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In the Round Pen - The Figure 8
disclaimer: I'm not there with you, so you have to use your own common sense!

One of the handiest roundpen exercises I know is the figure 8.  Here I'll show you how to half it.  (The other half is just like this, only in the other direction.)  When you start out, be happy to do half of it and then do a lap or two (to chill), then do the 2nd half and do a lap or two.

To do half a figure 8, you move the horse along the perimeter, then back up to draw the horse into the center, then 'jump sides' to be on the new inside and push the horse out to the perimeter in the new direction.

The switch is a little bit tricky.  You pull the horse off the rail by stepping backwards while continuing to rotate the door until you get the horse facing you.  As soon as the horse is facing you, you cross over the path of movement and rotate the door the other way.  You move back towards the center of the round pen while pushing the horse out and drawing it along the perimeter.  Eventually, you get back near the center of the pen and the horse is now on the rail.

In this example, you rotate the door to your left, step back, switch sides, and then rotate the door to your right. Here's the path the horse travels:

 

 

 

When the horse gets to the middle of the roundpen, you might be backed up against the rails a little bit, moving backwards.  At the switch over point you have to quickly swap the whip BEHIND YOUR BACK into the other hand and switch roles in your hands.  What was pushing is now pulling; what was pulling is now pushing.   From this point to when you get back into the middle of the round pen, you may need to book a little bit - going backwards.  Do what you can to be aimed at the haunches.  

 

 

NOTE: 

  • If you get ahead of the haunches, you will be cueing your horse to stop!  If you do this, the horse could either stop of even reverse to the outside rather quickly.  You'll want to avoid doing that as much as possible as you lose brownie points with your horse when that happens.
  • Also, the amount of space between you and your horse depends upon how sensitive your horse is to being crowded.   If you are too close for the horse's comfort, this might also signal, to the horse, that it should either stop or reverse.  
  • If you act like you wanted it to do that, it can help, but in general, any time the horse turns to the outside, they're trying to run away from you or blow you off.  (oops.)

Eventually you will be doing a small backwards figure 8 near the center of the round pen and it is a fun and lovely dance.

Copyright © 2/17/14 Lynn S. Larson
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