Does your horse cut corners & fall in?

Most horses cut corners. 

Certainly, if you are talking about a young, untrained horse you actually shouldn't care where they go, just be happy at the way they are going.

However, it doesn't take long before the judge will start to deduct marks if you can't show them you can ride in a corner.

Ignoring the Corner

One of the ways we make our living on our  farm is buying good quality horses that have been spoiled, turned dangerous, or mucking up their movements, and re-educating them into wonderful, loving and champion mounts.

Several times I have been sent horses for riders who 'held them together' to the point where they couldn't get around a corner on their own without help.  And, there has been more than one occasion where when the horse is allowed to work lightly in self carriage - they stack straight into the end of the arena!

Weight aid

So, it DEPENDS on what the horse is doing as to where your weight aid should be used.

Many texts I have read suggest you always put more weight in the inside stirrup to encourage the turn.  Well, that's great for those 'crashers' above who WONT turn...but if you've got a horse that cuts the corner, or falls in on circles it's going to make it worse.

Too much weight on the inside stirrup is one of the major causes of a horse falling in on a circle, or cutting corners.

We call the weight aid 'power steering' because it's so strong, and really does work...but it comes with a warning: 

You must keep your
shoulders level!

You must have independent movement of your body to free to put more weight in one or other stirrup, but not 'lean over' as well.

Vision aid

We have looked quite a bit on 'vision aid' in previous sections, however suffice it to say that the horse will go where you look.

If you look around the corner too early, the horse will cut the corner.   If you want to make the corner deeper...try looking to the OUTSIDE...again keeping your shoulders level.

Advanced Dressage & Jumping

Most jumpers have experienced coming into the jump crooked, and they try to 'pull' the horse straight with one rein...however 9 times out of 10 the horse will then 'clip' the back rail with one back foot.

That is why weight and 'look where you're going' are one of the cornerstones of every major jumping text.

And, it works for advanced circles such as pirouettes, shoulder in, travers & half pass. 

Quick tips & remedies:

1. Test your weight aids
   Ride a corner and lean in the inside stirrup, and see where the horse goes, then do it with the outside stirrup...it's a very strong aid!  
   
   And you can RELAX...because you won't have to push the horse into the corner any more with your inside leg!

2. Test your vision
   Only this weekend, I was teaching a lady locally who has had the most enormous amount of trouble with her horse in the past.  We have had major breakthroughs, and this horse is now able to trot freely, in lovely rhythm.
   
   Until now the horse was too 'young' and inexperienced (OK, downright dangerous!) in his training to worry about things like corners.
   
   But, this weekend I wanted to see if the rider could ride a deeper corner without actually being told to do so.
   
   Firstly, I asked her to lean in her outside stirrup, and then do another corner with more weight on the inside...and 'assess the damage'.  Immediately the horse got deeper in the corner with no loss of rhythm
   
   Then, I asked her to simply look at the trees to the outside of the arena, and not look around the corner until the very last minute, and...the horse did an FEI level corner, without any real 'instruction' whatsoever, and more importantly again with no loss of rhythm, no forcing & no driving from the inside leg.

3. Count
   Count how many steps you can get on the short side...The more steps....the deeper your corner must have been.

4. Advanced Dressage
    Come into a right half pass and lean in the right stirrup, and look to the right all the way, and see how steep your half pass is.
   
   Then, still in right half pass, experiment and lean in your LEFT stirrup, and look left, and then see where you get!

5. Jumping
   Come into a small safe rail slightly to the left instead of heading directly towards the centre.  Then, as you are approaching: put more weight in the right stirrup and see if it doesn't straighten up your horse in a FLASH!
   
   And, without the horse going crooked!
   
   That's why we call it 'power steering'

Copyright © 2005
[Colleen Kelly. Improve Your Riding ABN 76799531257].