If I encounter resistance in French dressage, does it mean I am doing it wrong? Or does it mean French dressage is not for naturally gaited horses? Is resistance to be expected? Then how can it be overcome?
Here’s my story…
Resolving Resistance with French Dressage
By Jennifer Klitzke
I have been inspired and have learned so much through my French dressage DVD and book study over the years. I love the harmony the riders have with their horses and how happy the horses express themselves. Thankfully, my horses are happy most of the time. However, resistance pops up when I ask for something new or challenging. How do I know? Their body language says, “NO!” When I ask, they immediately tense, swish their tail, or rush. This doesn’t look like the harmony I see on the DVDs.
Clearly, I am nowhere near the expertise of the French dressage masters shown on the DVDs. This makes me wonder: Am I doing French dressage wrong when I experience resistance? Am I the one creating the resistance? How do I negotiate moving forward in training with my naturally gaited horses without resistance? Is a resistant-free relationship with horses possible? Have my naturally gaited horses reached their fullest potential?
Or could it be resistance is part of any relationship―horses and humans? The differences are whether I acknowledge or avoid resistance and how I work through it.
Think about it. How successful is avoiding conflict with the people in our lives? Every time we avoid conflict or pretend it isn’t there, the conflict doesn’t go away. It seems to grow bigger when unaddressed. A small conflict becomes all consuming. Now we wish we had addressed it when it was a small matter, right? I wonder if this could be the same for conflict with our horses?
Perhaps resistance means a need for clarification. Perhaps resistance means, let’s slow down, take it step by step and better understand each other. Let’s negotiate through this to a positive outcome where our relationship can be even better on the other side. Perhaps resistance is an opportunity to help my horses experience the potential they haven’t yet realized. Perhaps resistance is an opportunity to seek others for more education to better communicate with my horse.
My naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana, is light to the hand at the halt and walk, yet heavier at a flat walk and canter. I feel like I am in a perpetual demi arret (lifting of the hands). I wonder, “Am I doing French dressage wrong? Is French dressage not for naturally gaited horses?”
For my naturally gaited horse Lady, we have made tremendous improvement this summer by applying French dressage: acceptance of the bit, relaxation of the jaw, tasting the bit, flexions and counter bend turns to move the shoulders. We have established a light following contact with the reins at a halt and walk. Yet, when we move from walk to fox trot, she gets heavy in my hands unless I ride her in a floppy rein. I feel like I am doing a perpetual demi arret to keep her from leaning on my hands. Again, I wonder, “Am I doing French dressage wrong? Is French dressage not for naturally gaited horses?”
Or could it be a mix of application and communication through conflict?
Meeting resistance with dialogue
In October 2020, I was thrilled to bring my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, to another French dressage clinic with Linda Kaye Hollingsworth Jones. In addition to my lessons and auditing the other rider’s sessions, I brought my questions.
Linda has forty years of horse training experience and rode each horse to help instruct the rider. She quickly discovered the horse’s asymmetry to help the rider develop a program that can improve the horse’s balance, strength and flexibility.
What do you think occurred each time asymmetry was addressed with a horse? Resistance. For me, watching her calmly address and resolve resistance with French dressage answered many of my questions.
I witnessed astonishing transformations as Linda worked with each horse through resistance. For some horses, it meant stepping under the body with the inside hind leg an inch or two more for greater collection and expression. For others, it meant lightness to the leg bringing responsiveness to the lightest cue. For others it meant clarifying aids.
Yes, resistance is a realistic part training horses and French dressage is a humane and kind way to work through it for the best outcome.
Afterwards, one of the auditors asked, “How do you know if the resistance means the horse is unclear or unable to do what is requested?”
“Great question,” Linda replied, “Forty years of horse training.”
Linda’s answer is why I keep pursuing more knowledge through reading books, watching DVDs and taking lessons.
Effective Timing of the Aids
In terms of the demi arret (upward actions with the rein(s) to say to the horse “stop leaning on the bit”), the trotting horse riders struggled with heaviness in trot and canter just as I have in gait and canter. Linda helped us understand the importance of effective timing in the demi arret and décent des mains (stop acting with the hands). The demi arret needs to be applied BEFORE the horse thinks about leaning on the bit and BEFORE the horse is heavy.
Seeing that both resistance and heaviness exist with the non-gaited horses encouraged me to know this is not a gaited horse issue.
Downward canter transition without collapsing onto the forehand.
Linda coached me and my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse through resistance to a better outcome. Traver-walk transitions began to transform Makana’s lateral left lead canter into a more quality three-beat canter. The pro-active pre-timing and application of our demi arret and décent des mains kept our canter light. Our canter transitions and piaffe quality had improved over the previous clinic.
For me, this clinic answered my questions. French dressage is a way to resolve resistance in the most humane way to a better outcome instead of avoiding conflict and staying stuck. Persevering with an instructor who is in the know helps me discern what is possible and dialogue through conflict to a better ending.
Resistance doesn’t look like harmony. Neither does avoidance. When resistance is met with understanding, kindness, and an educated rider, resistance leads to harmony.
Yes, French dressage is for naturally gaited horses, too! Thanks to French dressage, we are working on upper-level movements, such as shoulder-in, haunches-in, renver, half pass, walk pirouettes, counted walk, half steps, and piaffe which are improving her balance and the quality of her canter.
Piaffe is a great exercise for the naturally gaited horse to improve canter quality and diagonalize lateral gaits.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and I put 7 years of DVD and book study to practice at the Légèreté clinic with Linda Kaye Hollingsworth-Jones.
USA Légèreté with Linda Kaye Hollingsworth-Jones
By Jennifer Klitzke
In October 2019, owners Rick and Kari of the Schmitt Training Center in Sommerset, WI hosted the first Midwestern Légèreté clinic with Certified Master Instructor Bertrand Ravoux from France. This year COVID-19 put a halt to Bertrand’s USA travels. We’ve also learned that further clinics with him need to be filled with committed instructor-in-training students to expand USA Légèreté.
So this year Rick and Kari reached out to USA Légèreté Level One Certified Instructor Linda Kaye Hollingsworth-Jones of Idaho to continue our study. I was thrilled to participate as a student with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana. She was the only gaited horse among impressive breeds: Lusitano, Zweibrücken, Selle Français, Holsteiner, Dutch Warmblood, Norwegian Fjord, Arabian and Thoroughbred. Horses and riders ranged from starting Légèreté to those schooling, extended trot, tempe changes, and piaffe.
My DVD library of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl that I continue to resource as I learn this method with my naturally gaited horses and trotting horses.
Last year’s clinic with Bertrand Ravoux was a perfect introduction to Légèreté. This year, Linda’s clinic took me to the next level of understanding. Not only is she a knowledgeable and experienced rider, trainer and teacher of Légèreté, she is hilarious, personable, and gives each student and horse 110% attention.
The first day, Linda began by riding each horse through the Légèreté program to realize the horse’s needs.
The Légèreté program begins at a slow, organized walk in this sequence of exercises:
Fléchi droit: stretching the outside neck muscles while the horse’s body remains straight
Neck extensions: stretching the spine and top line while maintaining balance
Counter bends: checking shoulder mobility
Shoulder in and haunches in on a circle: checking hindquarter mobility
Transitions between shoulder in and haunches in along the wall in preparation for half pass
Half pass to reverse pirouette
Then checking the trot (or gait) and canter
We watched Linda ride each horse in relaxation and lightness to the hand and leg through this sequence of exercises and beyond. We watched her organize her aids to organize each horse into balance. Within 20 minutes, we even watched her ride the advanced horses in extended trot, tempe changes and piaffe!
Riding unfamiliar horses. Horses that didn’t know her. Some were new to the program of Légèreté. Within 20 minutes Linda had a plan to meet each horse’s needs. This truly demonstrated her vast riding and training knowledge and abilities. Plus, she had the endurance to provide each student 110% through the three-day clinic. Wow!
Each student rode the remainder of the lesson(s) while Linda coached them through the program of Légèreté and into their horse’s training needs:
Teaching the rider to organize their rein, leg, seat and weight aids
Coaching the rider to organize the horse into balance, lightness, and engagement beginning at a slow organized walk and then into an organized trot (or gait) and canter
Organized for the horse means as slow as needed in each gait so that all four legs are under the horse’s body mass
Some of the horses at the clinic were gifted with elegant, long-striding movement. This includes Makana, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse who loves to be long from nose to tail. Long-striding gaits make up part of the full range of motion. Horses also need to develop shorter, collected, carrying steps. These body-building movements develop different muscles and a more balanced posture by folding the hindquarters and bending the hock joints. This collection helps the horse sit behind more in order to raise the wither and lift the chest, head and neck.
Since long-striding movement comes naturally for Makana, Linda introduced her to a more collected and organized walk and smooth gait using the exercises and progression of Légèreté . The organized smooth gait is shorter steps that are more balanced where all four legs are beneath the body mass. This is new for Makana as I have always pursued the longest stride length in her smooth gait. This doesn’t mean I replace the long striding smooth gaits, the organized smooth gait is another smooth gait on cue that builds new muscles for the full range of motion.
The purpose of the shorter-striding movements are not to replace the long-striding gaits, rather improve them and expand upon the full range of motion.
Fléchi droit is a warm up exercise that stretches the outside neck muscles while riding the horse’s body straight. This teaches the horse how to travel in a straight line with the neck bent 45-90 degrees to the inside before teaching circles. This exercise teaches the horse to be balanced equally on both shoulders without collapsing to the inside shoulder. It is important to establish this shoulder balance before teaching circles, otherwise the horse will learn to fall onto the inside shoulder.Linda coaching me in a fléchi droit on a circle where I organize my aids to organize the horse to stretch the outside neck muscles while riding her body on the arc of a circle.Neck extension: Allowing the horse to stretch out and down, yet not lower than the poll (between the ears) at wither height in order to maintain balance.Linda coaching me from the fléchi droit to a neck extension to stretch without rushing or falling on the forehand. I raise my hands so that I make contact with the less sensitive corners of my horse’s lips instead of pulling back with low hands that would press on the tongue.Counter bend neck rein turns are the next exercise to see how mobile the horse’s shoulders are. This can be done on a serpentine, circle, square or random squiggle.Linda coaches me in organizing my rein aids in timing with my horse’s front leg steps. First slightly bend to the outside and see the outside eye, then draw both hands over as the horse steps forward with the outside leg and to the inside with the inside leg which shifts weight to the inside shoulder.Shoulder in, Travere or Haunches In on a circle are great exercises to test the mobility of the hind leg stepping under the belly. In Legerete, the angle varies according to what the horse needs in building mobility instead of sticking to a rule of three tracks.After shoulder in, Linda coaches me in organizing my rein, leg, seat and weight aids to draw my horse’s haunches into the circle in proper timing with her outside hind leg stepping under her belly.Renvers or haunches out is another exercise to check the mobility of the hindquarters.Then we proceeded to shoulder in and haunches in along the wall to prepare for half pass. Linda rides Makana from the wall to the centerline in a half pass at a walk. Then at the centerline, she directs Makana into a reversed pirouette.The shoulder in and travere prepare my horse for the half pass. Here Linda coaches me in organizing my rein, leg, seat and weight aids to organize Makana to equally step under and over with the hind leg and over with the shoulder in the direction of the bend.Once Makana became more balanced, light and engaged through the exercises, Linda asks for an organized and balanced smooth gait which is on the fox trot spectrum.Linda coaches me through several transitions of rein back to organized walk. The rein back steps need to be smaller so that she sits behind.Makana maintains a nice poll flexion in the rein back, organized walk, and lateral exercises yet tends to open the poll at the organized smooth gait.Linda helps me organize the poll flexion at an organized walk before the transition to the organized smooth gait.
Then Linda coached me through transitions of organized walk travere (haunches in) on a small volte to the organized smooth gait, as well as transitions of rein back to organized walk and organized smooth gait. These transitions help Makana fold more behind, sit, engage and be higher in the wither and lifted in the chest, head and neck. Her organized smooth gait still has a head nod, yet not as pronounced as the flat walk.
Linda is coaching us with two whips. One asks the hind legs not to step behind the tail and to fold more. The other whip encourages the haunches to bend.Linda says that a true piaffe is when the hind quarters bend and lower, the base becomes shorter, and the wither raises. A true piaffe doesn’t need a jump step. Some horses gifted in passage have a harder time learning piaffe and tend to passage in place. They have a harder time shortening the base.The final exercise Linda coaches us through is rein back to steps of piaffe to canter. Because piaffe is a diagonal gait, it is great for the gaited horse to learn in order to improve canter quality.
For me, being a student with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in this Légèreté clinic connected many dots in my book and DVD studies. Linda thanked me for bringing such a well-schooled Tennessee walking horse to the clinic—something outside the norm (both a gaited horse at a Légèreté clinic and a well-schooled Tennessee walking horse in Légèreté principles).
My biggest Légèreté clinic takeaways with Linda
The importance of being an organized rider
The organization and effective timing of the rider’s leg, rein, seat, and weight aids in order for the horse to become organized
The importance of rider awareness of the horse being light to the hand and leg
Becoming immediately aware of heaviness on the rein with a prompt demi-arête and immediate release when the horse stops being heavy
Becoming aware of the horse’s light responsiveness to the leg and following up with the whip when needed and an immediate cease of the leg or whip when the horse responds
The sequential progression of the Legerete program
Flechi droit: stretching the outside neck muscles
Neck extension: stretching the spine and top line
Counter bends: checking the mobility of the shoulders
Shoulder in and haunches in on a circle: checking the mobility of the hindquarters
Shoulder in and haunches in along the wall in preparation for half pass
Half pass to reverse pirouette
Then checking the trot (or gait) and canter
Then once my horse is in balance, maintain it through the next neck extension; the importance of not throwing the horse onto the shoulders once balance has been established
Redirecting Makana’s ideas of opening the poll at will by teaching her poll flexion
Allowing the horse an open poll is one thing; the horse choosing an open poll is another and Linda helped me become aware of this
The importance of continual transitions between exercises, gaits, and direction to improve balance, lightness, strength, and lightness
Riding transitions often pointed out to me my need to ride more of them, such as preparing Makana in an organized walk on a counter bend volte or a haunches in volte before releasing her to an organized gait down the long side of the arena and transitioning to an organized walk volte at the other end instead of riding several minutes of consecutive unorganized gait
The importance of working the horse’s full range of motion not just the gaits that come natural for the horse
This means educating the horse in stretching and body-building exercises both laterally and longitudinally, actively forward and long elegant strides, as well as slow, engaged, short, balanced, carrying steps to improve the quality of all gaits and full range of motion
Using diagonal exercises to break lateral movement such as improving canter quality using diagonal transition exercises as rein back to piaffe to canter and shoulder in and travere on a volte at an organized walk to an organized smooth gait
Teach the horse how mobilize its shoulders in balance
Last year Bertrand introduced the counter-bend turns to mobilize the shoulders which has made both of my naturally gaited horses much lighter, more balanced and has improved Lady’s gaits
For the horse that is heavy on the forehand (collapsing one or both shoulders) and continually leaning on the hands, a terrific exercise is counter bending the horse just enough to see the outside eye and neck reining with both hands to the opposite direction in timing with the shoulder movements. This is key!
By neck rein, it means that the rider draws both hands to the opposite side of the bend. This teaches the horse to move the shoulders. If the horse isn’t moving the shoulders, then the rider makes sideways nudges in timing with the front leg steps until the horse moves or a light tap with the whip on the outside shoulder. (Don’t use the inside leg in this exercise because it will talk to the hind leg instead of the shoulder). This is also key!
This counter bend neck rein exercise can be done on a circle, figure 8, or serpentine changing the bend at each short side to the counter bend and walking straight between bends to the next counter bend loop. Or in a random squiggle so that the horse has to pay attention to the rider
Friends, I highly encourage you to purchase Philippe Karl’s DVDs and books.
You will not be disappointed. If you live near a Légèreté clinic, it is a must see! There is discussion about having Linda back for another clinic. No doubt, I will be there as an auditor or rider for sure.
I will continue to share approved photos from the Ecole de Légèreté community on the Naturally Gaited Facebook page. Make sure you “like” and “follow” to stay connected.
Practicing flechi droit at home after the clinic.
Stay tuned. I share my application of what I learned in the clinic with my naturally gaited horses in future posts. I am especially excited to apply all that I learned with Lady, my naturally gaited fox trotting horse in helping her be light to the hand and help my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse be more balanced.
Practicing rein back with smaller steps that bend and fold the hind quarters.Since the clinic our piaffe steps are becoming more purely diagonal.
If you are on this gaited dressage journey, I’d love to hear from you. Contact us»
Do you have a horse that walks off the minute you put your foot in the stirrup? Here’s a tip I learned that helps my horse relax and stand at the mounting block.
By Jennifer Klitzke
When my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, was four years old, I took her to her first gaited dressage clinic with Bucky Sparks. I was so excited to be there and begin our gaited dressage journey.
I love Bucky’s teaching philosophy. He blends traditional dressage with practical elements of natural horsemanship. The former is what I came to the clinic for. However, I am forever grateful for the latter as I don’t know we would have learned much of the former if it hadn’t been for the latter.
You see, most of the time Makana stands perfectly at the mounting block until I get on, unless she is nervous. When my lesson time I was unable to get on. Every time I put my foot in the iron, Makana would walk off.
Thanks to Bucky, he showed me a helpful tip that worked that day and has helped me any time Makana doesn’t want to stand at the mounting block.
Watch: How to get on a horse that doesn’t want to stand
How to get on a horse that doesn’t want to stand:
1. Teach the horse to turn their head and neck to the side by slowly and gently drawing one rein to the saddle. Reward the horse by releasing as soon as the horse follows. Relaxation is the goal, not making the horse turn. Signs of relaxation include a lowering of the head and neck and when the horse licks and chews.
If the horse has tension in the poll, neck or shoulder, address these areas individually to release the tension before expecting a soft and relaxed turn to the side.
2. Once the horse understands how to turn to the side and is soft and relaxed, then turn the horse until the horse chews and lowers its head and neck. Then release the rein for a reward. Repeat this a couple more times.
3. Then turn the horse’s head and neck to the saddle and keep the horse turned while repositioning the mounting block and getting on. Then release the rein as a reward and encourage the horse to remain standing.
If the horse continues to walk off while turned to the saddle
During the clinic my horse kept walking off while in a turned position.
Bucky said, “You can’t make a horse stand.”
Don’t punish the horse. Just remain calm to encourage relaxation, keep the horse turned and gently follow the horse around. Pretty soon the horse will discover it is a lot easier to stand in a turned position than to walk around in a turned position.
Sure enough. It didn’t take long for my horse to stop. I repositioned the mounting block, got on, and released the rein. Then we moved on to the gaited dressage lesson I had signed up for.
This tip worked for me at the clinic and continues to work for me each time my horse doesn’t want to stand.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
While both the flat foot walk and the flat walk have a head and neck nod and are even four beat gaits, how can you tell them apart?
Flat Foot Walk and Flat Walk: How can You Tell the Difference?
By Jennifer Klitzke
How can you tell the difference between a Tennessee walking horse flat foot walk and a flat walk? While the horse has a natural head and neck nod and natural four beat gait in both the flat foot walk and the flat walk, how can you tell the difference?
The main difference between the flat foot walk and the flat walk is that the flat foot walk still has a lot of motion in the horse’s back that the rider needs to follow. In the flat walk, the horse’s back is still and there isn’t motion to follow so the rider’s pelvis doesn’t move.
Not only that, both the flat foot walk and the flat walk can be ridden in many variations: free walk, working walk, medium walk, collected walk, extended walk.
Watch this video below:
Flat Foot Walk vs Flat Walk, How to Tell the Difference?
The secret is in watching the rider’s pelvis. If the pelvis is moving to follow each step, it is a flat foot walk. If the rider is still without bracing, it is a flat walk.
If you are the rider, it is a little trickier to discern. Begin to notice if in motion, the horse’s back is still, the gait is smooth as glass, it sounds like a four-beat gait with a head and neck nod with each hind leg step. Then it is likely a flat walk or running walk.
If the horse’s back has a lot of motion to follow with your pelvis, while the horse’s head and neck continue to nod with each step, it is likely a flat foot walk.
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