Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! Each week, we ask trainers a question and gather their answers for you. These trainers have a range of experience, backgrounds, and focus points of their programs, so the answers have as much variation as you would expect, and also probably much more similarity.
This week’s question posed is: How do you help a rider who struggles to keep their horse straight?
Here are their answers:
“I think most riders and horses that struggle to stay straight are riders and horses that aren’t proficient at working an inside bend, counter bend, and overall body control. It seems counterproductive to “straightness”, but teaching the rider to move their horse off their leg and hand while on a bend will help them to better manage the body while on a straight line.” – Carly Richardson
“My biggest piece of advice on keeping a horse straight is to maintain a positive and forward connection, so there is enough horse underneath you to keep straight. Keeping your reins short and body tall, while remaining centered over the horse, will allow you to feel the inconsistency. After moving the horse off of your leg, a consistent outside rein and steady inside leg will help to maintain balance and straightness in the forward gait. Feeling the horse and having a consistent, soft contact will allow the gait to stay rhythmic and straighten out your horse.” – Ryan Baldwin
“One of the most common misconceptions about straightness is that it is simply a horse problem. In reality, straightness is a conversation between horse and rider, and both participants bring their own natural asymmetries to that conversation. The horse may be naturally crooked, weaker in one hind limb, or have a preferred side. The rider may unknowingly carry more weight in one seat bone, rely too heavily on one rein, overuse one leg, or simply be unaware of their own alignment. Before attempting to correct the horse, we first have to identify the true source of the crookedness.
For me, the foundation of straightness is learning to “live” in shoulder-fore. I often see riders trying to correct the haunches when, in reality, the shoulders have drifted out of alignment. When the shoulders stay slightly in front of the haunches, the horse is organized, balanced, and far easier to keep straight. If the shoulders escape, the rest of the horse inevitably follows. Address the shoulders first, and the hindquarters usually have a much easier job.
Equally important is the rider’s position. I encourage riders to think of their body as a mirror of the horse’s body. Your shoulders should align with the horse’s shoulders, and your hips should align with the horse’s hips. We cannot expect the horse to travel straight if we are sitting crooked ourselves. Likewise, the horse’s neck should remain centered in front of the chest rather than being over-flexed to one side. Too much bend in the neck often creates the illusion of straightness while the body continues to travel crooked beneath it. Straightness should never be achieved by holding the horse between the reins. Instead, it is developed by riding the horse evenly from both legs into an elastic, consistent contact while allowing the horse to remain balanced between the aids. As the horse becomes straighter, he also becomes more supple, stronger, and more capable of carrying himself in balance.
One phrase I often share with my students is, “You cannot ride a horse straighter than you are sitting yourself.” Riders are often surprised by how dramatically their horse improves when they first address their own posture, symmetry, and effectiveness of the aids. Horses are incredibly honest mirrors of the rider. Whether on the flat or approaching a jump, true straightness is created by the rider’s balance, awareness, and timing—not by stronger aids. When we organize the shoulders, align our own bodies, and ride with clarity rather than force, straightness becomes the natural result. In the end, our goal is not simply a straighter horse, but a horse that is more confident, balanced, and comfortable carrying its rider. Straightness isn’t something we do to the horse—it’s something we create through our own balance, alignment, and clarity of aids.” – Val McCloskey
“For me, I like to take the method of less is more. It starts with less pulling on any particular rein and more about keeping the horse riding through the “tunnel” between leg and hand. Pick something at the end of the arena or field and ride your chest straight towards the target. Keep your eyes up looking at the target, and your body naturally follows.” – Dylan Daly
“If a horse consistently struggles with straightness, my first priority is making sure we’re not training through a physical issue by ruling out pain, compensation, or other mechanical limitations. Once soundness concerns have been addressed, I would focus on strengthening the weaker side with things like serpentines, hill work, counter canter, the Equiband system, and lunging. I find that many horses also benefit from a full-cheek bit for a little extra lateral guidance.
As the horse becomes stronger and more balanced, I prioritize carrying that straightness into the ride by keeping the horse in front of the leg. However, we’re not always strong enough to keep a horse straight with leg alone, so an opening outside rein with a slight lift of the inside rein can help. I also like using takeoff and landing poles as visual aids to help riders maintain a straight approach and departure. Big crossrails are another favorite of mine because they encourage the horse to stay centered over the fence.” – Brooke Eddy
