Straightness and Suppleness for the Dressage Horse

Sabine Ense explains what straightness means and how you can achieve it. Only a horse who is supple can be straight.

German dressage master Gustav Steinbrecht said: “Ride your horse forward, and make him straight!” Almost every rider has heard this sentence before. In some arenas in my native Germany, the phrase is painted on the wall. These eight words make up one of the foundation principles of dressage training. I will explain what straightness means and how you can achieve it.

Straightness Defined

A horse is straight when his body is properly aligned from poll to tail. When he travels on a straight line, he should be straight along the length of his body. On straight or curved lines, the hind legs should step precisely behind the front legs. In lateral work, the horse’s hind legs should move in the direction of movement and should not step out from under the horse.