Gymnastic jumping and ground rails for the gaited horse improve quality of canter and smooth gaits. Plus, it is a lot of fun for the horse and rider!

Gymnastic Jumping with a Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

Wondering how to start a gaited horse over jumps? Join me and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse on our first jumping lesson with the late long-time hunter/jumper coach Len Danielson who has had experience training both trotting and gaited horses.

Video: Starting a Gaited Horse over Jumps

My instructor says, “The trick to jumping is to never scare them“

Fearless, carefree and adventurous. I’ve always aspired to be an event rider, yet fear has held me back. Reflecting on the last four years with Makana, my Walking Horse mare, I’m beginning to see how our experiences have prepared us for reaching this aspiration. We’ve trailered to numerous shows and clinics, ridden through several state parks, the gaited trail trials, and now we’re learning how to jump with the late great jumping instructor Len Danielson. story»

My instructor says, “Forwardness is not an option”

A lesson by the late great Len Danielson on gaining forwardnesss over jumps and cavalettis and redirecting the attention of a distracted horse.
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Improving the quality of smooth gaits of the naturally gaited horse using gymnastic jumping and ground rails

Gymnastic jumping and ground rails have transformed my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse’s lateral canter and four beat canter into a truer three beat canter.

Exercises over Rails with a Gaited Horse

The exercise below helps the gaited horse break a pace canter and a 4-beat canter for a truer three beat canter. In this video, me and Makana work on a couple exercises that have helped us improve the quality of our canter.

The first one is using rein back to bend the hindquarter joints and engage the abdominals to lift the back before transitioning to canter. This has helped position my horse in the best posture conducive for a quality canter.

The second exercise is SUPER FUN! I show step-by-step the process of cantering over a pattern of ground rails that brings more airtime which breaks up a four-beat canter.

Video: Cantering an L-shape with a gaited horse

Video: Showing a gaited horse over a course of ground rails

Showing a Gaited Horse over a Course of Ground Rails

Gift of Freedom, my 8-year-old Tennessee walking horse and I are preparing for our first stadium class at the next schooling show (over ground rails, mind you.) In preparation for the show, I googled the Internet for a basic stadium course that I set up at home with ground rails. story»

Free lunging a Gaited Horse over Rails and Jumps

Video: Free lunging a gaited horse over cavaletti

Video: Free lunging a gaited horse over bounces

I hope these naturally gaited horse videos and stories are helpful to you. Please reach out and let me know your thoughts by sending me a message or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and joining our community on facebook.com/naturallygaited.