You should not have alot of weight in your stirrups at all, doing so can cause your knee to lock. Your knees should be bent. You hsould be able to draw a line form your helmet down your spine and it hsould hit the heel of your boot. There is a picture on here, Visit Link
Hope that helps
Nicole
www.cafepress.com/littlebluepony

Are you riding english or western? First your horse has to be going at the correct pace for your discipline, western is a bit slower but in english you can start with a slow trot and when you are comfortable with that go on to a faster trot. Secondly, sitting to the trot is much easier if your horse is 'collected' and coming through his back. If you don't know how to collect your horse yet, your sitting trot will not be as comfortable as when you learn to collect him (an instructor can help with that) but in either case you need to relax your center and allow your middle, from the bottom of your rib cage to your butt move forward with your horse while the rest of you stays soft and still. If you are stiff anywhere, you will bounce. Sometimes it helps to think of yourself as having a long heavy tail that drops down through the saddle and keeps you there. Some horses are bouncier than others and will always be very hard to sit on at the trot. It actually takes quite a bit of effort from the rider to sit quietly and soft at the sitting trot so don't be discouraged if it takes a while.

Thank you. Yes, I ride western. My horse does have a very nice smooth gate to her, she is a morgan. I guess its just me, I need to relax a little more, I am getting back into the riding after years off and so its just not coming as easy as I thought it would be. Your suggestions are very helpful and I will use them as I continue to get better with time I hope!

haha, the first thing i pictured was face fidgeting which is funny, in all my pictures i have contorted faces
first i would figure out why you are fidgeting, do you trust the horse? are you nervous? is it only at shows or at home too.
try practicing at home, and just dont think about it while you are doing it, that sounds kind of crazy but you might realize that when you dont try so hard it will come naturally, or by feel. the more you do it, the better you will get and the less you will need to worry about it

I would suggest putting a tie down on him and lungeing him with it to make sure he get's used to it. Then try riding him with it. Good Luck!!

He may be sore, or he may be used to someone either tearing his face off or bouncing on his back. Check your saddle fit first. Other wise, stay out of his mouth. Teach him to trust you. If he's safe on trails, like not spooky, take him out and let him move. Play games under saddle that teach him you are a quiet rider, and that gains his trust. It really will just take time and consistent riding. Circles help, too. Every time he throws his head, out him into a circle that is small enough for you to control his speed, but large enough for him to settle into. Just try to stay out of his way. He needs you to show him the correct response, not punish him consistently for the only response he knows.

If you have a decently sized round pen at your barn/stable, ride him in there. The shape of the pen will help moderate his speed. Also, after a while of going around and around in the same circle, he'll start to focus more on you and what you're asking of him. Keep it simple - don't circle or cut across the pen, just do all 3 usual gaits and reversing. When you lope, lope for a while and then ask him to slow down/stop. If he doesn't respond, don't get on his case. Just let him keep running. When he starts to slow down of his own accord, don't let him - push him forward. Do at least 2-3 more laps and then ask him to slow down. If he slows down without you having to get on his case, reward him. If he tries to rear, push him forward and make him do another couple laps. Be consistent about it. This will teach him that he can slow down when you ask without fuss, or he can keep working. He doesn't get to stop when he pleases, only when you ask him too. By letting him wear himself out, he'll be more inclined to slow down for you. When he's full of energy and not out of breath, he has little reason to *want* to slow down. Eventually he'll figure out that if he stops when you ask, he doesn't have to work as long.
Building trust is also a great idea. If you're confident enough, ride him bareback with a western bridle. The lack of a saddle between you and the horse really helps both you and him figure out how the other moves. Really use your seat cues, slowly exaggerate them if he doesn't respond at first, and add vocal, leg and hand cues. Seat first, then vocal (if he responds to them), last hand/leg (whichever appropriate). If possible, do some groundwork, ride bareback for a little while, do more ground work, ride again, and then do a little more ground work to cool out (backing, side stepping, yeilding, ect.) Again, a decent sized round pen is wonderful for trust building. In the round pen is where I've built most of my trust with my horse. That, and the trails.

For the circling issue, set up a few barrels and try to get him to circle around them at a trot. Once he's circling nicely around them at a trot, try a slow lope. Don't circle tightly around them, do large circles. Try shifting your inside leg back (aprox between the cinch and back cinch/where the back cinch would go) and push his rib cage out while applying pressure to just behind the outside shoulder to push him around. The inside leg pressure should encourage him to circle larger. If riding western, pick up the inside rein and "tip" his nose in slightly - you should just be able to see it. That will help him to make a nice arc with his body to make a nice round circle.

Good luck and hope this helps!

I absolutely agree with the above statement!! You could also consider teaching him to flex and yeild his hindquarters after he learns the relax under saddle. Horses are naturally claustraphobic, so when they feel you pull back on the reins, they want to speed up and evade the pressure. Use the above mentioned exercise that Tori Posted to teach him that running around and evading the bit is not neccesary.

I made the above comment i wasn't logged in though.

Take him to EVERY schooling show in your area. Show him in any kind of class you can, even if it's English pleasure or something. Make showing routine for him. Exposure is the only thing that is going to fix your problem. Also, evaluate your feelings at shows. Are you under pressure? Stressed about your performance? Do you REALLY want to win? Take a deep breath, relax, and just enjoy your ride!

You also don't need to go to shows if he is doing this. Instead, go to an unfermiliar barn and just ride. The same thing happened to one of my friends. She would bring him to an unfirmiliar barn/ riding place and just ride. Now, he is perfect. Just dont bring him to shows until he is safe to ride at different barns.

Try different things at home too. Introduce him to scary things that u would see at a show, umbrellas, chairs, people, tarps. Have people put a small table and sit in the arena with you while you ride. Build his confindence up. Dont worry about winning at shows, worry about your training.

I've already introducted him to scary things until he doesn't care, but I could introduce him to more. I also think that I should get him used to goats, llamas, and draft horse hitches. Those were the things that I noticed he was most scared of, especially during county fair.

Hi Chelsea!
A good exercise for you to do is get a lead and halter, and a 4 or 5 ft long stick/ lunge stick. lunge your horse around you a few times then command for a stop. he should stop right there and not come toward, at, or crowd you. if your horse comes or is standing close enough to be able to touch him with the stick (even on the nose, side, etc...) he's too close. to get him to move out of your space tap him until he gets out of your space, and gradually increase in preassure if he doesn't respond. repeat until he stays out of your space unless asked to come into it. Another helpful exercise is to just simply disengage the hindquarters. And one more idea is take a halter + lead, and a 4 or 5ft stick/ loungeing stick and hold the lead 4 to 5 ft away from your horse, then take the stick and tap in the air in front of his face and walk toward him (only if he starts to move BACK!) and if he responds let of the pressure after he takes 2 steps. gradually as for more. however if the horse does not respond to the tapping the air, tap his nose, if that still doesn't work tap his chest and gradually add more preassure. if you don't understand or have any questions just ask. Good Luck!!

I have one like this too, and while we have been learning how each of us work (both my horse and me) I have used a little shorter stirrup length to give me a little more control of my own legs. :) Takes a little time to figure it all out but the leg cues become a way of life once you get used to it.

try useing preassure with more your upper legs, like your thighs/knees.

You could try to just keep your legs sensitive. Like, don't touch her unless you have to and don't overeact to anything. It's very nice to have a sensitive horse, trust me. I have a lazy horse that is learning to be more sensitive, but it's really hard.