The figure eight

In my last blog I wrote about the characteristics of a schooled horse:
1) calm
2) attentive
3) educated mouth
4) suppleness

Here is a deceitfully simple exercise that will school the two first items on the list above if done correctly. I've learned this exercise from Craig Stevens, a master in classical dressage.


Calm and attentive
Calmness and attentiveness go hand in hand. If the horse is not calm you will most likely not have its attention either. So if your horse is stressed, anxious or just full of energy and has its focus on everything other than you, here is what you can do: ride a figure of eight. Depending on the horse I ride this either on two 20-meter circles or on two 10 meter circles. By repeating the figure of eight over and over a stressed or anxious horse will become calm since the repetition in itself becomes familiar and almost hypnotic. By using a light touch on one rein you draw your horse's attention to this one aid which in itself will help the horse to stay focused, instead of trying to listen to five aids at the same time.





This exercise is therefore done using one rein. The goal is to have a big loop in the other rein so that you know for sure that your horse is listening to the rein that you are using. Use your common sense, if your horse is far from calm, focus on turning using only the direct rein since the direct rein will always work (if your horse takes off you can always turn using a not-so-light touch on the inside rein. This is what Western riders call a “one rein stop”). You can then let the circle control your horse's speed. The indirect rein is a trained aid. For it to work you'll need your horse's attention.

Direct rein
A direct rein is when you move your hand away from the horse's body. More precisely, you make a small action with your hand away from the horse. Your horse will shift weight to the front leg of the same side and thus turn to that side. As soon as your horse start to shift its weight and turn you cease the signal. If you continue, your horse will either do exactly as you say, that is turn more, or start ignoring you, that is not turn at all. It is the pauses between your signals that will make the horse attentive to you.

In the picture I've started with going to the right (1). If our right direct rein was too strong and thus made the horse turn too much, you'll have to compensate and use an indirect rein to get back on track.

Indirect rein
When you reach the point where the two circles meet you steer the horse onto the new circle using an indirect rein, still using only the right rein (2). Remember to cease the signal as soon as your horse stops turning so that your horse doesn't turn too tightly or, worse, start to ignore you.

An indirect rein is a movement towards the horse's neck. More precisely it's a small action towards the neck (never crossing over it). This will cause the horse to shift some of its weight to the diagonal rear leg and so the horse will start turning away from the rein.

If you've done too much you'll have to use a direct rein to get your horse back on track. If your horse starts going straight you'll have to make an indirect rein to keep the horse turning. If the horse is following the circle you concentrate on being the most agreeable passenger you can by not interfering (3). When you again reach the point where the two circles meet you direct your horse back on the first circle using a direct rein.

When you and your horse can do this on the right rein, you of course do the same on the left. When you train your horse you are really training two half horses. A straight horse is a horse that can use both its halves in an equal manner.

Thanks to Mark Stanton of Natural Horsemanship Magazine for proof reading!