The correct way to post the trot is by posting on the outside diagonal. The rider’s seat rises when the horse’s outside hind leg is anchored on the ground and his inside hind leg and outside foreleg are lifting and moving forward. The rider is reached by the saddle and thus becomes seated when the horse’s inside hind leg impacts on the ground and his outside hind leg is suspended.

If the rider sits correctly while posting on the outside diagonal, he will feel the inside seat bone touch the saddle more firmly than the outside one. The reason is that the rider touches the surface of the saddle when the horse’s inside hind leg touches the ground. At that time, the bulk of the rider and the bulk of the horse meet with each other for a moment. The rider’s bulk is lowered, the horse’s bulk is stabilized on the inside. The resultant feeling is a stronger pressure under the inside seat bone.

This feeling may be further exaggerated when trotting on an arc, whether it is through a simple corner or on a full circle. When a rider bends a horse laterally onto an arc, he not only uses his legs to do so, but also his torso. While bending a horse laterally, the rider’s shoulders and hips parallel the position of the horse’s shoulders and hips respectively. As the inside shoulder of the horse travels slightly behind the further-advanced outside shoulder, so must the rider’s shoulders parallel that position with his inside shoulder slightly back. While the rider pivots his shoulders around the vertical axis of his spine, he should draw an imaginary horizontal line through his own shoulders that points exactly to the center of the circle. The rider’s weight should be more on the inside seat bone when riding on a circle because his outside leg is kept back and his inside shoulder is back. The imaginary line through the rider’s shoulders should point to the center of the circle like the spoke of a wheel points to the hub.

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