*photo from yourhorse.co.uk*

Keeping your horse straight to a jump is one of the many things on the checklist as you ride through your course. A great exercise to fix that problem is to set a pole or cavaletti (preferably one that has a stripe in the middle) in the ring on the rail or on the track of a large circle. Pick up a left lead canter and as you come around to your pole focus on the middle target of the pole. If you feel your horse leaning to the inside or turning before the pole keep your outside leg on him at the girth and shift both hands slightly to the outside to get him off his inside shoulder and onto his outside shoulder and haunch. Take your outside (right) hand about three inches away from his neck, for a leading or opening outside rein, and bring your inside (left) hand slightly across his crest in front of the withers - an indirect rein. If you feel him wanting to bulge or shift his haunches to the outside of the track bring your outside leg slightly back and on.

When you're comfortable looking ahead and keeping your horse straight on the circular track add another pole onto a different circle and exercise over a figure of eight. As you begin to advance with this exercise you can raise the poles to jumps.