At the walk, you sit quietly on the horse, but as soon as it moves into trot, the movement becomes up and down and you start bouncing along with it. The posting trot is the technique that absorbs that movement: in rhythm with the trot, you alternately rise slightly out of the saddle and sit back down. This guide explains how the posting trot works, how you learn to feel the rhythm, and what the difference is with sitting trot.
Why you post at the trot
At the trot, the horse moves two legs at a time: left front and right hind, then the reverse. That gives the rider a rhythmic up-and-down feeling. A rider who stays seated and doesn't absorb that movement keeps banging back down into the saddle — unpleasant both for you and for the horse's back.
The posting trot solves that. You let the upward movement of the stride push you a small distance out of the saddle, then settle calmly back down on the next beat. Up once, down once, in time with the trot. This is also called "rising and sitting". It relieves the horse's back and, over time, costs you less energy than bouncing along.
Learning to feel the rhythm
Almost every beginner wants to do too much themselves: actively springing upward using muscle power. The posting trot actually works the other way around. You let the horse's movement lift you, and use your own muscles mainly to sink back down in a controlled way.
A few points to focus on when you're starting out:
- Push from your feet and legs, not your hands. Your weight sinks into your heels, your lower leg stays quietly against the horse. You don't pull yourself up on the reins.
- Rise just a little. You barely need to leave the saddle; a couple of centimeters is enough. Standing up high costs energy and throws you off balance.
- Keep your upper body angled slightly forward. Not falling forward, but your shoulders a fraction ahead of your hips, so you don't tip backward when you sit.
- Count out loud. "Up, down, up, down" in time with the trot helps you get a feel for the tempo.
At first it feels stiff and awkward, and you'll often be a beat too late or too early. That's normal. After a few lessons, the rhythm starts to come naturally and you no longer have to think about it.
The correct diagonal
Once you've got the rising and sitting reasonably under control, the next step is the correct diagonal. Because the trot is a two-beat gait, you sit down at the moment one particular diagonal pair of legs touches the ground. On a curve, you should be sitting at the moment the outside foreleg — and the corresponding inside hind leg — comes down to the ground.
Why that matters: on the correct diagonal, the horse can step further under its body with its inside hind leg through the turn. On the wrong diagonal, it moves less evenly, and you keep loading the same side through the bend.
You check the diagonal by glancing briefly at the horse's outside shoulder: if you sit down as that shoulder moves forward, you're on the correct diagonal. If it's not right, you stay seated for one extra beat ("sit-sit-rise") and switch to the other diagonal. Looking down constantly is something you unlearn later on — eventually you feel from the movement which diagonal you're on.
| What | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| The rhythm | You rise on the upward beat, you sit on the downward beat |
| The seat | Rise just a little, weight in your heels, quiet hands |
| The diagonal | Sit as the outside foreleg comes forward |
| Changing diagonal | Stay seated for one extra beat, then continue on the other diagonal |
Posting trot and sitting trot
Alongside the posting trot, there's also the sitting trot: at the trot, you then stay continuously seated and absorb every stride with your hips and lower back, without leaving the saddle. That requires a far more developed, relaxed seat, and is demanding for beginners — you don't yet have the suppleness in your hips and back to follow the movement smoothly.
That's why, in the early stages, you mainly learn the posting trot. Sitting trot comes later, once your balance and supple seat are developed enough. In the lower competition classes, riders still post a lot of the trot; only higher up in dressage does sitting trot become the norm. So as a beginner, you don't need to worry about it — get the posting trot solidly under control first, and the rest will follow.
Common beginner mistakes
The most common mistakes in the posting trot are small and easy to correct:
- Pushing off your hands. You use the reins to push yourself up. This gives the horse a jolt in the mouth every time. Push from your legs, not your hands.
- Too high and too hard. You actively spring upward instead of letting yourself be carried. The result: you get out of breath and out of rhythm. Keep it small.
- Looking down. Many beginners stare at the shoulder to check the diagonal, and end up tipping forward as a result. Feel free to look at first, but unlearn it as soon as you can feel the diagonal.
- Gripping with your knees. If you clamp on with your knees, you actually push yourself up out of the saddle and lose your lower leg. Let your leg hang long and down.
Your instructor spots what's going wrong much faster than you can. So ask specific questions: am I on the correct diagonal, and am I not rising too high?
In short
The posting trot means rising and sitting in time with the trot, so you absorb the movement and spare the horse's back. Let the horse lift you rather than actively springing up, keep it small, and push from your legs. Then add the correct diagonal: sit as the outside foreleg comes forward. Sitting trot comes only once your seat is more supple and stable — for now, learning the posting trot well is the foundation that all your further riding builds on.
See also: The Most Common Beginner Mistakes in the Saddle · Level: Just starting out