A correct posting trot is the key to more comfort and less pain in the saddle — for you and your horse.
Whether you ride Western or English, the posting trot is one of the first things you learn to do on a horse. 4-Star Parelli Professional Ale Gonzalez says that even though the posting trot is considered a basic skill, our mastery of it is far more important to both our and the horse’s well-being than we might realize.
“A correct posting trot is important for all riders because it protects your and your horse’s back,” says Ale. “It is one of the most useful ways to give your horse freedom of movement. For younger horses, riding in a posting trot helps relieve their tension because they don’t have a lot of muscles yet. For more experienced horses, the posting trot can influence the stride and energy at the trot.”
Ale urges riders not to take the posting trot for granted, adding that it is important for riders to understand the biomechanics of a correct posting trot that is in harmony with the horse. The main points of posting trot biomechanics include:
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Understanding how your pelvis moves (For more on the pelvis, see Ale’s April 2024 article here)
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Feeling how your seat bones adapt to the posting trot movement
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Thinking about the knee as a pivot point
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Understanding the biomechanics of the correct movement of the thigh, lower leg, and feet
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Recognizing that in a correct posting trot, there is nothing fixed or immobile
“The rider’s balance on the horse is dynamic, not static,” Ale explains. “The horse is in movement, and that’s why we can’t achieve balance by holding, gripping, bracing, or trying to stay in one position or posture when we ride. Riding is dependent on our nervous system and how our brain integrates the horse’s movement with our own movement.”
That means that you spent all those thousands of dollars learning straight back, heels down, and shoulders back, which are misconceptions about our sport. “In a correct and harmonious posting trot, there is nothing to squeeze and no muscles involved,” says Ale. “It is about the way our body moves. The problem is that most riders don’t understand body movement. We think our pelvis is fixed. There is nothing square about our pelvis — it is mobile like a round rubrik’s cube.”
In a correct posting trot, the rider receives the horse’s movement when the pelvis spreads, and the horse’s back rises. Understanding that “receiving” movement helps you not bounce in the saddle and stay in harmony with the horse, she says. Posting begins from the knees — not the feet. “If you start from your feet, it creates a brace,” Ale explains. “That’s why ‘heels down’ is so bad. Your knees should change depending on whether you are standing or sitting. Your joints operate like shock absorbers, which is what makes you comfortable in the saddle.”
For some riders, taking the time to learn how their body works in harmony with the horse may not seem like a top priority, but Ale says it is the key to alleviating so many of the challenges we encounter under saddle, such as:
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Tension in the horse
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Soreness in the horse and rider
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Horse that moves with head up and hollow back
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Ear pinning, tail swishing, and balking
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Bit chomping
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Difficulty or refusal to move freely forward
“If we take the time to develop a good posting trot, we save our backs and our whole bodies — and our horses’ too,” Ale says. “There is no reason for a rider to experience pain during or after a ride, or even later in life after they have thousands of rides in the saddle. Correct biomechanics can prevent all that.”
Ale says a good posting trot feels like dancing with your horse. “To achieve a great posting trot, we need to coordinate and integrate our whole body,” she says. “We need self-carriage in our body before we can expect the horse to achieve it.
“Self-carriage in the rider’s body requires straightness, flexibility, mobility, coordination, and the correct muscle tone,” she continues. “A great dance partner can maintain the beat and is balanced, and that’s what makes them fun to dance with. We must learn to be the same kind of dance partner for our horse.”
Want to learn more about achieving more harmony and comfort in the saddle? Contact her at ale@aleparellipro.com
