Help me ride corners and 10-meter circles...

[Romily_Bernard]

I know I’m in my head about this. I know I’m overthinking. Considering Long Suffering Instructor’s last missive before leaving my lesson was “LET the movements happen. Relax,” I know I’m equipped to ride quality corners and 10-meter circles without sweating it and yet I’m not. Best I’ve done is a 7 on my 10 meters. They’re usually 6’s.

BUT Wonder Pony can score 8’s on her S/I, and now that I’ve figured out what I’m doing with my H/I (need to update my previous thread because the solution was so stupid easy I wanted to slam my head into a wall), I suspect those will be nicely scored as well.

So. We can sit. We can bend, but corners, man. I either get too deep and we risk hopping out of arena or I don’t get deep enough. Last season, 10-meter circles were overbent, but now I’m catching glimpses of the outside eye’s eyelashes so I’ve gone too far the other direction. I don’t have a dressage arena so I’m tossing poles on the ground for corners and have marked off 10 meters for my circles.

I’m frustrated with myself and upset for my mare for having to put up with me. Could someone please break down how I need to ride these?

I will probably need small terms for my small brain…

[TMares]

I would suggest that you get some little soccer cones or markers, like these https://nwscdn.com/media/wysiwyg/Multicoloured_Marker_Cones_4.jpg

Make a ‘half of the arena’ out of your poles (from B to E, or at least from S to R).
Set out your letters.
Measure and set out where the centerline would be with these little soccer markers, setting them in a row from C to I, maybe 6" off the C Line, leaving them about 10’ apart or so …whatever helps you get a sense of place/where you want to reach the C Line.
Now FIND where the MIDDLE of that 10m circle is in this corner, where you are 5 meters from the long side and 5 meters from the short side and 5 meters from the C Line. and stick a BIG cone in the middle, and at those touch points, as well as at C and at I.

Now walk it on your own feet, tracking RIGHT. Walk it like you are riding it.

Feel your horse under you as you are riding from S to H, looking dead ahead…as you get close to big cone on the long side, your eyes should resting on BIG CONE ON SHORT SIDE. Feel yourself ask your horse to bend around your inside leg with your outside rein, with your upper body/shoulders also ‘looking’ at that short side big cone. Ride toward it, and rest your eyes on the C Line big cone. Feeling brave? ride the second half of this 10m circle and see if you land where you want to on the long side, since you don’t have a cone in middle of the second half, it tests if you are holding that arc.

[merrygoround]

Your instructor is correct. You are overthinking it, and therefore over riding them.

Allow your legs to walk the corner, then do it again. So you look ahead of you and walk or trot into the corner, and then around and through.

On those circles. AT a letter, at the trot, make a circle, put your eyes sort of on the ground, and see the curve of that 10,allow your body to follow your eyes.

[alibi_18]

I think you need to practice in a better set up arena.

It would be helpfull if you could « fill in » the long and short sides with more ground poles.

At some point, you need to feel your circles, so you need to practice and practice and practice.
Like, I no longer need an arena to do a 10m or a 15m circle, both on foot or on horse.

And then it will flow.
That’s the difference between a 6 circle and a +7 circle.

Use your corners as preparation for your other movements. They are no longer just corners.
I know it’s easy to say, we all « know » it, but not everyone use them.

Your diagonal starts in your corner.
Your SI, HI, all start with a good preparation in the corner.
Corners are transitions between movements.
Half halt and more legs in the corner.
Shoulder fore in the corner.
Flow flow flow!

[SuzieQNutter]

A corner is a quarter of a circle.

To know if you have a correct shoulder in, put on your outside leg. If correct your horse will magically do a 10 metre circle.

A 10 metre circle is done from your outside aides and not from your inside rein.

The most important thing is to look where you are going. You will end up going where you look.

[RedHorses]

It is the degree of bend for me. I learned what degree of bend results in what size of circle. And no I can’t tell you, I feel it.

Defining your 20x40(60)m arena would be the first place to start. This will allow you to see when you are right and wrong. Seeing it will let you feel it.

[Romily_Bernard]

Thanks for the ideas. Looking forward to testing what happens when I put my outside leg on in SI. The outside rein dictating the circle was a great reminder. One wouldn’t think I would need the reminder at this point, but one would be wrong lol.

And as far as corners…if you’re tracking left and coming up on short side, it would go like: half-halt, shoulder-fore left through first corner, straighten, half-halt, shoulder-fore left through second corner?

[SuzieQNutter]

If you are doing shoulder in you straighten the horse before reaching the corner.

You do not do shoulder fore for a corner. It is simply a quarter of a circle. You are overthinking it.

[TMares]

@Romily Bernard

Thanks for the ideas. Looking forward to testing what happens when I put my outside leg on in SI. The outside rein dictating the circle was a great reminder. One wouldn’t think I would need the reminder at this point, but one would be wrong lol.

And as far as corners…if you’re tracking left and coming up on short side, it would go like: half-halt, shoulder-fore left through first corner, straighten, half-halt, shoulder-fore left through second corner?

waaaaaay overthinking.

[Willesdon]

@Romily Bernard

And as far as corners…if you’re tracking left and coming up on short side, it would go like: half-halt, shoulder-fore left through first corner, straighten, half-halt, shoulder-fore left through second corner?

Feel don’t think. Look through the horse’s ears in the direction you want to go. Don’t focus too far in advance, only a stride or two (peripheral vision tells you what else is happening in the arena, with the added benefit of relaxation of your eyes reducing tension in your face, neck and shoulders). When turning the corner, simply look around that corner, but not too far in advance. By looking you will be sending information about direction to the horse by the automatic movement of your hips and legs and weight. It is easier when you have the horse straight between leg and hand.

The analogy is driving your car. You look where you want to drive, otherwise you crash, as my passengers constantly remind me…

An interesting game to play is to point a finger at a feature in the arena and keep your focus towards where you are pointing and ignore your horse walking along underneath you. 99.9% of the time your horse will end up where you are pointing. The 0.1% fail is when they think it is time to go back home for a carrot.

[SuzieQNutter]

How are you going?

[Romily_Bernard]

Ready to slam my head against a wall, honestly. It HAS to be something I’m doing. I’m having to shove her around my 15 meter canter circles with my outside leg and I can still see outside eye. Am guessing I’m clenching with outside rein, but when I release, I release TOO MUCH and then get too much inside bend. I KNOW it shouldn’t be this hard. She’s such a joy and a total workaholic. SI/HI are literally just shifts. I have to bump her a bit in HP to get a steeper angle/more hop from hind leg, but it’s still coming along beautifully.

Then we try a 15 meter circle or cantering through a corner and everything goes pear-shaped.

[alibi_18]

@Romily Bernard

I’m having to shove her around my 15 meter canter circles with my outside leg and I can still see outside eye.

Is this about the shape of your circle, the size or the bending?

Am guessing I’m clenching with outside rein, but when I release, I release TOO MUCH and then get too much inside bend.

You are getting too much bend inside, not because you are releasing the outside rein, but because you are pulling with your inside rein. Drop it!

Don’t release any rein, add more legs.
More inside leg.

I have to bump her a bit in HP to get a steeper angle/more hop from hind leg, but it’s still coming along beautifully.

And that is because your outside half halt/rein is not working properly. Inside leg to outside rein = steeper.

Then we try a 15 meter circle or cantering through a corner and everything goes pear-shaped.

Squares. You will need to only do squares. No more circles for you. Squares.

Then, you’ll cut corners and do circles.

[SuzieQNutter]

I agree inside leg to outside rein, Ask with the inside rein and then GIVE. You should be able to do the circle without the inside rein. It is called proving the inside rein as you are proving you have the inside leg to outside rein correctly.

[Rerider54]

@Romily Bernard

… I’m having to shove her around my 15 meter canter circles with my outside leg and I can still see outside eye…

Then we try a 15 meter circle or cantering through a corner and everything goes pear-shaped.

,
Does this happen in both directions? Have you worked any spirals from 20 to 15 (or 10) at trot and canter. Weight and outside aids help my horse. Shoulder fore work has helped us improve our conversation on holding a bend.

I really like how SuzieQNutter explained asking for the bend and proving.

[AndalusianMom]

those little soccer cones taught me a lot!!

[Rooty]

Sounds to me like too much inside rein and not enough inside leg. 10 m circles are the one thing I excel at, lol, even on my 17hh green bean, and I always concentrate on riding the outside of the horse. I come into it with enough bend and then bring him around with the outside leg and rein.