asked to try has failed. I even bought a new saddle with a deeper seat, but the only had limited results. Please help. |
WB | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:52 am: | |
I've noticed that a lot of arabs have fairly nasty and unpleasant-to-ride trots (gorgeous to look at though! I speculate this is caused by too much breeding of beautiful horses shown only in halter classes). You might want to try two approaches: 1) practice your sitting trot on another, easier to ride horse. The key to sitting trot is to relax those leg muscles, allowing your hips to absorb the bounce, while at the same time you are contracting your abdominals (think of pushing your front, esp. your belly area, forwards against a wall) to sink your seat into the saddle and stabilize your upper body. At first you may want to work without stirrups, to keep you from doing the most common mistake when sitting trot-- stiffenig your legs and pushing down into the stirrup, which of course makes it impossible for you to absorb the bounce in your hip joint. 2) work on your arab's carriage-- he probably carries his head high and hollows his back, which makes him harder to sit on. Work on getting him to round his back up under you, to arch and drop his neck, and to get him to step through under you with power. Do lots of transitions up and down, practice shortening and lengthening his stride so you can control how much upward thrust he puts into his trot. Plus lengthening the horse's trot in front of the judge in shows looks really good. Don't try sitting the trot until his trot feels smoother or your bouncing will just encourage him to hollow away from you. Keep in mind he will probably never be that pleasant to sit the trot on! |
Marlane | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:53 am: | |
Hey welcome to the club,I have two arabs with very big trots also.The only way to sit this type of trot is to slow your horse down.It is nothing to do with your riding ability,as you have probably realized!It does help also if their backs are relaxed,as the tighter the back muscles the more uncomfortable the stride is,so a lowered head goes along with back relaxation.Many arabs have big trots because they were from sires shown at halter who were revered for their flashy movement.Mine are both Muscat grandsons,and look lovely in halter,but have to be slowed to a almost western jog before I can sit them.I ride english by the way. |
DK | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:53 am: | |
Same with my arab, his father (Laddins Fire) was a big halter horse and Norman (that's my horses nickname) also was a big winner in halter. Thanks for the tid bit of info. That really helped with my selfconfidence. I wasn't sure if I was a good enough rider for him. Thanks again! (I'll make sure to slow him down, he was a big Western horse, and was very successful in it too, his jog is definately sittable.) |
Ida | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:54 am: | |
Yes, sitting with Arab is just amazingly difficult. I think generally the more elaborate the movement is, the more difficult it is to sit the trot; and also Arabs are shorter in the body and they are lean, which makes trotting ever more bouncier. I yet have to learn to train Arabs to put down their heads. It is not an easy thing to do either; when you pick up more contacts, they tend to throw their heads up so you need to introduce contact gradually. But once they relax a bit, you'll find the sitting trot a bit easier to do. So ride your horse mostly posting trot and really work him. Then ask him to do this slow collected trot (maybe at first it doesn't have to be collected, just slow, prancy little trot) and sit a few strides. Sit the trot while going in a circle and post it when travelling straight. You'll find after a while of working on this both of you will be adapted to the sitting trot more easily. Once he understand slow, pick up a bit more contact and put your leg on a bit to ask for more collection.
The saddle also makes some difference. So try one with a deeper seat and stretch your leg down.
Ida |
Melody | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:54 am: | |
I have owned Arabs all of my life and what I have learned is that if you teach your horse to get up under himself and to not arch the back but rounding himself, then the trot is usually reduced by about 75%. I bought a mare that you couldn't even sit the jog and after several months of asking her to use herself correctly by engaging the hind end, she was 100% better to sit the trot and lope. Hope this helps because Arabs usually have a very smooth gate. |
Tylia | | Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 1999 - 10:55 am: | |
Hi...Don't forget longeing and verbal cues. I have a 4 year old arab that has the most beautiful, relaxed trot...*sigh* lol. However, my problem is that he always wants to use it! No walking..trot, trot, trot. So, I've had to start reinforcing his training with longeing and verbal cues. (He's pretty, he's smart, but he was abused and badly trained.) Also, I have to admire your going without stirrups on what was so obviously a stiff spring ride. I've seen expert riders get tossed the side, lose their balance, and go sliding on down because of a nasty gait. lol. I relax my legs and use my ankles, lower legs to get a good solid "plant" on the stirrup, without stretching out. Anyway, had to put my two cents in and have some fun. Good luck. : Hi, I've got this one consistant problem with ridng my horse. He is purebred Arab and has the bounciest trot I have EVER ridden. His trot is gorgeous to the eye, it flows and looks like an Olympian dressage horse's trot, but you CANNOT sit it. It bounces you sratight up, and I don't want to hurt his back by trying sit it, but I have to learn to for showing.I've tried to ride him without stirrups but it's so bouncy that it almost throws me out of the saddle. After that I tried having someone lunge him, with me riding without stirrups, one hand on the pommel and the other on the back of the saddle but it didn't help at all. Then, I figured that it was something that I was doing wrong so I asked my trainer, an excellent rider, to try to sit his trot but even she couldn't. Everyone that I have asked to try has failed. I even bought a new saddle with a deeper seat, but the only had limited results. Please help. |
Charlene Esposito
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 13, 1999 - 2:39 am: | |
My Arab mare also has a big trot and she hollows her back, I slow her down and it's better but when she is in a medium trot it looks like i'm trying to put my hips trough her ears lol. circles help and I'm a bit glad it's not just me that has this problem. Work on contact (that's hard). Let you and your horse relax.
Think of riding a horse like holding a bar of soap if you grip to tight you loose it and soft hands like you are holding a bird not to tight you squash it but not so loose he flies away.
Want more tips for the mind e-mail me at countercanter@netscape.net I will try to remeber more. |
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