FLATWORK FEBRUARY #24: SMALL CIRCLES

Start by riding a 15-metre circle in trot in one corner of the arena.

As soon as your horse starts to feel balanced, you can shrink the circle down to around 10 metres.

Once you’ve got your horse’s balance established on this circle, move off and start to ride more 10-metre circles at the markers of the the arena. Stay on each circle until your horse is balanced and relaxed.

Once you’ve completed one lap of the arena take a break before moving onto the other rein. Circles are challenging for horses so make sure not to overdo it. Your horse will find one side easier than another, so work on his preferred rein first to build his confidence.

For novice horses, you could start with 15-metre circles and not reduce the size down to 10 metres. Alternatively, you could also elect to start the exercise in walk.

On the other hand, if you and your horse master the trot circles easily, you could opt to try the exercise in canter using 15-metre circles.