A lot of times too, explaining the mechanics can get very complicated if the rider in question doesn’t have the feel or the vocabulary yet. I’ve taught adult beginners (like… dead beginners) and yeah you don’t want to teach them wrong, but you also have to meet them in the middle. Throw in a not-push button horse, and now you’re really going to have to get “good enough” before you get finesse.
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This works for dressage, not for jumping. I want my horse and myself weighted entirely differently. But that’s a different discussion.
The steps I gave will get your beginners to stop running into the wall. People that ask how to circle are not aware of their body enough to follow complex instructions. They are crossing reins over the neck, leaning over the shoulder, having one hand three feet away from the other, or turning their head sideways while their body points the horse in an entirely straight line. They will tell you their body is turned and their hands are under control, because they think they are. But no. Adults’ body control is actually exponentially worse than kids.
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Of course you aren’t expecting absolute beginners to canter a balanced circle and jump on a circle 
Longe lessons can be a great way for a beginner to learn how to balance on a circle.
I’d be interested in knowing more about OPs situation and what the horse is throwing at her.
Many beginners or returning riders end up in situations where the coach or owner is lying about the abilities of the horse. You can have very frustrating lessons or leases on horses that are saints but actually don’t know the job you are asking them to do.
Honestly I’d really need to see a video to know what’s going on. It could be one of a number of intersecting issues with horse and rider.
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Put me in the camp of teaching a lot of beginners, both children and adults, as well as re-rider adults. One of the things that I never realized is how often I would have to describe what a circle is - to anyone. Things that I will end up saying over and over include
“A circle starts and finishes in the same place”
“Circles are round, no straight lines”
“A little turning every step. Not a lot all at once”
“You want your shoulders to match your horse’s shoulders” - this statement matches the ones above about pointing your belly button in the direction of travel
One thing that may help you, and I’m in agreement with others that a video might be helpful to see exactly what the problem is, is to remember that horses naturally slow down when they’re turning. That’s why if someone is getting run away with people are always saying circle, turn them, etc. So, as someone who works with a good number of school horses who run into this problem, I might guess that when your horse isn’t turning where you want them to, chances are they are also behind your leg. If you’re trying to turn all from your hand and there’s no leg, their head might turn but their body is going to end up going the wrong direction. Double check that your horse is listening to your leg and going forward FIRST and then everything else is going to feel easier. Note, forward does not equal fast! Your horse doesn’t have to go fast to be in front of your leg, they just need to be listening.
All that said, cantering circles is one of the harder things for beginners to figure out, especially on school horses that are a little dull. I also find that re-riders such as yourself REALLY want to overthink things and give everything a very specific formula of how things have to happen each and every time. And just because you say “x+y+z = circle”, it might not actually equal circle for the horse that you are currently sitting on. Try taking a breath, and the next time you’re trying to canter a circle, try to just relax into it a little more.
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I know this is the digital age but I still teach beginners using the face of a clock. I suppose with beginner adults you could also use compass points.
Critical to turning on a circle, or anywhere actually, is that most important aid, your eyes.
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True. I was unclear, I said dead beginners but was meaning adults who haven’t ridden before and thus don’t have the baseline for what you’re asking. Us re-riders may know what we are trying to do, but can’t make it happen. Different from someone who is sitting on a horse and learning for the first time around!
I would also be interested in a video if OP is still around. I bet we are all shy of the mark for what is actually going on with them, and I suspect they have some horse-based difficulties too.
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Yes, most horses aren’t taught how to actually be straight(er), which inherently makes any curved movement more difficult.
Circles are literally straight micro-lines connected together. A 20m circle or bigger has a horse who is actually “straight” in his body, with his shoulders taking a small shift to the inside with each step. It’s only when you get into smaller circles that the actual body starts to require a small curve
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The other day my trainer had me drop the inside rein and do circles! So fun 🫠
In a perfect world where I DO have my inside rein, I use an opening rein, keep my outside rein taught on the neck, and slide my outside leg back slightly.
Always making sure to follow the motion of my horse and keep elastic elbows.
Echoing what others said - dressage lessons! So valuable.
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This is a great way to describe it. I remember being blown away how looking at the wall, versus in front of my horse or the center, finally put my seat bone in the right place.
A big problem with the tug and crank to turn, even for a beginner, is that it makes it very difficult for the horse to move forward at all, and many just shut down.
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Here’s the million dollar question, how IS the horse trained to turn? If it has been trained correctly all you need to do is look where you want to go and use a little inside weight in the seat. You can use a leading inside rein if you don’t know what the training has been. It is the most basic rein aid that is taught first. Then you go from there. What is his response to that?
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Not necessarily. Rider influence can impact the ability of a horse to respond to cues or aids. So if a rider’s weight is tending to drift or lean, then a ‘good’ horse may understand that the main goal is to keep the rider on top, and tend to direct themselves accordingly. And the more a horse has worked as a beginners or lesson horse, the more this may become so.
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I question this all the time with lessons for kids.
Even if they ride another discipline, teaching them what the vocab means in the discipline we’re teaching is a key and I wonder how often it is skipped.
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