falling in

Question
I have a warmblood that falls in at circles, i literally feel like I'm sitting on his side rather than his back, I'm not sure if i am bending him in on the circle to much or he's not moving off my leg, or both, i do allot of walk and trot transitions and have attempted to trot down the long side and do a half circle and back to a trot to try and see if its me or both, he was a fox hunter and i have been getting him to except the bit, which he is doing, but I'm not sure if he's falling because he is reaching for the bit because i have my inside rain on to much contact,but if i drop his rain he automatically drops his head and falls in more. so i really don't know what to do with him, he yields to my legs and bends at the walk.

Answer
Dear Donna,
A pretty common problem but frustrating nonetheless. Does he fall in in both directions? If- so- this may be balance- if not- it may be not having enough strength on one side to sustain.
In either case- forget about your inside rein (okay- not literally- maintain enough contact to keep him in frame) support him though your OUTSIDE rein and keep him on the circle with your outside leg. You want him ever so slightly counterflexed on the circle.Practice spiraling the circle in and out (no smaller than 10 meters) using your leg NOT your hands to adjust the size of the circle (think leg yield on the circle).
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
S. Evans