When the correct rising diagonal feels wrong...

Why does the correct rising trot diagonal sometimes feels wrong?

Maybe you sometimes think you’re on the correct rising trot diagonal and look down to check and its wrong?

Or do you find every time you swap over to the correct diagonal, your horse throws you back over to the incorrect diagonal?

I have a little secret for you…

What you are feeling when you are feeling for the correct rising trot diagonal is the inside hind coming through. When it comes through, it lifts your inside hip higher than the outside hind.

If your horse has dropped the inside hip and disengaged it, it actually makes it feel like you’ve got the incorrect rising trot diagonal when you actually have the correct rising trot diagonal.

This is because the outside hind is coming through and supporting your weight.

Furthermore, if your horse also has a weak back, they will be trying to balance you with their shoulders or the outside hind.

So you can be finding that every time you switch over to the correct rising trot diagonal it feels wrong or jarring or your horse itself gets uncomfortable and bounces you back onto the other diagonal (I’ve met a couple of these!)

These horses in particular will also most likely have trouble with getting one of their canter leads.

That’s why, sometimes, the correct rising diagonal feels wrong.

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