By Jec A. Ballou

As a specialist in equine conditioning, I’m always exploring how to support a horse’s physical health. One simple yet often overlooked method is re-evaluating how we approach the trot—specifically, choosing between sitting or posting. While certain riding styles may favour one over the other, it’s crucial to move past trends and assess how each technique influences the horse’s body.

Too much time in the saddle without posting can lead to the horse suffering back discomfort and stiffness. Many horses show better movement, improved muscle tone, and increased vitality when riders spend more time posting.

This idea was recently backed by research from teams in the U.S. and the Netherlands. Using advanced motion tracking and saddle pressure sensors, they measured the effects of different rider positions. While carrying a person always creates some level of pressure, the study found that the posting trot produced noticeably lower force than sitting. The least strain occurred when riders adopted a light seat or two-point position. The takeaway: sitting creates the highest impact on the horse’s spine, while posting and off-the-back positions significantly lessen that stress.

Further, the same researchers found that the horse’s back extends more (vertebrae move away from each other) when loaded in sitting trot. During posting trot, the back flexes more. These findings validate the long-held belief by many trainers that posting trot is much better for a young horse’s back, in order to allow him to round and flex it (moving the vertebrae closer together). Posting trot should not, however, be reserved for youngsters.

What we can derive from this research is that, even with a well-muscled and mature horse, periods of posting trot with allow him to work with a flexed back and less burden. There are indeed times to add more load or force to his workload, and spend time sitting the trot. This is also obviously necessary for developing a rider’s skills. But do not forget to intersperse these bouts with periods of posting. You will keep a horse’s gaits fresher this way and avoid having his back adopt an overly extended pattern or create hard/tight muscles from consistent force impact.

Interestingly, preliminary research has also indicated that total range of lateral bending is greater during posting trot compared to sitting trot. Further research needs to be done, but for now this might indicate that posting trot during lateral exercises may offer advantages to the horse. This thrills me, because I have felt such a difference in my own horses when, years ago, Manolo Mendez urged me to school lateral movements while posting the trot, not sitting. As a devout dressage student, I felt uncomfortable about this at first; it felt like a violation of strict dressage code: A rider MUST sit the trot during lateral movements. But when I made the switch, the improvement in my horses convinced me that posting during lateral movements was better for their backs. And now science just might be proving this true. Stay tuned for study results. In the meantime, trot on!

Related: How to Master the Sitting Trot

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Photo: iStock/Dagamon