The exercise involves jumping a single very small oxer on a 12-15 meter circle. Although it looks straightforward it’s quite challenging. It focuses on suppleness, technique, and footwork, all of which lead to greater ride-ability.
Canter a circle past the fence before jumping it 3 times, in canter, on the small circle. Make sure that the circle is truly round, and the horse continues to jump around this line rather than stiffening and jumping out of the circle. Having done this on both reins you can then do the same out of trot on the circle. The trot is more challenging as it requires a greater degree of footwork.
This exercise is helpful for making sure that horses adapt their landing on the correct lead and stays in the same consistent rhythm throughout.
The small amount of width in the oxer means the horse has to give through their ribcage, allowing them to really let go through their back.
