"Dressage is more than trot...and the saddle you ride in."
-Jennifer KlitzkeSome traditional dressage riders believe that dressage is ONLY for horses that trot. While many gaited horse owners believe that dressage will MAKE their gaited horse trot. Others believe that teaching their gaited horse to trot on cue will ruin their horse's natural gait.I challenge these notions and here's why...Dressage improves the quality of natural movement in a horse whether it trots or has a smooth four-beat gait.Dressage is a French term for training the horse and rider. Whether a horse is ridden in an english or western saddle; whether the horse trots or gaits, it doesn't matter. Dressage brings about the best natural movement whether the horse walks, trots, flat walks, fox trots, or canters.Why? When a rider grows in knowledge, awareness, and application of a balanced riding position with the horse's center of gravity and applies effective use and timing of leg, rein, seat, and weight aids to communicate with the horse, dressage improves relaxation, balance, rhythm, connection, harmony, engagement, straightness, and collection. These elements improve the quality of movement and the full range of motion. For the naturally gaited horse, this means, smoother gaits, deeper strides, and a sounder horse for longer.Enjoy the journey!
Haunches In: Naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse (18 years old)
Haunches in is an excellent exercise for gaited horses―especially the pacey ones. It diagonalize the horse’s steps, breaks up pace to begin smooth gait.
Since 2007, I have learned so much in my application of dressage since I began this journey with my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana. If I could turn back time with the knowledge I have today, I would have started lateral exercises in hand before saddle training. It wasn’t until 2014 that I began to learn the value of in hand work.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Haunches In (Five years old)
In any case, Makana and I began haunches in exercises from the saddle after she had a good grasp of the leg yield exercises. As with any introduction, the haunches in was clumsy at first. We began with a couple consecutive steps at first, and I added more steps as she was ready for it.
Haunches in vs leg yield
Three ways the haunches in is different from the leg yield:
In the haunches in, the horse travels into the bend where the horse steps away from the bend in a leg yield.
Another difference is that the haunches in is a bending exercise on three tracks while the horse is a fairly straight from poll to tail in a leg yield and the horse steps forward and sideways at the same time.
Finally, the haunches in helps the horse engage from the hindquarters and collect where the leg yield does not. The leg yield is an introductory exercise to lateral movement for horse and rider.
Rider aids for the haunches in
While maintaining a light and even contact with both reins, the rider softens the horse’s lower jaw by squeezing and releasing the inside rein.
At the end of the arena, the rider directs the horse into a volte (small circle) at a slow walk.
Just before the horse reaches the fence, the rider helps the horse’s shoulders, head and neck to remain straight along the fence while encouraging the horse to continue the bend of the circle with the back half of the horse. The rider does this by applying the inside leg at the girth and the outside leg slightly behind the girth.
The rider sits slightly on the outside seat bone and encourages the horse to step its outside hind foot under its belly and towards the inside fore foot.
Viewing the haunches in from the front or back, the horse travels on three tracks. The horse’s front legs are fairly perpendicular to the fence, while the outside hind leg steps under the belly.
Benefits of lateral exercises for gaited horses
Lateral exercises, like haunches in are excellent for the naturally gaited horse―especially for those the pace. Why? Because lateral exercises actually diagonalize the horse’s steps. This breaks up pace. Since lateral exercises diagonalize the horse’s steps, why are they called lateral?
Great minds want to know.
Shoulder In (Five years old)
Haunches in is one of several lateral exercises. Others are shoulder in, shoulder out, and haunches out. These lateral exercises offer other wonderful benefits to the naturally gaited horse. Lateral exercises supple and strengthen the horse as well as help the horse become more flexible, balanced and engaged. All of these qualities improve the quality of natural smooth gaits.
Haunches in on a 10-meter circle: I learned this more advanced exercise during a lesson with Makana (16 years old).
After special times with family, a competitive game of Scrabble, and reading the Christmas story, I saddled up my naturally gaited Walking horse for some walkin’ wonderland.
From my human and equine family to your’s, we wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas! —Jennifer Klitzke and naturally gaited TWH Makana
It has been a rainy summer. I was lucky to have one dry day to film our rides for the Harvest Virtual Western Dressage Show before another storm swamped the arena.
Since the last virtual Western dressage show, I’ve been working on improving engagement with my friend’s naturally gaited horse Lady and it paid off. Lady was the only gaited horse shown in NAWD Intro 2 and placed second out of 11 horses with a score of 64.821%.
Video: NAWD Western Dressage Intro 2
Lady ridden in her easy gait.
This show was the first time my Spanish Mustang Indian’s Legend (Indy) and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Gift of Freedom (Makana) competed against each other in the same show, riding the same test.
Indy placed first in NAWD Basic 3 with a score of 66% and Makana placed third with a score of 58.857%. She was the only gaited horse among the three horses riding NAWD Basic 3.
Video: NAWD Western Dressage Basic 3 TWH-style
Makana demonstrating a flat walk.
Video: NAWD Western Dressage Basic 3 Spanish Mustang-style
Indy being ridden on a 20 meter circle allowing the horse to stretch.
The show had a good turnout with 127 entries ranging from Intro through Basic, Freestyle, Therapeutic, Working in Hand and Versatility for Youth, Adult Amateur, and Open.
Dressage training has helped my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse with her rhythm, relaxation, connection, impulsion, straightness, and collection. Yet quickness hasn’t been something I have practiced on a regular basis, and it really becomes apparent when we sort cows.
Recently I took my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse mare Gift of Freedom (Makana) to a Wednesday evening cow sorting league. We are clearly the odd ball in the group among quarter horses that are naturally built for this sport. These horses are highly engaged from behind and can lope, stop, pivot and spring off in a new direction in half a second.
Will my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse ever be as quick and responsive as the quarter horses? Not likely, but being lowest on the pecking order seems to motivate her. Makana LOVES having something to push around. Each week we get better at moving the cows from one pen to the next in order, and have more clean rounds than DQs.
Watching the riders warm up their quarter horses, I’ve noticed that they often use rollbacks as an exercise of choice, so I began adopting rollbacks into our warm up.
Rollbacks have great benefits. They increase engagement and make her think about quickness and responsiveness. This is helping us in the hole as we attempt to keep the unsequenced cows from sneaking through before their turn.
P.S. As a side note, I show up at sorting league as a cross dresser: my horse wearing Western attire and me wearing breeches, half chaps, and my riding helmet. I figure if I’m going to be the oddball among all these spur wearin’, shank sportin’ cowboys and cowgirls riding their cowy quarter horses, I might as well go all out!
Video: Rollbacks for the Gaited Horse
(Take it from me, it is easier to ride rollbacks in the security of a Western saddle.)
Finally a way to ride gaited dressage at recognized shows, and I don’t even have to leave home!
North American Western Dressage Association (NAWD) offers several Virtual shows each year. This year they have included gaited dressage in their recognized Virtual shows.
My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Gift of Freedom (Makana) and I gave it a try in May. Since then, I have been practicing the feedback I received from the judge’s remarks and from coaching I received from my gaited dressage mentor Jennie Jackson. I couldn’t wait for the next Virtual show to check our progress.
There have been several schooling dressage shows this spring and summer, but my Father has been terminally ill and in hospice care. I decided to put traveling shows on hold so that I can spend more time with my Dad. Virtual shows have made it possible for me to squeeze in a few showing opportunities without ever leaving home! All I need is for my adoring husband to widget some time between is golf games to record our rides.
In July NAWD offered the Midsummer Celebration Virtual Show (which doubled as a successful fundraiser for autism) and was their biggest show to date with over 150 entries! I entered my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Gift of Freedom (Makana), my Spanish Mustang, Indian’s Legend (Indy), and my friend’s naturally gaited grade horse, Lady. It was Indy’s first Western Dressage show and Lady’s very first show. All three horses competed in the same Recognized Dressage Show without leaving home!
Video: Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Gift of Freedom in IJA Western Training Level 2
I am very happy in how the medium walk and canter felt over the last test—more fluid and forward. Her canter was noticeably more impulsive and clearly three beat instead of a sluggish rather four beat canter. I was especially pleased with our improvement in connection from back to front and its effect on the head nod. Makana moved forward in her medium walk with deep steps from behind and a clear head nod instead of a nose flicking head peck. The judge noticed it too, and remarked, “It was a pleasure to watch the degree of reach with the hind legs and steadiness of the nod.”
Areas the judge encouraged us to work on are more distinction between regular walk, medium walk and intermediate gait; more roundness in canter right; straightness; and squareness and balance at the halt.
Score: 64.091% (1st of 1)
Video: My Spanish Mustang Indian’s Legend in NAWD Basic 3 in his first Western Dressage Test
This was Indy’s first Western Dressage Test. Although I feel like I’m dressed for a Halloween costume party, I am very pleased with how Indy looks in his Western get up. I could be hooked on this Western dressage after all!
Riding the test, I liked how balanced Indy felt overall and how he reached down and out in the freewalk. The judge remarked. “Yeah, baby!!!” Although Indy was busy in his mouth, he wasn’t heavy on the bridle or forehand; I think it was the bit. I usually ride him in a full-cheek snaffle and it isn’t legal for Western Dressage, so I switched to a bit he wasn’t used to.
The judge felt we rode the test well and with accuracy, balance and bend. Areas of improvement are for us to work on improving softness in the bridle. She felt Indy was impulsive and balanced in the jog and needs to work on more impulsion in the canter and softness in the transitions to halt.
I had to giggle when the judge remarked how much she loved my “Fjordie.” We get this all of the time! Don’t get me wrong. I love Fjords, it is just that my Indy is a Spanish Mustang.
Score: 69.844% ( 1st of 3)
Video: Naturally gaited grade horse, Lady, showing for the first time in NAWD Intro 2
This is Lady’s very first show and I am tickled with how well she did considering that riding with contact is something rather new to her and arena riding is something she’s not fond of. Trail riding is her gig.
The judge remarked that she can see how this horse can be a bit difficult—like she might be all ‘go’ and very little ‘whoa.’ The judge said, “I think you are doing a very nice job bringing her along. Movement #4 (KXM change rein at easy gait) showed the real horse: relaxed, engaged and brilliant.” Which really helps me move towards more of that in our training.
Score: 60.357% (5th of 9)
This feedback is so helpful, and the reason I show dressage. I need unbiased feedback from an educated professional as to where I’m at in my training.
From the judges’ comments in all three rides, I feel like we are heading in the right direction in this Western Dressage ‘thang.’ The feedback has given us something to work on until we check our status next time.
Areas the judge encouraged us to work on are more distinction between regular walk, medium walk and intermediate gait; more roundness in canter right; straightness; and squareness and balance at the halt.
The judge remarked that she can see how this horse can be a bit difficult—like she might be all ‘go’ and very little ‘whoa.’ The judge said, “I think you are doing a very nice job bringing her along. Movement #4 (KXM change rein at easy gait) showed the real horse: relaxed, engaged and brilliant.” Which really helps me move towards more of that in our training.
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