Steer Your Horse to Straightness

A horse is said to be straight when he is moving forward with the head neck shoulder rib and hip in alignment says top reining coach trainer and rider Cheryl Mitchell. That alignment can be literally straight if youre riding a straight line but if youre riding a circle the horses body has to bend with the circle line to be considered straight.
That being said Cheryl cautions riders against asking for too much bend. There should never be more bend in the horses body than there is in the circumference of the circle. When the bend in the body is equal to the circle line the horse is straight.

To Cheryl making the reining horse straight not only benefits his physical and mental wellbeing but enhances his performance as well. A straight horse is better able to perform the maneuver youre asking of him and responds with ease and without delay to the riders signals because hes allowed to be more natural she says. Straightness in the stop allows the horse to slide farther and harder. Keeping the horse straight in the spin eliminates overbending which has a slowing effect on the turn. Straightness on the circles keeps the horse from pushing his shoulder which can lead to unanticipated or delayed lead changes.
To help clean up pushy shoulders on the circle and in lead changes Cheryl recommends riding the Wagon Wheel Drill which she adds can also benefit your spin by improving the horses responsiveness to the neck rein.
Begin loping on a circle to the right using the entire width of the arena to make as large a circle as possible. When your horse starts to lean out make a 90 degree turn to the right toward the centre of the circle. Guide your horse through the turn by applying pressure