I find it hard to kick while doing rising trot and I don't know why..?

Question

I have to do it because I canter and I use my whip too much. Help?

Answer 1

It can be a difficult thing to do... you're using your legs to hold yourself above the saddle, so it's hard to use your legs to kick too.

If you're in a post, try using your thighs and knees to hold yourself up and kick with your lower leg.  It's sort of hard to do, but work on it and it will get better.  Try practicing your two point and see if you can kick then.

When you're in the sitting portion of the post, you can use your whole leg to kick.  As you're coming down from your post, you can take your whole leg off the horse, then give a nice hard kick.

What I like to do is squeeze every time I sit... so on the way down from a post, I'll push my heels into the horse's side.  That way there's a little reminder to go forward every other beat.

Just practice at it.  If you have a riding instructor, ask them to get on and show you exactly what you need to do to kick during posting... it's always easier to learn if you can see it.

Answer 2

Do it when you sit in the rise. To make it a little easier the first few times, slow your horses trot down a bit by slowing how many times you rise (that doesn't make much sense but oh well) and then when you sit give your horse a kick.