When a horse goes home from the trainer, can it lope a circle. Someone asked for just this one thing when he sent several colts off to 3 different trainers, to lope a circle. Not one of the horses that returned could do it. This motivated me to be sure of ONE quiz every horse I ride would pass.
Ray Hunt would talk about "the perfect circle". My definition of a circle is the horse giving it's three main body parts over to the rider's control while in the loping gate. The horse's head should be in the direction of your circle, at the same level as the shoulder of the horse. The shoulder should be straight and forward in direction, not dropping in or fading out of the circle. The hip should be on the inside of the circle and up under the balanced body of the horse. When you can keep a consistent pace and size with your horse giving his three main body parts in a circle you have the perfect circle. It is one of those things that sounds way easier than it is to do.
My first mentor helping me start a colt at 8 years old got me in the habit of watching the path my horse's feet made as I circled and circled until my horse started making his own trail in the dirt. I was plow reining this colt, with the shortest legs I've ever had while riding, so leg control was out of the equation. Now I enjoy using a lot of leg control to stay off my horses mouth while loping circles. Gordon Kern said, "Brian, if you ride circles every day, and tie your horse to the hitching post for a couple hours everyday, you'll have a good horse." I still practice what he told me 30 years ago.
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