Circling Backwards

This morning I rode a mare that I was warned had a problem with jigging. My purpose was to cool the horse down so I was told if she just wanted to jig, just get off and walk. Its nasty hot and muggy here today and she was breathing hard and was lathered after her work on the cows – so it was important to get her cooled off properly.

I was able to ride her cool down – she thought of jigging but never acted on it. In the beginning it was like riding eggshells to keep from jigging. She never did it, but it was salient. If I would have so much as turned her around, she would have jigged. By leaving her alone and allowing her to “let down,” she had a great cool down.

This got my brain onto what I think is one of the biggest horse training misunderstandings and that is circling. Because, in the aforementioned situation, I would have been very wrong to circle if she jigged.

It seems like one of the first things people are told by someone. If you horse rears, bucks, runs off, kicks another horse, doesn’t respond the way you want or for whatever reason you are not happy – “Circle!” I see people doing it everywhere – many times I’m not sure why the people are doing it – and there are enough times when I am sure the horse does not understand either.

So because it’s my blog and my way of venting…

Myth #1: If your horse runs away, “Circle!”

To start, if you are on a true runaway, where the horse is not thinking, you will not be able to circle. So, trying to neck rein the horse around or bringing both hands to one side or the other is not going to help. If you are able to neck rein, your horse might be ignoring you but they are not running away – in the true sense of the action.

There is no sure way to stop a runaway. But there are good things to try. One is pulling on one rein. This can often break the trance of a horse that has forgotten you are there. For the horse that is choosing to ignore you, pulling hard enough will hurt and potentially change their mind. Often, pulling on one rein will eventually get a circle. But the goal is not to circle, the goal is to stop. So don’t keep pulling them into a circle once they have slowed down – it does nothing for the horse; except perhaps cause pain and bring the level of excitement back up again.

Another way to stop a runaway is to “Double” – and the way it was taught to me was “Doublem.” Doubling is when you pick up on one rein and also add leg to the same side. The idea is to push the hips out and make it harder to run. Not to be confused with unable to run, just harder. This can also cause a circle, but note, the goal is not to circle!

Another way to stop a runaway is to seesaw the reins. This is my least favorite method because I see people use it inappropriately and they bloody up their horses in the process. But it can work and can be appropriate.

I don’t say “Whoa” on a runaway. In my opinion “whoa” is not an emergency plan. There was one time I said “Hey!” to a horse that was completely blanked out on me. That in itself reminded him I was there and he then responded to my rein.

Myth #2: If your horse won’t cross water, go over the bridge, down the trail, walk through the gate or won’t do some other thing you are asking, “Circle!”

I think this misconception came from the simple idea of adding physical workload in the place where the horse is refusing and letting them rest (or quitting pressure) when the horse does the right thing.

The problem is that people just think, “Circle!” Where, in reality, the rider should be looking for willingness as a place to quit.

I actually do not prefer this method for most things. I think it gets a little too far away from the actual intended exercise and can confuse the horse. I use workload when a horse does not want to stand still. The idea being ‘if you want to move, okay but you will do it on my terms.’ Also, I will purposely look for where the horse wants to quit and let them quit. And let them stand. If they think to move off again, we do it again. It doesn’t take long to get a horse to stand still on this method, but the key is the quit point. You just can’t miss it.

For the aforementioned problem examples, I like to tackle them in increments, first figuring out which instinct in the horse is getting set off the most; moving forward accordingly. Is it fear or resistance or herd? A whole other topic so I’ll move on.

Myth #3: If you horse kicks another horse, “Circle!”

No, make the horse think it’s going to die. Immediately, within a couple seconds of the kick, and only for a second. In truth the whole incident from kick through punishment should be over and done with in about 2-4 seconds depending on how quick you are on the uptake. Move on.

You can pull a horse’s head around and kick, I’ve never met a horse that enjoys that. In fact, that is my preferred method for a horse that kicks out at another while I’m riding. It has nothing to do with a potential circle and everything to do with nailing the horse for doing something willfully dangerous (the only time I get hard on a horse) and keeping them in one place. If I turn the head when I do this, I am less likely to go running and bucking down the wall. Sometimes we get a half a circle or whatever but once again the circle is not the point.

Myth #4: If your horse jigs towards home, “Circle!”

A barn sour horse usually only gets worse with these circles. They are doing this out of insecurity and/or resentment of work, so causing more grief will not make them better. For your homeward jigging horse, pick up a rein and hold until he walks. He might circle. If he walks when he circles, release. Once again, it has nothing to do with the circle. Why do jiggy horses not listen to two reins? Typically it’s how they learned to jig in the first place, no release and moving right along. They can also brace against or go behind the bit easier with two reins. I know there are rubber neckers and behind the bitters out there on one rein. Pick up one rein with that horse, release when you get your walk and plan to do it about 500 times, at least. Eventually it does work.

Horse training is not typically fast if you are doing it right, in my opinion. Some exercises are like watching paint dry – especially on an already soured horse.

I have experienced a couple of times horses that were really really bad with the barn sour business – to the point of dangerous. In these cases, I have backed them towards home because it was too precarious for them to face home. Not the whole way, I give them many chances to turn around and walk, but if we pick up again, we turn back around. I think to do something like that, you need to able to know when you are in trouble or not. I guess I am saying a person could accidentally flip a horse with that method so feel is really important.

Myth #5: If your horse rears, “Circle!”

A horse rears because they do not feel like they can go forward. A chronic rearer will do it out of habit, but that’s how the habit started. Circling will exasperate the situation. Now, disengaging the hips and turning the head, that makes it harder for a horse to rear. Not to be confused with unable to rear. If a little half circle comes out of that, so be it. But getting off the face as much as possible is really important in that moment. Then evaluating what you are doing to make the horse think they can’t go forward, would be the next step.

I have not had to deal with rearing too much. I’ve never had it come up on a colt and it’s been few and far between on all the other horses I’ve ridden. In my experience, rearing has occurred as the result of a sudden spook (barn cat running under my horse, deer jumping out on the trail).
I did know a mare once that was a horrendous rearer, she was purchased loose at auction so no one knew anything about her. She reared from a lope even. Sometimes she lost her footing. I didn’t rider her but once. That was probably one of the top 3 times I’ve been the most scared of a horse’s actions. Probably also in my top ten for a horse I felt really bad for. She was so lost.

Myth #6: (Last one) If your horse bucks, “Circle!”

Disengaging the hips, unlocking the shoulder and turning can help you regain control should a horse think to buck. But it still is not about the circle! It is about changing the horse’s thoughts and direction. Once you have done that, quit! Don’t keep circling! It doesn’t make any sense! If you get a quarter circle and you reach your goal, you are done.

If your horse bucks a lot, consider getting out the chiropractor. That’s probably the problem. Bucking is work so if it’s not the chiropractor, figure out what it is that would make the horse put that kind of energy into saying “no.” I prefer to never let a horse go there. I prefer to stop it before they think of it. But unfortunately it isn't always about what I prefer. :)

An athletic horse can buck just fine in a circle and that sucks because that’s hard to ride. Once again, it’s not the circle. It’s the message to the horse!

I can’t possibly go into every horse scenario or method for working through (that's a big book) so I will quit here. If anyone has other ways they handle any of the situations I mentioned, I’d love to hear them in the good natured sharing and discussion sort of way.

I think the whole circling misunderstanding started with people watching trainers and not knowing what was going on. I actually know instructors that teach this circling nonsense.

I guess my point is that we are working with the brain of the horse first, whether we realize it or not. So, whatever you do, start by changing their minds.

Does anyone out there have anything to add to this? How about other annoying misunderstandings that seem to run rampant?

I just feel good to have gotten that off my chest!