LESSON PLAN 2
Topic
Posting the trot on the correct diagonal (assumes some work on posting has already been done)
Materials Required
Tacked up horse, 2 different colored leg wraps or boots, lunge line and whip if necessary
Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will:
- Recognize a rider posting on the correct and incorrect diagonal from the ground.
- Recognize when they are posting the trot on the correct or incorrect diagonal.
Activities
Visual
Wrap a diagonal pair (LF, RH or RF, LH) of the horse’s legs with the leg wraps. Have the horse trot on the lunge line and point out to the students that the diagonal pairs of legs move together in a 2 beat gait. Compare it to the walk etc. Have a teen leader ride the horse (off the lunge line) and post the trot on the correct diagonal. Point out that the rider moves forward and up as the foreleg nearest the rail moves forward etc. Have the rider post on the incorrect diagonal. Have the students identify when the rider is correct or not.
Auditory
After the visual exercises, continue to describe to the student what the correct diagonal should look like from the top of the horse. Have them count out the beats of the trot. Have them focus on the horse’s shoulders as they listen to you describe the correct diagonal. Then ask them “what they see”. Remind them to “rise and fall with the leg on the wall”. Have them tell you what they see (whether it’s the correct diagonal or not). Encourage them to talk about what they’re seeing and/or feeling.
Kinesthetic
Once you’ve addressed diagonals in the context of visual and auditory learning styles, see if you can get the students to “feel” the correct diagonal. This is ultimately what we’re shooting for, regardless, but some students may pick up the skill much quicker by starting out this way. Lunge your students (wearing helmets!) on a safe horse, at the trot. When they feel comfortable have them close their eyes and feel what happens to their body when the horse trots. Have them feel for when the horse’s inside hind foot is on the ground. This means that the outside foreleg is also on the ground and they should be sitting. When the legs leave the ground to move forward, they should be rising. Don’t force students to close their eyes if they aren’t comfortable!
Evaluation
Students will identify when a rider is posting on the correct diagonal and when they are posting on the correct diagonal themselves.