I use spirals all the time when I’m doing arena work. I sometimes even do them on the trail, or before an endurance ride, to get my mare’s attention. I warm up with variations to do at the walk. (See Four spiral exercises to do at the walk.) In this post I will explain two of my favorite spiral exercises to do at the lope. You can call the lope a canter, or you can do them at a trot or jog. It looks more like a lope when I do it with my current horse, Fantazia. And I prefer to do it at a lope or canter, but it’s good at a trot or jog too!
Jump to:
Version 1 (spiral in and out without stopping or changing direction)
Version 2 (spiral in, stop, change directions)
Some advice on doing spirals
See a list of all my training ideas: Training Idea Blog Posts Page.
Version # 1:
This is the basic spiral-in exercise. Starting on a large circle (e.g., 20 meters for the dressage people out there), you simply gradually spiral in to as tight a circle your horse can make without breaking gait. Then you spiral gradually back to the large circle.
The most important thing is to maintain the rhythm while gradually increasing the bend. (See my Clover-leaf exercise blog post for a discussion of rhythm and bend.) As the circle gets tighter, the horse will have to bend more and shorten its frame (collect) and stride. This is quite challenging, especially if you move all the into small circles. Remember, your horse needs to be fit to collect! You will be able to tell when the circle gets too small because the horse will want to fall out of the gait and/or drop the inside shoulder or let the outside quarters fall out.
Try to start spiraling back out before the horse loses its frame and rhythm!
Remember to do it in both directions!
Above: Spiral in and spiral out. You will spiral out in the same direction you spiraled in. Make sure to do it both ways! Try to do both at the same tempo, and maintain rhythm throughout.
Why do I prefer to lope these spirals?
Loping encourages self-carriage. Why? To be called a lope, it must be done on a long rein, with as little contact as possible. Ideally, you will only touch the reins to correct the horse if it falls way out of your intended direction. Most “steering” should be done with your legs. Use your inside leg to increase the bend going in and to push the horse out afterwards. The outside leg encourages impulsion.
Above: I prefer to lope spirals on a long rein. A bosal is nice, because it encourages relaxation and discourages rider meddling!
“Lope” doesn’t mean “done in a Western saddle.” I loped my horses at the racetrack in exercise saddles (and bareback). I have loped in English cutback saddles, endurance saddles, dressage saddles. My favorite way to lope is “bareback,” that is, with a pad and overgirth to keep my legs (relatively) free from sweat and to protect myself from the discomfort of bony horse backs.
A slight variation
Above, I show in the pictures and video (and imply in the description) a gradual spiral. Sometimes, it may be best to stay on one level (circle size) until the horse is as good as it’s going to get there. Only then should you tighten the circle to the next level. How much tighter depends–three feet increments tend to work well for a green horse. Some people move inwards in this fashion, but then spiral directly out to the rail without repeating the circles. I tend to do at least one full circle at each level if I’ve chosen this variation.
I start almost all horses this way, because it takes them a while to be able to spiral in steadily without losing frame.
For the experts
It is possible to spiral all the way into a pirouette or spin and then spiral back out. In a pirouette, the horse canters around its back legs. How tightly around its back legs depends on the level of the horse; a good (advanced) pirouette takes 6-8 strides for a full turn (360 degrees). Pirouettes happen in advanced dressage levels.
In a spin, the horse pivots around the inside back foot. (See this video on how to encourage your horse to spin correctly.)
Version # 2
In Version 1, you spiral in and out on the same bend. In Version 2, you stop in the middle and change bends. I make sure to STAND for at least 60 seconds. Then I turn and depart on the opposite lead.
When loping the spirals, I always do a turn on the haunches, because this sets the horse up for a lope/canter departure. I prefer to do turns on the forehand when I am spiraling at the walk. However there is no reason why you cannot do a turn on the forehand at the jog/trot or lope/canter, as long as you give the horse time to stop before changing the bend. You will also need to give it more time to pick up the new lead if working at a lope or canter.
Of course, you don’t have to do a turn on the haunches or forehand. You can simply stop straight and depart in the new lead (or at the trot), going the opposite direction. This is more difficult that turning on the haunches before picking up the new lead.
Above: Spiral in to the left, stop, change directions via turn on haunches, move off to the right. You can also use a turn on the forehand, or simply halt, stand, and move off in the new direction.
A more advanced variation
You can also change directions with a roll back. You can do a roll back at a trot or at a lope/canter. Remember that to perform a good roll back, you must stop first. The only real difference between Version #2 above and the rollback version is that in the first, the horse stands for a while. With a roll back, as soon as the horse has come to a full stop, you ask for the roll back. (See this blog post on how to teach a Western roll back and these hints for improving a roll back.)
Some advice on doing spirals
Make sure to change it up!
The best thing is to alternate spiral exercises. If you always stop in the center, your horse is going to want to spiral in ALL THE TIME! Horses learn patterns very easily, and can get back about anticipating.
Keep your inside leg on
Because horses learn and anticipate, you will need to keep your inside leg on after the first spiral. Of course, you will always be using the inside leg to adjust your horse’s bend (see below).
What to do with the reins…
I prefer to lope on loose rein and touch the horse’s mouth (or nose, with a bosal) as little as possible. There is nothing wrong with riding with light contact. (But try not to be pulling on your horse. Encourage lightness!) Either way, try to use your legs to steer. It’s really about gradually increasing the horse’s bend, and you do this by moving its barrel to the outside with your inside leg. Your outside leg will keep the forward motion.
Use the reins to do things like pick up the inside shoulder, or to make small corrections to direction as needed when your legs fail.
Try not to use the reins to stop. By the time you are on a small circle, it’s a lot of work for the horse, so all you’ll probably have to do to halt (if you want to) is stop riding. If you need more, use your hips.
You might have to pick up the reins to turn in the center when performing Version #2 spirals, but again, keep it light and minimal.
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