Teach me how round the corners of the arena nicely

[Karin]

Yesterday Willoughby spooked. A loud noise outside the arena became an excuse to cut the corner near the big scary monster and also became an excuse to side-step a mounting box in another corner that has never ever been an issue before.

My instructor suggested small circles in the corners with "inside leg, inside eye and keeping the outside rein (don't throw it away)". Everytime I got his inside eye he'd cut the corner. She'd say take the corner straighter, keep the outside rein and he won't cut. Hmmmm.

Anyway I did get him back in the corners, but I think she was looking for a nice bend not my choppy turns.

Any tips?

[Horselover2]

Begin applying a little more of your inside leg a little before you get to your turn, and keep it there until you're back on the rail on the straight-a-way.

[cynthia]

hey karin!

gayle (and your instructor) have it right on - outside rein is your friend! ;)

whatever you do, try not to anticipate that corner too much - you might end up telling your horse to turn before you really want him to. instead, like your instructor mentioned, ride it a bit straighter - keeping a *good* contact with your outside rein, start to apply your inside leg just before the turn. you can try a little squeeze-and-release with your leg pressure, but don't let it drop off him entirely. keep pushing him over with your leg, into your outside rein contact, and of course, resist that temptation to drag him around with your inside rein!

easier said than done, as always, eh? i should know, i had a hell of a time getting Raven to behave today. he was doing much the same thing as your horse, i think - he hates it when both of the arena doors are wide open, letting the wind rush in and bite him! ;)

i actually stopped for a minute, and asked him to do some quick turns on the forehand to get him listening to my inside leg (hell, even "listening" in general!). we then went back to 20m circles, and he did much better. :)

[olympicprincess]

Sometimes people understand when things are put in a different way. Usually, people have problems circling b/c they overbend their horses neck. Try keeping the neck and shoulder straight, push/block with your outside aids around the circle.