Any fun ideas about how to learn a posting diagonal??

Question

well tomorrow morning i have to teach a group of beginners (ages 8-11) how to get on the right diagonal. of course i know what it is and i have been riding for a while so i know how to get on the right one (without looking yay!!!!) but does anyone know a fun idea to get them to remeber it?

thanks a lot!

Answer 1

there is a ryme rise and fall with the hoof on the wall. If you are good and know how to use polo wraps right,u can put 2 different colors on the 2 front leg. So u can say rise with the blue/red leg or whatever.Good Luck

Answer 2

I would definitely teach them the old addage "rise and fall with the leg on the wall", and have the other students watch a few of them do it, and tell you if the rider chose the correct diagonal or not.  You can maybe make a game of it, like the person that gets it correct the most amount of times gets to chose something fun to do that day (like follow the leader or something).

Answer 3

Rise and fall with the leg on the wall

I've remembered that one my whole life.

I also like to get kids watching to tell whether the one going around is on the right or wrong diagonal.  I think this helps them to really learn what they are doing and what they are looking for.

Answer 4

Tell them to raise up when the leg to the wall is forward. If they have trouble with that say what leg it is example "rise when the right leg is forward." Allow them to look at it while posting and then casually ask them ex. " Maria, are you on the right diagonal?" and allow them to look at the leg when they post and answer back. If they aren't on the right one tell them to sit two beats and then start posting again. One of my instructors even has me post up and down and lightly put my arm on the horses leg so I can feel when it moves forward. Another thing that is fun is when you go diagonally across the arena, sit two beats and then you start posting on the opposite diagonal. Then put a cone in the middle of the arena and have one of them post on the right diagonal, coming in closer to the cone and moving out from the cone. Only do this if they are really getting the hang of it. Sometimes it can be frustrating learning the diagonals (from my experience) so allow them to take a break frequently and have them walk their horses. Take it easy on them their first time, then start critiquing them more as time goes on. Good luck!

edit: I have heard that you can play a game called "pirate ship." http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?... It's the best answer and after learning their diagonals in that day, I think it would be fun next time to reward them by allowing them to play this game.

Answer 5

like the person above said, "rise and fall with the leg on the wall."

thats how i learned, and no one ever has to repeat it to me.

Answer 6

A fun idea would be take safe paint of a bright color and put a streak on the horses shoulder (yellow on left and pink on right) and tell them which color they should be following. I also learned rise and fall with the leg on the wall. I was just thinking of a more fun idea!