Are all dressage methods the same? Do all dressage applications produce the same result? Let’s take a look.
In 1988, I embarked on a journey to learn dressage. Back then the competition dressage pyramid of training was the only form taught within my dressage community. Mind you, the world wide web and social media did not exist then with moments access to differing applications. So, in my corner of the world, I believed there was only one way to do dressage. This meant regular lessons to prepare for competition and confirm whether my horse and I were ready to move up a level.
However, a pivotal moment in 1995 introduced me to an altogether different dressage paradigm when French dressage master Dominic Barbier made a stop at my corner of the world. The lightness, harmony, and joy he personified with each horse was more like an artistic dance. This creative right-brain approach challenged my left-brain methods and awakened my heart and soul to participate in a two-way dialogue with my horse.
Yet, after the clinic ended, I returned to the competition dressage community to further my education. My Trakehner/Thoroughbred gelding, Seili and I pressed on to compete through Second level.
Seili and I at our first recognized show.
A move northward to rural western games territory forced me to rely on my hard-wired habits from the dressage training pyramid. Seili grew into retirement and my grandma body took shape. Smooth called me by name, and I acquired a three-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana.
With the exception of a few traveling gaited horse and dressage clinicians who came to my region, I continued to apply the dressage pyramid of training as Makana and I moved through Intro, Training, and First levels. From 2010 to 2015 we traveled to a variety of dressage schooling shows willing to embrace the only non-trotting entry. In all we rode over 60 tests.
Showing my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse in flat walk at a traditional dressage show.
Not long after the digital age introduced me to the work of classical French dressage master, Philippe Karl’s School of Légèreté (School of Lightness) and the late Jean Claude Racinet. I purchased a library of books and DVDs to begin experimenting with this different approach to dressage.
A favorite in my collection is DVD Classical Versus Classique where French dressage master Philippe Karl and Christoph Hess, head of the training department of the German National Equestrian Federation, demonstrate and discuss their differing dressage methodologies. It has been rewatched enough I need a fresh copy!
While Hess confirmed my competition dressage understanding, Karl challenged my hard-wired habits. Karl’s application of French dressage awakened me to a for-the-horse approach to training that seeks my horse’s response in a partnership of harmony.
Navigating differing dressage dialogues
Trying out this new dressage paradigm, I observed significant impacts on the horses I rode, particularly their responses to my hand, leg, seat, and weight aids.
Application of the hand, leg, seat and weight aids
The competition dressage system taught a back-to-front approach, where I used my seat and legs to drive my horse forward into a low hand position for contact. However, this method led to a lack of true connection.
How? The low hand position made contact with my horse’s tongue causing discomfort. My horse evaded the tongue pressure and tucked behind the vertical creating an illusion of lightness. Plus, his poll dropped below the highest point.
Adding to this, riding was an aerobic workout! I wrongly perceived my horses as lazy and felt compelled to keep them moving forward with each step. In actuality, my melded leg, seat and hand aids created this perceived laziness―much like driving my car with a foot on the gas pedal and brake pedal simultaneously! What a revelation to realize this mixed message prevented my horse’s forwardness.
French dressage introduces a distinct separation between the leg and seat aids for “go” and the hand aids for “stop.” This clarity has brought newfound clarity to our communication leading to lightness and responsiveness and removing the excessive exertion on my part to keep my horse moving forward.
Transforming my riding to the French dressage approach proved challenging. It took time to unlearn habits of combining my aids and adopt a new way of communicating with my horse. Yet, it has paid off. My horses have gained lightness, and now we ride with the poll as the highest point.
How dressage improves quality smooth gait over time.
Makana at the age of 19.
Achieving relaxation and balance
In competition dressage, relaxation grew from riding miles upon miles on a 20-meter circle in a long and low position. While this developed the top line muscles, this approach actually conditioned my horse on the forehand. Moving Seili into Second level was a rude awakening. This meant retraining him to attain the required balance produced through the shoulder-in, haunches-in, and rein back.
In competition dressage, we believed the horse was in balance when ridden briskly forward enough to track up the hind leg steps.
True balance occurs when the head and neck are carried more over the horse’s body mass. The hindquarters engage where the hind legs lift beneath the belly more than push beyond the tail in disengagement. Engaging the abdominal muscles lift the back, and the chest muscles lift the shoulders and wither. This doesn’t happen in a long and low position.
In competition dressage, true balance is introduced at Second level where shoulder-in, haunches-in, and rein back are required. No wonder why it took Seili and I a couple years before we reached a showable Second level dressage test. We had to undo the habit of riding on the forehand to developing a posture of balance.
Few riders I know ever reach Second level and beyond in the competition dressage system. How do horse’s learn balance?
French dressage prioritizes balance and relaxation from the beginning of training. The rider gently teaches the horse how to accept and follow a mild snaffle bit from the ground. At a relaxed and balanced position, the horse learns to carry its own head and neck and not lean on the rider’s hands. The horse learns lateral exercises and rein back, as well as flexions and an extended position in-hand before saddle training.
Neck extension at a flat walk allows the horse maximum stretch from nose to tail and keeps the horse more in balance. When the nose is low to the ground, the horse collapses its chest muscles and is on the forehand.
Karl points out that the head and neck weigh up to 1/10th of the horse’s total weight. Imbalance occurs when the head and neck are propelled ahead of the body mass in a prolonged long and low position.
In French dressage any one position is not held at length. Rather the rider transitions the horse from moments of a balanced position to moments, not miles, of an extended position to stretch the top line muscles and spine and develop the full range of motion. Plus, this extended frame keeps the poll at wither height to maintain a lifted back and shoulders.
This early-on emphasis on relaxation and balance revolutionized my training approach. By prioritizing relaxation and balance, my horses developed softness, flexibility, and poised pride, setting the foundation for quality smooth gaits and greater trust.
Lightness of the hand and leg
Achieving lightness to the hand and leg is a crucial aspect of dressage. Competition dressage taught me how to drive my horse forward with my seat and legs into a low hand position. A higher hand position was frowned upon. To discourage my horse not to lean on the bit, I used draw reins, snug-fitting nosebands, and switched to a thinner bit.
French dressage has taught me a greater respect for the horse’s wellbeing in ways I had been completely unaware. For instance, I never knew that cueing with a low hand position actually presses the bit into the horse’s tongue and causes pain. Pain leads to bit avoidance. Pain also creates tension and for the naturally gaited horse, this leads to pacing. The angle of a low hand position is how a single-jointed snaffle becomes a nutcracker. A raised hand position does not.
French dressage offers a different approach by teaching the horse to be responsive and light to the hand aids apart from the leg aids producing self-carriage. The rider separates the hand and leg aids providing clearer communication between the stop and go aids. The horse learns to maintain the requested tempo through a light leg aid. This eliminates the rider’s need to constantly drive the horse forward, leading to a more responsive and engaged partnership.
As soon as I began separating my go and stop aids, my perceived “lazy” horse became lighter.
Instead of a fixed low hand position, cues are applied with a raised hand to avoid pressing the bit into the horse’s tongue. I also learned how to help my horse relax the jaw, poll, and mouth to teach bit acceptance and guide my horse into various head and neck positions while maintaining lightness. My horse’s comfort leads to bit acceptance and has brought about a more mental and physical relaxation, resulting in smoother gaits.
Bit acceptance
Competition dressage viewed it unsightly for the horse to open its mouth. We rode our horses in snug-fitting crank nosebands, flash nosebands, or drop nosebands to keep our horses’ mouths closed. This conveyed the appearance of bit acceptance.
However, this approach unknowingly caused discomfort for the horse. The combination of a low hand position and a snug-fitting noseband led to tension in the horse’s jaw and tongue. As a result, the horse would grind its teeth and try to evade the discomfort by tucking its chin behind the vertical. Despite my belief that my horse was light and on-the-bit, it was actually avoiding true contact.
The emphasis on salivation as a sign of proper flexion at the poll is also misleading. Dripping foam is not a sign of a relaxed horse, but rather a consequence of an uncomfortable noseband preventing the horse from swallowing.
Discovering the French dressage approach opened my eyes to true bit acceptance. By allowing my horse to relax its mouth and jaw, taste the bit, and swallow freely, my horse became happier, more comfortable, and able to move in a relaxed way.
In-hand exercises teach the horse bit acceptance and to follow then gentle hands through a variety of stretches. Here the outside neck muscles are stretched.
A noseband and flash attachment came with every dressage bridle I ever purchased. At first it was foreign to ride without one. Yet riding without a snug-fitting noseband permits my horse to relax the mouth and lower jaw, taste the bit, and swallow. My horse is happier, more relaxed, more comfortable, and able to move more freely without the braces that lead to pace, step pace, and a hard hollow trot.
Ultimately, the education of the mouth and its effect on the entire body aids relaxation leading to achieving fluid and smooth gaits.
One-way to two-way communication
In this French dressage exploration, I discovered the power of two-way dialogue with my horses and moved away from one-way requests. Our time together has become a harmonious exchange of communication through my voice and hand, leg, seat and weight aids while listening for my horse’s response.
Transitioning from one-way to two-way communication has been a transformative journey between me and my horse. Initially, competition dressage instilled in me a unilateral approach, where my aids conveyed commands to my horse. Resistance was met with an escalation of cues until my horse complied as expected.
Delving into the realm of French dressage opened my eyes to rich dialogue with my equine partner. I learned to not only ask with my hand, leg, seat, and weight aids but also to listen attentively to my horse’s response. Rather than interpreting resistance as disobedience, I now view this as misunderstanding or unable to perform a given request and strive to refine my communication and level of difficulty to ensure understanding. This approach brings about harmony, lightness, relaxation, and respect for my horse.
While competition dressage confined me to the arena in preparation for shows, French dressage has broadened our horizons. Our two-way communication extends beyond the confines of the arena, enriching our experiences on the trail, amidst sorting cows, navigating obstacles, and addressing fences. My horse and I now share a deeper connection that transcends the boundaries of the four corners of the arena, allowing us to thrive in various settings together.
Finally, French dressage challenges the notion that only talented horses can perform advanced movements like piaffe and passage. It welcomes all horses to develop their skills and reach their full potential.
Smooth gaited horses can learn piaffe, too!
French dressage for the naturally gaited horse
The teachings of Karl, Racinet, and other French dressage masters offer:
A deep respect for the horse
Riding for the horse’s comfort
Clarity of rider aids by separating the stop from the go
Teaching the horse to be light to the hand and light to the leg
Developing mental and physical relaxation and balanced forward movement without rushing
Developing connection, straightness, symmetry, and collection to bring about the range of motion and quality gaits
Shoulder in on a circle with Makana, my 20-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse.
French dressage has reshaped my approach producing quality smooth gaits in one of the most humane ways. Not all dressage is the same, but I believe what Philippe Karl says, “If the dressage is good, it will work on any horse.” Naturally gaited horses, like any other, thrive under these principles with grace and harmony.
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