Straightness Strategies

Why You Keep Circling Back to the Same Issues — and How to Break the Pattern

If you’ve ever finished a schooling session thinking:

“Why does this keep coming up?”
“Why is one rein still harder?”
“Why do we make progress… then slide back again?”

You’re not alone.

Many dedicated horse owners feel like they’re working hard, doing the “right” exercises — walk, trot, canter, basic schooling patterns — yet somehow ending up back at the same crookedness, stiffness, or resistance.

That’s frustrating.
And it can quietly chip away at your confidence as a rider.

Here’s the truth most people don’t tell you:

👉 This isn’t a you problem.
👉 It’s not a “naughty” or unwilling horse.
👉 It’s a training strategy problem — and there is an answer.

Horses Are One-Sided — Just Like Humans

Just as humans are right- or left-hand dominant, horses are naturally one-sided.

They tend to:

• load one shoulder more than the other

• push more strongly from one hind leg

• find bend easier on one rein

• stabilise their body better in one direction

This is completely normal.

But here’s the key part:

🟡 If that natural dominance isn’t actively addressed in training, it becomes a long-term crookedness pattern.

And that’s why so many riders feel like they’re stuck in a loop.

Common Signs Straightness Isn’t Being Addressed

If any of these sound familiar, you’re looking at foundational imbalance, not bad riding:

• One rein always feels heavier or shorter

• The horse falls in or out on circles

• Hindquarters drift to one side

• Canter is easy one way and difficult the other

• Transitions feel unbalanced

• Lateral work is dramatically different left vs right

• You’ve checked saddle, teeth, and physio — yet the pattern remains

These aren’t isolated issues.

They’re expressions of the same underlying problem:
the horse’s body hasn’t been trained to work symmetrically.

Why Walk, Trot & Canter Alone Don’t Fix Crookedness

Walk, trot and canter are essential — but they are movement patterns, not corrective strategies.

If a horse already:

• loads one side more

• avoids activating weaker areas

• stabilises through compensations

then repeating those gaits simply reinforces the existing pattern.

This is why riders often feel like they’re:

• doing more work

• adding more exercises

• schooling more frequently

…but not seeing lasting change.

You’re not missing effort.
You’re missing targeted intention.

Straightness Is a Lifelong Training Strategy

Straightness isn’t about making a horse “perfect”.

It’s about:

• activating weaker areas

• mobilising and rebalancing compensating structures

• developing coordination across the whole body

Think of it like Pilates for humans.

We don’t aim for perfect symmetry — we aim for balanced strength, control, and reduced compensation, so the body can move more freely and safely, AND more comfortably.

When straightness is trained properly:

• strength work becomes more effective

• exercises feel easier

• connection improves

• long & low becomes more available

• the horse moves with less effort and more confidence

This Is Where Strength & Straightness Come Together

Your Core Exercises build an essential foundation — they strengthen the body and wake muscles up.

Straightness work guides that strength, ensuring it’s:

• distributed evenly

• supporting better movement patterns

• not reinforcing old compensations

This isn’t about “more exercises”.

It’s about the right exercises, in the right order, with the right intention.

If You Keep Circling Back to the Same Issues…

Ask yourself honestly:

Does what I’m doing now actually result in a more symmetrical, balanced horse — or do I keep meeting the same difficulties on one rein?

If it’s the second one, that’s not failure.

It simply means the foundational crookedness hasn’t been addressed in a structured way yet.

There Is a Clear Path Forward

Straightness can be trained — calmly, progressively, and without overwhelm.

That’s exactly why I created the Strength & Straightness Programme:

• to give horse owners a clear, guided pathway

• to remove the guesswork

• to help you train your horse to move stronger, straighter, and more comfortably over time

You don’t have to keep going in circles.

👉 Explore the Strength & Straightness Programme here: CLICK FOR DETAILS

And if you’re not ready for the full programme yet, there’s a smaller starting point — the Core Exercises - foundational and transformational CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Final Thought

You’re not failing your horse.
Your horse isn’t being difficult.

You’re simply ready for a more targeted, intelligent way of training — one that works with the body, not against it.

And when straightness is addressed properly, everything starts to feel easier — for both of you.