Straightness...

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severnmiles

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I've been taught straightness is one of the most important things in dressage/flatwork. Not long watched Dickie Waygoods test at Blenheim and his horse didn't look straight, it looked like it was flexing to the inside alot.... which is correct?
 
Ok firstly NO DRESSAGE EXPERT HERE
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But.... when I think of straightness I always think of it in relation to the hindquarters being in line with the shoulders? That to me is starightness, there can be inside bend in the head & neck but the body must remain straigh in order for the horse top come from behind? If that makes sense?
 
Ive always been taught that the horse should work on 2 tracks. The neck, shoulders and back end should all the straight. When the horse is straight you can start asking for a slight bend to the inside but it sould come from the head and you should just about be able to see the horses eye lashes.
 
Which horse was he riding? the chestnut (fred) or my friends horse dark bay (winnie)? whose just about to have a foal YAY!

I was under the impression that the horse had to be straight hind legs working into the front foot falls.
The head and neck should be straight also, unless of course working on a circle, however, even then with slight bend, although the body is more curvy.
I use a suppling exercise which works well by bending the horse to the inside on a straight line but again you must bring the horse back straight once the horse gives to you.
Im crap at explaining.... i know what i mean lol
 
Thats what I was taught, and when on a circle you should just be able to see the inside eyelashes!

"Which horse was he riding? the chestnut (fred) or my friends horse dark bay (winnie)? whose just about to have a foal YAY!"

???
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I dont believe that having the horse over flexed to the inside was a suppling exercise in this instance. I also dont think 'Dickie' meant to have Fred so bent. You were right with your first assumption!
Straightness relates to the hind hooves stepping into the foot prints of the fore legs. This includes being on a circle. Flextion is the slight curve of the body around the inside leg and should be uniform through the length of the body i.e from the poll to the tail. The feeling in the hand should be even .
Many people pull the bend infront ,with out taking the outside shoulder around the turn, turning the whole horse infront of the inside leg or supporting the outside hind leg, by just holding the bend on the inside the horse will tend to fall on the inside shoulder and step out with the outside hindleg, and therefore not engaging the inside hindlegand thus no longer remaining on two tracks.
So Severnmiles you are right staightness is important because without it you are not going to be able to correctly collect the horse . Think in future i would watch Ruth Edge!!! especially when it comes to dressage!!!
 
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"Which horse was he riding? the chestnut (fred) or my friends horse dark bay (winnie)? whose just about to have a foal YAY!"

???
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Dicky Waygood, you plum lol you were watching him at blenheim you said LMAO
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It was probably a deliberate exercise to supple the horse up. There is a common phrase "you must bend him to make him straight"!

Dutch

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It was during a 3* test.
 
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Dicky Waygood, you plum lol you were watching him at blenheim you said LMAO
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Fred!! LOL Sorry it was the afternoon I had my head in the clouds!
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