Good question Lisa! Everyone's opinion is a little
different on this subject. The fact of the matter is that when
a person is first trotting, both the sitting and the posting
trot are difficult for them. Here are a few thoughts to help
you decide which progression to use in your lessons.
If your school horse is smooth gaited, then sitting the trot
is not so hard and I would go ahead and have them do that first.
If he is rougher or has a big trot, it would be easier for the
rider to stand or post. When you are teaching the first-time-ever
trot, it is most important to control the trot by having the
riders trot one at a time and for short straight distances.
It is also important to review how she will STOP before she
begins and to give the rider an idea of what she should expect
to feel (2 beats, bounces you up, etc.).
Once the rider has trotted a few times initially and seems in
control then you can proceed to teach posting or sitting. For
the initial trotting, I would just have them sit back, with
their back and hips relaxed and possibly hang onto the pommel
if needed. I like to get riders posting right away and it is
a pretty natural movement for them to pick up.
I do not like to teach a person to post at the walk, as this
is precisely the wrong motion for the posting trot. To post
correctly, the rider must utilize the lift in the horse's back
that occurs during the suspension in the trot. Since the walk
has no suspension, if you ask a rider to practice posting at
the walk, she learns to pull herself up with her hands and to
push off the stirrup, which trains her muscle memory incorrectly.
To post correctly, the rider needs to fell the rhythm of the
trot and use the upward lift in the horse's back to help them
rise up onto her thighs, then sit back down.
To me the sitting trot is more difficult than the posting trot,
unless you have a super smooth horse. Therefore for me, the
progression is to survive the trot the first few times, not
worrying too much about how they are riding the trot (they will
likely do a combination of standing and sitting), but to just
make sure they can control the trot. Then learn the posting
trot and then work on sitting trot.
But that' s just how I do it. There are many instructors that
would feel differently and teach a different progression. And
I might teach it differently depending upon the horse and the
rider. There is no one right answer here. As long as your lessons
are safe, fun and effective, and your students are making progress,
then you are doing a good job. I hope this helps.
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