Another trainer asked me why I think riding a circle with balance and precision is so hard. It’s a good question because almost nobody rides a perfect circle. All circles suffer from a lack of being perfectly round. All horses struggle to follow the line of a circle without a lot of input from a rider’s reins, seat, and legs.

I gave it a little thought and then answered, “Because in a circle each step represents a slight change in direction and therefore each step requires the horse to have a new thought.”

My friend (the other trainer) said, “I don’t agree. I think the circle represents just one thought. But it’s a thought that involves maybe 30 steps to complete a 360-degree turn.”

What do you think?