Riding Good Circles

One of the things I work with my horses is trying to ride good circles. Its tougher than it sounds but getting better at  it also helps with straightness. In clinics and the annual Arena Challenge I put on, there is almost always riding in    a circle as a task. This year's challenge will likely be no different - there will be a circle to trot. 

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.      

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.

Night Latches and options

I don't often get phone calls but I had a pleasant conversation recently with Jim who called to ask about using tie rings then asked me what I thought about using night latches. He said he found out that the horn isn't always the easiest thing to hold onto when going up and down hills. 

A night latch is generally a strap with a buckle, like a short belt, that goes between the gullet of your saddle to give the rider something to hold onto when a horse goes to bucking. The name came from riders watching a herd at night would grab ahold of the night latch with one hand in case they fell asleep in the saddle. Yes, it happens - I've fallen asleep riding. Also, Night Latches are useful to hold onto when a horse bolts, or when moving up or down a steep hill.

There are some riders who find holding onto anything, like a night latch or the saddle horn, distasteful or even amateurish. I don't at all. Unless you are riding bucking horse in a ranch rodeo, I don't see anything demeaning about holding on to the horn or a night latch when you think it is needed. When riding downhill I often put one hand against the horn to brace myself. 

The problem is that the horn of a saddle generally requires a palm down kind of grip which places your elbow out and away from the rider's body where they are weakest. The bigger the horn in diameter, the harder it is to hold onto to, including hard for me as I have Wade Saddles with fairly big diameter horns. The Night Latch requires a palm towards the rider grip which turns your elbow in towards the body and allows the rider a stronger hold.

I have a Night Latch from Craig Cameron which is made out of stout harness leather with a really good roller buckle.  See photo at right.  They are sold at thi link: Craig Cameron Night Latches.

There are also any makers who make similar night latches, and perhaps the best design I saw was one with a rolled leather section making it easier on the hand to hold onto.  

Years and years ago, when I used to pony my daughter around, I used an old pants belt I had cut about 2/3rd length off, then punched buckle holes in, and ran it through the gullet of the saddle so she had something to hold onto. So, if anyone wanted to try out using a night latch, an old belt can be modified quite easily for that purpose. 

Now having wrote all that about night latches, I just use my lariat as a hand hold when I need it. It kind of depends on the type of rope strap you are using. My saddles all have rope straps secured to the right side below the horn - see the photo at the top right if this article, also acting as an anchor point for the mule hide horn wrap. I wrap the rope strap tight, with four or five wraps then the end of the strap goes across the saddle to a buckle on the left side. It's secure enough and easy to grab. Your palm won't really be facing you, but still turned in somewhat keeping your elbow closer to your body to make your hold stronger.