Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse Flat Walk — Naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse flat walk.

Dressage improves the quality of a horse’s natural gaits whether the horse trots, tolts, flat walks or fox trots. Since beginning my dressage journey with gaited horses in 2007, I’ve met many others who have experienced the same quality smooth results. And there’s more.
Here’s my story.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Some traditional dressage riders believe dressage is ONLY for horses that trot. I was one of them, since I was part of the non-gaited horse world for 20 years. Developing the best possible trot was a prized quality.

Many gaited horse owners believe dressage will MAKE their gaited horses trot. After acquiring my first naturally gaited horse in 2007, I wondered this, too. Dressage with horses that trot is all I knew.

Other gaited horse owners told me dressage would ruin my horse’s natural smooth gaits. Oh, no! Would dressage be possible with my Tennessee Walking Horse? After reviewing the alternative training methods, the big curb bits, heavy shoes, artificial enhancements, and exaggerated movement, I decided dressage would be the most humane and natural training choice for my Tennessee Walking Horse. After all, it’s the only training I knew. We’d give it a try.

What I’ve learned since 2007 about dressage and the gaited horse.

Dressage Teaches the Rider to Teach the Horse

Dressage is a French term for training the horse AND rider. To me, this seemed clique and rather general, until I became a student of dressage. There’s a lot for the rider to learn in order to effectively communicate with a horse.

In fact, becoming an effective dressage rider is a life-long pursuit. That’s what makes dressage my passion. Dressage is never boring, and I take it with me and my horse wherever we go and whatever we do. The relationship it develops between us is meaningful. There is nothing clique or general about this!

My Trakehner/thoroughbred, Seili in 2013 at 29 years old.

When I began riding dressage in 1988, the German form is all that existed where I lived. I took regular lessons from a wonderful and kind instructor for twelve years with my gifted Trakehner / Thoroughbred gelding, SeilTanzer (Seilie) and spicy-hot Arabian mare, Tara.

Is Dressage French or German?

During that time, I often wondered, “If dressage is a French term for training the horse and rider, where did German dressage come from, and is it the same thing?”

Jennifer Klitzke and SeilTanzer at the 1995 Dominique Barbier Clinic Jacqurei Oaks

Then in 1994, an eccentric Frenchman, a student of the late Nuno Oliveira, began traveling to my area for clinics. His name, Dominique Barbier. Feeling like a traitor to my German dressage instructor, I audited the clinic to see what French dressage was all about.

Loving the pure joy and harmony between horse and rider, lightness of aids and balance of the horse, I signed up to ride for the next few clinics. I longed to experience a different kind of connection with my horses that French dressage offers.

German dressage and French dressage have some similarities and many differences. You can learn more by reading this story: Can German Dressage and French Dressage Co-exist?

In a broad concept, both German dressage and French dressage teach the rider how to develop the horse’s best natural gaits through a variety of strength and flexibility exercises to improve the horse’s symmetry and balance to develop gait quality.

Through lessons, the rider learns effective use and timing of leg, rein, seat, and weight aids to lead the horse into the elements of dressage: relaxation of mind and body, rhythm, connection, forward movement without rushing, straightness, and collection. These elements help the horse develop full range of motion for quality gaits and long-term soundness.

Thinking about my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, “If dressage teaches elements to produce quality gaits, why can’t these elements be taught to the naturally gaited horse to develop quality smooth gaits?”

They can!

Dressage is More than Trot

To develop quality smooth gaits with your naturally gaited horse, dressage can teach you how to:

Lead your horse into relaxation of mind and body to break pace for more even four beat gaits
Accept and follow a snaffle bit while following the horse’s natural head and neck motion
Move with more even rhythm and tempo
Improve stride length
Take deeper steps under the body for better balance and engagement
Develop greater strength, flexibility, balance, and chest posture to carry less weight on the forehand
Develop symmetry for evenness of stride length and an ambidextrous horse

My naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana and I began our dressage journey in 2007. Since she was three-year-old, we began with lots of regular walk. Then instead of trot, I encouraged her to take a few steps of her natural flat walk. The only difference between my dressage program with my naturally gaited horse and non-gaited horses was flat walk instead of trot.

Video: How dressage improves smooth gaits

It took several years, but today Makana has developed her full range of motion—collected through extended gaits on cue: counted walk, half steps, piaffe, collected walk, medium walk, extended walk, free walk, flat-footed walk, flat walk, running walk, saddle rack, fox trot, and collected through extended canter.

So, whether you ride German or French dressage and whether you ride a non-gaited or gaited horse, here’s good news: dressage teaches the rider how to improve the quality of natural gaits whether the horse trots, tolts, flat walks or fox trots!

And there’s more!

This communication language with your rein, leg, seat and weight aids can be taken with you and your horse wherever you go and whatever you do together.