How does the naturally gaited horse develop balance using dressage methods of training? How does the rider know when the horse is in balance? Have you ever wondered where balance is developed in the dressage pyramid of training?

Where is Balance Developed in the Dressage Pyramid of Training?

The dressage pyramid of training defines rhythm (regularity and tempo), relaxation (elasticity and freedom from anxiety), connection (acceptance of the bit through acceptance of the aids), impulsion (engagement and the desire to go forward), straightness (improved alignment and lateral suppleness on both reins), and collection (balance and lightness of the forehand from increased engagement). The bottom elements are introduced as one enters Introductory Level and the next highest elements of the pyramid are applied as one works through Training, First and Second Levels. Beyond Second Level all of the elements of the pyramid of training are applied and refined as one reaches the highest levels of dressage.

Competing dressage professionals select a promising young horse, and train and show the horse through the Levels as the horse matures with the hopes of reaching Grand Prix. Professionals say it takes between four and seven years to develop a horse to Grand Prix Levels of dressage.

What if you’re not a dressage professional? What if Grand Prix isn’t your goal? Do you only apply the bottom elements of the dressage pyramid of training with your horse if you only intend on showing Introductory and Training Levels? How does the horse and rider learn balance in Introductory and Training Levels? What does the dressage pyramid of training mean for dressage riders who don’t show? How does the naturally gaited horse develop balance by applying the dressage pyramid of training? Is the dressage pyramid of training the only way to apply dressage that helps the horse learn balance?

The Introductory Level of dressage focuses on forwardness with rhythm and relaxation in the working and long and low gaits of walk and trot or easy gait. Training Level adds contact to rhythm and relaxation as the horse and rider school in walk, trot or easy gait and canter. First Level encourages more contact with the introduction of the leg yield at a trot or easy gait and engagement as the lengthening gaits of trot or easy gait and canter are introduced.

It isn’t until Second Level that connection, impulsion, straightness and collection are introduced through the lateral exercises of shoulder-in and haunches-in and the transition of gaits: freewalk, collected walk, and medium walk; and collected and medium trot (or gait) and canter. These Second Level exercises, gait transitions, and collected gaits are terrific in helping the horse develop balance and help the rider discover the feeling of balance.

Think about it: If few riders ever reach Second Level and beyond how do the majority of horses develop balance? How do riders learn the feeling of balance? What does this mean for the naturally gaited horse in developing balance?

Discovering Balance through the Levels

Beginning in 1988 as an amateur dressage rider/trainer taking regular dressage lessons, it took me and my Trakehner-cross gelding seven years of working our way through Training and First Levels before our First Level scores were high enough to enter Second Level.

Being an amateur rider/trainer means I have a full-time job and riding is a hobby—not something I do 40-plus hours a week. For me to expect the same level of performance from myself as my dressage instructor is like signing up for a gym membership expecting to look like my aerobics instructor by the end of the month. That’s not realistic.

My five-year-old horse and I worked on forwardness in relaxation and rhythm in the working gaits of walk, trot and canter. I spent a lot of time riding 20-meter circles, encouraging my horse to stretch forward and down, and to seek the snaffle bit. As my horse reached for the bit, my arms followed him, and so did my body weight, which encouraged him to be on the forehand.

When my horse turned seven years old, we began to show Training Level. (Back in the day, they didn’t offer Introductory Level.) We showed Training Level until our scores were in the mid-60s. That took a couple more years.

Then showing First Level is when I began schooling Second Level movements, such as, the shoulder-in and haunches-in. These exercises began teaching my horse “balance” with relaxation, connection, impulsion, straightness, and collection, and I began to learn the “feeling of balance” as a rider.

Learning the Second Level movements was like starting over for me and my horse instead of a progression in our training.

For six years I had been driving my horse forward with rhythm and relaxation onto the forehand. Schooling the balancing exercises made this apparent. The shoulder-in and haunches in taught me a new language with my horse with the coordination and timing of my rein, seat and leg aids in order to communicate more carrying power vs. pushing power through the body, bending my horse on three tracks, feeling the whither raise up and capturing the back to front energy in a light accepting snaffle bit contact.

I believe that balance is key. Long and low stretching has its place, as long as the horse is in balance. Driving a horse forward in relaxation onto the forehand does not. Moments of long and low are wonderful for horses at all levels, yet it takes a discerning rider who knows the feeling of balance to know the difference between long and low on the forehand and long and low in balance.

That’s why I believe it is important for riders to learn a balanced riding position and the coordination and timing of rein, seat and leg aids in exercises that teach the naturally gaited horse balance as soon as the horse is mature enough. In hindsight, it makes no sense to me to train a horse long and low on the forehand and then retrain the horse to carry itself in balance later on.

In reflection of this, I wonder if the dressage pyramid of training is intended to be a one-attribute-added-to-the-next-attribute approach to training through the levels or if these attributes are meant to be combined from the get-go to create balance as the horse matures? Or if the dressage pyramid of training is meant for seasoned dressage professionals who can bring horses through a level each year until they reach Grand Prix? If the latter is the case, how do the majority of amateur riders and their horses schooling in Intro and Training Levels learn balance apart from the lateral exercises introduced in Second Level?

My question is, if the horse is mature enough, why wait to reach Second Level before discovering the amazing benefits the lateral exercises have on creating balance in the horse and help the rider learn the coordination of rein, seat and leg aids to discover the feeling of balance?

Balance and the Naturally Gaited Horse

Fast forward to 2007 when I purchased my first naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana. She was just turning three years old.

Our first couple years, Makana and I applied the basics of dressage I had learned from lessons to establish rhythm, relaxation, balance, and forwardness at a walk. I joined a Walking Horse club and took in a handful of lessons from some of the members to help us establish the flat walk.

Then I began attending gaited dressage clinics when they came to my State. Among those I have learned from are Jennie Jackson, Larry Whitesell, Jennifer Bauer, and Bucky Sparks. All of them introduced shoulder-in at a walk because of the benefits it produced in the horse: softness, relaxation, and balance.

As I continue to study classical French methods of dressage, I’ve been freed from the rigid mindset of the only schooling the elements of the level of dressage I’m showing (or the level above that).

In fact, the requirements of showing no longer dictate my day-to-day training. Instead I seek to meet the needs of my horse. When I feel my horse and I are up for a competition, then we will accommodate the requirements of the show for the day. When we will return home, I return to the freedom of schooling my horse according to her needs.

Below are my thoughts in developing the naturally gaited horse.

Relaxation of the Mind and Body

As I continue to study the French dressage philosophy, I’d have to say that the relaxation of the horse’s mind and body (particularly the jaw and back) are key no matter what level we are working at.

My horse needs to be relaxed in the mind and body before I can expect any type of quality training, and I need to seek and maintain relaxation through our ride. Any time my horse gets tense in the body or nervous in the mind, I transition to something that restores her relaxation before continuing in our training.

Many times we transition to a very slow walk and do some steps of shoulder-in. This helps her refocus and gets her really soft in the jaw. Plus, the balance it creates improves whatever work we do next.

Begin Balancing Exercises Early

After relaxation of mind and body are established, I believe that balance is key. Long and low stretching has its place for horses at every level, as long as the horse is in balance.

That’s why I believe it is important for riders to learn exercises that teach the naturally gaited horse balance as soon as the horse is mature enough. It makes no sense to me to train a horse long and low on the forehand and then retrain the horse to carry itself in balance later on.

Learning a balanced riding position and the feeling of balance is the key. I didn’t learn the difference between long and low on the forehand and long and low in balance until my dressage instructor began teaching me Second Level exercises that helped my horse find balance, like the shoulder-in and haunches-in, and I began to learn the feeling of balance.

The shoulder-in and haunches-in required me to learn and apply a coordination and timing of my leg, seat, and rein aids. When my horse found balance, my instructor would affirm, “yes” and I would memorize the feeling.

I no longer wait until Second Level to teach the shoulder-in and haunches-in to my horses. These exercises are too important for establishing balance. Instead I let my horses tell me when they are ready to begin these exercises. When the horse has a good understanding of the rider’s rein, seat and leg aids, and is relaxed in the mind and body, that’s when I introduce the shoulder-in to the horse—first in-hand and then at a very slow walk.

After the horse is well established in the flat walk or easy gait, and the horse is able to perform the shoulder-in at a walk, then I introduce the shoulder-in at the gait for a few steps at a time.

I believe the best way to learn the feeling of balance as a rider and teach the naturally gaited horse balance is by learning exercises that produce balance like the shoulder-in and haunches-in through regular dressage lessons—even if the horse and rider aren’t showing or schooling Second Level.

Forwardness does not mean Hurried

Establishing a forward, relaxed rhythm in balance is the next step. I learned that forwardness and a hurried tempo are not the same thing. This is particularly important for the naturally gaited horse. Rushing a naturally gaited horse in flat walk, for instance, can produce shortened, quick steps that are on the forehand. For horses that have a propensity to pace, rushing tends to reinforce pace.

For the naturally gaited horse, I’ve learned that establishing a dog walk with maximum length of stride has been a great foundation in helping my horse ingrain a natural four beat flat walk with deep strides.

Connection from Back to Front

In order to establish a forward, relaxed rhythm in balance, the naturally gaited horse needs connection from the rider’s use of seat, leg and rein aids in order to distribute the energy produced by the hindquarters  through the body through the head nod to a light accepting contact with a snaffle bit.

Forwardness with connection will produce steps from the hindquarters that are deeper under the body, longer in length from hind foot to hind foot, and produce a quality head nod in timing with the hind leg steps.

I’m curious to know your experiences in learning the feeling of balance and how your naturally gaited horse learned balance. What exercises taught you and your horse balance?

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