Learn to ride a volte: how to ride the small 10-metre circle with aids, balance and bend, and how much tightness your horse can take as a beginner.
How tight may a circle be for my horse? The honest answer: tight enough that it stays in rhythm and does not tense up. According to the FEI a volte is a circle of 6, 8 or 10 metres in diameter; if it is larger it is called a circle [1]. As a beginner you stay at 10 metres. That is half as wide as a dressage arena.
Small circles are no fun for joints: in a measurement of 9 horses the stance phase of the forelimbs was longest on the 10-metre circle at walk and canter, and the inside forelimb had a longer stance phase than the outside one in all three gaits [2]. The differences are small, but they show that a tight circle loads horses unevenly. Whether this damages joints in the long run, the study does not show. That is why moderation counts, not courage.
The horse itself also changes: without a rider, 12 horses bent back and neck by 4 to 5 degrees inward on the circle [3]. With a rider at the walk on 10-metre circles the outside hind limb had a greater range of motion than the inside one [4]. That means: both sides work, just differently.
First ride the big circle at the walk and shrink it step by step. Milestone: You manage two clean 20-metre circles without the rhythm getting shorter.
Plan four points on the circle (for example at cones). A 10-metre circle is half as wide as the arena. Your eye always goes to the next point. The smaller the circle, the earlier you must plan the next point, because the horse has less time to react. Milestone: You can describe the shape before you ride it.
Flex the inside hand slightly, the inside leg lies at the girth and the outside one contains behind it. According to the FEI the bend at changes of direction should match the curvature of the line without resistance [5]. Do not over-bend. The FEI says of lateral movements that bend must never be exaggerated so as to impair rhythm and balance [6]. That applies by analogy on the volte. Milestone: The horse is visibly bent but stays in rhythm.
Count "one, two, three, four" at every step. On tight circles the horse likes to get faster. Slow with your seat and keep the hand soft. If the rhythm falls apart, ride larger again. Milestone: The four-beat stays the same for two laps.
After two laps ride out, change rein, praise the horse. In the FEI description a figure of eight, made of two voltes, is ridden with a brief straightening in the middle [1]. Milestone: Your horse changes the bend without losing rhythm.
The volte does not replace supervised training. As a beginner you ride it only with an instructor and at the walk. Tight circles load the horse unevenly [2]; so ride short phases, change hands often and give the horse breaks on the straight. If your horse shows lameness, tension or resistance (head tossing, teeth grinding), stop and talk to your instructor and, if necessary, the vet; such behaviour is a hint, not proof of pain [7]. Never force the horse into the bend by pulling the rein.
Ride the volte in a corner: the boards help you orient and limit the horse from outside. The FEI describes turning a corner as a quarter volte of about 6 metres [5], so the corner is a small volte rehearsal. This is practical; as a training idea it has no study of its own. Also start and finish the volte at the same point every time, so you recognise shape and size and can see progress.
According to the FEI 6, 8 or 10 metres in diameter; if the circle is larger it is called a circle [1]. For beginners 10 metres is usual and enough.
Tight circles demand more balance. The horse often tries to balance itself through tempo. Slow with your seat and ride bigger until the rhythm is right again.
The studies I read do not show that. They only measured that the loading on the 10-metre circle is unevenly distributed [2]. Short phases and frequent changes of rein therefore make sense.
Two circles of equal size, a brief straightening in the middle, then change hands [1]. Practise it first with big circles at the walk.
Because in a small space you have to bring aids, balance and bend together. At changes of direction the FEI requires the horse to adjust its bend to the line without changing rhythm or tempo [5]. The volte is the test for that. That it improves your riding is riding-school experience, not a study.
Turn on the Forehand: The Hindquarters Yield to the Leg