Posting on the Diagonal on Horses

When learning to post on the diagonal in horse riding, it's best to do this at the walk by following the outside shoulder of the horse. Learn the diagonals for tracking right and left with help from a riding instructor in this video on posting on the diagonal in horse riding.

Hello. My name is Chelsey Sawtell, primary riding instructor at Black Friar Farm in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, and today we will be discussing posting on the diagonal. Now that you've mastered posting, it's time to learn your diagonals. This is best done at the walk. The diagonal is following the outside shoulder of the horse, forward, in your posting. Begin at the walk. Look down at the horse's shoulders. You will notice the point of the shoulders coming forward as the horse takes each step. As the outside shoulder comes forward, you will raise into your half-seat and as the outside shoulder comes back, you will sit. This would be the proper diagonal for tracking left. When tracking right, you'd follow the outside diagonal or left shoulder. Posting at the walk is difficult. It takes a lot of muscle control as there is no bump from the horses hind end to send you forward. Once you have figured posting at the walk, pick up a trot. Though posting on the diagonal is judged in the hunter ring, it has many uses in training as well. By switching diagonal or posting on the opposite diagonal, you can help a young horse engage that hind foot, and therefore come through over it's back. In conclusion, posting on the diagonal has many uses. You can use it to improve your balance. You can use it to engage the horses hind quarters or to just increase your skill set.