Before either horses or riders master the sequential stages of their respective learning trees, they will travel in endless circles. The circle is the basic school figure we use to develop the essentials of rhythm and relaxation in either horse or rider. As they school their horses, riders should strive to make every circle the best they possibly can.

Circle work helps horses develop the muscles necessary to carry themselves properly in balance. Paradoxically, riding circles is the best way to teach a horse to go straight. Going “straight” on a circle means that the horse’s hind feet follow the tracks of his front feet.  In other words, if you imagine a line on the ground forming the circle, the horse’s inside front and hind feet stay on the inside of that line while his outside front and hind feet stay on the outside of it.

As the horse works to stay straight on a circle, he strengthens muscles on the inside while stretching muscles on the outside. Just as we are right- or left-handed, horses tend to have a dominant side, too. Working the horse in both directions on a circle helps him overcome that tendency and become more evenly muscled. The benefits of circle work for the horse include improved strength, balance, straightness, and flexibility.

Riders must not only understand the theoretical mechanics of the aids that direct the horse on a circle they must also learn to apply those aids correctly in order to achieve consistently round circles of the same size. Riders do not simply apply the correct mechanical aids and leave them “on” to keep a horse traveling on a circle. Keeping the horse moving in a consistent rhythm while maintaining the correct shape of the circle requires that the rider continually communicate with the horse by:
• applying the aids,
• assessing their affect, then
• reapplying the aids, adjusting their pressures as needed to make them more effective.
• Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Etc