Riding Circles and Turns with Wendy Murdoch

Excerpt from the Horseman’s Gazette Issue No. 11

Riding balanced circles and turns is foundational for any discipline of riding. In this segment Wendy Murdoch continues to coach a student rider through proper alignment in the turn. When a horse shapes his body on the arc of the circle, there should be lateral bend in his rib cage where one side lengthens while the other contracts. A horse’s neck, head and withers have to be perpendicular to the ground if we want him to bend in the rib cage. Otherwise, one side of the ribcage will be rotated upwards and will impede lateral bend. A rider’s pelvis should be level throughout the cue to turn so that the horse can also stay even and not rotate his rib cage. This is a more centered way of riding.

The original length of this clip is 19 minutes 48 seconds