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The Concentrated
Circles Exercise
The exercise we
call “concentrated circles” is a critical foundation training
exercise. This exercise teaches the horse to bend around you which
improves suppleness. It also provides important schooling of the
go-forward cue. With a new or young horse, I normally do not begin
training with concentrated circles. The horse is fairly close in
this exercise and it is important to have already established
respect and a forward cue to minimize the risk of being kicked or
run over. Once I feel it is safe, I put the horse on a twelve-foot
line and begin to lunge. I start with some basic change of
direction work out at the end of the line to get the horse focused
on going forward, stopping his feet and paying attention to what I
am asking him to do. When the horse is fairly consistent in his
response and is focused on me, I take the slack out of the line and
move my hand up to the snap to begin the concentrated circles.
Before you
begin this exercise, you should know that there are three parts to a
horse that give you directional control: the nose, shoulder and
hindquarters. The horse will follow its nose, then the shoulder,
ending with the hips and hindquarters. Visualize your horse moving
in a circle around you and how you control each of these parts.
For this
exercise you may use a web or rope halter on your horse. A rope or
“cowboy halter” as I call it, has more bite. You will also need a
training stick or cane. To begin the exercise, hold the line at
the snap. If your horse will be circling to the left, hold the line
in your left hand. If your horse will be circling to the right,
hold the line in your right hand. Keep your arm straight out in
front of you and level. It is important to not let your elbow bend.
Stand across
from your horse’s shoulder with the stick or cane at your side.
Direct the horse forward with your basic verbal go-forward command
and the hand holding the line at the snap. This is a pre-cue. If
your horse does not go forward, you must follow through by adding
pressure. The type of pressure you choose will depend on the
personality and emotional level of your horse. To add pressure
you can:
1. Lift the training stick or cane from your side
and point it at the horse’s hip.
2. Whip the ground with the lash of the stick or
cane to make a noise to add pressure.
3. Take the stick or cane and tap the hip.
Increase the strength of the tap as needed.
As the horse
moves forward, turn in place so the horse will follow. Do not walk
forward and around with the horse. I try to keep my feet in place,
moving off one heel so that the horse goes around me. At first,
your horse will not move in a perfect circle around you and you will
need to watch which parts need adjustment. The following tips will
help you to be successful with this exercise.
Stand in the
center of the circle and do not move out or back. Pretend your feet
or at least one, are glued to the center. Keep your arm level and
your hand steady while directing the horse’s nose. Imagine yourself
in the middle of a wagon wheel. The horse should be yielding to
you, bending around you and staying off the contact of the line.
If the horse
pulls the line tight, maintain the contact until the horse gives.
It is critical to release immediately when the horse gives. This
follows the basic training principle of pressure/release. Continue
to ask the horse to go forward until he is soft and yielding for at
least several circles in one direction without stopping. When the
horse is soft and consistent in one direction switch hands and ask
the horse to go the other way.
If the horse
presses in toward you with its shoulder and/or hip while it is
circling, direct the horse outward. The horse should not be in your
personal space. Check your arm position to make sure your arm is
fully extended. The horse should be bending and circling you in an
arc. If the shoulder or hip is in toward you, the horse is not in
an arc and is not doing the exercise correctly. Additionally, this
is a safety and respect issue as well. Correct this behavior
immediately. Tap the shoulder to drive the shoulder away and tap
the hip to drive the hindquarters out. You must do this every time
a part of the horse comes too close to you. It must be clear to the
horse that this is not acceptable. Use only as much pressure as you
need to immediately get the horse out of your space.
Watch out for
kicking. It is common for a horse to kick when you tap it on the
hip for the first time to make it go forward. There are several
dynamics that may occur and cause this. The reaction may be the
horse not liking the pressure on his hindquarters or you may be
using too much pressure. The horse may not like being asked to go
forward while you are holding the snap, or may not like being asked
to work. The exercise is work for the horse and he must move his
feet laterally to make the arc around you and this may be a new
movement for the horse. Kicking is never acceptable and must be
corrected immediately. Tap the horse fairly hard on the lower
portion of the leg that kicked. This is not a punishment. It is
applying the right amount of corrective pressure to change the
behavior. Think how an alpha horse would go after a new horse that
kicked it — it would be very tough on the new horse. We need to be
as adamant and to act immediately. If you don’t act immediately,
the horse will miss the cause and effect and there is no point
making the correction.
When you have
your horse moving around you and you are ready to stop, say whoa and
pull the line up toward the horse’s hip. Take the slack out of the
line and make contact until the horse stops his feet and faces you.
This movement causes the hips to swing over and the horse to stop
and line up facing you straight on. At this time you may want to
ask the horse to pause and then back up a few steps. Then you can
start the exercise in the opposite direction.
Give your horse every change to succeed. Always begin with a verbal
pre-cue, a kiss or a cluck or whatever you use as your basic
go-forward command. If the horse does not respond, increase the
pressure. The worst thing you can do is to half-heartedly tap, tap,
tap while the horse ignores you. This teaches the horse to ignore
you and become used to the pressure while failing to respond. This
is how horses get heavier in response to commands, instead of
lighter. Determine how much pressure your horse needs and be
consistent about applying it.
Charles Wilhelm
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