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unbalanced at the trot



April Johnson april.johnson@bigfoot.com
Hi, Guys,

First things first.  I am a bareback rider.  Learned to ride at 16.  Bareback.  Didn't know how to put on a saddle till I was 20 or so.  Rode my first horse, Apache, bareback in two LDs.

Now I've got Tanna.  Teaching him to bareback.  He's a great little horse and I love his gaits.  He's very, very balanced at all his gaits.  While riding him bareback last weekend, I noticed that *I* am not balanced at the trot.  Maybe I never have been.

Apache had a horrible trot.  Ask anybody that rode him.  So nobody ever mentioned the fact that I was unbalanced.  Maybe I was balanced at some point and I've lost that from not riding for almost a year.

My worry is that I'll ride Tanna while not being balanced and mess up *his* balance. And destroy those lovely gaits.

So I have a couple of questions.  Will my riding unbalanced throw him off?  (I'm thinking yes...wanting to draw on RC knowledge.)  And next, does anybody know of exercises to do (on or off my horse) that I can regain or improve my balance specifically at the trot?  (Haven't cantered him yet, but canter is always easier for me.)

Please don't suggest I take professional lessons.  (A) I own a horse and can't afford it.  (B) I don't have the time for pro lessons.

Also, I don't really have any help here that I can draw on besides my husband.  He might be willing to help me do some stuff, but he's no trainer.  We do have a video camera.  I shudder to think of watching myself, but he can tape me and then we can critique that if I can figure out how to fix the problems.

I was thinking about getting the book Centered Riding.  Anybody have anything to comment on that?

Anyway, thanks so much for your help.  Please stay on topic with this and don't try to convince me to go saddle.  I don't mind doing that if I have to (and I'm getting older, so might go saddle route for competition), but I don't want to let the saddle be a crutch.  I want to learn to ride better, not start buying all kinds of equipment to mask my faults.

Thanks again.

April (bareback, but unbalanced)
Tanna (Quit bouncing around up there!)
Daniel (What do you want me to do?)

PS. I'm posting as guest from work during my lunch break.  Please direct replies to april.johnson@bigfoot.com or the entire list if people think it's interesting.



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