Equistride International
Carole Grant
Tel:(561) 301 6274
Gold Medalist
Pan-Am Games
US Equestrian Team World Championships
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Absolute Versus Relative Straightness
Why don't we want the horse to be "absolutely" straight on his line of travel as opposed to relatively straight? We are accustomed to thinking of straightness like a ruler, but the equine version of straight is different. If a rider were to make his horse absolutely straight, the horse's hind feet would pass to the outside of his front feet-and to the outside of the center of his weight-minimizing the carrying power of his hind legs and putting him on his forehand. This is because a horse's hips are naturally wider than his shoulders. (See diagram 4 previous page) As a result of this wide hindquarter base, combined with the horse's typical conformation of carrying more weight on the front legs, we don't want him to be absolutely straight. We want him to be relatively straight, narrowing his hind legs between the spaces of his front legs, allowing him to carry more weight behind. In our favor is the fact that the horse, if trained correctly, becomes straighter because he tries to please us and he learns fast. The bad news is that he learns incorrect things quickly, too. So you need to teach him correct information. In this article, I'll explain how I train my horses to relative straightness and give you several exercises to try. These are the basic tools for the horse learning to control his body.
GO
FORWARD: The first step in training a young horse to go straight
is to make him go forward. Marcel Van Der Burgh uses the arena wall
to help go forward, opening his outside rein and leading 4-year-old
Mugsy to the wall.
 Exercise 1: Go, Stop and Steer
To achieve straightness, the horse must be able to do supple upward and downward transitions and follow the rein. In other words, he must learn to "go, stop and steer." This gives him balance - a requirement for developing straightness. It also allows the rider that all-important release. How can the rider ever soften if his horse doesn't stop?
Go Forward. At first, you horse may not be able to step to both reins equally, but the only way to work toward straightness is to go forward and keep asking him to step toward the bit. Use the arena wall to help by opening the outside rein and leading him to it-even if his hips fall in. Focus on asking him to go forward into receiving hands. If your horse breaks into the canter, that's great because it shows he's getting the idea. When training a horse, we must always remember not to hold him back while sending him forward and not to drive him forward when holding him back-minding the old saying, "legs without hands and hands without legs." Sometimes it appears that we use our legs and hands together because we are using the aids for go and stop very closely together, but the leg and hand shouldn't actually be used at the same time. If the horse is truly forward, the rider can put the horse's nose in front of the vertical at any time.
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Client Comments:
"As a trainer, Carole always gives 110% - whether
you are the first or last ride of the day. She gives you her complete
attention and enthusiasm.She makes the exercises WORK for you. She is
quick to diagnose what the problem is and makes it simple to get where
you are headed. The horses Carole has chosen for me have always suited
me perfectly."
Betsy Rebar Sell Team Gold Medalist,
1999 Pan-Am Games
Tonya Barber
Tel:(248) 219-0410
USDF Gold and Silver Medalist