Do you have months and months and months of winter time off? Then spring arrives and you can’t wait to ride again. Only your horse has grown a sagging hay belly and is desperately out of shape. Now what?

Free Lunging Boot Camp for the Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

Ever since my husband and I moved to our farm, it feels like I have to start all over again each spring after five months off. On one hand, I love seeing my horses every day even though the winters get long without an indoor arena. The downside is having to start the first month of spring getting back to where we left off in the fall.

When I used to board my horses, I rode year-round in an indoor arena during the winter months. This kept me and my horses in shape, and we didn’t have the downtime we have now.

Yet, winter offers me time to read my dressage books. Time to study our videos. Time to reflect on how we are doing and what we need to improve upon.

In my winter studies, I became aware of a few things in my riding that I have started to apply now that spring is here.

Stretching stiff outside muscles

Reading Philippe Karl’s Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage offers many insights about why horses are crooked, the symptoms of crookedness, and a how good dressage program helps horses become ambidextrous and equally flexible. This spring I am making a conscious effort to stretch stiffer outside muscles to become even with the flexible side. Read more>

The importance of engaging the hindquarters AND engaging the abdominal muscles to lift the back

It occurred to me that teaching the naturally gaited horse to engage the hind quarters to step deeper under its body and engage its abdominal muscles to lift its back are two separate functions. Both are essential for top line muscle development. I have noticed that engaging the hindquarters does not automatically engage the abdominal muscles to lift the back to a neutral position.

I wrongly believed that by engaging the hindquarters for a deeper step under the body also engaged the abdominal muscles to lift the back. This may be the case for some horses, but not all.

For me, I had to recognize this on video and photos and then begin to develop a sense of feel while in the saddle for when the horse’s back was hollow and when the horse’s back was neutral.

When I ask the horse for a quality rein back, I feel the back and wither lift. So this is the feeling I seek to maintain. The rein back, transitions between gaits, and a quality canter engage the abdominal muscles and so does a stretching trot.

Now that it is spring, I have started a few new tactics with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana and naturally gaited fox trotting mare Lady. Neither are spring chickens. Both are 16 years old. And both have developed sagging hay bellies over winter.

Getting back in shape starts in the cross ties

While in the cross ties, I have started to apply belly lifts. I poke them in the belly until they lift their back to a neutral position. I ask them to hold their back up for a few seconds. Then I release and praise them, rub their belly, and give them a snack. I do the belly lift about six times on both sides.

Free lunging

Then I take each horse to the round pen for free lunging. Normally I tack up my horse with a saddle and bridle, cross the irons, and loop the reins. For the purpose of this post, I free lunged Lady without tack to show how free lunging in trot and canter improve engagement of the hind quarters and abdominal muscles to lift the back.

Allowing the naturally gaited horse to trot at liberty will not ruin the horse’s smooth gait. In fact, teaching a gaited horse a quality trot on cue can improve the quality of smooth gait.

Below is a series of photos during our
20-minute free lunging session.

I have been free lunging both Lady and Makana for 20 minutes each five days a week. I ask them to travel counter clock wise more than clock wise so that they stretch their stiffer outside muscles.

After free lunging, I work each horse in hand for 5-10 minutes to soften the jaw and poll and encourage the horse to taste the bit. Then I ride for another 20 minutes.

We should be back in shape before you know it!

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