Straightness Training for Horses: movement science approach

Is your horse “crooked”?
Classical training “straightness” is the opposite of a modern movement science approach. We all share the same goals... but with VERY different ways of getting there.
This video shows a fun, simple way to help the horse find All The Movements in an authentic way, without ANY struggle to “get that one hind to step under!” or to bend the horse that resists.

Thanks to Dalia    / @mini11e  
and drone pilot Peter Bill: https://vimeo.com/peterbill

===== RESEARCH
A study I referred to:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...

“With the increasing availability of equipment capable of accurate quantification of equine gait [8], the measurement of even subtle asymmetries has become possible. However, this poses new problems for the interpretation of the data since asymmetry and lameness are not interchangeable terms [9]. No living being is perfectly symmetrical; locomotor asymmetries may be the result of non-pathological conditions such as cerebral laterality, which is manifested as a motor dominance of the left/right side of the body ”

“In the present study, a remarkably high number of horses (72.5%) in training, judged as being free from lameness by their owner, show motion asymmetries. This raises the question whether these asymmetries are caused by pain and/or pathology or could simply be a biological variation.”

“One of the most important questions to be addressed before biomechanical objective asymmetry scores can be translated into pathology, is to which extent pain, dysfunction or orthopedic abnormality and motion asymmetry are synonymous conditions.”
“The high inter-stride variability seen in horses presenting mild movement asymmetries may contribute to the well documented low inter-rater agreement among veterinarians evaluating subtle lameness and may also explain how expectation bias can influence visual assessment when expecting either lame or sound strides after a diagnostic block or treatment. ”

(note: the more important finding in the current literature is actually the LACK of good studies showing asymmetry as a direct injury risk and -- especially -- that “correcting” it will reduce risk. We think of crookedness as a *symptom*, not a cause, so fixing it with specific classical straightening exercises is not the healthiest path. Instead, we look at the underlying reason the horse is crooked, but NOT in the tissues. We look to the nervous system. Fortunately, there are fun and interesting ways -- without ANY resistance from the horse -- to help their nervous system explore and re-establish a larger movement toolkit.


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Love you all!
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My online course:
https://www.pantherflow.com/

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