​This month I am reviewing a half 10 metre circle performed by Kimberly Pap and Sonnenburg’s Jersey competing at the VHO Trophy 2023 starting at 3 minutes 40 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cvqPdPVOsI

The half circle should give the horse and rider an opportunity to prepare for the next movement, a few strides to help the horse rebalance itself, and for the rider to check the engagement of the haunches. However, this chance is missed by the rider. The half pass preceding this turn is made with very extravagant strides and speed. The horse has disengaged his haunches and become unbalanced through the movement. (Picture A).

​To bring the horse back in time to make the half circle, the rider pulls the reins, blocking the horse. The horse has no engagement of the hind leg and is unable to balance itself correctly,  and drops his weight towards his right foreleg to balance. (Picture B).

​As they begin the turn, the disengagement of the haunchesand weight towards the shoulder means that the impulsion, instead of balancing the horse, causes him to lean to the inside. The rider is unbalanced and using the reins for support and overbending the horse's neck. (Picture C and D).

Because he is disengaged, the horse moves his inside hind foot towards the outside, crossing his left hindleg. With his balance totally compromised, the horse uses his inside foreleg to stay upright. (Picture E and F)

​At the end of the half circle, the horse is still completely out of balance as he enters the centre line with his weight towards his forehand, and disengaged haunches. (Picture G)

Below is a photo of a horse and rider correctly balanced on a circle.

​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

Within dressage training there is a great emphasis on developing a straight horse, and riders work carefully to create this quality. However, without balance a horse will never be straight. Imagine walking along a narrow wooden beam. When your balance is perfect, walking along the beam is easy, but when you are unbalanced, you wobble from side to side, arms waving to regain your balance and prevent you falling off.

When a rider is unbalanced, they make it hard for their horse to move freely in any movement. Unbalanced horses use their shoulders and neck to support themselves making it difficult for the rider to turn or move them on a straight line as the horse continually falls to one side.

By regularly riding some simple exercises, such as correct circles and serpentines, it is possible to develop a horse who is supple to both sides. Accurately ridden, these exercises improve the horse’s balance, freeing the forehand, and allowing them to release and lengthen their neck. As the horse’s shoulder becomes free from supporting the horse’s weight, the horse is more balanced, and the impulsion from their haunches starts to elevate the forehand.
 
Compare the two pictures of half pass below. Both horses are in the same phase of half pass steps, the red lines show where the rider’s balance is on each horse. The horse on the left is balanced and stepping freely into the half pass. The horse on the right has been taken off balance by the rider’s position behind the movement, and the horse is blocked though his right shoulder and foreleg.

​​For more information on exercises to help balance your horse please see my blogs on circles - Foundations-circles-and-corners, spiralling exercises  and serpentines and also a blog about the rider’s influence on balance.

​Have you ever wondered why it’s worth perfecting a circle? It may feel as though a circle is a basic movement, useful for young horses and in a warmup, but after that the benefits of a simple movement can often be forgotten as we move onto more interesting things.

Circles provide a foundation for all the other work and they are extremely useful throughout a training session. For a novice horse or rider, a circle teaches the basics of balance and engagement. For a more advanced horse, a circle rebalances and reengages them, that is, if they are ridden correctly.

A correct circle is very hard to ride for both horse and rider. Many horses fall in or out of the shape without the rider even being aware of it. The major benefits of the exercise are wasted, and poorly executed circles can leave your horse more out of balance before.

To quote Nuno Oliveira, “a circle is a correct geometric shape, not a potato or an egg.”

Whilst different trainers use different aids for a circle, the qualities that come from the movement should be:

• Suppling and strengthening the horse on both sides to create a more even and straighter horse.
• Engaging their inside hind leg to build collection and impulsion.
• Placing (or replacing) the horse round the rider’s inside leg and creating the connection to the outside rein.
• Creating a horse that is balanced, both left and right and from back to front, in preparation for another movement.

To ride a circle, the rider’s hips should match the position of the horse’s hips, and the rider’s shoulder should match the position of the horse’s shoulders. This means that they rider needs to rotate at their waist, advancing their outside shoulder without allowing their inside seat bone to follow the movement, which would bring their hips out of position.
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Simply trying to make a circle by use of the inside rein only achieves a twisted and resistant position in the horse’s head and neck. The difference can be felt by the rider and can be clearly seen in the pictures below.

Following on from circles and the serpentine exercises, another useful movement is to ride shallow loops. These are performed down the long side of school and can vary in depth from 2 metres to 10 metres. These are used to supple and strengthen your horse and great attention needs to be taken on the quality of the changes of bend.
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A basic shallow loop

1. Start by riding the short end of the school well so your horse is balanced as the come to the long side.
2. Bring your horse off the track about 2m and then make a slight change of bend to the outside of the school.
3. As you straighten, parallel to the long side of the school, maintain a very slight outside flexion.
4. Start to move back towards the track and as you do this carefully change the bend to the inside again in preparation for the next corner.

Throughout, be attentive to your horse’s balance and having correct changes of bend in balance.

Variations.

1. Do half loops by coming off the track and then riding straight to the end of the school, or by turning onto an inner track and then performing the second part of the loop moving back to the track. These variations are easier as you only need to do 2 changes of bend.

​2. Increase the depth of the loop so your horse has to turn more through the loop.

3. Introduce some lateral steps to the work. Begin by riding off the track with a well-balanced inside bend. Keeping the same bend, move down the inner track, parallel to the wall in a slight shoulder fore position. At the end either go straight towards the short side or move back to the track with an inside bend, taking care to ensure that your horse does not drop to their outside shoulder.

​4. This can then be developed further to a few steps if shoulder-in. I find that this exercise works well with horses who tend to try to run through their riders’ aids when shoulder-in is asked on the long side.
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©Training Riders, Transforming Horses

This simple exercise provides many benefits for both horse and rider, creating more suppleness, starting to engage the inside hind, teaching the light connection to the outside rein and beginning to move away laterally from the rider's inside leg.

A basic spiral exercise can be started once your horse understands how to form a correct circle. The circles don’t need to be perfect, but the rider needs to be able to correct any mistakes well.
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1. Start on a large circle, ensuring the bend and balance are correct.
2. Gently use the outside aids to reduce the size of the circle to a smaller circle around the same centre point. Keep the inside rein light and the outside rein against your horse’s neck.
3. Judge the size of the small circle so your horse uses their inside hind a little more but doesn’t lose their balance.
4. Then spiral out, asking your horse to step a little sideways from your inside leg towards the outside rein. Take care that they don’t fall through the outside shoulder.

Variations

The variations for this exercise are many, and you can decide what to do during the exercise depending on how your horse feels. One thing that is important to remember is that if you have planned to do a specific series of movements, but your horse does not feel ready, change your plans for something easier. If your horse feels better than you expected, change your plans to something more advanced!
All variations improve the connection from inside leg to outside rein if ridden correctly.

• After spiralling out to the large circle, ride some small circles from the large circle, - helps develop suppleness and connection to the outside rein.
• Spiral out and make a transition to trot on the large circle this helps improve the walk to trot transition.
• Ride a spiral in trot and lengthen on the large circle to help with engagement and impulsion.
• Ride shoulder-in on the large circle, spiral down in a shallow shoulder-in to help with the suppleness and engagement.
• Ride a shallow travers on the small circle and spiral out in travers which can improve suppleness and engagement.
• Spiral down in trot, spiral out, and canter on the large circle to improve the canter transitions.
• Spiral down in trot, spiral out and do shoulder-in or travers on the long side – improves inside hind engagement.
• Spiral in and out in trot, change onto a circle in the other direction making a figure of 8 and then spiral back down again – develops suppleness and balance.
• Spiral down in trot, spiral out and canter 1/2 circle, then make a transition to trot and ride a small circle – improves the canter transition.

©Training Riders, Transforming Horses

In last month’s blog I wrote about the benefits of in hand work with your horse and how to start and stop when working in-hand. This month covers the next stage, circles.

Once your horse is walking on and halting with confidence, you can start to go around circles. Begin by walking on a straight line and then start to bring yourself round the circle and your horse should follow you.​

If your horse continues down the side of the school, don’t try to pull him round the circle as this could make him push his outside shoulder out and fall more away from you. Instead, gently indicate to him that you want him to follow you with a soft give-take on the lunge line to bring his head round.

The hardest part is for you to make a correct circle shape, usually riders step to the inside, so move slightly towards your outside shoulder to avoid this.

It is important that your horse starts to curve round the shape of the circle, so initially don’t make the circle too small, give both of you a chance to understand what you are doing.

Keep your space: if he crowds you by falling in through his inside shoulder, use your hand against his shoulder or the whip gently on his side to invite him to move away.

If he drifts away from you, make sure the whip is quiet and gently give-take on the lunge line to bring him round. Keep walking backwards to draw him round the circle.

Stay in front and to the side of him.
 
After you have completed the circle go on to a straight line making sure you give your horse enough space between you and the fence, and halt. You can then build up to more circles and, as your horse becomes more supple and balanced, you can make the circles a little smaller. 

©Training Riders, Transforming Horses