Do you have a horse who tends to be tense, stiff, or resistant? Do you struggle to get your horse bending and focused? One of my favorite patterns to ride that helps with balance and suppleness is the Spiral Circle exercise. The Spiral Circle is a fantastic tool for riders at all levels. It helps with:
- Engagement/Roundness: This exercise is a great way to help your horse engage their hind, and develop roundness. By gradually making the circle smaller, your horse naturally starts to collect, engaging their hindquarters and lifting their back.
- Suppleness/Balance: This exercise is a great way to improve your horse’s balance and suppleness. As you spiral inward, you may notice that maintaining the bend and balance gets harder for your horse. You may not be able to spiral down to a 10 m circle at first, and that is okay!
You can ride this exercise at all three gaits, but it is most commonly ridden at the trot or canter. Let’s break down the steps to execute the Spiral Circle exercise effectively. It can be helpful to set out cones or markers to help your ride accurately.
- Start Large: Begin on a 20m circle to establish a good rhythm and tempo. Counting is a great way to establish the rhythm.
- Gradual Spiral Inward: Maintaining the rhythm, start to gradually spiral inward, making the circle smaller with each lap. Your goal is to spiral in to a 10m circle over three to four circles. Focus on using your outside rein and leg to turn and your inside rein and leg to help your horse maintain bend. It’s super common for your horse to want to slow down as the circle gets smaller, so keep counting to maintain a consistent tempo.
- Leg-Yielding Out: Once you spiral in, the next step is to leg yield out to the 20m circle again. The leg yield part of this exercise is really where it helps your horse become more supple. As you leg yield out, focus on pushing the haunches out, and getting a shoulder-in feeling. This will help you ride inside leg to outside rein, which will help your horse maintain the bend.
Thank you for watching and reading! I hope this exercise helps you and your horse! If you found this exercise helpful, please give it a thumbs up, and share it with your friends. Let’s spread “Dressage for All” and help each other improve.
Happy riding!
Amelia
P.S. Interested in learning more patterns like this? Check out my Free Patterns and Figures PDF Guide, where I’ve compiled my favorite patterns and figures to help you train your horse! Check out the guide here.
