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Riding circles is such a good exercise as so many things need to come together in order to ride that near perfect circle. If there was an actual circle on the ground the horse's head would be directly over that line and the rider would be able to see the corner of the horse's inside eye, while the horse's tail does the same at the back end. The rider needs to use his/her legs judiciously to keep the horse's barrel over the line of the circle.
I like to use both a circle to ride around so you have a visual of a circle, which will be to your inside, as well as ride inside a circle as in a round pen, where the circle will be to your outside. Out in the desert circles can be ridden around large mesquite mounds or smaller Yucca bushes. They all help. I'm pretty sure I haven't ever ridden a perfect circle, but it doesn't keep me from trying.
And when trying to get that perfect circle there are several rider caused problems. Using the reins too much or with too much pressure causing the horse to bend his nose too much to the inside or outside, and slowing momentum especially when too much pressure on the reins is used. What works best for me and my horses are to use the inside rein, slightly higher than the outside rein, to tip the horse's nose inside enough so I can see the corner of his eye. I set it up so the inside rein is loose once the horse achieves this. If his nose moves to the outside of the circle he bumps into the rein. The idea is to get him to seek the loose rein which is when his nose is tipped inside.
The outside rein is used in case he tips his head too much inside, but that is not really common. I mostly use the outside rein to signal for softness when I get when the horse's poll to bend and his nose gets more vertical. I like to have his poll even with his withers or close to that, but I have been guilty until fairly recently for asking for too much of a lower head set. I suggest not making my mistake and accepting the level of softness that the horse will give you.
I like to use both a circle to ride around so you have a visual of a circle, which will be to your inside, as well as ride inside a circle as in a round pen, where the circle will be to your outside. Out in the desert circles can be ridden around large mesquite mounds or smaller Yucca bushes. They all help. I'm pretty sure I haven't ever ridden a perfect circle, but it doesn't keep me from trying.
And when trying to get that perfect circle there are several rider caused problems. Using the reins too much or with too much pressure causing the horse to bend his nose too much to the inside or outside, and slowing momentum especially when too much pressure on the reins is used. What works best for me and my horses are to use the inside rein, slightly higher than the outside rein, to tip the horse's nose inside enough so I can see the corner of his eye. I set it up so the inside rein is loose once the horse achieves this. If his nose moves to the outside of the circle he bumps into the rein. The idea is to get him to seek the loose rein which is when his nose is tipped inside.
The outside rein is used in case he tips his head too much inside, but that is not really common. I mostly use the outside rein to signal for softness when I get when the horse's poll to bend and his nose gets more vertical. I like to have his poll even with his withers or close to that, but I have been guilty until fairly recently for asking for too much of a lower head set. I suggest not making my mistake and accepting the level of softness that the horse will give you.
Less likely, at least for me, but still a fairly common problem is too much pressure with the inside or outside leg pushing the barrel or backend of the horse off the line of the circle. I try to ride with my inside calf so it is used to bend the horse around the circle, but it is very light, touching his side really, while the outside leg is just a bit further back and used when necessary to keep forward momentum and the horse's barrel from swinging too much to the outside - we are talking a difference of inches, but in the beginning you may have to exaggerate this for the horse to understand your leg pressure. What helps with the control of the back end before trying to trot perfect circles, is the doing those exercises in controlling the back end when in the saddle when you can ask for just a shift in the balance on the hind end to asking for and getting a complete turn on the front end.
Anyway, I hopes this helps someone reflect on any issues they may be having riding circles. One more thing that helps me is when I having a little problem keeping the center of the horse's head over the line of the circle (where I can see the corner of his inside eye), is that I'll trot smaller circles until the horse will feel more comfortable on his own with the proper head position. This is useful for the rider to feel how the horse is balanced and try to carry that forward into larger circles.
Anyway, I hopes this helps someone reflect on any issues they may be having riding circles. One more thing that helps me is when I having a little problem keeping the center of the horse's head over the line of the circle (where I can see the corner of his inside eye), is that I'll trot smaller circles until the horse will feel more comfortable on his own with the proper head position. This is useful for the rider to feel how the horse is balanced and try to carry that forward into larger circles.
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