16/09/2026
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TRAINING TIP TUESDAY: Learn your damn diagonals.
I canโt hold it in any longer.
The sheer number of professional horse trainersโand their assistantsโas well as RIDING INSTRUCTORS, who cannot post on the correct diagonal is ASTOUNDING. And before anyone says, โIt doesnโt really matter,โ yes, my friends, yesโฆit absolutely does.
Posting diagonals are not some arbitrary little rule invented by European riding instructors. Knowing how to catch the correct diagonal teaches you to recognize the rhythm and footfalls of the trot. When you rise with the horseโs outside front leg, you also help him stay more balanced through a turn or circle instead of repeatedly loading the same side of his body.
Horses naturally have a stronger side and a weaker side, and riders do too. Consistently posting on the same diagonal can reinforce those imbalances and contribute to uneven muscle development in both horse and rider. On a straight line, you should change diagonals regularly; on a circle or in an arena, you should post with the outside front leg.
But this is about more than knowing when to stand up and sit down. Learning to feel your diagonal teaches you to feel the horseโs feet, notice changes in rhythm, recognize stiffness or unevenness, and improve the timing of your cues. If you cannot tell which feet are moving, how can you accurately tell those feet what you want them to do?
And before anyone thinks Iโm sitting up here pretending Iโve always done this correctlyโI havenโt. I knew what diagonals were long before I started making them a priority, and I was much better on one side than the other. It took me about three years of consistently working at it to undo 20 years of s**t riding and bad habitsโand yes, I was teaching lessons during some of those years.
I didnโt know everything I know now, because none of us knows what we donโt know. But the truth is, I did know what a diagonal was. I simply didnโt understand why it mattered enough to stop ignoring it. Once I truly understood what it had to do with balance, timing, feel, and knowing where my horseโs feet were, I never looked back.
If youโre unsure, glance at the outside shoulder and rise when it moves forward. Eventually, you should be able to feel the correct diagonal without looking down. If youโre on the wrong one, sit for one extra beat and change it without disrupting the horseโs rhythm.
This is basic horsemanship. If you are being paid to ride horses, train horses, or teach other people to ride them, you should know itโor you should be actively learning it. Iโll not apologize for that wildly unpopular opinion.
So, which camp were you in? Did you genuinely not knowโor did you know what a diagonal was but ignore it because nobody ever taught you why it mattered?
