Category Archives: Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Life and Random Thoughts about Gaited Dressage

By Jennifer Klitzke

I hope your Spring is off to a great start! After six month of winter’s dark and cold, I was chompin’ at the bit for sunshine and ridable terrain to be back in the saddle and riding my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana and my friend’s naturally gaited fox trotting mare Lady. Thankfully, I’m back riding again. I hope you are, too!

Lady FoxtrotFirst off, I have great news: Lady, my friend’s fox trotting horse, has officially become a part of my family. Lady has been boarded at my place the last three years and my friend feels called to other time commitments in life. She has turn Lady over to my care, yet she knows that any time she wants to ride, she is more than welcome!

At the same time, due to my aging parents, a full time job, and the demands of life, I had to part with my once-in-a-lifetime Spanish Mustang, Indy, who had made many of my life-long dreams come true: cross country, endurance, stadium jumping, trail obstacles, dressage, and more.

NAWD Basic 3 stretch trot 1
My Spanish Mustang Indian’s Legend showing a jog by allowing the horse to stretch its head and neck out and down.

Indy was missing our continual weekend adventures that I no longer had time for during my Dad’s grave illness and my Mom’s need for our assistance on the weekends. I sold him back to the owner I purchased him from. Now Indy is living the trail horse dream. Here’s Indy’s story»

050617 Lady jumpingOn the bright side, Lady possesses many of Indy’s brave qualities, so who knows, after we get her canter consistently well established on both leads, maybe we’ll be back competing at these same events–only as a gaited duo!

So, now that it’s been Spring, here’s what’s been percolating since I began riding…So much of my focus has been on the depth of stride from behind. Lately I’ve been contemplating about fore stride in addition to the hind leg stride as it relates to head nod, throughness, connection, balance, engagement, rhythm, shoulder scope, and following the horse’s natural movement with my arms and seat.  It seems the more I follow the natural motion of the horse, the more freedom I’m seeing in the horses I ride.

Video: Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse Flat Footed Walk

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Naturally Gaited Dream Ride

Balanced flatwalk

By Jennifer Klitzke

Have you ever had a special ride with your naturally gaited horse that you replay in your memory as one of those “dream rides”?

I had one of those “dream rides” today. Yes, it happened to be on a sunny, spring day after a week of gray rainy, no-ride days.

Never-the-less, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, was as happy to be ridden as I was riding her.

She had all of the ingredients for a dream ride: naturally balanced, relaxed, and forward with rhythm, and a beautiful head nod. We had harmony in our engaged, deep striding even four beat flat-footed walk. Makana felt soft and supple; relaxed yet energetic, and maneuverable and responsive to my leg, seat, and rein aids. She felt lifted in the head, neck, and withers with each deep-swinging head nod in timing with her hind leg steps.

Her head and neck nod came from thoroughness and connection: from the hindquarters, through her engaged abdominals which lifted her back and whither to lighten her forehand and free her shoulders and through my seat and following arms and hands with her head and neck motion to the bit.

I embraced every euphoric moment.

Yet, the exquisite steps didn’t last forever. No worry, each time I felt Makana lose her balance, by beginning to rush or lean into my hands, I would regroup with a half halt by stilling my seat and lower back and squeezing my hands on the reins to slow down her tempo. Then I lifted her head and neck with my hands massaging the reins upward with my palms facing up. As soon as she was no longer leaning on the bit, I asked for engagement from behind and tickled her belly with my heels to lift her back in a frame of balance, and sent her off into a proud flat-footed walk.

What an amazing feeling!

Video: Flat-footed Walk

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Video: How Dressage Improves Quality Smooth Gaits

Video

In this video, I show how dressage improves smooth gaits with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse.

No heavy shoes, pads or chains. No harsh bits or long spur. No artificial enhancements or gadgets.

I trained my barefoot Tennessee walking horse using dressage.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Overcoming Riding Fear, Western Gaited Dressage

Gaited Dressage for the Trail Horse

Gaited Dressage for the Trail Horse

by Jennifer Klitzke

Have you longed to learn dressage with your gaited horse, yet have a trail horse that detests arena work? That’s me and Lady.

Gaited Dressage for the Trail Horse

Not all horses are wired the same. That includes my naturally gaited fox trotting horse Lady. I began riding her in the arena, because that’s how I’ve introduced all of the horses I’ve ridden to dressage over the years.

Lady is a marvelous trail horse, and I quickly discovered that she didn’t understand the purpose of riding in an arena without a change of scenery!

Gaited dressage on the trailInstead of fighting with her, I brought Lady to her happy place—the trail. And that’s where we work on our gaited dressage. We use natural obstacles to maneuver around such as trees and the fire pit. Then we leg yield from one side of the path to the other, followed by a soft halt, and a gentle and slow rein back, to a slow balanced walk, and then transition to her easy gait before transitioning back to a free walk on a long rein.

Gaited dressage on the trail helped our training in 5 ways:

1) Passenger to Participant

Instead of being a passenger and let Lady follow the trail, I became an active participant in our relationship through the exercises and transitions,

2) Tuning Me Out to Listening

By being present with Lady and guiding our travels, it gave gave her a reason to stay dialed in to me instead of just following the trail.

3) Tension to Harmony

During our ride on the trail Lady lost the tension she had in the arena and we developed more harmony.

4) Fight and Flight to Trust

Working together on our journey through the woods helped Lady and I develop a partnership of trust. Lady began to listen to me for the next cue, release and reward. This helped establish me as the trusted leader of our relationship where Lady looked to me over her fight or flight defenses.

Gaited dressage on the trail5) Developing the Basics of Gaited Dressage

While on the trail, we began to ride the elements of a low level gaited dressage test by establishing relaxation, rhythm, balance, connection, and forwardness, as well as developing harmony and softness. While I worked on applying effective aids and reinforcing a balanced riding position.

Lady seemed happy working gaited dressage on the trail.  Come to think of it, so did I.

Dressage on the trail has become a new kind of training for me—training without walls in the beauty of nature which feeds my soul while freeing me of the rigidity and perfectionism that often plague me in the arena.

Let me know your thoughts if you’ve given dressage on the trail a try.

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse, French Dressage for Gaited Horses

Following Arms & Rubber Band Fingers

Following the Head and Neck Motion

Many gaited riders choose to ride still or to ride with a long floppy rein. So, why follow the natural head and neck motion of the gaited horse with relaxed arms, shoulders, hands and fingers? If dressage is your riding style, here’s something to consider.

Following the Head and Neck of the Gaited Horse with Relaxed Arms & Rubber Band Fingers

By Jennifer Klitzke

When I returned from my Seattle vacation last Fall, I was excited to try out all I learned from Nichole Walters, a student of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl. I was especially curious about following the natural head and neck motion of my naturally gaited horse with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands.

Granted, I rode non gaited horses at Nichole’s farm. Yet a trotting horse walk expresses an even four-beat gait. The head and neck nods naturally with each step. This is where Nicole encouraged me to relax my shoulders, back, and arms so that I would follow the horse’s motion.

It got me thinking. This seemed like a direct take-a-way for how I ride my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and fox trotting horse. It was critical that I learn to follow the natural head and neck motion while maintaining a light, even contact.

After publishing the video: Following the Motion of the Head Shaking Horse, I received a great tip from someone on the Naturally Gaited Facebook page. Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms, a women encouraged to open and close my fingers with each head nod. This is what I call “rubber band fingers.”

I began giving this idea a try with both my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and my fox trotting mare.

Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms and rubber band fingers are leading my naturally gaited horse into:

  • Relaxation: relaxed in the mind and relaxed in the jaw and back which will help break up pace.
  • Balance: so my naturally gaited horse will carry equal weight on all four legs and not be heavier on the forehand or leaning on the bit.
  • Rhythm: that my naturally gaited horses tempo is even, steady, forward, and not rushing.
  • Engagement: that of the hind leg steps deeper under the body more than trailing behind the tail.
  • Straightness: so that the shoulders are carrying equal weight and the horse isn’t leaning on the inside shoulder or bulging the outside shoulder.

I am seeing great results from combining these elements. My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse’s head nod is more defined and regular in timing with the hind leg steps. Her rhythm is more even, and she seems more forward and engaged from behind.

Video: Following the Motion of the Head & Neck

I hope you find this video helpful. Please let me know your thoughts by completing the contact form.

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