HELPING OUR CROOKED HORSES
A core focus of modern academic horsemanship is assessing and identifying our horse’s conformation, movement and temperamental limitations--we understand it’s key to an individualized education that prioritizes holistic training and uncompromising attention to its well-being and comfort. We observe our horse’s body shape, balance and way of movement, mental quirks and character, and adapt centuries-old proven foundation training to improve, correct, and nurture the horse to become the best it can be. Getting to know our horses in body and mind in this way gifts us riders with a deeply intimate insight into our riding partner. Practical application of this knowledge allows us to transform even the average horse into one that is supple, responsive, and open to the possibilities of far more advanced work.
In particular, it’s the straightening/suppling aspect of academic training methods of the horse that is a formidable prescription to an endless variety of challenges we encounter under saddle. Experts in equine biomechanics and trainers very experienced in 'straightness training'--specific gymnasticizing and education of a horse to address its inherent natural crookedness--estimate that up to 95% of issues we encounter under saddle are caused by the imbalanced, un-suppled, 'crooked'-moving equine. If we want to achieve the ever-elusive unity that a superbly well-trained horse demonstrates, a supple and balanced 'straight-moving' horse who can carry a rider in comfort is necessary--and so is a rider who has knowledge on how to affect this change.
STRAIGHTNESS?
Let’s define precisely what we mean when talking about straightening and suppling a horse…..
No horse is born shaped ‘straight’ in its body--like any living creature, it’s crooked here and there--not perfectly symmetrical in physical build. All riders know their horse seems to ‘ride better’ going one direction over another; this is because all horses are born slightly curved in body to the left or the right and because of this they focus distribution of their weight unevenly. It makes sense that traveling in the direction of the natural body curve is more appealing to them; traveling against their natural curve can cause a great deal of discomfort. Given that much of riding requires travel on curves or circles, as riders we're constantly confronting a crooked horse protesting--to a greater or lesser degree--the things we ask of it.
Of course, just speaking of the left/right crookedness is a bit simplistic, as the condition itself extends to a vast myriad of issues--in other words, a horse not-suppled will exhibit all manner of symptoms to illustrate its imbalances. I'll describe some of these below. Straightness training helps the horse progressively learn to stretch the parts of its body that need suppling and strengthening, and to change the way it chooses to assume its posture and move its body.
So, ‘straightness’ in the academic sense doesn’t just refer to a horse moving on a straight line. It’s about a horse that can move in equal suppleness going left or going right, and because it can be successfully framed and shaped in this lateral sense, it can therefore truly be straight-moving in its body through and through. Being able to move equally well no matter the direction of travel or degree of flexibility required for a movement liberates a horse to carry its rider efficiently, effectively, and be able to answer with immediacy and correctness the things the rider asks of it.
RIDER EDUCATION
All riders recognize that our horses are naturally crooked in body. What is astounding is how crookedness in the horse’s body goes unaddressed by just about all riders and instructors--typically, it may be mentioned as a frustrating obstacle but the conversation goes no further than pointing out such crookedness in the horse exists. We jump on its back, put it through its paces in the discipline of our choice and expect it to perform well. If we feel its body leaning or bulging or the contact in the bridle bearing or pulling, most riders apply aids to (forcefully) correct the horse, without knowing exactly the origins of what they’re correcting or exploring why such symptoms are occuring. Horses demonstrating mysterious physical discomfort often get a visit from a chiropractor for a quick fix to their stiffness, unexplained sluggishness, mild lameness, or poor behavior that occurs without any obvious cause, but the suggestion that perhaps the origin of so many issues in a horse may be caused by the fact that it simply can’t move as fluidly and comfortably on one side of its body compared to the other—this subject is often met with blank stares.
Most riders don’t understand precisely how their horse might be affected by its crookedness and aren’t even aware that alleviating this crookedness is a possibility. It can be an eye-opening discovery to study this issue and realize to what degree it can be affecting your horse and your partnership with it. I like to ask riders several questions related to their own body asymmetries—think about your own body—how do you prefer to sit? Your weight shifted on one seat bone? An elbow or hand on the table? Which one? When you walk up or down a flight of stairs, which leg do you use to start? If you’re leaning against a wall, what shoulder do you prefer to press against it? What are your body-use habits? In our daily life, the choices we unconsciously make when we move are of little significance. If we joined a ballet or yoga class, however, we’d soon become aware of how our bodies are unbalanced and unequal in so many ways. Soon our teacher would be guiding us towards better balance and suppleness and with time we would begin to move with more power, grace and purpose. Why not do the same for our horses?
There’s one simple particular test that makes it all clear: pick up a pen and quickly sign your name on a piece of paper. Now switch from your favored hand to your other and put pen to paper and quickly sign your name again. The awkwardness, confusion, lack of fluidity, discomfort in the muscles of your non-favored hand—these sensations are comparable to what your horse feels when you’re riding it against the curve of its natural body shape, postural preferences, and against its preferred way of movement. Its discomfort spreads to every part of its body that you are asking to move in the way you want rather than the way the horse wants. To correct this, the horse must be educated to choose to move in a new way of its own accord. Training for 'straightness' achieves this.
RECOGNIZING COMMON ASYMMETRIES
While straightening/suppling work is inherent in academic training on the path to high school dressage, it's also an invaluable training program in itself for riders of all disciplines who wish to rehabilitate or re-educate a horse who never received a solid, correct, horse-friendly, ‘straight’ education to begin with.
Dutch trainer Marijke DeJong is the creator of the Straightness Training Academy which provides such an inter-discipline foundation training program accessible online and offers a veritable encyclopedia of information about equine biomechanics and training specifically focusing on straightening and suppling (visit her website here to take a look at the material available). DeJong recognizes the following nine points of equine asymmetries; you may immediately recognize some of the symptoms described in your own horse:
LEFT/RIGHT CROOKEDNESS - the horse is naturally shaped like a banana, its body curved to either left or right. When you ride your horse against this natural curve of its body, the horse struggles to stretch its concave (hollow) side and flex its convex (outer bulging) sides. You’ll notice inconsistent contact with the bridle, saddle fit can be affected, you’ll feel more contact on your (rider’s) leg on one side than the other, etc. Gymnasticizing can improve and change this so that your horse can move with equal suppleness to either side.
HORIZONTAL IMBALANCE- Your horse naturally is built with more weight up front, and the unsuppled and unbalanced horse will weight its forehand in movement, and especially so with the rider’s weight added. Evasions included bearing/pulling, lack of control or responsiveness, inertia, etc. Gymnasticizing can teach your horse to shift its weight backwards and begin to carry itself not on the forehand.
FRONT LEG - the horse, like a human, favors either left or right foreleg and will place more weight upon this leg in movement. Horses with extreme front-leg preference can often show unexplained lameness issues. Gymnastizing which shifts a horse’s weight backwards can alleviate some of the force put upon a foreleg and in some cases can cure unexplained or mild lameness.
HIND LEG - one hind leg of the horse will easily carry forward under its body, while the other leg has a preference to push the horse’s weight forward. We desire both legs to carry forward equally well, and gymnasticizing teaches your horse to do this.
DIAGONAL - As a result of both front and hind legs each having a favored leg, you will feel a diagonal imbalance under saddle—i.e., the most obvious is your horse will lean on one shoulder more than the other as its center of mass is unable to balance effectively. As straightness/suppling work commences, you’ll feel less and less imbalances of this type.
VERTICAL - Center of gravity in motion leans to one side, with speed this issue can make a horse feel out of control (examples is the snowballing effect of a crazy canter). As balance improves through gymnasticizing, this also is vastly improved.
BODY RATIO/FRONT to BACK - Your horse’s shoulders are narrower than its hips and a horse tends to walk with its body not aligned literally ‘straight’. This is most noticeable on the wall where the haunches may come slightly or strongly inwards. For a horse educated to the aids of left/right and made laterally supple, this becomes almost a non-issue.
TOPLINE/UNDERLINE - Due to the imbalances above, your horse’s back may not be lifted or being used effectively; its tummy may hang or bulge, its neck may be inverted or tight, its legs may not be able to carry forward with freedom, etc. With straightness/suppling training and gymasticizing, a rider can achieve both postural and biomechanical changes that completely transform the shape and movement of your horse for the better.
MENTAL/EMOTIONAL IMBALANCE - A horse who feels its inherent crookedness greatly will have a mental and emotional reaction to being ridden that presents itself in a variety of behavioral issues and evasions. Many riders with a horse displaying severe behavioral reactions to its asymmetries choose not to ride it, not being aware that the issue is rooted in natural physical asymmetry that can be addressed through disciplined, persevering, patient ‘straightness’ training.
THE JOURNEY TO STRAIGHTNESS
Everyone will find familiarity in the above points. But reading a description of them can take the wind out of the sails of an ambitious rider who feels motivated to explore straightness training—it’s a lot of details to think about. Understandably, being confronted by all the things ‘wrong’ with our horse can lead us to believe it’s a lost cause to try changing things. I urge you to reconsider.
The work to achieve extraordinary improvement of your horse is actually quite simple—the horse and trainer begin with learning a language of aids, physically manipulating the horse up close to shape and influence its body in halt and in movement. The horse is taught to seek the hand, to give a correct flexion of the skull and spine to create bend, to step directly under its point of weight with and without a rider, to lift and carry forward its inside and outside hind legs, to carry itself with ease, fluidity and power as it progressively is enabled to take its weight more and more onto the hindquarters. These things are taught through work up close on the ground with a short lead attached to the center ring of caveson, on the longe as the horse learns to shape itself more independently, through work-in-hand in the bridle with two reins, under saddle carrying a rider, and at liberty to test its willingness and comprehension of the training and to broaden the partnership overall. Working equally in both directions through these training components, and especially on the side that the horse finds more difficult to move within, the horse slowly builds the strength and suppleness to begin coping with its crookedness.
While the work itself is simple in approach, what isn’t simple is the focused consistency and dedication involved in achieving it, because this isn’t a quick fix. A trainer will need a sense of curiosity about the equine species, patience to define subtle observations, the willingness to prioritize the good of the horse in ways they may not have encountered in the past. The work can feel extremely awkward to both horse and trainer attempting it for the first time, but with dedication to get over the first ‘humps’, the disciplined trainer will soon begin to achieve noticeable and typically remarkable improvements.
A RARE THING
Until I began studying academic horsemanship and first-hand began to see the results of straightness training even in its most basic stages, I didn’t realize how rare it was to find a truly straight and suppled horse.
The rewards of straightness training are huge. A horse that has vastly improved or eradicated much of its natural crookedness is one able to do the thing we riders most often dream of doing with any horse—unifying with us in lightness and grace. It’s a horse that moves fluidly in both directions, easily shifting its weight to its hindquarters, it’s a horse who can self-correct and self-balance its posture and movement, a horse who seeks partnership with its rider, demonstrating cooperation, willingness and a desire to bond. The horse’s body becomes more beautifully-shaped, the horse’s mind will be calmed, changes in performance will progressively occur, often unexplained lameness will be resolved, contact in the bridle become consistent. The horse that has learned to work with and overcome its asymmetries becomes an absolute joy to ride because the suppled horse feels good, feels the full potential of its inherent athleticism.
The transformational power is so dramatic that a rider who has reaped the rewards of educating their horse in this way will wonder why the knowledge about suppling/straightening a horse isn’t a more widespread practice, because once feeling it, you never can ride another horse without having the desire to make it ride as beautifully, comfortably, and happily.
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In the last few years, riders of all disciplines are beginning to re-examine straightness/suppling training as modern research of equine biomechanical processes shows us how this is an area of equitation study truly needing attention in the basic education of all. In the USA, there are just a handful of us who call this work our passion. Now beginning my twelfth year of study, I travel within Oregon, Washington and Idaho introducing academic riding foundations—the heart of straightness training--to other ambitious and independent-minded riders. I offer several options of instruction, all which focus upon straightness as a core foundation. I'm always happy to answer questions in-depth about this topic so feel free to get in touch if you'd like more info.
