Category Archives: Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Back to Fore Connected by Core to Improve Natural Gait

back and fore connected by core

Let’s be honest. How many of us who show naturally gaited Tennessee walking horses are fixated on the hind leg depth and length of stride (the distance between the hind foot behind the horse’s tail to the hind foot beneath the belly)?

I know I have been.

Back to Fore Connected by Core to Improve Natural Gait

By Jennifer Klitzke

There is nothing wrong with striving for the BEST possible natural stride length our naturally Tennessee Walking Horses can offer. However, I realized that focusing on the hind leg stride length is only part of the equation to achieving a quality flat walk and running walk.

Think this through with me.

If the hind legs offer a big stride (the distance between the hind foot behind the horse’s tail to the hind foot under the belly), the front foot stride length distance needs to equal this or else the horse face plant. Right?

Below is the sequence of a full stride of flat walk. Notice the length of hind stride and fore stride along with the head nod.

Hind step
Hind leg stride with head nod, snaffle bit contact and following hands.
Fore step
Fore leg stride with head nod, snaffle bit contact and following hands.

In order to create the best possible natural smooth flat walk, I think back to fore, connected by core.

Here’s what I mean by back to fore connected by core. First, I establish my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking horse in relaxed balance and forward movement without rushing to develop an even rhythm. At the same time, I follow her natural head and neck motion with my hands to encourage a soft contact. In addition, I follow her side-to-side belly sway with my lower legs and hold my weight in my thighs with my core without tensing. Together this helps my horse produce her best possible smooth flat walk with the most over track she is capable of.

When the naturally gaited horse is working back to fore connected to core, the hind footsteps deeper under the belly and under my center of gravity. This produces my horse’s maximum over track along with maximum depth of back stride equaling the fore stride.

091718 hind fore stride length and overtrack
When the naturally gaited horse is working in relaxed balance, with forward movement, and back to fore connected to core, the hind leg steps deeper under the body to produce maximum over track along with maximum depth of back stride equal to fore stride.

How back to fore connected by fore feels

Bringing it all together. Back to fore connected by core feels through. It feels balanced. It feels rhythmic. The chest and wither feel lifted. My horse moves forward without rushing into deep strides with shoulder scope. Most of all, the flat walk is SMOOTH.

So next time you hop on to ride your naturally gaited horse, think back to fore, connected by core.


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

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Piaffe for the Naturally Gaited Horse

Naturally gaited horses can learn piaffe too

By Jennifer Klitzke

Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl believes that the upper level dressage movements like piaffe are not just for the talented horses. Average horses can learn them, too. (And so can naturally gaited horses!)

Piaffe for the Naturally Gaited Horse

Is it possible for the naturally gaited horse, particularily the naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse to learn advanced dressage movements like piaffe? Why not.

For the last few years I’ve been studying the work of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl who believes that upper level dressage movements aren’t just for the talented horses. Average horses can learn them, too.

In addition, I have studied the book Another Horsemanship by the late Classical French Dressage Master Jean-Claude Racinet and the DVD Riding in Lightness created by his student Lisa Maxwell who is doing a fine job carrying on his legacy.

Together these teachings taught me the benefits of the counted walk and its impact on balance, softness, and engagement and empowered me to apply them to the naturally gaited horses I ride.

The photo above is me and Makana, my 14-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse who I ride barefoot and in a mild fulmer snaffle bit. We began exploring the counted walk a couple years ago and are now learning steps of piaffe coming from relaxed  engagement. It’s a dream come true to be learning piaffe and I never imaged that I’d be learning it on a horse that’s naturally gaited!

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Connection and the Naturally Gaited Horse

Connection and the Naturally Gaited Horse

Connection and the Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

What does it mean to ride a naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in connection? Did you know that connection can improve length of stride in the even four beat flatwalk and produce a better quality head nod in timing with the hind steps?

When I ride my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in connection at a smooth even four beat gait like the flatwalk, it feels like my horse and I are traveling as one in rhythm, relaxation, balance, forwardness and connection from her hindquarters through her body to a light snaffle bit contact. All this produces her best head nod at a flatwalk in even timing with her hind steps.

Did you know that rhythm, relaxation, connection, balance, and  forwardness are all elements of dressage to improve the quality of movement and won’t make your naturally gaited horse trot? It’s true!

For me, riding in connnection feels like riding that whole horse feeling!

On the other hand, when my horse and I aren’t in connection at a flatwalk, it feels like I am sitting in the middle of an independent front half and back half of a horse. Her back is hollow, she isn’t engaged from behind, her stride length isn’t deep under her body, she take short quick steps, she doesn’t feel light and soft on the bit, and her head nod is inconsistant and isn’t in timing with her hind leg steps.

The video below offers tips from lessons I have taken from my gaited dressage mentor Jennie Jackson. This video talks about riding the naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in connection to improve the head nod in timing with the hind steps. I hope you find it helpful in your riding.

Video: Connection and the Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse

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How does the Naturally Gaited Horse develop Balance

How does the Naturally Gaited Horse develop Balance

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?

Dressage training pyramid

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.

naturally gaited dressage with a Tennessee walking horse

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?


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

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Lateral Exercises for the Gaited Horse

lateral exercises and the gaited horse

Did you know lateral exercises like the shoulder in and shoulder fore can break up a pace or step pace and develop a more even four beat smooth gait?

Lateral Exercises for the Gaited Horse to Improve Smooth Gaits

By Jennifer Klitzke

Lateral exercises at a collected walk
Lateral exercises at a slow collected walk help the naturally gaited horse develop balance.

When you hear the term lateral exercises, what comes to mind? Do you think of gaited horses? Many people first think of non-gaited horses and dressage. However, lateral exercises offer great benefits for the gaited horse, especially ones that tend to pace or step pace.

Lateral exercises such as the shoulder in, shoulder fore, haunches in, shoulder out and haunches out are diagonal foot sequence movements that can help break up the pace and step pace. This helps gaited horses have smoother gaits like flat walk and fox trot. Other benefits include improving balance to be less heavy on the forehand, coordination, flexibility, strength and communication between the horse and rider.

Speaking of rider, the lateral exercises such as shoulder in, hauches in, shoulder out, and haunches out are great for the rider to learn coordination of the rein, leg, seat and weight aids in timing with the horse’s movement.

For me, lateral exercises have improved the quality of the natural smooth gaits in both my Tennessee walking horse, Makana and grade fox trotting horse, Lady. Lateral exercises break up tension, strengthen muscles, improve communication between horse and rider, and have helped both horses become softer, rounder, more balanced and develop quality smooth gaits.

For me, it has been helpful to become aware of when each of the horse’s legs are in a cue able position and to apply an aid accordingly. It helps the horse understand the lateral exercise more clearly and find balance and relaxation and building greater trust.

Shoulder In and Haunches In

The shoulder in and haunches in are great exercises for the gaited horse, especially for horses that tend to pace and step pace like Tennessee walking horses. Why? Because these exercises have a diagonal foot fall that break up the lateral foot fall of the pace. Shoulder in and haunches in also develop balance, strength and flexibility to the horse.

The shoulder in and haunches in can be done on at a slow walk on a straight line or on a small circle as shown in the video clips below. It is important to do these exercises twice as much in the weaker direction to help the horse become straighter (ambidextrous). Over time the gaited horse can develop a smoother gait.

Shoulder in

Shoulder In on a Small Circle

Haunches in

Haunches In on a Small Circle

More Exercises for Gaited Horses to improve quality smooth gaits.


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

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