11/20/2024
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There is considerable magic that can be had by riding a simple figure called ‘changing through the circle’. Yes, it’s meant for schooling in the arena but it is also a lovely thing to do occasionally, while one is riding out. Let’s delve into this a bit today.
I’ve made a diagram that is based upon the symbol for yin and yang. The flowing movement that balances one state with the other… along with its mirror image. Training our eye to follow the line around the circle and smoothly through the middle is key to understanding the change of bend and the comforting exactness of the figure. There are no sharp points or shortcuts. Remember this, so that you can help your horse.
The exercise is most effective at the rising trot, though we can also use it in a smaller size at a forward walk and also at the canter on an advanced horse. You can both practice your timing and accuracy on the flying change, or work on the counter-counter, before bending back again to the inside lead.
Here is how we ride the figure at the trot.
1. Has us riding on the left rein, which is the terminology we use for traveling in a counter-clockwise direction. Establish your very best 20m circle. If you and your horse are struggling with forwardness and guiding here, you will find it a challenge to maintain the correct size. It takes an aware rider to keep a horse on the gentle bend, using the sheer acreage of a large circle.
Ride a few revolutions, so that you will make either a track in your sand, or in your mind, to return to again and again.
Now ride the ‘S’ shape through the circle, changing the horse’s body in the exact centre from bending left to right. You will now be on the other rein, circling clockwise.
2. Ride on the right rein until your horse understands the new bend, though you will be on the same track as you were before. At a different place—never change through the circle at exactly the same point on the circle—you will ride a reverse ‘S’ shape, bending the horse from right to left and back onto the left rein.
Yes, it is very, very simple but trust me, it is very, very effective.
Trust the geometry and slow bending work, the sustained gait and watch the change come over your horse. We’ll rise to the trot to allow the horse’s back to relax and work freely, making sure to change our diagonal exactly at the middle point. We can change every few circles, or we can change several times within one circle...
Remember, do not change in the same place but pick a different point of the circle to begin your 'S' curve. We want the horse listening to us, accepting our guidance, rather than going on autopilot with repetition. Slow down. Work at a sustained rhythm and speed, with no stopping and starting, concentrating only on the figure.
Over and over again, especially if one is on a tense, ‘chargey’ horse who is struggling with accepting guidance, or the bit. We begin to find a rhythm in the school figure, we begin to breathe, keeping our eyes up and away from the back of the horse’s head. The lateral (side to side) bending is the thing that encourages the horse to let go and to breathe. This is when he can begin to step under himself and lengthen his topline, rather than looking like an upside-down banana.
Whether I’m teaching a student or schooling my horses, changing through the circle is a huge part of our process.
It is magical on horses who are distracted and shying, as well as those who feel as though they may be toying with throwing in a few bucks! It is unbelievably effective at quickly getting through to an adrenaline-filled horse in the warm up ring at a show... or before heading down the trail... or entering the roping pen.
Change through the circle… and make a change for the good.
Both the image and words are © Keystone Equine. Please share with credit.
