Crookedness: The Shadow Side of Straightness

Paul’s latest article in The Horse Magazine!

One of the greatest French equestrian minds, Alexis-Francois L’Hotte said, “Calm, forward, straight!” One of the greatest German equestrian minds, Gustav Steinbrecht said, “Ride your horse forward and set it straight.” When two great riders give almost identical advice, it seems to me that we should pay attention.

In my last article, I talked about how in particular faulty neck position can interfere with the process of balancing the horse longitudinally and the building the strength necessary for correct collection, how the neck can be a ‘spoiler’ to this difficult process. I alluded to another looming beast of a challenge in training the dressage horse: this challenge is crookedness.

https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/04/crookedness-the-shadow-side-of-straightness/