How to Post in English Riding

Horses have four basic gaits, or patterns of movement: walk, trot, canter and gallop. While not the fastest gait, the trot is one of the more challenging to learn to ride because the two-beat movement can be bumpy and jarring to a beginner rider. At the trot, the diagonal front and hind legs move forward together. Posting the trot helps riders absorb the gait's bounce and allows the horse to trot forward with more freedom of movement. Posting involves rising up out of the saddle for one stride and sitting for the next in an up-down motion.

Things You'll Need

  • English saddle with stirrups
  • Helper or instructor
  • Lunge or lead line
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Instructions

    • 1

      Saddle your horse with an English saddle. Bring your horse to a flat area, ideally a fenced-in riding arena. Mount your horse and warm up at the walk.

    • 2

      Have an instructor or helper on the ground put your horse on a lunge line or lead line. When you are first learning to post, have help arranged so you can concentrate on feeling the rhythm of the trot.

    • 3

      Practice standing up in your stirrups and sitting down gently at the halt and walk. Let your knees and ankles remain soft and flexible and allow your weight to fall gently down through your heels. Keep a straight line from your shoulder through your hip to your heel. Do not push your feet in front of you to stand up or pinch your knees and allow your lower legs to swing back.

    • 4

      Ask your horse to trot when you feel balanced standing and sitting at the halt and walk. Stay on the lunge or lead line and sit the trot for the first several strides. Hold onto the front of the saddle if you need extra support.

    • 5

      Feel the one-two beat of the trot and begin to rise one stride and sit the next. Let the movement of the horse toss you slightly out of the saddle to help make the rising strides more effortless. Sit gently back in the saddle. Do not thump down on your horse's back.

    • 6

      Practice posting the trot off the lunge or lead line when you feel comfortable and balanced with the rising and sitting movements and can stay on beat with your horse. Begin to refine your posting efforts and your position on the horse. Do not post higher out of the saddle than your horse's natural movement dictates. Generally, you only need to rise a few inches out of the saddle, but the movement of your mount will determine how high you need to rise. Do not let your lower legs swing back and forth while you post. Letting your weight fall through your heels will help your lower legs remain still.

    • 7

      Work on learning your posting diagonals when you are confident with basic posting. Posting on the correct diagonal involves timing your rising and sitting so you are in the "up" portion of the post when the horse's outside front leg moves forward. To change diagonals, "sit a bounce." Sit two beats before resuming the up-down pattern.