Straightness Training Success Stories Anybody?

[Watermark_Farm]

@2horseygirls

Curious as to what everyone thinks, four years after this was originally posted? Anyone dive into the program - good results? Or no difference?

I thought I’d chime in. Five years ago my young TB was diagnosed with lumbar kissing spines. I was going to retire him as he was unsafe to ride, despite many interventions.

A trainer friend who is an ST student of Klaus Schoeneich, asked to work with my horse before I threw in the towel. Long short, I sent my horse to her for 6 months, took a clinic with Schoeneich, and had the vet who diagnosed the KS (she also cliniced with Schoeneich) kind of oversee the process. The horse changed fundamentally and it was pretty amazing to watch. His movement and balance at liberty were completely different. Ultimately he was ridden again, had no further symptoms with the KS, and the vet felt it was no longer an issue. I did not do follow up xrays.

Years later, the horse continues to do well. He gets the occasional straightness training session but the changes in his movement and balance have remained.

It was an expensive experiment, but I learned a lot and feel ST is a good tool. I have since watched the same trainer rehab several other ‘hopeless’ horses into useable happy mounts.

I didn’t find Schoeneich, or his book, easy to understand, and the work takes coaching to become proficient at. It is a great tool worth investing in. The trainer I worked with is in Northern California.

[anon68314200]

UPDATE. So I did join this month. There was a free one month trial in July, and if ever offered again, I can STRONGLY urge people to try it out. The program is VERY, VERY good.

The downsides would include that it is a significant commitment of time. Especially if you want/need to get your $ worth out of it. It is expensive. If you can afford to pay the $ and only show up occasionally, then you are in a higher tax bracket than me and good for you.

The library of information is REALLY extensive, and FOCUSED. There is a LOT of text information and a LOT of videos that are just her contribution. But also, there are many videos of students who submitted work for evaluations. Personally, I have found the website tricky to navigate. But I am in the barn 10 +/- hours/day, and my computer skills are crummy. Also, I do not have a desk top, just iPad and iPhone.

The content is not all available immediately, but I am guessing that is not uncommon with online programs. Which means you have to be a “Scholar” for 12 months to get FULL access. And there may even be some more premium benefits available I have not sorted out yet.

For the second and third week of each month, She has 3-5 live classes each day M - F, and some on weekends also. Most with her certified instructors, who are excellent also. All of this is available on replay, but if you can catch them live, you can ask questions and get answers immediately. For even more immediate feedback, there are several live zoom sessions/per day (on 2-3 days) in the fourth week of the month Time zone is 5 hours ahead of me EST in the USA, so that means I am catching the 9 am classes at 4 am my time.

Also a tech issue is you need to get video of yourself for feedback. Most folks are going Soloshot or Pivo. So if you haven’t tackled that hurdle, you will need to invest $ and time and a learning curve for that also. I have had a Soloshot (I got used from a Cother) but now I am actually taking it out and using it several times/week ! the $320 US/month includes one “touchstone” submission/month. Which means you get written feedback (very much more detailed than a dressage test) movement by movement from an evaluator. All the passing touchstones are available for you to see, along with the evaluation. So you have a very solid idea of what the goals are. Leading up to the ‘touchstone’ are video submissions that are evaluated

Marijke is a Tony Robbins acolyte, and there is a LOT of really, very good, personal development content on the site as well. Much of it is repeated in the zeitgeist if you listen to the many podcasts on these topics circulating the globe (and I am now a podcast junky, so I do) but that is a plus in my view, not a negative. Because it is that information filtered thru a specific horsemanship lense.

She take a 4 quadrant approach (R+, R-, P+, P-). Which is something that is also starting to develop in the horsemanship zeitgeist. (Both R+ and R- purists have high ranking members talking about the merits/necessities of the ‘others.’ Warwick Schiller and Susan Friedman being notable examples.)

For the hardcore participants, you would go thru one ‘cycle’ per month where you submit video for live evaluation on the 2nd and third weeks (“hot seat” and “breakthrough,” weeks respectively). Work on homework provided by the instructor, And them submit a touchstone by the end of the month. It really is a structured lesson program online.

So if you have the time to get your $ worth out of it, and you are willing to tackle the base requirements of video, time and patience, then I think it is really excellent material. I have been looking at it for about a year and a half, and finally decided to just try it out. I have looked at several other websites and horse/animal training programs, and haven’t found anything that is even close to this.

The live video evaluation and zoom classes are really where it all shines, for you to get feedback and questions answered, even if it is not your video up at the moment.

[Scribbler]

That sounds really impressive but it’s not cheap and it’s a huge time commitment, like being in a nonstop clinic.

I have coaches local to me that do this kind of work under a different heading, and I’m able to work on my own between lessons. I guess 4 times a month at $75 would be CAN $300, so she’s keeping her monthly pricing inline with good coaching.

I really really prefer IRL teaching, though. I’d never have the time to engage with this much online learning.

Glad it’s working for you!

[Alterration]

I’ve just joined as well, after enjoying the approach a person who is not certified through her program but teaches using the methods took with a tricky horse. It is definitely a time commitment, but unlike a lot of online programs (and I’ve joined a TON of them in my lifetime) there’s a ton of information that goes beyond just the equine space.

I have the need for deep integration of learning - just hands on usually doesn’t do it for me because I need to understand the why. Many instructors in real life don’t take the time to fully explain it, either because they don’t know, or because they don’t understand how deeply I need to engage with the material in order to retain it. I love the theory parts, and the program combines that nicely with practical and also the art.

Marijke also is very vested in helping people become their best selves off the horse as well as on, which is unusual. It’s come at a good time for me, I was depressed and burnt out after dealing with a very difficult job, buying a farm, and dealing with recent empty nesting and the COVID-19 stuff, trying to find my way back to who I am.

It is expensive, yes, but no more expensive than my local coach and there’s way more access and material. I’m fairly sure I could immerse myself 24/7 and still find more articles and content to watch/read/listen to on the platform as well as the live sessions.

I won’t say I’m a success story yet, as like I said, I’ve just joined, but so far I’m really enjoying it. I’ve done online courses from Amelia’s Dressage Academy, Team Tate, Ritter, Savoy, Warwick Schiller, Rien, Bent, Wanless, oh golly I’m sure there are more - I like to have a LOT of tools in my toolbox. So far, this is the highest quality material and deepest learning I’ve experienced yet.

[anon68314200]

Alterration. I agree it is a much higher quality offering than anything else I have seen. Marijke is make this her full time job, And has the help of a techie to run it also. The self improvement (Self Mastery and Habit Stack) content is a really phenomenal portion. (Let’s face it, most don’t generally have their own heads and priorities organized when they come to the horses…). She had reorganized the offerings a few times. Experimenting with different programs since the launch in 2013. She has manufactured instructors and evaluators, and continues to develop her program faculty. It is a bit tricky to get people in USA, Finland, Australia, Czech, France, Germany, Scotland, etc to be available for live offerings, but almost all are recorded and available afterwards.

Intense and costly, yes. But also it provides all that that the cost promises. I don’t think anyone else has the TIME to produce an online product like the STA.

[Mander]

I haven’t done Straightness Training, but I checked it out and the system (online videos, modules, support staff to help answer questions, live sessions, etc) is very very similar to a program I did with my dog last year after covid shut down all the dog training programs near me.

If it’s any comparison though, to get the most out of it I think you need to be pretty self-motivated and organized. I really think you can learn a TON via online training, but the price it comes at is that there is no one showing up at your barn every day to say, “hey you need to do your training today!” or “go watch this video for tomorrow’s session”. The program I did gave you a year subscription to work through 40 “training games” with your dog. If you stuck to it, most people could work through all the games in 2-3 months. I think we did it in 4 months or so, but nearly every day there would be a new post on the facebook page that went something like “I started this program last year and only made it to game 15 before [insert life event] derailed us and we stopped doing the training entirely. I’m resubbing and we’re gonna start again this year and try to get through all 40 games!” Rinse. Repeat.

If you want to try a program like this, here would be my tips to help you get the most out of it and be successful:

• Set aside explicit time to do the online learning. I would do mine in one or two big chunks during the week, but you could also do it in shorter bits throughout your week. Sometimes it’s more approachable to set aside 2 hours on your Saturday morning than 20 minutes M-F, or vice versa. Whatever works best in your schedule. Set a reminder on your phone, block it out on your calendar, etc. Just make it happen.
• Watch ahead a lesson or two and then re-watch when you get to it. I always noticed more details the 2nd time through. Also, if your horse picks up on a lesson faster than you anticipated, you won’t be stuck not knowing what to do next.
• Plan out your training for the week either in your phone or a journal you can take to the barn or something (this helps with the keeping-yourself-accountable part) and actually refer to the aforementioned plan when you go work with your horse. You’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time if you know what you’re going to work on before you get to the barn, rather than pulling your horse out and thinking “I watched those lessons 3 days ago, but now I can’t remember what we’re supposed to do”. Be sure to plan some “review” training in there too, even if it’s just 10 minutes at the start or end of your training. If you’re SUPER organized, you can also use that journal to take notes about each training session to help track your progress and training (full disclosure, I was nowhere near this organized )
• Video yourself constantly and do not be ashamed of the “crap”! This is a part that I really sucked at, and now I wish that I had more videos to see our progress. It sucks to watch less-than-perfect video of yourself, but you have to be able to see and acknowledge your weak areas if you want to improve them.

[Alterration]

@Mander

If it’s any comparison though, to get the most out of it I think you need to be pretty self-motivated and organized. I really think you can learn a TON via online training, but the price it comes at is that there is no one showing up at your barn every day to say, “hey you need to do your training today!” or “go watch this video for tomorrow’s session”.

So true - dedication to mastery is important. In the Straightness Training Academy there are actually quite a few modules about tackling these self-mastery topics. It’s the first I’ve seen anyone really tackle it head-on rather than just a word or two at the beginning of the course. I’ve been going through it systematically (read: boringly not skipping ahead and trying to be dogmatic about the whole thing) and after several days of solid watching/reading, I’m only just getting to the horse part. 9/10ths of what I’ve been doing is setting myself up for success in the course.

On the flip side, no matter whether you stick with an online training course for 1 month or 10, there’s always something that you can get out of it. I’m just being dogmatic about it because I want the certification…and I’d like to try actually being dogmatic about something (not my normal personality or approach - we’ll see if I actually can stick that part out).

That’s what always bothered me about the assumption that MOOCs were unsuccessful because people weren’t completing the courses. No - they got what they needed, and it still benefitted them in some way. Completion isn’t everything! Sometimes the timing isn’t right or the circumstances aren’t right, or you don’t fully understand something and you have to come back and soak something else in.

That is one thing I really appreciate about online learning. Generally speaking you can do that. I can’t go back to a lesson I took 5 years ago and say “hey, now I FINALLY understand what you were talking about…would it have helped if I did this?”. Maybe I’m slow, but it has taken me a long time to really “get” some concepts. Like I thought I understood them, but then another layer shows up or someone says something and a piece of the puzzle unlocks.

[Mander]

@Alterration

That is one thing I really appreciate about online learning. Generally speaking you can do that. I can’t go back to a lesson I took 5 years ago and say “hey, now I FINALLY understand what you were talking about…would it have helped if I did this?”. Maybe I’m slow, but it has taken me a long time to really “get” some concepts. Like I thought I understood them, but then another layer shows up or someone says something and a piece of the puzzle unlocks.

This is actually a key point of the program that I did - which was all about layering your knowledge. So 40 games for a year subscription sounds silly if it’s feasible to be done in 2-3 months, BUT the intent was that you’d go back to the beginning and layer your training up over time and be able to ask questions as you went along. So the first time through, you’re just learning the basics, and you’ll use really high value treats in a zero-distraction environment, etc, but your 2nd time through you’ll start making it more difficult by adding distractions and going different places or combining games together, etc. and so on. It might be harder, or you’ll have new challenges, but you’d have your foundation from your past “run through”, but still have the availability of coaches to ask questions and really help dig deeper into the material and skills.

[anon68314200]

@Mander

If you want to try a program like this, here would be my tips to help you get the most out of it and be successful:

• Set aside explicit time to do the online learning. I would do mine in one or two big chunks during the week, but you could also do it in shorter bits throughout your week. Sometimes it’s more approachable to set aside 2 hours on your Saturday morning than 20 minutes M-F, or vice versa. Whatever works best in your schedule. Set a reminder on your phone, block it out on your calendar, etc. Just make it happen .
• Watch ahead a lesson or two and then re-watch when you get to it. I always noticed more details the 2nd time through. Also, if your horse picks up on a lesson faster than you anticipated, you won’t be stuck not knowing what to do next.
• Plan out your training for the week either in your phone or a journal you can take to the barn or something (this helps with the keeping-yourself-accountable part) and actually refer to the aforementioned plan when you go work with your horse. You’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time if you know what you’re going to work on before you get to the barn, rather than pulling your horse out and thinking “I watched those lessons 3 days ago, but now I can’t remember what we’re supposed to do”. Be sure to plan some “review” training in there too, even if it’s just 10 minutes at the start or end of your training. If you’re SUPER organized, you can also use that journal to take notes about each training session to help track your progress and training (full disclosure, I was nowhere near this organized )
• Video yourself constantly and do not be ashamed of the “crap”! This is a part that I really sucked at, and now I wish that I had more videos to see our progress. It sucks to watch less-than-perfect video of yourself, but you have to be able to see and acknowledge your weak areas if you want to improve them.

Yes that is actually all included in the STA program, and more. Indeed, it is “a full time clinic” as someone described it. But I think that 16 people in the USA and another 15+ have signed up for her new Beginner instructor certification (My calculator was smoking as I realized the $ her online offering must be bringing her currently) It will be interesting to see how many people “make it through” the Instructor course. IF you don’t “make it” then you are moved onto the class for 2023. The Scholars Program is month to month (and I am surprised at how many people can spent $320/month and only engage with the program on and off) But the Instructor Program is an $800 +/- commitment for 12 months. (Depending upon when you sign up, and whether you have access to a printer at work ! + 3 books and maybe + video robot it you don’t have one already.)

I waste WAAAYYYY too much time on FB, so I see this as a way to at least spend that time productively. Also, I love the intellectual and self improvement focus. And no joke, the online video instruction is good stuff.

I am glad to hear that dog training has similar programs. the online animal training ‘thing’ is really hitting it’s stride. COVID only helped with that. And for all the whining and complaining that is done about the Horrible Horsemanship on display everywhere you look, I would think horse folks would be head over heels grateful that such thorough offerings are becoming available.