Circles

[toohorsemad]

Anyone know any exercises to improve circles? Im already using this one (see picture) and its helping but my horse is quite slow and slightly lazy anyone got any ideas as he tend to try and make it easlier by turning then going straight! Help! By the way hes 7 but I dont think he was brought on very well but I might be wrong as I am not very good at circles myself :o

[poohsmate]

i used to have this problem in dressage, until i actually started to look where i wanted to go, from then on great circles:)

[toohorsemad]

Oh forgot the picture: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/obsessionofhorses/untitled.jpg

[toohorsemad]

Thats helps a little bit but Id love to get more practise without just going circle circle circle the whole time!

[equestrian3241]

try doing some figure eights. That might help! Good Luck!

[KateWooten]

Have you tried doing 'really really bendy circles' ? They're a lateral exercise the western trainers do with young horses. (and I think, maybe the more french-school of dressage ? ) If you have a very bendy head and neck, and can move the horse's bum over with your leg (so one hind steps in front of the other) then you can combine them so that you ask for the horse to walk around in a really little circle, but with his head and neck flexed even more to the inside :eek: You have to keep asking for bend in front, ask, and release, ask and release .. over and over again ... just in a walk at first. There's a kind of magic effect at a particular combination of pace, tempo, size of circle, and degree of bend at which the horse suddenly feels great. He finds his balance and starts to move more easily. You can try it yourself on your own two feet (when nobody's watching) typically for a person, a 6 ft diameter circle 'feels right' and you find yourself walking freely forward swinging happily.

Hmmm... well, even if that all sounds a little too tree-huggy (and it did to me first too) ... still, try riding very bendy little circles - when they're small enough and the bend to the inside is great enough, you'll find the horse's back legs are moving ever so slightly laterally - because they're moving on a bigger circle than his forequarters ... which helps him engage, and walk so much better.

Then when you go back to bigger, 20 m circles, you shoudl find you have a lot more control of shoulder and butt and everything gets softer.

[Cheeky]

Heya

I used to be hopefless at circles .. now I Can do them with my eyes close (literally)!!

What got me getting my circles correct was setting out the arena like you little pictue - the 4 'points' (or quaters) are marked out with two cones to ride through (make sure its exactly 20m by marking it out first ..).

Then .. ride through the cones in walk. If he is lazy like Cheek, he'll do his 'own walk' and plodd along. Get contact (light) and get him to move on walking with 'attitude' - as this is your time, and this is YOUR walk, not his. Give him a tap with the whip if he's slow .. even if he jogs into trot, bring him back, and nudge .. almost so he's on the verge of trotting - that energy. Then, when you think your doing it well enough, pick up the trot (again, get a good, active,even, rythmic trot) and do the circle. After a few circles, start to count how many strides he takes in each quater. For example, Cheek takes 7 (:eek:) .. but another horse might take 6, and a pony might take 8. If he takes 6 in 3 quaters, and 7 in one, its the average, so 6.

Then the fun starts! You aim to get 6 strides in each quater. Dont forget to have your inside rein a tiny winey bit shorter so he's looking in, and use your legs to guide him too. You will soon be having perfect circles :)

You then do this in canter .. count the strides (I think it's simular to the trot), and do jus what oyu did in canter. I couldn't believe how simple that was when I was told, and how effective it is! And because you want the trot YOU want, your horse starts to use himself more, and becomes so much more lighter to ride.

Anyhoo .. after you get used to that .. you'll be getting great (if not perfect) circles every time! You soon learn where the 'markers' are, so when you do a test you have the jist of it :p You can then play with it - making it 6 strides per quater, or 8 .. by lengthening or shortening the strides:) Fun schooling .. and nackering :p

The lady who taught me said you should be able to do it with your eyes closed .. so I gave it ago after one session .. and DING :D I got it right :D Good luck