Increasing Horse Riding Stability When Cornering & Circling

The horse's natural technique when cornering at speed or on small circles is to lean in towards the centre and, left to their own devices, to turn their heads to the outside of the circle. You can see this in reining competitions, barrel racing, gymkhanas, jumping, polo and similar disciplines. Many riders experience it when riding in an arena, particularly when the horse has been asked to turn a corner or ride a circle a little smaller than he is comfortable with.

Horse And Rider Leaning In

A horse leaning into corners at speed is known by a few names, most commonly banking or motorbiking, and it can be dangerous apart from feeling most uncomfortable. Horses can easily lose their footing and fall, particularly on slippery going, and if they fall, you fall. Why do they lose their balance if it is their natural way of coping with tight turns?

Because under the saddle they have to carry a load of around a sixth of their own weight, a weight which is often not only unstable but also top heavy. They frequently just cannot balance themselves and an unpredictable rider at the same time, particularly one who leans into the turn with them.

This potentially dangerous fault can be rectified quite simply. The horse needs correct schooling, particularly in canter, to give him better suppleness, balance and control, while the rider needs to be able to control their own weight to help, not hinder, the horse.

The way to stop the horse banking is to sit vertically and slightly to the outside of your saddle. Do not lean in yourself thinking that you are helping the horse by following his movement. This will overbalance him and send him even further in. sit upright with the seatbones taken slightly over to the outside and weight your outside seatbone.

Your outside leg should be back slightly from the hip to encourage the horse not to swing the quarters out and weight the inside shoulder. The inside seatbone should be forward and light with the inside leg stretched long and strongly supportive down the horse's side at the girth. The inside hand should be held up to emphasize an upright inclination and to ask the horse to flex inwards.

In circumstances where the horse has to lean in to make very tight, fast turns, sit upright as described above to counterbalance the strong inward swing of his body and to keep the pair of you on your feet, or rather his. When turning at speed, be as still and reasonably upright as you can so as not to interfere with him, and trust your horse.