Gaits and rider motion
Trot alternates diagonal pairs: left hind with right fore, then right hind with left fore. In the working trot here, each stride takes 0.76 seconds at 3.3 m/s, about 2.51 m. The front hoof in each pair lands 1% of a stride after the hind hoof, a gap of about 8 milliseconds.
Sitting trot and bouncing: the model's stiff-pelvis setting loses seat contact for about 58% of the stride and reaches a maximum lift of 52 mm. The following rider has no airborne interval under the model's contact criterion. These values compare two settings on the same prescribed horse motion.
Rising trot and posting diagonal: the rider rises through one diagonal support and sits as the other pair lands. On a circle, changing diagonal shifts that timing relative to the inside and outside legs. The pelvis path and the footfall chart show the relationship.
Knee gripping produces a different comparison: about 20% of the stride without seat contact in this fitted sitting-trot model. The springs and dampers approximate rider motion; their results are illustrative and depend on the selected gait and seat.