Straightening the Crooked Horse - the book

[Perfect_Pony]

Has anyone read this book? Any insight beyond the reviews on Amazon?

My mare has always been weaker on the right hind. She travels even except for dragging the right hind more than the left. Vets, trainers, chiropractors…you name it all agree this is a strength issue but nothing has gotten me past a certain point. As we head for 1st level the one sidedness is rearing it’s ugly head again asking for 10 meter trot circles and 15 meter canter circles. I’d love to know if anyone has used this book successfully.

http://www.amazon.com/Straightening-Crooked-Horse-Gabriele-Rachen-Schoneich/dp/1570763763

[Lieslot]

Personal opinion, I’d say it’s a very informative book and certainly recommend it, but it doesn’t necessarily arm you with a detailed action plan on how to fix your own horse. Their corrective training is most likely (do not know of anyone who used it) very effective, but I think outside their own training center there aren’t many trainers approaching it yet in their specific way.

Nevertheless I love the book.
With regards to working the horse I actually got more out of “Classical Schooling with the Horse in Mind” (Anja Beran), even though only touched on briefly, she suggest a slightly stronger/deeper flexion on the weaker side by means of f.ex. circling shoulder-in on the weaker side more and so on. Exercising the weaker size longer then the strong size initially to level the horse.
She also points out what to pay attention to when doing certain exercises on the concave & convex side of the horse and how to correct it.

I try to exercise a lot on slight inclines, lateral uphill & downhill, and actually mainly in a walk. I find that especially keeping him straight downhill (tends to swing bum out) forces him to use his stifle extensors more, which in his case are quite weak especially on the left.
Correctly bent exercise in walk seem for us more beneficial then bending in trot, where he tends to rush through it all and the corrective effect is lost. So I went back to walk, as slow as it had to be, but tried to put his body in the right place.

[Perfect_Pony]

@Lieslot;3511680

With regards to working the horse I actually got more out of “Classical Schooling with the Horse in Mind” (Anja Beran)

Ah well, lucky me I ordered that book on Tuesday! :yes:

I am on a book buying kick as I have made great strides lately in the clinics I attended, however I have had a couple very bad rides lately on my own. I need more tools to focus my rides during the week. Thanks for the input!

[Lieslot]

Fab, my guess, you will absolutely adore this book!
She explains things so incredibly well!

I read the entire book, however did skipped the parts where she goes into detail of how to ride the piaffe & passage, … (uhm, shall we say slightly above my capabilities no matter how well she explains it :lol:), but other then that awesomely written and I felt like I could start getting back to work with a better idea of how to overcome some of our present issues.
The back section is written by a german vet that really helped me understand what exactly happens anatomically to the horse when ridden etc.
I’d love to hear what you think of the book, once you managed to read through it :).

[Elegante_E]

Haven’t gotten to read it yet but it was recommended to me by my vet who got it as a gift on the recommendation of Hillary Clayton, who’s the big name (or becoming so) expert on horse bio mechanics - she also rides dressage. It’s probably pretty good.

[monstrpony]

I had a look at this book, borrowed from a friend. The explanations of why straightness is important and how crookedness occurs were spot-on, pretty well done, and useful. I did find the sections that discussed their method to deal with crookedness to be a little Parelli-esque in that there was a lot of warning “don’t try this at home” and mention that it was best to have someone experienced with their method to do it. In actuality, I think anyone who understands how a horse’s body works and has control of the parts of their horse’s body (from the ground) can figure out how to use their techniques, but chances are someone with that ability will already have crookedness sorted out and have their own way of dealing with it. But even for those, reading this approach won’t be redundant or un-useful. There’s always something else to consider and it may offer new ideas.

[KrazyTBMare]

Thanks for the topic. I will look into the 2 books mentioned. I too have a mare that is weaker on her LH and gets very crooked b/c of it. We are working through it though and the best exercises my trainer has me doing are HI on a circle esp to the left. This is very hard so once I get like 2-3 steps I let her out of it and then try again. Also SI down the long side helps as well.

I had the same issues when moving up to first… esp the 10m trot circles in 1:4. the best advice, though you didnt ask for any so take it for what it is worth, that I have found with my mare at least is to not focus on straight for too long. Get a few good steps, do something else, do a few more steps, something else and keep building on the straightness to get more and more steps.

Good luck!

[EqTrainer]

I am going to order it tomorrow, along w/some other books thank you PintoPiaffe…

why am I ordering it? Because I am aghasted that the fact that horses are stiff on one side and hollow on the other, is not being routinely explained to people during their riding lessons! So I am curious to see how this very basic subject, that has been around for a gozillion years AND addressed in almost every dressage book ever written, has been reinterpreted. Hmmmm, says EqT.

[grayarabpony]

I started a thread about this book earlier, asking if anyone had read it. Believe it or not, DH, who does not ride (although he wants to learn) has read part of the book, and I still have not even started it. :uhoh: One point of the book was that the authors didn’t agree with the order of elements of the German training scale.

[s_c2]

I’m actually publishing my own book this coming Spring, so I suggest you hold out for it.

It’s entitled “FEI TIPS TO SUCCESS FOR THE COUCH, RIDER AND HORSE”

[grayarabpony]

Wow, that was funny.

[s_c2]

As such, Craig Stevens helped with the title.

[goeslikestink]

[QUOTE=Perfect Pony;3510989]
Has anyone read this book? Any insight beyond the reviews on Amazon?

My mare has always been weaker on the right hind. She travels even except for dragging the right hind more than the left. Vets, trainers, chiropractors…you name it all agree this is a strength issue but nothing has gotten me past a certain point. As we head for 1st level the one sidedness is rearing it’s ugly head again asking for 10 meter trot circles and 15 meter canter circles. I’d love to know if anyone has used this book successfully.

http://www.amazon.com/Straightening-Crooked-Horse-Gabriele-Rachen-Schoneich/dp/1570763763[/QUOTE]

one do not do 10 or 15m circles unfair on the horse when its noramlly a rider issue
crocked people make crooked horses
in less than 5 post all with the same problem–
its a common problem unless you have the correct stirrup lenght and position then the wont be crooked always go large and striaght working the horse in a square arenae as opposed to a round one then he can get straight abd be balanced and more importantly so will you as then you will be even and the horse wont lean
also dont ride how you write-- give on the strongest side of you then the horse wont advade you on your weakest side

look here and follow the link by me to a nother dressage one which also has diagrams for you
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=164976

[Nightlace]

Straightening The Crooked Horse–the bood

I thought the first part of the book, which dealt with the bio-mechanics of straightness and crookedness, was extremely helpful. The diagrams really explained how the horse loads each foot and why. I thought the second half of the book, which dealt with how to correct crookedness, was more of a commercial for why you should send your horse to them for corrective training. The book did not go into specifics of how they transformed the poor, lame, crooked horses that came to them. It just talked about their lunging program and how re-training the rider was necessary. But the first part of the book was informative enough for me to justify the purchase price.

[preferred]

I too was checking this out on Amazon…thanks to their mass email effort:winkgrin:

Before I commit to this book, does it promote any gadgets? I’m old school and choose to not use any side reins, draw reins, lunge rigs, etc except for long lines. Please don’t turn this into an argument against my personal beliefs, I’m just looking to see if this book would satisfy my needs in that respect.

[Lieslot]

No, no real gadgets, other then a lunging stick to position the horse’s shoulder whilst lunging. All corrections are done on the lunge, without roller, without sidereins, just a lunge cavesson.

But really, as those who read it on here have replied before, this book will not give you any tools nor ideas on how to straighten the horse yourself!!! They want you to take your horse to their training center (which I believe is somewhere in Germany ??, don’t remember).
The book is great from an explanatory point of view of why horses move the way they move. The book explains how to fix it in a way it’s not recommended to try it at home yourself.
Crookedness in a horse is approached in a similar fashion as righthanded an lefthandedness in humans and explains how deeply ingrained in the horse’s mind it is. The horse is so convinced it’s straight or shall we say comfortable in its crooked position, it takes a long time to teach it that straight really is more comfortable then crooked.

Again, as a working toolbook, I personally got more out the Anja Beran’s book (Classical Schooling with the Horse in Mind) -also one of Amazon email efforts I believe ;)-, then Straigthening the Crooked horse.

[Perfect_Pony]

@goeslikestink;3515976

one do not do 10 or 15m circles unfair on the horse when its noramlly a rider issue
crocked people make crooked horses

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you. Rider AND horses are crooked, and it’s a process of straightening both.

My mare came to me as a 4 year old out of a pasture, and clearly was better on the lunge one direction over the other before she was even ridden. She has always drug one hind toe more than the other.

Thanks for all the helpful information. I ordered this book along with others recommended.

Also FYI, the authors will be here in California for a 2 week “camp” costing a few grand. Unfortunately I neither has 2 weeks to go to horse camp, nor a few grand to spend!

[JB]

Horses are born crooked. They are generally left-handed, as in prefer the left lead. Some are just more noticably crooked than others.

People are crooked too. Most of the time, if we work really hard at it (sometimes REALLY hard, which, granted, not everyone has the ability and/or desire to do), we can fix ourselves. But even a crooked rider can learn to straighten a horse, as long as the rider isn’t TOO crooked (and what might be too crooked for one horse might not be for another, depends on the horse).

The book is really, really interesting. I don’t think it’s bringing out any new revelations, but at least for me, it’s putting things out there from a different perspective, and for me, it has really made a difference in how I try to see and feel what my horse is doing.

I have no doubt that good trainers/instructors work on straightening the horse from Day 1. But, as we can all judge from the umpteen million threads hear and on H/J and even Horse Care, there aren’t enough of those good trainers/instructors, there are VASTLY more poor trainers/instructors, and far too many riders are only taught to ride off the reins. That doesn’t fix crooked horses, and it usually makes them worse or creates them.

So, IMVHO, this book is GREAT for another view into a singular problem that exists, a very basic problem, and gives you tools, if not exact instructions (there are some), on what to do. It’s not for a beginner rider. It’s for someone who is either working with a talented instructor/trainer (like I am) or who has enough knowledge, but not quite the right kind, perhaps, to get the concept and be able to apply that concept to trying to fix the horse.

[merrygoround]

OK-the “old pill” will weigh in.

Horses like people are born crooked, obviously some people and some horses have fewer problems becoming ambidextrous, or straight.

The classical method for developing a straight or straighter horse has been the classical exercises, the chief of which is shoulder in, after that is mastered, haunches in. And yes, it’s tough on the rider, and yes, it’s a long slow process. But if you aren’t willing to suffer through the learning process,and the training process, understand that there’s no easier answer.

Not especiallly into “classical dressage”. Just into riding my horse straight.

[grayarabpony]

[QUOTE=merrygoround;3522038]
OK-the “old pill” will weigh in.

Horses like people are born crooked, obviously some people and some horses have fewer problems becoming ambidextrous, or straight.

The classical method for developing a straight or straighter horse has been the classical exercises, the chief of which is shoulder in, after that is mastered, haunches in. And yes, it’s tough on the rider, and yes, it’s a long slow process. But if you aren’t willing to suffer through the learning process,and the training process, understand that there’s no easier answer.Not especiallly into “classical dressage”. Just into riding my horse straight.[/QUOTE]

Well, actually there is… bending to get a horse straight on the circle. You don’t have to worry about the horse getting stuck on the outside rein.