BY SARAH E. COLEMAN PHOTOS BY LESLIE POTTER
Posting the trot is a skill like riding a bike: Once you learn to do it well, you won’t forget how, no matter how long it’s been since you last sat on a horse. If you learn to “rise and fall with the leg on the wall,” you’ll remember it for years to come! The posting trot has two distinct phases: the sitting phase and the rising phase. The sitting phase is when you sit completely in the saddle, with all of your weight resting on your seat bones, which are touching the saddle.
To get a feel for this position when you’re not on a horse, grab a chair and sit normally, with feet directly underneath your knees, which are bent at a right angle. Now lift your feet just a little bit—an inch off the ground is great! You should be able to feel your seat bones more easily with your feet raised. These are the bones you want to concentrate on in the down phase of the posting trot.