# Getting the correct diagonal in trot..... Is it just me!



## Supertrooper (5 October 2011)

I can never get it right! About 5% of the time I get it right. Please tell me a foolproof way xx


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## ThePony (5 October 2011)

Glance down and sit as your horses outside shoulder moves back.  You'll get a feel for it in time so don't worry overmuch!


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## Damnation (5 October 2011)

When the outside shoulder moves back you should be sitting.
Also when you can notice the difference from the shoulders you can then sit for two and ride on the wrong diagonal, sit for two and ride on the right diagonal. Believe me you can feel the difference


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## Miss L Toe (5 October 2011)

Most horses put you one to one diagonal, so if this is the case, on one rein, do an immediate change before you look down, this of course does not work if your horse is properly schooled and balanced!


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## bumblelion (5 October 2011)

ThePony said:



			Glance down and sit as your horses outside shoulder moves back.  You'll get a feel for it in time so don't worry overmuch!
		
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^^this!^^^

I do agree though it's not easy at times! I'v never had a problem, could always feel and did it naturally! Recently I had a baby and a break and now I have to constantly check and am always on the wrong diagonal! It's so weird! I'v been riding nearly 30 years also, can be a bit embarassing!!


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## scarymare (5 October 2011)

No, not just you.  When we were learning my sister couldn't do it at all and I used to tease her rotten and make her cry

Mind you we are now in our 40's and she's still struggling - couldn't get her left and rights as a child either.  Persevere and it will come.  Incidentally I still have to glance down even now.


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## Shantara (5 October 2011)

I just glance down to see. However, Ned can be VERY hard to tell at first, since usually he has trouble when we first start to trot (A standardbred trying to do "normal" trotting) once we get into the swin gof things, he gets much easier XD
It's pretty much the only "schooling" thing I've picked up right away! Everything else...not a chance.


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## Hedwards (5 October 2011)

a friend of mine used to struggle to get the right diagonal on my old mare, we worked it out by her sitting as she went into the trot a little longer than you normally would, to give her time to look and feel when to rise - seemed to do the job... eventually i think you can pick up a feel for it and it becomes natural.


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## Supertrooper (5 October 2011)

Thanks, I do try and look at outside shoulder coming back but I still never seem to be able to co-ordinate myself! Will keep at it though  as they say practice makes perfect xxxx


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## Wagtail (5 October 2011)

Supertrooper said:



			Thanks, I do try and look at outside shoulder coming back but I still never seem to be able to co-ordinate myself! Will keep at it though  as they say practice makes perfect xxxx
		
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It is much easier if you think about RISING as the shoulder goes forward. Same thing but much easier to achieve. Do sitting trot and watch your horse's outside shoulder. Everytime it goes forwards say to yourself 'up' and 'up' and 'up'. That way you can coordinate when you rise with the outside shoulder going forwards. Much easier than trying to sit back down at the right time.


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## HuntingPink (5 October 2011)

Get an Equisimulator course with Heather Moffett!  Or at least buy her new book that's due out soon.  I struggled for years and never really cracked it but went on a course aat one of her teachers and got it in 20 minutes.

What you need to do is to stop pushing with your seat and feel your seat bones rising and falling with the horse's back.  It's probably best to start at walk and then move onto trot.  Once you can feel what is happening feel for your outside hip dropping, this is when you should be sitting.  When you feel your outside hip start to be pushed up you should be rising.

A couple of other things that we were taught was not to rise too high but to let the horse's push you into the rise and to incline your body forwards slightly rather than being too straight.

I was a real sceptic and only went because my friend didn't want to go on her own but it was the best money I've spent and I haven't had a problem since and I don't need to look down anymore.


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## kinnygirl1 (5 October 2011)

No not just you - I could do it myself but could never tell when watching others ride whether they were on the right diagonal or not. I used to listen to my RI telling others to change their diagonal and think "how does she know?" lol.  

Many years on and I can tell now - now teaching my 8 year old daughter to do it. Sometimes she seems to lean right over the pony's side and looks down at the floor as she says she can't tell from the shoulder but can tell by watching his outside foot come back. Quite comical to watch!


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## misterjinglejay (5 October 2011)

I was always taught to sit for the first three trot strides - it usually works! But certain horses will always bounce me onto the wrong stride to start with. 
Rise and fall with the leg on the wall - I always remember that (think someone very wise posted it on here a long time ago )


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## Firefly* (5 October 2011)

I can still hear a voice calling out to someone ....

Rise and Fall with to the outside Wall


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## mudmonkey17 (5 October 2011)

I sympathise with you here. I got a real mental block on diagnols and had loads of lunge lessons to sort it. Found that the more i stressed over it the worse i was. Same with my canter leads. Now have no problems with either but do admit to sneaky peeks sometimes if am not sure.

Time, practice and patience. Try sitting to wrong diagnol and learn what it feels like opposed to the right one.


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## SophieLouBee (5 October 2011)

Maha, as a child I was terrible, I was always being yelled "DIAGONAL, SOPHIE", at riding school. Then my private instructor was always like 'Can you not FEEL that you are wrong?'.

Sitting for the first three strides usually ends me up on the right one, and I can just about tell now, but if my horse is being a knobber and giraffing, I have to look  15 years down the line haha.


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## Tnavas (5 October 2011)

First thing I do with pupils is to teach them how to change diagonals - we work on this for a couple of lessons then start working on the correct diagonal. 

I teach the rider to sit as the outside shoulder comes back as I've always found this the easiest way. I send the riders off into rising trot and I then tell them if the are correct or not - if not correct they use their previously learnt lesson to change the diagonal. Then the lesson progresses to going into sitting trot, going into rising and them telling me if they are correct. 

Don't stress too much about getting it correct at first rise - glance down with your eyes and watch the shoulder moving back as you sit - if wrong then correct it. You will then get the feel more quickly than trying and failing to get the correct diagonal straight away.


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## bluewhippet (6 October 2011)

Supertrooper said:



			Thanks, I do try and look at outside shoulder coming back but I still never seem to be able to co-ordinate myself! Will keep at it though  as they say practice makes perfect xxxx
		
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I'm a bit deficient in this area: don't know left from right naturally and have bad spatial awareness and rhythm etc. I found it so difficult while I was riding at a school and constantly under scrutiny with no time to work it out for myself.

When I got my own horse it came very easily. I trotted round and when I sat I said down and looked at the horse's outside leg and made sure I was down when leg came back. Just studied it gently with no pressure, and it came easily. Still don't really feel it but can check it out visually very easily and change if necessary. 

Is something that doesn't come naturally to some people, take your time and don't worry.


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## Kat (6 October 2011)

If you can tell that you are wrong just sit for two and change.


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