The Rising Trot Chronicles - part two: Matching the Forces of the Hindleg
Jan 27, 2025In a good rising trot, there is enormous biomechanical potential to influence the horse for the better, and sadly there is also potential for a rider’s incorrect rising trot biomechanics to cause postural issues in their horse, and over a prolonged period of time, lameness.
Horse biomechanics and matching the forces of the trot
In part two of the rising trot chronicles, we are going to look at matching the forces of the trot and staying in balance.
The last blog focused on why it is important to reach the top of the rise.
Matching the forces that your horse exerts on you, and staying in balance are complimentary to this, and a good rising trot cannot exist without them.
They are the eggs, flour, and butter of your basic trot cake!
To get to the top of the rise, and match the forces of the horse’s hind leg, we have to make a thrust equal to the thrust of the hind leg. This isn’t a gimmick; it is fundamental physics in action.
Thrust is a word that is not commonly heard in riding arenas, but it’s happening all the time.
In the dictionary it is described as a 'propulsive force’ or ‘sudden push’, and that is exactly what happens each time a horse’s hind leg pushes off the ground in trot (and walk and canter too).
Understanding that we as riders need to match the force of our horses’ thrust allows us to embrace why riding is much more dynamic and athletic than we have been led to believe, and not just a case of relaxing and going with the movement of the horse!
As the horse moves forward, a force equal to the forwards thrust of the hind leg is exerted on the rider’s body. As I have described in my previous blogs - Rider Stability and Balance 1 & 2, if you do not match that force, you will topple backwards, or worse still, rely on the reins as handlebars at the expense of your horse’s mouth.
As the horse’s inside hind leg leaves the ground, so does the rider commence her rise. It is at this point that the thrust of her rise must be sufficient to keep up with the horse. If she gets left behind, even by a fraction, it has a dampening effect on the whole stride, as the horse cannot move freely if the rider does not move with him.
Imagine the rider’s knee as the centre of a circle, and her thigh as a radius of that circle. If her knee stays still and the thigh rotates over that point, then the rider’s thigh/hip joint will describe the arc of a circle, and she completes the thrust from the saddle to the top of the rise. At the top of the rise her thigh will be almost vertical.
Having matched the thrust, and reached the top of the rise, the horse's hindleg on will be mid-flight and halfway through its stride. The next challenge is for the rider to land from their rise correctly, without being accelerated by gravity, and in a controlled manner that does not result in a ‘plop’ on the saddle.
This means that the rider must become very conscious of the speed at which she descends from the rise, and then not allow it to be any quicker than the ascent. A good rising trot has the look of a metronome, or a consistent windscreen wiper.
Matching the thrust and controlling the ascent and descent of the rise relies on the rider being in balance over her foot, with a stable lower leg, and engagement of the thigh and core muscles.
As she lands, the inside hind will be landing too, so it makes sense that if descent is too quick, or has a heavy plop moment, this will negatively influence the cadence and rhythm of the trot.
This leads us to how we can positively control rhythm and tempo in the trot and create beautiful and imperceptible half halts using the influence of our seat, but that will be the next blog!
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