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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Smooth and Quality Smooth Gaits

Quality smooth natural gaits

By Jennifer Klitzke

Experience quality smooth gaits: flat walk, running walk, fox trot or saddle rack through dressage!

There’s smooth and then there’s QUALITY smooth gaits

It’s like waking up to a couple scoops of pre-ground canned coffee brewed in a drip coffee maker, and then there’s waking up to freshly ground coffee brewed French press style. Both coffees will jump start your day, but the latter is a memorable experience. Why go back to pre-ground canned coffee after that! Right?

To me there is no comparison to riding a naturally gaited horse trained using dressage. Why settle for an untrained gaited horse with random, undefined gaits when I’ve experienced dressage to develop quality smooth gaits on cue: flat walk, running walk, fox trot, saddle rack, and canter.

Tennessee walking horse flat walk ridden bareback
Makana at 17 ridden bareback and barefoot at a flat walk.

There’s no greater feeling than the connected power and well-oiled looseness of a naturally gaited horse performing a smooth-running walk or the collected happy dance of piaffe on cue!

bareback piaffe
Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse piaffe riding bareback.

Dressage benefits the majority of gaited horses 

Some naturally gaited horses, like the ones you see at breed shows, are blessed with astonishing movement, big strides, and huge head nods. Many say these horses are born to gait and easy to train the natural smooth quality gaits.

More common are naturally gaited horses that pace, have a hard, hollow trot, or not much overstride. Is there hope for horses like these? Will a pacey or trotty horse ever gait smoothly? Can a smooth gait improve in quality?

Dressage is for all riders and all horses, whether they trot or not!

Dressage teaches the rider to lead their horse into balance, relaxation of mind and body, rhythm, forward movement without rushing, connection, symmetry, and collection over time. The rider develops a balanced riding position and communicates with the horse through effective use and timing of leg, weight, seat and rein aids. This training develops a partnership of trust as well as the horse’s best possible quality smooth gaits and maximum range of motion.

Dressage develops quality smooth gaits, too!

At nine years old, my naturally gaited fox-trotting horse, Lady, came to my place. She had a dog walk on a loose rein and a hard, hollow trot when I took up contact with the snaffle bit. Lady has an inherent fox walk, fox trot, and flat walk, but it took time, patience, and consistent dressage to develop these smooth gaits on cue.

It also took time, patience, and consistent training to earn Lady’s trust with contact. I began with just an ounce of snaffle bit contact and increased the tempo of the dog walk to a fox walk. I focused on relaxation (of mind and body) and rhythm.

Once we established a consistent fox walk, I further increased the tempo just before she would trot to establish the fox trot. This process took several months of riding Lady 4-5 days a week for 45 minutes each time. We worked through issues that came up and finally experienced a natural smooth gait one step at a time.

Smooth gaits to quality smooth gaits

When Lady and I had established smooth gaits on cue, I further refined those smooth gaits to quality smooth gaits. We applied dressage exercises that produce balance, relaxation, rhythm, connection, engagement, symmetry, and collection. These exercises include circles, serpentines, figure eights, leg yield, pivot the fore, shoulder in, shoulder out, haunches in, rein back, transitions between walk and fox trot, transitions between the gait, and even teaching her a quality trot on cue!

Rein back engages the hindquarters and lifts the back and wither
Lady is being ridden in a Dr. Cook bitless bridle showing rein back on a loose rein. The rein back engages the hindquarters and lifts the back and wither.

I communicate with Lady through effective use and timing of my rein, leg, seat and weight aids as well as became aware of my riding position and its effect on her to develop more and more steps of “the feeling of right“.

Dressage will not transform Lady into astonishing rail class movement, but dressage will help Lady develop her best quality smooth gaits on cue. We are still working on more engagement, relaxation, and connection. I am thrilled with how smooth and fun Lady is to ride on the trail!

Naturally smooth foxtrot

What about the bumpy lateral horse?

Unlike Lady’s diagonal, hollow trot, other naturally gaited horses have bumpy lateral gaits like pace, cross canter, and lateral canter. Don’t be discouraged if your horse has one or more of these. Smooth gaits are inherent. It takes consistent training, patience, and time to bring them out. Dressage is a lifelong journey and a partnership with your horse.

trotting a gaited horse over ground rails helps break up pace
Trotting a gaited horse over ground rails helps break up pace.

Ground rails and teaching the lateral gaited horse how to develop a quality trot (on cue) are helpful ways to break up pace, cross canter and a lateral canter.

Video: Breaking Pace & Cross Canter Using Trot & Ground Rails

Over time dressage helps the naturally gaited horse develop its best quality smooth gaits and full range of motion. This means a deeper and longer stride length, breaking up pace with a smoother, more even four-beat gait, breaking cross canter to a truer three-beat canter, and breaking a hard, hollow trot to a smooth fox trot.

Beginnings of my dressage journey

In 1988, I was invited to watch my first dressage show at Brightonwood Farm where dressage trainer Kathy Theissen and her upper-level Morgan, Bullwinkle, danced to the rhythm of a musical freestyle. She led him through his full range of motion and gaits—collected to extended. I loved the partnership, harmony, connection, expression, joy, and beauty Kathy and Bullwinkle shared. This moving performance is one I will never forget. I came to the show unfamiliar with dressage and left deeply inspired to become a devoted dressage student.

Watching my first dressage show: Kathy Theissen riding Bullwinkle, 1988, inspired me to become a devoted dressage rider.

For 19 years I became an avid dressage student with trotting horses: riding 5-6 days a week year-round, taking regular lessons, attending clinics, reading books, and watching videos.

Then in 2007 my aging body desired a smooth gaited horse. That’s when I bought Makana, a three-year-old Tennessee walking horse. It didn’t take long to realize the smooth gaits would need to be developed through consistent training.

Fortunately, most of Makana’s gaits were smooth, except the stepping pace and lateral canter. Discerning which smooth gait was my biggest challenge. Then adding cues to each gait through effective use and timing of my reins, legs, seat and weight aids.

Smooth gaits and quality smooth

shoulder in
Work the shoulder in and haunches in at a slow balanced, collected walk. Don’t worry about depth of stride and head nod. There will be little to no head nod in the collected walk. Lateral exercises supple, strengthen and improve symmetry and the quality of natural smooth gaits.

After each smooth gait is established with a set of cues, I use dressage to improve the quality of her smooth gaits through exercises that help strengthen her body, like circles, leg yield, shoulder-in, haunches-in, pivot the fore, rein back, transitions between gaits and within gaits. These exercises help develop balance, relaxation, connection, engagement, straightness and collection which improve the quality of my naturally gaited horse’s smooth gaits.

Naturally Smooth Gaits»
Today Makana is able to express the following natural smooth gaits on cue and in balance and self-carriage on a loose rein: free walk, medium walk, flat walk, running walk and canter.

Makana is also able to perform the following natural smooth gaits on cue, in balance and with acceptance of an even snaffle bit contact: medium walk, flat walk, running walk, saddle rack, fox trot, collected walk, counted walk, piaffe, canter, counter canter, collected canter, and medium canter.

Developing quality gaits on cue doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, consistency, and patience. Yet the time it takes develops a partnership. Every ride is a new conversation with my horse and every lesson, clinic, and dressage show is an opportunity to learn and grow. I can’t wait to experience what we will discover next!

Dressage begins with the rider learning a balanced riding position and communicating with the horse through effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat and weight aids to lead the horse into balance, relaxation of mind and body, rhythm, connection, forward movement without rushing, symmetry, and collection.

If you thinking about starting your dressage journey and need help, here are a few ideas:

  • Join a local dressage association to find local dressage instructors, clinics, and schooling shows open to gaited horses
  • Travel to a gaited dressage clinic
  • Host a gaited dressage clinic

Video: How Dressage Improves Movement in Naturally Gaited Horses

If you are on this gaited dressage journey, I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me, join the NaturallyGaited Facebook community, and subscribe to the NaturallyGaited YouTube channel.

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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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

From Kindergarten to High School with Jennie Jackson

From Kindergarten to High School with Jennie Jackson
Jennifer Klitzke riding her naturally gaited mare Lady at a collected soft trot during a lesson with Jennie Jackson, pioneer of dressage en gaite.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Over the last 30 years I’ve ridden with lots of professional riding instructors—both local teachers and traveling clinicians—gaited and nongaited. No doubt, I wouldn’t be where I am today without quality instruction. My hope in attending each lesson and clinic is to learn new insights to help me become a better rider and communicate more effectively with my horses.

Gaited Dressage Legend Jennie Jackson is among my favorite instructors. She generously shares from her rich treasure chest of knowledge and decades of proven experience.

Since 2013, Jennie has imparted knowledge and pushed me beyond what I thought my horse(s) or I could do. She challenges us to the next level of difficulty—whether that is starting canter on a new horse, facing my fears, improving the quality of gait, or advancing to counter canter, simple changes, roll backs, and lateral exercises.

Lessons with Jennie have catapulted me and my horses to new heights quicker than any other dressage instructor (gaited and nongaited) I’ve ever ridden with in the 30 years I’ve been studying dressage.

June 2017 Jennie Jackson-flatwalk
Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse flat walk.

Not only that, Jennie is a national gaited horse judge, and over the last four years she has helped me and my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Gift of Freedom (Makana) develop and improve a head-shaking, deep-striding flat walk and running walk.

How it all began
In December 2012, I purchased Jennie Jackson’s DVD set with my Christmas money. Watching the DVDs, I was impressed to witness gaited horses moving in collection, engagement, and forwardness—working the lateral exercises in softness and suppleness. It amazed me that Jennie had trained her Tennessee walking horse stallion Champagne Watchout to the highest levels of dressage and performed before a live audience. These are two things that are extraordinarily difficult to do, and to date, Jennie is the only one in history to have accomplished both. Jennie Jackson is a Living Legend!

After watching the DVDs, I asked Jennie if she has held clinics in the Midwest. She hadn’t, so that’s when I organized the 2013 Jennie Jackson Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic and 2014 Jennie Jackson Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic in Minnesota.

The following years I flew to Tennessee to ride at a 2015 Jennie Jackson Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic, and I flew to Alabama to be Jennie’s working student in 2016.

This year, Jennie happened to be traveling through Minnesota on her way between clinics and that’s how this year’s lessons took shape. I had contacted nearly a dozen gaited riders who live near me to see if they would be interested in lessons. That didn’t work out, but no worries, Jennie gave me and my two naturally gaited horses, Lady and Makana, an inspiring and challenging education.

Lessons with Lady
Lady has been at my place for three years, and as of April 2017, she became my newly acquired naturally gaited horse. I have been thrilled with Lady’s progress this spring and summer and astounded with where Jennie took us in our lessons—moving from kindergarten to high school through connection, softness, lightness, balance, lateral exercises—and even canter under saddle!

Lady is moving more consistent in a light contact. She is more supple in her bending and is moving with more engagement in her easy gait.

Lady performing a collected soft trot working on lateral exercises for softness and suppleness.

To establish bend, suppleness, softness, and connection from the inside leg to the outside rein, we worked on lots of true bend and counter bend at a walk and collected soft trot. The soft trot is not a true two-beat diagonal gait. It is an easy gait somewhere between the fox trot and hard trot—yet smooth to ride.

Hard trot
Trotting the gaited horse on cue has many benefits. For Lady, it develops rhythm, engagement, forwardness, and strengthens the top line muscles.

We also worked Lady in a 20-meter circle and along the rail in a forward hard trot between true and counter bend. This improved her engagement and straightness.

Lady cantering right lead
Jennie cantering Lady in her right lead.

Then we introduced canter under saddle. I had been working on canter with Lady in the round pen over rails to break the cross canter. During our lesson, Lady was taking her left lead clean, so we focused on her right lead. Instead of cross cantering, she kept choosing counter canter. With Jennie’s determination, coaching and perseverance, Lady began taking the right lead canter in all three lessons.

I am thrilled to have both of my gaited horses cantering now thanks to Jennie.

Lessons with Makana
It’s been a few years since Jennie had last seen my naturally gaited walking horse Makana, and I was so happy that she confirmed the path we have been on in our flat walk. Not only that, but Jennie helped us increase the tempo while maintaining the reach and depth of stride.

How? Straight lines.

shoulder in
Me and Makana work the shoulder in and haunches in at a slow balanced, collected walk. It felt weird riding so slow without a head nod, but that’s normal for the collected walk. These exercises supple, strengthen, straighten, and balance the horse and will improve the flat walk.

There’s a place for dressage exercises on a circle with lateral movement and a place for straight lines to develop show gait. This was a light bulb moment for me.

We began our lessons with shoulder in, haunches in, true bend and counter bend on a 20-meter circle in a slow, short-strided, collected walk. Did you know that a collected walk is slower, has very little to no head nod, and the stride depth is shorter and more under the body? Yes, it’s true! If you are like me, and get used to flat walk with a head nod and deep stride, the collected walk feels very foreign, but there is a place for it in the lateral exercises and it will only improve the flat walk.

Circles and collected lateral exercises are wonderful for breaking up pace, suppling and softening the horse, and getting the horse to listen to the inside leg to the outside rein, but working on a circle limits the range of motion that only a straight line can offer. 

Makana flat walk
Me and Makana enjoying the ultimate glide ride! Once a horse has an even four beat gait, rail class show gait is best developed on straight lines to put the horse in a position conducive for maximum depth of stride.

Once a horse has an even four beat gait, rail class show gait is best developed on straight lines for maximum depth of stride.

That’s when we moved to the rail and allowed Makana freedom of her head and neck in a medium walk with maximum depth of stride. As soon as she became even in her rhythm and timing of her head nod, we increased the tempo while maintaining the deep steps. Alternating a tickle with my heel as Makana’s hind foot stepped under her body helped deepen her stride. If she rushed off in short strides, I applied a half halt and I would start again.

When Makana found her rhythm and timing at a faster tempo with deeper strides, I just enjoyed the glide ride.

In addition to working on show gait, Jennie coached us on canter, halt, rein back, canter transitions and canter, counter-canter transitions. Riding the canter on a 20-meter circle in counter bend before executing the counter canter really helped hold her together through a full figure eight and back to the true canter lead.

To book Jennie Jackson for lessons, clinics, and expos, visit www.4beatdressage.com.

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Naturally Gaited Dream Ride

Balanced flatwalk

By Jennifer Klitzke

Have you ever had a special ride with your naturally gaited horse that you replay in your memory as one of those “dream rides”?

I had one of those “dream rides” today. Yes, it happened to be on a sunny, spring day after a week of gray rainy, no-ride days.

Never-the-less, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, was as happy to be ridden as I was riding her.

She had all of the ingredients for a dream ride: naturally balanced, relaxed, and forward with rhythm, and a beautiful head nod. We had harmony in our engaged, deep striding even four beat flat-footed walk. Makana felt soft and supple; relaxed yet energetic, and maneuverable and responsive to my leg, seat, and rein aids. She felt lifted in the head, neck, and withers with each deep-swinging head nod in timing with her hind leg steps.

Her head and neck nod came from thoroughness and connection: from the hindquarters, through her engaged abdominals which lifted her back and whither to lighten her forehand and free her shoulders and through my seat and following arms and hands with her head and neck motion to the bit.

I embraced every euphoric moment.

Yet, the exquisite steps didn’t last forever. No worry, each time I felt Makana lose her balance, by beginning to rush or lean into my hands, I would regroup with a half halt by stilling my seat and lower back and squeezing my hands on the reins to slow down her tempo. Then I lifted her head and neck with my hands massaging the reins upward with my palms facing up. As soon as she was no longer leaning on the bit, I asked for engagement from behind and tickled her belly with my heels to lift her back in a frame of balance, and sent her off into a proud flat-footed walk.

What an amazing feeling!

Video: Flat-footed Walk

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse, French Dressage for Gaited Horses

Following Arms & Rubber Band Fingers

Following the Head and Neck Motion

Many gaited riders choose to ride still or to ride with a long floppy rein. So, why follow the natural head and neck motion of the gaited horse with relaxed arms, shoulders, hands and fingers? If dressage is your riding style, here’s something to consider.

Following the Head and Neck of the Gaited Horse with Relaxed Arms & Rubber Band Fingers

By Jennifer Klitzke

When I returned from my Seattle vacation last Fall, I was excited to try out all I learned from Nichole Walters, a student of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl. I was especially curious about following the natural head and neck motion of my naturally gaited horse with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands.

Granted, I rode non gaited horses at Nichole’s farm. Yet a trotting horse walk expresses an even four-beat gait. The head and neck nods naturally with each step. This is where Nicole encouraged me to relax my shoulders, back, and arms so that I would follow the horse’s motion.

It got me thinking. This seemed like a direct take-a-way for how I ride my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and fox trotting horse. It was critical that I learn to follow the natural head and neck motion while maintaining a light, even contact.

After publishing the video: Following the Motion of the Head Shaking Horse, I received a great tip from someone on the Naturally Gaited Facebook page. Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms, a women encouraged to open and close my fingers with each head nod. This is what I call “rubber band fingers.”

I began giving this idea a try with both my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and my fox trotting mare.

Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms and rubber band fingers are leading my naturally gaited horse into:

  • Relaxation: relaxed in the mind and relaxed in the jaw and back which will help break up pace.
  • Balance: so my naturally gaited horse will carry equal weight on all four legs and not be heavier on the forehand or leaning on the bit.
  • Rhythm: that my naturally gaited horses tempo is even, steady, forward, and not rushing.
  • Engagement: that of the hind leg steps deeper under the body more than trailing behind the tail.
  • Straightness: so that the shoulders are carrying equal weight and the horse isn’t leaning on the inside shoulder or bulging the outside shoulder.

I am seeing great results from combining these elements. My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse’s head nod is more defined and regular in timing with the hind leg steps. Her rhythm is more even, and she seems more forward and engaged from behind.

Video: Following the Motion of the Head & Neck

I hope you find this video helpful. Please let me know your thoughts by completing the contact form.

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