Is it possible to truely sit to trot if the horse is stiff in the back?

[Erin's mum]

I'm asking this baring in mind the 90 trot I may have to sit to eventually if Lily works out  Whilst she is off at boarding school i've been riding Erin (aka old faithful  ) and starting to get her fitter for some jumpies as well as get a bit stronger myself. I haven't ridden much over this semester of uni so need to work on myself before any riding on Lily.

Anyway i'm digressing! I did a lot of no stirrup work tonight (which I can tell already I will feel tomorrow) and in trot I was really noticing the difference in how I could sit when Erin stretched down and softened her back compared to when she was hollow. Obviously it is much easier to sit when the horse works correctly but is it possible on a horse with reasonable lift to pick up the correct movement of the seatbones when the horse is not working  so well? I certainly found it bloomin impossible but can that improve with work?

Either way don't think I fancy no stirrups on Lily for a looong time  especially having seen her errr athletic airs above the ground that she has mastered in the field and the loosebox  could be interesting!?!

Thank you!

PS I was going to put 'working through the back' instead of 'stiff in the back' in this title but couldn't fit it  stiff in the back sounds like the horse has problems when I really just mean he is not really swinging.

[Casey76]

I think it is very difficult to sit properly if the horse is stiff/holding/not working through.

Pinto is a case in point.  For years (!) I couldn't sit his trot at all, he was sooo bloomin' bouncy, however, once I got hil to slow down, and think about what he was doing, rather than rushing around, everything dropped into place quite quickly.  He takes a lot of warming up these days (I'll let him off, he's rising 17 now!), and to an observer he can look as if he is working nicely quite quickly, but to me I can tell if he is holding at all.

Once all supple and working correctly he is actually quite comfortable to sit to (even if I need the practice at sitting for more than a few strides at a time these days)... I pride myself on being one of a very small number of people who can get Pinto working properly enough to actually feel that comfort

[issywizz]

Yes you can but it takes practise and is best mastered after you have mastered sitting on a smaller easier trot.
However the only way I have found to get the sit when Im struggling is to lift my legs up and off the saddle very briefly as you tend to tighten and grip if its bouncy and you need to release that before you can absorb properly.
The other thing to do is to go rising till the back is swinging then sit and rise again as you need to. 

[Erin's mum]

Thanks guys  will try the leg lifting tomorrow and see how we get on. For now it was really just out of interest but guess its a good skill to hone (gradually!) Looking forward it with this to work on and the tai chi turning i've been watching on horsehero tonight  poor erin she'll be hoping L is 'fully operational' soon 

[Della]

I'd agree with Issywizz, best to rise to the trot until the back is more prepared to accept the seat. If you sit before the horse is ready you will probably increase the stiffness/lack of swing boh physically, and more important, mentally.

[Heather]

Good answer Sarah. Emily, at your age, you could probably sit to most trots, as you have the suppleness of youth. But at my encroaching old age and arthritis, I'm not sure I could now!