Tag Archives: dressage for the gaited horse

Rider Position for Gaited Horses

Is Dressage Riding the Right Choice for You?

Is Dressage Riding Right for You?

There are many ways to train your naturally gaited horse. Is dressage the right choice for you?

By Jennifer Klitzke

You don’t have to show dressage to learn how to ride dressage with your naturally gaited horse. Dressage doesn’t require that you ride in an english saddle. Dressage doesn’t even require that you ride in an arena, but here are a few things to consider if dressage is a good choice for you.

10 questions to ask if dressage is right for you:

  1. Do you desire to train your horse in a manner that can prolong your horse’s soundness and riding career?
  2. Do you desire to teach your naturally gaited horse gaits on cue that break up pace and the hard trot for a smooth natural ride?
  3. Do you desire to learn and apply a humane training method with your naturally gaited horse that doesn’t use heavy shoes and pads, harsh bits, big spurs, and artificial training aids?
  4. Do you desire two-way communication with your horse?
  5. Do you LOVE the process of learning?
  6. Are you committed to riding your horse regularly, at least three days a week?
  7. Are you willing to learn how to become an effective and aware rider in order to communicate consistently with your horse in ways your horse understands?
  8. Are you willing to invest in regular lessons (two-four lessons a month for several years) with an experienced dressage or gaited dressage instructor?
  9. Are you open to an instructor’s feedback in order to improve your riding that will in turn help your horse?
  10. Will you apply what you learn between lessons in order to progress in your riding skills and sense of feel?

If you’ve answered “yes” to all 10 questions, you are a PERFECT candidate for dressage, and your naturally gaited horse will thank you!

My naturally gaited fox trotting mare, Lady and I practicing quality trot on cue to develop engagement and the top line muscles on a 20-meter circle.

Dressage isn’t for everyone, though. And that is okay. For those who ride once a week or once a month or for those who are unable to take regular lessons with an experienced dressage instructor, dressage isn’t going to be good choice.

Here’s why.

Dressage is a form of riding and consistent communication with your horse every time you are together

The main ways dressage riding uses to communicate with your horse are through your balanced riding position and effective use and timing of your reins, legs, seat and weight aids.

Effective rider aids and a balanced riding position can lead your naturally gaited horse into:

  • Relaxation of mind and body
  • Balance of the horse’s weight more equally on all four legs and posture in the chest instead of on the forehand
  • Forward energy from the hindquarters without rushing
  • Steady rhythm with even strides
  • Connection from the hindquarters, through the back to the bit
  • Contact with a snaffle bit teaching the horse to accept connection while also following the natural head and neck motion of the horse with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands
  • Engagement of the hindquarters to step deeper under the belly and activating the belly to lift the back to a neutral position
  • Straightness, meaning training the horse to be equally flexible in both directions
  • And ultimately collection to do really fun things like the counted walk, piaffe, and canter pirouettes after the horse has been physically developed

The effective use and timing of rider aids and a balanced riding position can develop these attributes and lead your naturally gaited horse to quality smooth gaits on cue and a partnership of harmony.

Trail riding with a gaited horse.
Trail riding with a gaited horse.

Unfortunately, becoming an effective dressage rider can’t be grasped in a two-minute Youtube video. It takes commitment and an investment of time and money–often years–of regular lessons in order to develop a balanced riding position and effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat, and weight aids. In fact, top dressage riders continue to take regular lessons, because dressage cannot be perfected and riders never stop learning. Dressage is a journey.

Learning dressage is an investment

Dressage lessons are an education. You can expect to pay $50-$75 or more for a 45-minute lesson. The more experienced the dressage instructor, the more you will pay for a lesson. Some instructors pay a facility fee to teach there. If you use a school horse, it will also cost. Traveling clinicians cost even more because of their expertise, insurance, and added travel and lodging expenses.

It also takes commitment to develop your horse physically for dressage. This means you need to ride your horse up to six days a week. Your riding sessions don’t need to be long, just consistent. This will help you and your horse progress. Riding three days a week can help maintain your horse’s training and conditioning. If you desire to advance with your horse, you’ll need to ride more often.

Developing the feeling of right

So much of learning how to become a dressage rider is developing the sense of feel. The best way to learn feel is with an experienced dressage instructor who can help you become aware of how it feels when the horse is moving well, what to do when it doesn’t feel right, and how to direct your horse back to the feeling of right. After you have learned how it feels with one horse, it takes time to discern the feeling of right when riding different horses.

Dressage riders learn to work through conflict

Sometimes progress is slow. Sometimes there are set backs. Sometimes it feels like you hit a brick wall with your training or you can’t figure how to overcome a bad riding habit or mental obstacles such as the fear of falling off. Dressage riders press on and overcome obstacles and work through these conflicts with their instructors.

Becoming a dressage rider is entering a relationship with the horse and learning how to work through conflict, discerning if you’re encountering resistance, if your horse is trying to tell you it hurts or it isn’t clear with your instructions. A dressage rider is always searching for resolution with day-to-day conflict and breaking through a recurring issue. When that happens it makes the struggle worth it!

Becoming a dressage rider and working through conflict with my horses and facing my riding fears have taught me to be a better and more understanding and compassionate person with people.

Dressage riders have a different perspective

What sets dressage riders apart from pleasure riders is their utter passion for learning and improving their riding and their horse’s development. A dressage rider can be consumed with enjoyment by just traveling in a 20-meter circle. A pleasure rider would say, “Boring!”

Why? To a dressage rider, every step of that 20-meter circle is a thinking, sensing and feeling world, and communicating with their horse through the reins, legs, seat and weight aids.

Oops, falling in. Communication to restore. Good horse. Release and reward. Oops, need more engagement. Communication to restore. Good horse. Release and reward. Oops, falling on the forehand. Communication to restore. Good horse. Release and reward. Oops, rushing a bit. Communication to restore. Good horse. Release and reward. Oops, getting tense in the jaw and back. Communication to restore. Good horse. Release and reward.

Hurrah! Seven amazing steps in a row with balance, relaxation, rhythm, engagement, connection, and deep even strides. The feeling is euphoric! Praise and release and enjoy the ride until the next communication to restore. No worries.

A word about showing dressage

Dressage isn’t something you do only at a show. The purpose of dressage shows are to perform before a trained dressage judge the effectiveness of your balanced riding position and the use and timing of your rein, leg, seat and weight aids. Together, this balanced riding position and set of aids communicate with the horse to lead the horse through the test requirements.

Dressage shows feature a series of tests beginning with Introductory level on up to Grand Prix–what you see in the Olympics–only with trotting horses.

Dressage isn’t something you do only at shows.

Every dressage test is written to evaluate flexibility in both directions. This checks for how ambidextrous the horse has become through its training. During the ride, a scribe writes the judge’s scores and feedback on the test. Riders can take home the test sheet with comments and scores. The test results confirm whether the rider and horse are ready to move up to the next level in training. Generally, if they are consistently scoring over 65%, they are ready to move up. Showing Gaited Dressage>

Naturally Gaited Dressage is More than Trot

For those who pursue dressage, here’s what you can expect

Dressage offers many benefits for your naturally gaited horse such as prolonging your horse’s soundness. Dressage teaches the rider to help the horse find relaxation in its mind, body and travel more balanced on all four legs, and activate the abdominal muscles to lift the back from a hollow to neutral position. Plus, dressage is a humane training method that doesn’t use heavy shoes and pads, harsh bits, big spurs, and artificial training aids. This helps the horse stay sounder longer.

Dressage offers benefits for the rider as well such as helping your naturally gaited horse break up pace and the hard trot for a smooth natural ride that is easier on the rider’s body.

Dressage is a two-way communication between the rider and horse through a balanced riding position and effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat and weight aids.

So, if you LOVE the process of learning and improving your riding position and effective use and timing of your aids to help develop your horse, and you enjoy riding often, at least three days a week, dressage is a great choice!

stretching the outside muscles
Me and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana practicing shoulder in on a circle, one of my favorite exercises to develop balance, connection, and softness.

Find an experienced dressage instructor

You’ll need to find an experienced dressage instructor who will school you in developing a balanced riding position and becoming effective with your rein, leg, seat, and weight aids at the proper timing. This will help you communicate consistently with your horse in ways your horse understands. You don’t need to find a gaited dressage instructor to teach you this.

For me, I took regular lessons with my dressage instructor for 12 years. I took two lessons a month. After each lesson, I kept a notebook and wrote down everything we worked, everything I learned, and I practiced what I learned until the next lesson. Many dressage riders I know take one or two lessons a week. If I had the money, I would have done the same, so I made best use with the lessons I could afford.

naturallygaited-Jennie-Jackson-dressage=as=applied-to-the-gaited-horse-clinic

My regular dressage lessons ended when my husband and I moved to a rural hobby farm. Not much dressage where I live, let alone gaited dressage.

Yet, I still take as many lessons as I can with dressage and gaited dressage clinicians who come to my state, like Jennie Jackson.

Bottom line, to learn dressage, you need to take regular lessons for a long time. Olympic dressage riders take regular lessons. Dressage is a riding discipline that cannot be perfected. That’s why I love dressage so much. Every ride is new. It never gets boring, because there is always something to improve, usually with me, and then my horse follows.

Find the right dressage instructor for you

If you have the option of choosing from several dressage instructors, I would watch how they teach and find the instructor who suits you best. Ask them questions about their teaching style and how their approach with a new dressage student and one with a horse that gaits instead of trots.

Every instructor has their own style and personality. Some are direct, firm and to the point, others are gentle and encouraging and instill confidence, others are driven to achieve and desire to see their students in competition, others are laid back, fun and could care less about showing. Some are better teachers than riders. Some are better riders than teachers. Some have a set curriculum that all students work through. Some meet the individual needs of you and your horse. Some have thick accents that make it hard to understand what they are saying. Some cost more than others. Some travel to your barn. Others require that you trailer your horse to their facility.

Getting to know your instructor can be uncomfortable. I remember a couple of my instructors spent our first couple lessons working in hand. I never even got on my horse! And this was after over 20 years of riding. I had to be open minded to hear what I was being taught if I wanted to learn from these instructors. One of my teachers is an instructor in training with Philippe Karl, and I needed to learn how to work in hand. It makes riding easier. I am so grateful!

Dressage is a partnership

Dressage is a partnership between the rider and the horse. We are in a relationship together. Sometimes a circle. Sometimes sorting cows. Sometimes on the trail.

NAWD Intro 2
Lady in her easy gait while showing NAWD Intro 2

Enjoy the journey!

What are your thoughts? Please reach out and send me a message or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and “like” us on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

Rider Position for Gaited Horses

Rider Tension & its Effect on the Gaited Horse

Rider tension and its effect on the naturally gaited horse

An ear-hip-heel riding position helps us stay balanced with our naturally gaited horse, but did you know that inner body tension can send unintended messages to our horse?

Here’s my story…

Rider Tension and its Effect on the Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

I couldn’t wait to get back to the Schmitt Training Center and take lessons with Rick and Kari after the Ecole de Legerete clinic with Master Instructor Bertrand Ravoux. I wanted to continue practicing what we learned.

This time I didn’t bring my naturally gaited horses with me. Rather I rode two of their amazing school horses, one of which is named Kahlua. Rick and Kari are wonderful teachers, and Kahlua is equally as good–(likely because Rick and Kari trained her).

Kahlua is a 23-year-old half Arabian who was the catalyst that brought Kari and Rick together. Over fifteen years ago Kari was having some training challenges with Kahlua and asked Rick for help, and they have been together ever since.

We began our lesson reviewing work in hand that Bertrand taught. We wanted Kahlua light and following the bit, not leaning on the bit or resisting the bit. Kahlua is a champ. She is light and responsive–much lighter than I have ever experienced. Now I have something to shoot for with my naturally gaited horses at home.

Kahlua taught me an important lesson about my inner body tension.
A balanced riding position is important, and Kahlua taught me another important lesson about my inner body tension.

While riding Kahlua at a walk, she began to slow down, so I squeezed and released my calves, clucked, and tapped her with the whip as I would riding my gaited horses. She moved forward for a few steps and began slowing down again.

While my riding position was aligned ear-hip-heel, Kahlua was telling me that my inner body was tense–like a half halt. My shoulders were tense, my back was tense, and my hips were tense. Kahlua slowed down because my tense body told her to slow down.

I mentioned this to Rick and Kari, and they were thrilled that I noticed this.

Interesting. I am not sure if I was tense because I was riding an unfamiliar horse or because I was taking a lesson OR if I am tense all the time and just needed a responsive horse like Kahlua to tell me so.

If the latter is true, I just wonder how much of an impact my inner body tension has had on my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse’s lack of forwardness and my naturally gaited fox trotting horse’s over-zealous desire to speed off? Could one horse be stopping because I am telling her to and the other trying to run away from my body tension? Hmmm…

Now that I am back to riding my naturally gaited horses, I am paying great attention to my inner body relaxation, because I clearly see how much of an impact it has on a horse’s movement.

My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in an active forward flat walk.
My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in an active forward flat walk.

Makana is moving more forward with less reminders on my part, and Lady is more relaxed, (but I still think she enjoys being fast if you ask me!)

My naturally gaited fox trotting horse performing a shoulder in on a small circle.
My naturally gaited fox trotting horse performing a shoulder in on a small circle.

I hope this is helpful.

What are your thoughts? Please reach out and send me a message or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and “like” us on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

Dressage Exercises for the Gaited Horse

Counted Walk to Piaffe

counted walk to piaffe

Does your naturally gaited horse lean on the bit? Does it feel heavy on the forehand? Mine was. Then I discovered an unconventional exercise that brings balance, lightness and engagement: the counted walk to piaffe.

A few years ago, I audited and rode in a few clinics with Susan Norman who was both a student of classical French dressage Masters Philippe Karl and the late Jean Claude Racinet. Impressed with the lightness and balance we learned, I began purchasing DVDs and books by Karl and Racinet to learn the classical French method of dressage.

In Racinet’s book Another Horsemanship and a DVD: Getting Started In Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as taught by Jean Claude Racinet presented by one of his students Lisa Maxwell, I learned about the counted walk. This was something I had never heard about in the 30 years of riding dressage.

Watching the horses on this DVD inspired me. The counted walk transformed ordinary horses, even ones with downhill conformation, who were heavy on the forehand to becoming light and balanced after a few steps.

I had to give the counted walk a try with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana and was amazed the first time we tried it. The steps are slow, shortened, and engaged, unlike the flat walk and running walk which are long striding and pushing in tempo. The head and neck of the horse rises up from an engaged chest, lifted shoulders and wither. The front legs rise up at the knee.

Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse counted walk
Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse counted walk

Any time I feel like my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse feels heavy on the shoulders and needs more engagement behind, I do a few steps of counted walk.

I have been dabbling with the counted walk for a few years now. This year, I began experimenting with half steps and steps in place—our version of a piaffe. Our piaffe is nowhere near show-quality dressage standards yet using it as an exercise has really helped improve balance in the shoulders, engagement of the chest, lightness in the bridle, and engagement of the hindquarters and joints.

naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse piaffe
Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse piaffe

After a few steps of counted walk, transitions and quality of the flat walk are improved in balance and length and depth of stride, as well as our canter transitions and canter quality. Plus, the counted walk and steps in place are really fun to ride!

The video below shows a terrific balancing exercise for the naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse: transitions of collected walk to counted walk to steps in place—piaffe.

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

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French Dressage for Gaited Horses

Ecole de Légèreté Comes to the Midwest

Connecting the dots by seeing Ecole de Légèreté live. I was both humbled and awestruck auditing a PHENOMENAL Ecole de Légèreté (School of Lightness) clinic with Classical French Dressage Master Instructor Bertrand Ravoux.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl certified Bertrand Ravoux in 2007 as his first Licenced Ecole de Légèreté Master Instructor. Bertrand only teaches Instructor Training Clinics in the USA and Europe. Yet owners Rick and Kari of the Schmitt Training Center in Sommerset, WI were fortunate to have Bertrand come to the Midwest for the first time. Not only that, but the lucky eight riders were not in the Instructor Training program. Even more rare was that one of the eight horses was a naturally gaited Icelandic!

As soon as I heard Bertrand was coming to the Midwest, I signed up immediately, as did dozens of auditors traveling as far as Missouri. I didn’t want to miss out on live in-person instruction about this form of dressage that I have been studying the last seven years through Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl’s DVDs and books: Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage and The Art of Riding.

Philippe-Karl-Legerete-DVDs-video-camera
My DVD library of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl.

This Ecole de Légèreté clinic was composed of a diverse mix of horses such as an Icelandic, off-the-track Thoroughbred, Norwegian Fjord, Arabian/Holsteiner, Zweibrücken, Holsteiner, Dutch Warmblood, and an Arabian Saddlebred. Equally diverse were the mix of riders ranging from Intro level to Intermediare.

Bertrand’s kind and encouraging teaching style met each student and horse exactly where they were at in their training. He led both the rider and horse to relaxation and confidence, forwardness, straightness, and balance through the full range of motion: neck extension to collection to lateral bending.

For me, many dots were connected from studying Philippe Karl’s DVDs and books that only witnessing this form of riding in person can do. The only thing that could top auditing the clinic would be riding in it. And I am keeping my fingers crossed for future clinics and perhaps applying to participate in the three-year Instructor Certification program.

Throughout the Ecole de Légèreté clinic, Bertrand instructed each rider to lead their horse through exercises that helped achieve balance, relaxation, rhythm, engagement, connection, straightness, and collection. If a horse became heavy on the forehand, he offered useful instruction for lightness in the bridle and exercises to lighten the forehand. If a horse became sleepy, he encouraged the rider to engage the horse through forwardness along the long side of the arena in a neck extension.

Each rider was instructed how to help their horse become light to the hand and light to the leg and to work their horse in relaxation,  balance, straightness, and forwardness through its full range of motion (laterally and longitudinally) to improve its quality of gaits. Watching the riders lead their horses through exercises in hand and from the saddle better helped my understanding of this kind and humane dressage method.

My biggest Ecole de Légèreté clinic takeaways

  1. The importance of rider clarity of the leg, rein, seat, and weight aids to help the horse’s understanding
  2. The importance of the rider training the horse to be light to the leg and light to the hand:
    • ONE leg aid means “go” and what to do if the horse doesn’t
    • The difference between a rein aid to lighten a horse that is leaning on the bit (demi-arête) and a rein aid to ask the horse to follow the contact (action/reaction)
  3. The importance of the position and use of the reins:
    • Always raise the hand(s) to communicate with the corner(s) of the horse’s lips which is less sensitive
    • Never pull the reins back and press the bit on the tongue which causes pain
    • The importance of the outside rein contact
    • The use of the inside rein to encourage the horse to soften the jaw, taste the bit, and flex at the poll
    • The neutral position of the hands close together and above the pommel with elbows relaxed at side
  4. The importance of straightness of the horse’s shoulders and what to do when one shoulder dominates
  5. The importance of working the horse’s full range of motion laterally and longitudinally, relaxed, balanced and actively forward as well as slow and engaged to improve the quality of gaits

Watching the naturally gaited Icelandic

I was so excited to watch how Bertrand instructed a naturally gaited horse during the four-day clinic and address the following issues:

  • This 15-year-old gaited horse was lateral in all of its gaits: pacey camel walk, a hard pace, and lateral canter. 
  • The horse leaned on the bit.
  • The horse was on the lazy side.
  • The horse was slouching its chest muscles which caused it to be heavy on the forehand. It leaned on its shoulders instead of carried its weight equally on all four legs. 

I was glued to how Bertrand addressed pace, laziness, and heaviness on the bit and shoulders (as my naturally gaited fox trotting horse and I struggle with the latter and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and I could be more forward and responsive to the leg than we are). 

Bertrand’s instructions:

  1. Teach a lateral moving horse diagonal movements on cue:
    • The shoulder-in on a circle at an active yet slow walk is an excellent exercise to a diagonal movement. It is impossible for a horse to pace while performing the shoulder-in on a small circle.
    • A quality rein back is a diagonal movement. Teach the horse walk-rein back-walk-rein back transitions.
    • Lunge the horse over ground rails to establish trot on cue.
    • Trot is the diagonal gait. Teach the horse trot-walk-trot transitions and trot-canter-trot transitions.
  2. Teach the horse to be light to the hands.
    • It is the horse’s responsibility to carry its own head and neck. The horse is not to lean on the rider’s hands. The rider needs to teach the horse to be light.
    • Anytime the horse leans on one or both reins, the rider make a QUICK motion upward (not back) with one or both reins. This tells the horse to stop leaning on the rein or reins.
    • It is important that the motion with one or both hands is quick and upward to affect the corner(s) of the horse’s lips and not pull back which would hurt the horse by pulling on the tongue.
    • The idea is to make one quick motion upward, the horse becomes light, and the horse stays at the same head and neck position that the rider desires, no lower. If the horse leans on one or both reins again, then the rider makes another quick action upward with one or both reins.
  3. Teach the horse to be light to the leg.
    • Go means go. One leg aid means “go.” If not, the rider does not continue to squeeze and prompt the horse forward with the leg. No. The rider uses one leg aid and if the horse doesn’t move forward and stay forward, the rider lightly taps the horse’s hindquarters with the whip in a slow, rhythmic way, gradually increasing the tap until the horse moves forward. Eventually the horse will learn that one leg aid means, “go.”
    • For the horse that like to be on the lazy side, it means freshening up the horse with a REALLY forward gait, like trot, as fast as a canter forward. The rider posted to the Icelandic’s pace in a neck extension.
    • The rider encourages to the horse to take the rein contact into a forward neck extension straight along the wall. The horse extends its head and neck outward and down with the nose pointing forward. The poll is no lower than the height of the whither. The horse keeps an open throat latch (an open angle between the underside neck to jaw). The neck extension stretches the top line muscles of the horse, stretches the spine while engaging the horse from behind in forwardness and balance.
  4. Teach the horse how to travel in a straight line with the neck bent 90 degrees to the inside (fléchi droit) before teaching circles.
    • It wasn’t until this clinic that I understood the purpose for this exercise that I learned a few years ago when I took lessons from a student of Philippe Karl. This exercise teaches the horse to be balanced equally on both shoulders without collapsing to the inside shoulder. It is very important to establish this before teaching circles to a horse, otherwise the horse will learn to fall onto the inside shoulder.
    • This exercise also stretches the horse’s outside neck muscles.
    • Once the horse has established the bend in the neck and is traveling balanced on both shoulders, then the horse can be led into a small circle (volte) in a neck extension position.
  5. Teach the horse how to work its shoulders in balance.
    • For the horse that is heavy on the forehand (collapsing one or both shoulders), a terrific exercise is counter bending the horse and neck reining the opposite direction.
    • By neck rein, it means that the rider draws both hands to the opposite side of the bend. This teaches the horse to move the shoulders. If the horse isn’t moving the shoulders, then the rider makes side ways nudges until the horse moves. (Don’t use the inside leg unless you are cueing the hind leg to move over). 
    • This counter bend neck rein exercise can be done on a circle, figure 8, or serpentine changing the bend at each short side to the counter bend and walking straight between bends to the next counter bend loop.

Within the first 45-minute lesson, Bertrand had taught the rider how to lead her Icelandic into a natural four-beat walk instead of a pacey, camel walk. The naturally gaited Icelandic remained in a quality walk for the remaining three lessons.

Some progress was made in breaking up the hard pace, but it will take time. After all it is not realistic to expect a 15-year old hard pacing horse to learn a diagonal gait, like trot, in four lessons. I truly believe this horse can do it with the rider’s persistence in Bertand’s suggestions.

Friends, auditing the Ecole de Légèreté clinic with Bertrand, a Certified Master Instructor, was humbling, awe inspiring and educational. I wish I had photos and video to go along with this post, but photos and video were not allowed. Instead, I highly encourage you to purchase Philippe Karl’s DVDs and books. You will not be disappointed and if you live near an Ecole de Légèreté clinic, it is a must see!

Ecole de Légèreté 

I will continue to share approved photos from the Ecole de Légèreté community on the Naturally Gaited Facebook page. Make sure you “like” and “follow” to stay connected.

Stay tuned. I will begin sharing my application of what I learned in the clinic with my naturally gaited horses in future posts. I am especially excited to apply all that I learned with Lady, my naturally gaited fox trotting horse in helping her be light to the hand and help my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse be lighter to the leg.

If you are on this gaited dressage journey, I’d love to hear from you. Contact us»

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Misconceptions about Gaited Dressage

Misconceptions about Gaited Dressage

Does dressage permanently alter smooth gaits? How is gaited dressage different from rail class shows? Could rider aids influence the outcome of a horse’s gait?

Misconceptions about Gaited Dressage

By Jennifer Klitzke

Dressage will make my gaited horse trot. Cantering my gaited horse will ruin my horse’s natural smooth gait. Dressage will destroy my gaited horse’s show gait. These are misconceptions about dressage for the gaited horse.

Where do misconceptions come from?

  • Do people watch a recognized dressage show with non-gaited horses and believe that competition dressage makes horses trot?
  • Do people expect to see show gait from beginning to end of a gaited dressage test?
  • Do people believe that dressage permanently alters the length of stride when a gaited horse shows collected movements with shorter strides?
  • Do people think that competition dressage is evaluated with the same criteria as rail class?

Here’s good news! Dressage teaches the rider a balanced riding position and effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat, and weight aids. This is a communication system with the horse to improve the quality of natural smooth gaits on cue and develops the horse’s full range of motion. Dressage can even improve the quality of the show gait!

You can learn dressage with your gaited horse and reap these great benefits without ever showing. If you do show competitive dressage with your gaited horse, here’s more good news…

Gaited Dressage and Rail Class are Different

First of all, competition dressage and rail class shows are judged by different criteria. It is like comparing apples and oranges.

How Gaited Dressage is Evaluated

medium-walk

Competition dressage offers many levels and tests from Introductory two-gait tests to upper level three-gait tests. The higher-level tests require more range of development such as extended through collected gaits and engagement from the horse.

In competition dressage the rider and horse perform a test in front of a professional judge. The horse and rider are evaluated on how well the rider helps the horse execute the Pyramid of Training as they move through a series of required gaits, transitions, and movements precisely on the letter.

The 2019 Pyramid of Training:

  • Rhythm (Regularity and Tempo)
  • Suppleness (Elasticity and Freedom from Anxiety)
  • Contact (Connection and Acceptance of the Bit
    through Acceptance of the Aids)
  • Impulsion (Engagement and the
    Desire to Go Forward)
  • Straightness (Improved Alignment and Equal,
    Lateral Suppleness on Both Reins)
  • Collection (Balance and Lightness of the Forehand
    from Increased Engagement)

Harmony and submission are factors in scoring, as well as the horse’s gait quality; the rider’s balanced position; and the rider’s effective use and timing of leg, seat, weight, and rein aids as the horse is ridden through the test requirements.

Competitive dressage is a great way to confirm where you and your gaited horse are at in your training. You’ll get written feedback by a professional dressage judge which can help you know where you need to improve or confirm that you and your horse are ready to move up a level.

How Rail Class is Evaluated

TWH 3 gait trail pleasure class.
Tennessee walking horse three-gait Trail Pleasure class.

Rail class is a performed in a group of horse/rider teams. A judge will award ribbons for first through sixth place. The judge evaluates the horse’s movement according to the class requirement. For Tennessee walking horse rail classes, big strides and exaggerated head nods are prized.

To achieve a maximum length of stride, the horse needs to be positioned in a frame where the hind leg trails behind the tail and pushes from behind while the other hind leg steps deep under the body to pull the horse along. This frame positions the horse in a neutral to hollow back and flat croup where the push and pull of the hind legs activate the head and neck nod with each step.

The Rail vs Rider Aids

A horse ridden in rail class is predominantly ridden in straight lines along the rail. During a dressage tests, there is no rail for the horse to follow so the horse needs to be directed by the rider’s balanced riding position and effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat, and weight aids.

The purpose of the rider aids is to lead the horse through the test requirements of circles, transitions between gaits and directions, and lateral exercises. The goal is to produce soft, round, relaxed, engaged, and balanced movements.

Why the show gait isn’t seen throughout a gaited dressage test

The show gait is achievable during portions of a dressage test when a flat walk or running walk is called for along the diagonal. However, the show gait becomes bio-mechanically impossible to maintain during collection while the horse performs small circles and lateral movements.

Collected and engaged
Collection and engagement place the horse in a frame that bends the hips and hindquarter joints. The horse carries more weight from behind and lightens the fore. Instead of pushing and thrusting with its hind leg steps for maximum length of stride, the hind steps remain in front of the tail and under the horse.

Here’s why. As the horse advances to higher levels of engagement and collection, the rider encourages the horse to bend the hindquarter joints to carry more weight from behind, engage the abdominal muscles to bring the back to a neutral to slightly round position, while engaging the chest and shoulder muscles to lift the wither and lighten the forehand. The horse grows taller in the wither, head, and neck. The movement produced by this posture is biomechanically different than that of the show gait. This makes it impossible for the horse to push and pull with the hind legs and produce the same length of stride as in rail class.

Instead the horse’s steps are shorter because there is little to no trailing of the hind leg extending behind the tail. The collected gait shortens and the head nods less.

stride length: pushing power vs carrying power
Notice as pushing power increases the hind leg becomes disengaged (stepping behind the tail) and the overall stride length increases. As carrying power increases, the hind leg disengages less (steps less behind the tail) and the stride becomes shorter.

Does Dressage Permanently Alter Gait?

Does this mean that dressage permanently alters gait? Yes and no. Yes in the way that dressage helps the naturally gaited horse develop its full range of motion and improves the quality of its natural gaits—collected through extended.

No in the way that collected gaits or extended gaits are simply the response of a horse’s training combined with the application of rider aids that position the horse in the expression of gait. One set of aids allow more carrying power from behind for collected gaits. Another set of aids allow more push and pull for maximum stride length.

Dressage helps the naturally gaited horse develop its full range of motion so that even the show gait can improve in quality with deeper strides. Plus, dressage teaches the rider a balanced position and effective use and timing of the rein, leg, seat and weight aids.

Does dressage permanently alter gait? Yes it does, but in the best possible way.

Enjoy the journey!

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