Video Description: An exact circle is very hard to ride. Deviations happen mostly because riders aren’t sure how to keep their horses’ bodies aligned on a precise curve.
Your horse has learned to move his hindquarters on one side or another of a straight line. For this exercise, think of your circle as just a curved straight line and practice moving your horse’s hindquarters back and forth on that curved straight line.
Ride the circle with just one rein—use the left rein for a circle to the left and the right rein for a circle to the right. You control the exact shape of your circle by making small adjustments through steering with the tail. Use your hip control through that one rein until you can make small corrections accurately.
If your circle gets too large, move your horse’s tail more to the outside of your circle. This will spiral you onto a smaller arc. If your circle is too small, move the tail to the inside to spiral out. Soon your corrections will get smaller and your horse will respond more quickly as you find you’re riding a more accurate circle. |
