Upbeat Circle

WHO the exercise is for:

Targeted at lazy horses and those horses and riders who tend to lose a lot of impulsion when collecting their paces. Can also be handy for hot horses who tend to get overexcited by small jumps.

HOW to set it up:

Put 4 poles or low cavaletti spaced evenly in a 20m circle. You can use a rock or marker between the poles to help keep the circle round (rather than square).

WHAT to do:

This exercise can be done at either a trot or a canter (even a walk if you want). Ignoring the poles completely track around your circle. Your horse should not jump the poles, and should not knock them or stumble over them. Don’t forget to change direction occasionally!

WHY we do it:

We want our horses to have impulsion, to lift their feet! This exercise helps us keep the energy in our collected paces. If we get too slow or lazy we’ll knock the poles, if we get too rushed we’ll end up jumping them (or totally flying out of the circle).

MORE tips:

Once you have mastered the Upbeat Circle you can alternate one time over the poles, and the next time around move to the outside of the poles (try to use your legs, rather than your hands – keep the circle and the bend – try not to zoom out of the circle on a straight line.)