THE TRIANGLE

The Triangle is the next progression from the Square exercise. In the Square the angle of the turns are roughly 90 degrees, but in the Triangle the turns are roughly 60 degrees.

Having worked on the Square exercise as a warm-up to starting the Triangle exercise, the rider should try riding a large triangle. The aids to ride the corners of the Triangle are the same as in riding the Square, but with a little more emphasis. This degree of turn encourages the horse to put even more weight on the inside hind leg and engage even more under the horse's body. The power of engagement of the inside hind leg will be improved over time, therefore improving the horse's ability to collect and increase the ability to turn quickly.

Please note, in this work there is always a side that the horse turns more easily, but there should be no "falling in" on the turn. Therefore on that side the rider should be ready to "guard" or "hold" a little more with his inside leg to avoid any falling-in on the turn. Plus, on the side that it is more difficult for the horse to turn, the triangle can always be ridden a little bigger than the side where the horse turns more easily.

When a large triangle is ridden easily, then a smaller triangle can be attempted. Care should be taken not to overdo this type of work, especially if it is new to the horse. Just a few times is enough, and then some relaxing stretching work in rising trot should be ridden.