Straightness training What makes a horse lopsided?
If there’s no such thing as a ‘perfectly symmetrical horse’, what makes a horse lopsided? Martha Terry finds out
WHEN Paul Tapner jumped clear round Burghley this autumn with each rein on different rings of Bonza King Of Rouges’ bit, he provoked a social media debate over whether a rider of his calibre might have made a tacking-up blunder. Naturally not.
“Very observant!” Paul tweeted. “Every horse is left- or right-handed the same as us humans, King is just extra left-handed, so very hard to right turn!”
Dutch trainer Marijke de Jong, who runs a global academy devoted to improving horses’ symmetry, “Straightness Training”, says “the perfectly symmetrical horse has not yet been born”. This dominant side can be exacerbated by pain, their history or the rider’s own crookedness. But how much can we do about it — or should we just work around the horse’s weakness?
As riders, we tend to notice a horse is more balanced or finds dressage movements easier on one rein, or leans more on one hand. Jumping, a horse may swerve to one side over a fence, making skinnies, combinations and corners problematic.
Grassroots eventer Jane Scarisbrick’s nowretired mare Keira always jumped to the left, although she was even on both reins on the flat.
“I just had to place her far right if it was a combination,” explains Jane. “We never had a run-out or stop because of her left-hand drive and she’s always loved jumping. Corners were worrying because of the width, so I’d take the alternative if there was one. The only other time it’s a problem is loading — she won’t turn left in a lorry, but we work around that.”
VETERINARY physiotherapist Emily Culpeck says this “laterality” often develops as a foal, or during birth itself. “Any trauma can influence the body, especially in a developing foal,” she says.
“Foals inevitably fall over galloping around and, although they carry on as normal, there is likely some tissue adaptation which may alter development, beginning to shape a sidepreference, which will remain into adulthood.”
Emily says that “the majority of studies” have found that the forelimb a foal puts forward when grazing is “the limb used for the initiation of movement and preferred canter lead”.
Pain, of course, whether in the back, mouth or limbs, should be ruled out first — as well as poor saddle fit.
“Does your horse struggle on one rein because it is his non-dominant side or because there is undiagnosed subtle or bilateral lameness?” asks Emily. “If the work improves with training, great, but if not, you should consult your vet.”
“There are so many factors that can make a horse better on one side than the other,” says Bell Equine vet Karen Coumbe. “We don’t know that horses are left- or right-handed — but training from a left- or right-handed person could make a difference. I’d suggest we can be too anthropomorphic about it.
“Any pronounced difference on either rein, or if a horse presents an awkward curve on a circle, could indicate pain. More subtle signs can be hard to differentiate — whether it’s discomfort, habit or just how the horse has been trained.”
The human influence is significant. Before even adding a rider to the equation, many factors predispose a horse to favour a certain side. We generally handle horses from the left side from the outset, and doing so exclusively can cause psychological and physical adaptions as the horse learns to respond, thereby influencing its laterality. Polo ponies tend to be right-handed, due to most shots being from the offside. Racehorses usually run to their favourite side, for example, a left-handed track, which further establishes their preference.
Hannah Bishop is retraining Grade Onewinning chaser Annacotty and finds him very strong in her right hand.
“He’s fine on the left, but heavy and wooden on the right — and he always ran best righthanded,” says Hannah, who rides him in a full cheek snaffle, often advised for horses that lean as it makes the aids clearer. “I’ve had to learn to throw away my right rein instead of fighting him and making it into a big issue. [Showing rider] Jayne Ross has given me helpful suppling exercises — 15m circles, spirals and loops — and I ride away from the arena rails, so he can’t lean on me.”
Inspired by Paul Tapner, Hannah has also tried a tack trick on another ex-racehorse who is stiff on the left.
“I used a Market Harborough and had it tighter on the left just for a few minutes and only on the left rein, and it works like magic,” she says. “Normally he breaks or goes disunited, but I got a lovely inside bend.”
‘So many riders say their horse won’t bend, but it’s because the rider is stronger on one side, and won’t allow the horse to bend the other way’
RUTH MCMULLEN
TRAINER Ruth McMullen, who numbers Pippa Funnell among her pupils, says “if the horse isn’t straight, it’s much more often the rider’s fault than the horse’s”.
“Not many riders are perfectly straight, although they don’t always want to hear that,” she says. “Yes, horses can be dominant on one side too, but look at yourself first. Your balance and straightness must be a help, not a hindrance, as your weight strongly influences the muscles of the horse’s spine.
“So many riders say their horse won’t bend, but it’s because the rider is stronger on one side, and won’t allow the horse to bend the other way. Their dominant side does all the work, so is heavier; while their weaker side has a lighter seatbone and an ineffectual leg. The horse hasn’t a chance of bending correctly if you’re blocking with the dominant leg, and not using the other.”
Ruth can spot immediately if a rider isn’t sitting straight.
“The hips aren’t level, which means the hands aren’t level. The weight in the hips and shoulders is down, which means the dominant hand is also lower. But it’s easy to correct,” she encourages.
Another way to check your own straightness is to analyse photos. Are your shoulders or belt parallel to the ground? Do the buttons on your shirt look perpendicular? There are also rider assessment services such as Centaur Biomechanics.
Ruth says rider straightness must be established in walk — and “it takes as long as it takes”. I once had the privilege of a week’s training with Ruth, and barely broke out of a walk at all.
“The ‘stick exercise’ is helpful: put your stick like a bridge between your two hands,” says Ruth. “You’ll soon see if the stick isn’t level, especially when you’re turning. Learn to relax the strong leg, have the weight equal in both heels, so that bossy side isn’t dominating.”
The good news is that Ruth expects instant results when the weight is evenly distributed.
“People are often surprised their horse suddenly goes on the correct lead after going through the walk process,” she says. “But he may have developed stiffness on your weaker side, so it will need more work.”
Ruth counters that sometimes it isn’t just the rider’s fault.
“If the horse really is one-sided, get a good back person to check it,” she advises. “Horses have things go wrong, just like you. But don’t reach for artificial aids — they compound the problem rather than tackling the source.”
She also recommends riders regularly see a chiropractor, practise Pilates, and do yard chores, such as sweeping and carrying buckets, with the non-dominant hand to even them out.
BESIDES working on the rider, there is plenty you can do to improve a horse’s one-sidedness. Marijke de Jong describes “straightness training” as “systematic exercises to develop the horse symmetrically” — or “horse Pilates or yoga” — first in-hand and lunged, then ridden. The foundation for these exercises is a circle, “to teach the horse to find his balance on his inside hindleg”.
Daily baited (carrot) stretches (see box, above) create flexibility by stretching the tight muscles and strengthening the weaker ones as the horse stabilises himself during the stretch.
Experts advise not overdoing the ridden work on the horses’ weaker side.
“This is a common mistake,” says Emily. “The horse struggles this way anyway, and you can turn it into a big deal, perhaps tensing up on his bad rein too, resulting in the horse also shutting down mentally. Work on the easy side first, then compare the difference — is he falling in, falling out? When you spot the difference, try to correct it, but only for a few steps before returning to the better rein. But you will need to keep working on it — allowing a horse to work unevenly exacerbates the situation.”
You should also take into account the horse’s age and history — a long-term problem will not repair overnight. Sometimes you may just have to make a horse as comfortable as possible.
Jane Scarisbrick’s Keira has a vertical dent 15cm long in her girth area on her weak side — so there is an obvious physical weakness.
“We have no idea of its origin, but we’ve always had her back done, saddle and teeth checked, etc,” says Jane. “We’ve just worked around her problem.”
Like humans, few horses are truly ambidextrous, but with so many possible influences, there’s plenty we can do to help them.