Forward and Straight

In the upcoming weeks and forever- keep this quote in mind.

“Forward and straight. You can accomplish most anything when you have these two things”

Straightness Defined

A horse is straight when his body is properly aligned from poll to tail. In other words, the horse’s spine should match the line that you have chosen. When he travels on a straight line, he should have his two left legs on the left side of your line, and two right legs on the right side of the line.

When your horse is straight you can feel an equal contact in both hands and even weight in the stirrups and seat bones. Your horse will be in the “channel” of your aids. When you work on the flat or over fences, your path or track dictates the line you are on, and your horse’s spine from head to tail should match this line.

Forward Defined

Forward is not always FAST. It can be, but being forward is more of a mental state in which the horse is ready to respond and does when you ask. Don’t replace speed with impulsion. Impulsion is coiled-up power that you can use. You could use it for speed or collection or jumping higher over a bigger fence. Speed is speed, or miles per hour. Think of it this way- you could be on a run-a-way racehorse who is not listening or responsive to your aids, or you could be in a slow jog and the horse listening attentively and ready to do as you ask. The slow jog horse is more in front of your aids and forward than the run-a-way horse.

In Part Two, we’ll talk about the horse’s body and the rider’s role in relation to straightness.