Is anyone else itching for real spring weather? We are starting to see the break in the weather here, but it’s still borderline. Despite the mud, I’m so very grateful for the warmer days we are starting to see. Anyway, the last few months’ challenges have essentially been mental exercises for us humans setting up a plan of action for this year. For March, I want to offer a specific riding exercise for your experimentation. As always, don’t throw away your other endeavors for this one challenge but please do take at least a ride or two and try it out to see if it has something to offer you or your horse.
“Circle and Reverse”
This one is called “circle and reverse” or “teardrop” and is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You need a space to ride a consistent circle and one object too place as a landmark for where you will make the curve of your teardrop. Objects such as a barrel, cone or overturned feed bucket work very well. You will place your object on the inside of the circle you will be riding, but close to the edge of your circle.
You will ride the circle at the speed you choose. Always start slow and build pace as you become comfortable. Each time you get to your object, you will have the option to loop around it towards the inside of the circle you are presently riding, making a teardrop to change directions. You will then return to your circle in the new direction and continue. The diagram below shows the exercise ridden tracking to the right around the circle. Once you have done your teardrop, you would simply repeat on a circle that is tracking left.
How To Ride It
This exercise will require a flat circular space at least 40-60 feet across. Your horse’s stride and the gait will impact the size of the space needed. Riding at a walk will need much less space than a canter, and a tall horse will need more space than a pony. If your horse struggles with a small space, either slow down or use a larger circle as the basis for the exercise.
To ride this correctly, be sure to use your inside leg as needed to support your horse in his bend. He will need his bend both to carry the circles and to set up for your teardrops. As you complete each teardrop, you will switch to using your new inside leg to support the new direction of the circle. This is how I teach students to ride barrels in gaming patterns as well as tight direction changes in any other discipline. The exercise will look different for different disciplines and horses but the goals are essentially the same: teaching your horse to move his body around turns while staying under you with balance and precision.
The Purpose
This exercise keeps your horse adjusting himself for the varied turns. It can help build fitness, balance, adjustability and suppleness. Your horse will learn how to place his feet for turns and this encourages him to bring his inside hind leg deep under himself in the turns. No matter if you tend to focus on finesse or speed, you should be looking for consistent pace throughout the turns and circles. If your horse has to rush his feet for the teardrops, then he was not balanced. Make sure your horse is balanced and steady before putting him into a teardrop.
Trouble Shooting – Dropping In
There are several common challenges that you may experience. The first and most common is a horse that anticipates the teardrop and cuts in on them sharply, causing his feet to race as he loses his balance and rhythm. To immediately stabilize this horse, you will use your outside rein and extra inside leg to create some opposing guidance from the drop-in maneuver. Afterward, do not turn the teardrop at every pass of your object but only once every second or third pass so you are encouraging your horse to wait on your signal.
Even so, your horse may be one who wants to drop his shoulder and duck around the turn sharply and thereby still rush his feet. First, aim for a larger teardrop. By doing this, you will likely correct your own riding errors. Also, you may need to drop down to a lower speed for a few rides until your horse is stronger and more confident. Doing intervals of walk and trot can really help develop this without just flat exhausting and flustering him. Once you’ve accomplished this, then begin working back up to the more forward gaits. Remember, if your horse is struggling, it’s because the activity is hard for him not because he’s stubborn. Drilling lots of bad repetition is not helpful. Do smaller increments of good work and build on the successes over multiple rides.
Trouble Shooting – Running Wide
To the opposite end of the spectrum, you may have the horse who runs wide either in the circle or in the teardrop – or both! This horse is likely very strung out in his movement and unable to carry the circle well in his body. Again, slow down. Use half halts to help him gather himself and perhaps even work on a larger circle for a while. From a riding perspective, make sure you keep firm contact with your outside rein. This might seem a little counterintuitive to use your outside rein to turn to the inside, but this keeps the bit square in the horse’s mouth and therefore keeps his neck and shoulders straighter preventing his outside shoulder from bulging and running out.
Final Thoughts
Though repetition is your friend, try to avoid endless circles. If you are struggling so badly that you find the teardrops to be impossible one way or another, then you are simply going too fast. I find this to be the case far more often than riders choosing to go too slow. Be honest with yourself about where you and your horse are and work from there.
It is important to remember that when we and our horses are struggling, it is because we are at a point of learning. This is a difficult, but still good place to be. The only time you truly “lose” with a horse is when you give up trying. No matter what your point of difficulty is today, whether it is in your thoughts, emotions, your general situation, or even your horse, as long as you keep placing one foot in front of the other with your eyes on your target, you will accomplish something!
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