Cone Circling Exercise

Cone Circling Exercise

Set Up:

Scatter several cones throughout the arena, off the wall. You can set up as many as you would like. I like to buy the cheap, flexible soccer cones from Walmart that the horses can step on many times without breaking them! I also use my jumps and tell riders to circle around each standard or the whole jump itself.

How To Ride the Exercise:

At a walk, riders circle around the cones. Focus on even circles with the cone being the midpoint of the circle. Correct inside bend of the horse without riders relying too much on their inside rein.

Circle all the cones one direction and then repeat the exercise in the opposite direction. To make this exercise harder, have riders circle at a walk in their two-point.

At a trot, riders can repeat the exercise. Can perform in a sitting trot, posting trot, or staying in two-point. I find more beginner riders may have to walk in between cones and just trot the circles.

Advanced riders can try to canter circles around the cones.

For extra challenge, encourage riders to counter flex their horses for part of their circles. Or have riders complete the circle in different gaits such as half of the circle at a walk and the other half in a trot or one half posting and one half sitting trot.