As easy as it sounds, walking a perfect circle can actually be quite difficult. Especially if you’re working with a green horse who has a different plan in mind. Regardless of a horse’s age or level of riding experience, I like to include this perfect-circle exercise into my daily warmup to ensure my horse is listening to my cues and has forward motion in his feet when I ask him to stay framed up and collected during a training session.
Here I’ll break down the steps I take so you can include this perfect-circle exercise to your daily warmup.
STEP 1 Find Your CIrcle
To begin this drill, I recommend riding your horse two-handed in a snaffle bit. As you advance this exercise, you can move up to a shank bit your horse is comfortable in, but when you do that, continue to ride two-handed to ensure you can get your horse framed up properly.
Find a spot in the arena and walk in a 10-foot circle. If your horse doesn’t like working in the middle of the arena, I recommend walking there. If he likes to lean toward the gate to go back to the barn, practice this drill in front of it so he learns that he has to work when he’s near it.
If you struggle with distances, an easy way to help you stay on your circle is by riding in a freshly dragged arena. If you’re not able to drag the arena or aren’t riding in an area where you can see your tracks, place a barrel, cone, or anything you have sitting around as the center of your circle to help you better judge where the center of your circle is.
STEP 2 Ask for collection
This story is from the Spring 2020 edition of Horse and Rider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Spring 2020 edition of Horse and Rider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Horseback High
Riding vacations can be found around the world, and here are five bucket list rides in the United States
JOIN THE CLUB!
Riding clubs of all forms can be found across the country. What should you look for when choosing—or starting—a club of your own? We asked three club leaders to share their insights
Help Is (Sometimes) Only a Phone Call Away!
Do you depend on over-the-phone advice from your veterinarian? Here's what you need to know about telehealth to help you understand what you can, and can't, expect
REPLACING FEAR WITH CURIOSITY
Horses have both flight and investigative behaviors but not at the same time. Learn how to help your horse switch to curiosity when his flight instincts kick in, and how to put the brakes on when he's already gone
Ranch Riding Mares
Evaluate and place these performance mares. Then see how your choices compare to our expert judge's.
An Empty Stall
The loss of a horse leads to a new landscape of managing emotions and moving forward
Strengthen Your Mental Game
Prepare your mind for peak performances with your horse by implementing these tips from reining trainer Shane Brown
Burning Off the Fresh
Whether your horse has gone unridden due to a health problem, the weather, or your schedule, a thoughtful process can keep everyone safe during his return to work
Return to Exercise Slowly
If you’ve been turned out to pasture for a while, as the result of injury or just a busy life, return to exercise in a safe and steady way
Ground Tying for Ranch Trail
There are many reasons to teach your horse how to safely ground tie
