Hi all. I am going to be riding at work again in a few months, and I was thinking about some of the things I need to work on. The first thing I thought of was that I post to high. Even if the horse has a very smooth trot/jog, and even if I lower my stirrups, I still bounce too high. Any advice? Also, I am a noncompetitive Western rider.

I would work on your core muscles.

Posting a trot should all be done and controlled with leg and core strength, and not "bouncing" off the horses movement. If you are letting the horse bounce you up, you will always post too high.

How's your sitting trot? If your core muscles are strong enough for a good sitting trot then you can control your posting trot much more easily. The muscles that you use to follow the horse's movement in the sitting trot are the same ones that control your post.

I rode western pleasure for 7 years, and had the same problem when I moved to English. I rode on really long stirrups for a while, and just recently my trainer put my stirrups way up (like show length) and it's helped a ton. The shorter stirrups honestly help me have a smaller post since I almost feel like I'd go over if I posted how I use to. Another thing I figured out is to not really "focus" on the post, really just let the bounce help you in a way. For a sitting trot, really try and absorb the motion in your seat and slow it down. I'm not much help for this since I've been taught to do it since I was young, and it's just kind of natural for me at this point haha. If you ever get the chance, learning on a horse that has a true jog (like western pleasure horse) really can help with your seat. (I have an all arounder, and I even just jog English sometimes before I long trot)

That helps a ton, actually. Thanks guys!

I don't ride fulltime, so I don't really know what my sitting trot is like. As soon as my legs were long enough, I was told to post.

Don't think of standing up in the stirrups when you post, rather think of tucking your bum under you as you post. To get used to the feeling lie on your back with your knees bent, then tilt your pelvis and lift your bum until you make a straight line with your body from your knees up to your shoulders