Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Clarify the Post
“[T]he rider needs to determine the metronome beat they want and then become it. Using the post to quietly insist on an even rhythm allows the horse to settle into the other asks …”
Welcome to the next installment of Thoroughbred Logic. In this weekly series, Anthropologist and trainer Aubrey Graham, of Kivu Sport Horses, offers insight and training experience when it comes to working with Thoroughbreds (although much will apply to all breeds). This week ride along as Aubrey shares her logic on the importance of a focused, clear post.
The fun of getting to travel and teach a handful of clinics back to back is that I get ample laboratory time to test out which metaphors and training tactics are working. OK OK, that’s definitely part of the fun, but it doesn’t trump the part where I get to head back to Georgia and see all the friends and horses that I left behind. Starting a morning getting to visit with Forrest (Don’t Noc It — leased out to a friend), Crafty Charger (retired in said friend’s field), and Uno (Hold Em Paul — sold to a stellar client of a different friend) didn’t suck. Now to book the tickets to get back…
Although I specialize in Thoroughbreds, I love the variety that clinics bring to the table. On that Saturday, I got to teach a handful of my TB friends, a couple of cute sassy ponies, a Quarter Horse phenom, some stunning yellow Spanish thing, and then more Thoroughbreds. While I tailor each lesson to those in it, if I find myself saying the same things, I start to pay attention to how it applies across the range of horses and levels of riders. And recently, I have found myself asking riders to “clarify their post” or, in other less quality terms, “solidify their post.” The great thing is, this one seems to work across the spectrum of bipeds and their quadruped counterparts.
Savannah Howard and Captain come in for a chat at the Thoroughbred Logic clinic at Simmons Sporthorses in Talking Rock, GA earlier this month. Photo by Adela Narovich.
I have never been one to want to teach up-down lessons. They are absolutely critical, there’s no doubt there. But they are so well taught by those who are good with new riders or with children, and I don’t often qualify for those jobs. That said, in the last number of weeks, I have found myself standing in the middle of the circle saying “up, down, up, down.” As it turns out, so much of good riding is just getting the basics right. Here’s how it works:
When a rider is trying to get a horse to come together into a shape — push from behind, lift its back, and soften into contact — they’re focusing on a ton of different asks. They’re multitasking 87 different things from the inside leg, to the outside rein, to the inside hand staying soft, to the turn of the hips, to the angle of their seat bones, etc. All that while still trying to keep the horse between them and the ground. And in that process, as they’re trying to line up all the parts of the horse into a smooth bend behind the nose, sometimes the rhythm becomes wonky. The clear one-two-one-two of the trot starts to falter a little bit. Maybe a stifle on one side is weaker, maybe the horse has skipped a moment above the expected cadence or is trying to tranter to make the hind-end-pushing trot easier, maybe they’re close to breaking over their back and pushing from behind, but one last little thing is missing.
Manhattan (Ten Bits) maintains his big trot for his third ride post-track despite wanting to break into a canter since that would be easier. Photo by Lily Drew.
Clarify the post.
To do so, I ask folks not just to follow the horse and try to work with their sometimes très creative version of rhythm. Rather, the rider needs to determine the metronome beat they want and then become it. Using the post to quietly insist on an even rhythm allows the horse to settle into the other asks — particularly, that whole inside leg to outside rein thing.
Clearly (and softly) the rider sits fully in the saddle and then lifts up in time. The length of the post becomes equivalent to the length of their stride. A choppy trot that demands a quick post can be amended by adding leg and posting more slowly/determinedly into the longer desired rhythm. Similarly, a super strung out trot can come back together with supportive leg and a determined “nope, this rhythm” post. Riding a beat slightly differently from the horse below you might be super awkward for a second, but they’ll sync and figure it out after a few moments without any interference from the rider’s hand.
Finch (Morning Artie) makes a naturally lovely shape when the post becomes clear. Photo by Lily Drew.
This might sound too simple, too basic. Good! The nice thing is that getting the basics right seems to work consistently.
Take Sews (Lord Darnley) for example. Sews is a 17-hand goofball who is coming back to work after a few months off, during which time he had to learn to be a horse again. He has sweeping gaits and knows how to carry himself, but he’s not super strong behind yet (we’re still in the leggin- up phase). So when one of my working students hops on and he’s **almost** where she wants him (she has his hind end under him, the bend she has created bend is correct, she has him supported in the outside rein), I ask her to make her post clearer, more rhythmic. And voila! After a few more intentional posts, Sews lifts his back and drops his head and neck into proper soft contact.
Sews (Lord Darnley) showing off his balance and building the right muscles. Photo by Lily Drew.
In another example, there’s Rook (Breath of Royalty). The petit gray horse who recently came in for training has been a fun challenge. Rook prefers to try to get choppy at the trot as it’s simply easier. A longer, slower post with supportive leg and soft, consistent contact allows him to settle his body into a better balance and begin to figure out where he needs to be over his back to be most comfortable. Once he gets there, the steady, even metronome of a post helps him stay in that position and build the muscle he needs. From ride one to ride seven, the progress has been huge.
Rook (Breath of Royalty) putting the pieces together out in the field. Photo by Lily Drew.
Sometimes that difference between clear rhythm and slightly unsteady rhythm is difficult to discern. Sometimes it is the difference between “they’re running” and “that’s a nice working trot.” And it is so easy to go to one’s hands to try to contain the horse and change their tempo. But, give it a shot — change the beat from the post (with supportive leg always… always leg) not the reins. I bet the ride improves from there. And from that foundational block, so many other more nuanced asks can then be added.
So go ride folks and enjoy the back-to-basics even on your advanced kiddos.
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