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Balance for Gaited Horses

How to Build the Top Line Muscles of the Naturally Gaited Horse

Best way to build the top line muscles of the naturally gaited horse

Here’s how to build the top line muscles of your naturally gaited horse while also developing balanced, quality smooth gait.

Did you know that developing the top line muscles of your naturally gaited horse is more than lowering the horse’s head and neck? Did you know that not all long and low produces the same result? Did you know that too low is not necessarily beneficial to the horse? Find out why…

Building your horse’s top line muscles is a full body activity.

How to Build the Top Line Muscles of Your Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

There is more than one humane way to train your naturally gaited horse and develop smooth gaits. Dressage is one of those ways. One of the purposes of dressage is to develop the horse’s full range of motion (lengthened and collected) for quality gaits and long-term soundness.

As an avid dressage rider since 1988, I’ve learned the importance of developing the top line muscles of the horse. It’s one of the first things I learned as a dressage student riding and training my then five-year-old Trakehner/thoroughbred gelding, Seili. As a result, Seili had a well-developed top line until he passed away at 34. I rode him until he was 29.

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

Benefits of building the top line muscles of the horse:

1) Soundness: Developing the top line muscles and stretching the spine can prolong your horse’s soundness for a longer riding career.
2) Relaxation: A lowered head and neck position can help the horse relax.
3) Longer strides: Teaching the horse to reach deeper under the belly with the hind leg steps will help develop length of stride.
4) Quality gaits: Teaching the horse to relax its back and stretch the top line muscles can help develop quality gaits. This is true for both the non-gaited and naturally gaited horses. A non-gaited horse’s trot will be smoother to sit, and the naturally gaited horse tending to pace or hard trot, can relax into a natural smooth gait.

As an amateur dressage rider-trainer in the 1990s, I had aspirations of moving up a level each summer like the professionals did, but my work schedule and the long midwest winter season limited our training time. As a five-year-old green horse, I rode Seili on a 20-meter circle for miles and miles in a stretched and forward-moving long and low position for more than a year. Because of my busy schedule, it took several years before we move from Training level to First level and then to Second level—when collection is introduced and balance is required.

My horse’s impeccable top line collided with a new concept: balance. Miles of long and low had conditioned Seili to travel on the forehand.

Too much long and low had developed my gelding’s top line muscles beautifully, but it didn’t prepare him for balance. Unknowingly, I had taught him to slouch. That’s why it took a couple years of retraining Seili in a posture of balance.

Hindsight is 20/20. Now I’ve learned ways of training non-gaited and naturally gaited horses that develop the top line muscles and develop balance.

I wish I knew then what I know now.

Lowering the head and neck

In 2007, I purchased my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, and later, my naturally gaited fox-trotting mare, Lady. In my quest for learning, I traveled to a variety of clinics. These gaited experts encouraged us to lower the horse’s head and neck for relaxation and it would help us establish a natural smooth gait. Many believed the lower the horse’s head is to the ground the better.

I knew that relaxation of mind and body are dressage elements, and I have come to realize the importance relaxation has in developing smooth gait. A tense back leads to pace, hard trot or a short, rushed gait. A relaxed back leads to quality smooth gaits.

Lowering the head and neck is one way to help the naturally gaited horse relax. There are other effective ways to aid in relaxation. Did you know that lowering the head and neck alone, doesn’t strengthen the top line muscles of the horse? Plus, prolonged long and low teaches the horse to travel on the forehand. I wish I knew this back then. It would have saved me years of retraining my horses into a posture of relaxed balance.

I learned a more effective way to train my horses in a posture of relaxed balance while also building the top line muscles.

Why lower isn’t better

Did you know that the horse’s head and neck weigh up to a tenth of the horse’s body weight? When the head and neck are projected ahead of the body mass in a long and low position nodding up and down with each step, think about how this affects balance of the naturally gaited horse.

Long and low, especially as low as you can go, conditions the horse to travel on the forehand. This leads to tripping. Plus, the low neck position collapses the chest muscles. In this position the horse is unable to lift the shoulders and wither. Instead, the horse develops a habit of slouching. Watch the video below for a good demonstration of this point.

Watch: Too Low and on the Forehand

Check out this video of my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana in a position that is too long and low in a free walk: The head and neck are too low for developing the top line muscles. She collapses her chest, hollows her back, and isn’t stepping deep under her belly with her hind leg steps. She is clearly on the forehand, the wither drops as she collapses her chest.

For years I fixated on how low my naturally gaited horse could drop her head and neck while encouraging her to step deep under her body with each hind leg step. In error, I believed as long as my horse was over tracking with the hind leg steps that she was balanced. I had no awareness that my horse was on the forehand and had collapsed her chest posture.

I realized this error when I began to study French dressage and scientific equine biomechanic research by Dr. Hilary Clayton about the horse in balance. Read this article: Research proves the importance of the chest muscles for balance

There is a better way

How about teaching your naturally gaited horse relaxation that builds the top line muscles, helps develop smooth gaits while being mindful of balance? That means less tripping, less pacing and more quality smooth gaits.

Let’s take a look.

Building the top line muscles of your naturally gaited horse is a full body activity

Lowering the head and neck helps the naturally gaited horse relax, yet did you know your gaited horse can still hollow its back, collapse its chest and shoulder muscles, drop its wither, and disengage its hind legs (travel more behind the tail than under the belly)? It’s true. Building the top line muscles is a full body activity.

Lowering the head and neck alone

The photo below shows my naturally gaited fox-trotting horse, Lady, in an unbalanced long and low position. While she is relaxed, her hind legs are disengaged and are not stepping deep under her belly. She has a hollow back and collapsed chest muscles. She is behind the bit and her poll (between her ears) is not aligned with her wither.

Long and low on the forehand
Long and low out of balance.

Can you see how this long and low position naturally places her on the forehand? She is not able to effectively develop her top line muscles in this position.

Developing the top line is a full body activity

The photo below shows my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in a balanced neutral position. Notice she is stepping deeper under her belly more than extending behind her tail. Her back is lifted to a neutral position. Her neck extends out, but not too low. Her poll (between the ears) is even with the wither. Her nose is slightly ahead of the vertical and her chest muscles are engaged to lift the wither up.

Balanced neutral position.

Can you see how this position helps the naturally gaited horse develop the top line muscles in relaxation, rhythm, and better balance? Can you see how this positions the full body to produce quality smooth gaits?

Three keys to developing the top line muscles for quality smooth gaits:

1) Step deeper under the belly with each hind leg step. The hindquarters of the naturally gaited horse should under its belly and under the weight of the rider. The hind leg step should be MORE under the belly than trailing behind its tail. Encourage your horse to take relaxed, forward steps without rushing. Ideally, the hind leg footprint should over track the fore footprint.

natural Tennessee walking horse flatwalk
Here’s my naturally gaited and barefoot Tennessee walking horse performing a smooth evenly timed, four beat flat walk with a head nod. The hind leg steps beneath me.


2) Teach your horse to extend its head and neck out while maintaining chest posture. While building the top line muscles, allow your horse to stretch forward, out and down, but no lower than the poll at wither height. If your horse’s head and neck position get too low, the pectoral muscles collapse, the horse drops the wither, and the horse travels on the forehand out of balance and will trip more often. This is why, lower in motion isn’t better.

Neck extension at a flat walk
This is a great example of a neck extension at a flat walk. My horse is engaged, lifting her back, stretching out, forward, and down at chest level with an even snaffle bit contact.

3) Warm up and cool down with a quality stretch. Beginning and ending a riding session with a big, stretchy, relaxed walk that encourages the horse to engage the hindquarter and step deeper under its belly; activate its abdominal muscles to lift its back to a neutral position, and extend its head and neck out and down, but no lower than the poll at the height of the wither, with many moments of stretch throughout a riding session, are a great practice. This is especially helpful for older horses and horses that are stiff or out of shape.

4) Ride your horse through lots of transitions between a balanced position into moments of a stretched position. In dressage, riding lots of transitions within a state of relaxation is most beneficial, because transitions help the horse develop balance. This includes transitions between gait, transitions between exercises, transitions of direction, and transitions of frame within a gait, such as from a neutral posture to a top line stretch for a moment and back. Think of riding your naturally gaited horse like playing an accordion.

IMPORTANT: Don’t stay in a stretched position for long periods of time or you’ll condition your horse’s muscle memory to travel on the forehand. Instead give your horse lots of stretch breaks throughout your ride. Instead of 30-40 minutes of stretching at a time, take 30-40 short stretch breaks during your riding session. A stretch is a great way to reward your horse and help your horse relax while developing the top line muscles. If you would like to let your horse stretch to the ground, do this at a halt instead of in motion. In fact, there are many in-hand exercises you can do with your horse at a halt to help your horse develop its top line.

Most importantly, ride your horse in a posture of balance predominantly through your session with lots of transitions to a relaxed stretch. This builds the top line muscles while rewarding and relaxing the horse. The duration of this stretching can be as long as riding the long side of the arena.

Riding lots and lots of transitions between a balanced posture and a stretch posture, without getting too low, and only for short durations, builds your horse’s full range of motion.

neck extension

Neck extension to develop top line muscles

As you can see, developing the top line muscles of the naturally gaited horse is more than just lowering the head and neck. Developing the top line muscles is a full body activity. It includes stepping under the rider with the hind leg steps, activating the abdominal muscles to lift the back, and maintaining chest posture through the stretch by not letting the horse’s head and neck get too low.

Watch: Cues to Neck Extension

Teach your horse a neck extension using these easy steps.

Chest posture is key

Now that I am aware of balance, and the importance of chest posture through the stretch in motion, I position the horse’s head and neck where the poll (place between its ears) is no lower than the wither height. This helps the horse extend and stretch the top line muscles (and spine), while helping to maintain posture in the chest, shoulder, and wither without collapsing. 

Why a balanced position?

If dressage training is meant to help the horse become more balanced, why would you develop your horse’s muscle memory on the forehand by riding in a long and low frame for prolonged periods of time?

balanced Tennessee walking horse flat walk
Naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse flat walk in a balanced position.

It’s like changing posture after you’ve developed the habit of slouching. It is not easy to retrain a horse to be in balance if it has learned to traveling on the forehand.

When the horse learns to carry its head and neck more over its body mass, the lighter it is for the horse to carry, and the easier it is for the horse to be in balance. That is why it is so important to teach the horse balance using in hand exercises. The horse learns to carry its own head and neck (not lean on the rider’s hands).

There is a HUGE difference between the horse learning to carry its head and neck in balance position and accept a light contact with a snaffle bit versus a rider PULLING the horse’s head and neck back into a headset with fixed hands, especially when riding with a shank bit and sitting in a chair seat.

The former teaches balance and self-carriage, and latter forces the horse into a ewe neck and hollow back, and the horse learns bit resistance instead of bit acceptance.

Helping the rider teach top line muscle development to the gaited horse

IMPORTANT: The steps below are meant to help the rider develop the aids and application of a top line stretch, not to convey that the full duration and every riding session is exclusive ridden in a stretched posture that builds the top line muscles.

Instead, train your horse predominantly in a posture of balance with lots of transitions between balance and moments of top line stretches after balance is achieved. Instead of riding 30-40 minutes in a stretched position, ride 30-40 minutes with 30-40 transitions from a balanced position to a stretched position and back. If you ride predominantly in a top line stretching position, you’ll condition your horse’s muscle memory to travel on the forehand.

1) Position. Start at a walk and encourage your horse to move forward and extend its head and neck out so that the poll (place between the horse’s ears) is no lower than the wither (the bump in front of the saddle) height. I prefer to do this on a 20-meter circle for the purpose of stretching the outside muscles and strengthening the inside hind leg as it steps under the body.

2) Develop feeling and awareness. Begin to notice and feel the belly sway with each hind leg step; this will help you become aware of the timing of your aids. Begin to follow (not drive) this belly sway with each hip joint and gently follow with a relaxed lower back and relaxed arms and hands as the horse’s head and neck nod.

3) Engaged and forward without rushing. Encourage the horse to step under its belly with each hind leg in a forward without rushing tempo. Try to feel where that hind leg is placed under its body. Can you feel the hind leg step under your seat? or does it feel like the horse is pulling itself along by the shoulders more that stepping under with the hind leg steps?

If the horse needs to step deeper with the hind leg steps, you can cluck the moment you feel the belly sway down on the inside of the circle. This encourages that hind leg to step deeper at the opportune time. If the horse doesn’t respond with a deeper step under the body, then you can cluck and press and release your calf into the side of the girth the next moment the belly sway goes down. Timing is key.

If the horse is still not responding with a deeper step (and you know that it is able to do more) then apply a tap of a dressage whip to that side as you apply your calf press and release and cluck the next moment the belly sway goes down. Again, timing is key.

4) Most important, stop cueing as soon as your horse responds. If you cue repeatedly the horse will begin to ignore your aids instead of listening to them. The goal is to help your horse learn to respond to the first and lightest cue.

5) Reverse directions and do the same. If the horse seems to struggle in one direction more than the other, it is likely that the outside muscles are stiffer. Make sure you travel in the more difficult direction twice as much as the easy direction in order to produce an equally flexible horse. This is why circles are used so much in dressage versus straight lines. Circles create straightness (symmetry) in the horse, because it helps the horse become more ambidextrous.

6) Start slow and increase tempo gradually. After your horse has developed relaxation, balance, rhythm, and engagement in a free walk, then you can help your horse build its top line muscles in a smooth gait or a trot on cue.

Lady fox trot
My naturally gaited fox trotting mare, Lady in a quality, balanced fox trot with contact.


7) Trot on cue has benefits for the hard pacing horse. If the horse tends to pace or lacks engagement from behind, it is helpful to encourage trotting on cue in a stretched frame to build the top line. Naturally gaited horses can learn trot on cue, and it can improve the quality of the natural smooth gait.

Why? The trot is a diagonal foot fall sequence, and the pace is a lateral foot fall sequence. The trot can help the horse break up the pace. A quality trot on cue can also help the horse engage more from behind and that engagement can improve the quality of smooth gait on cue.

Here is my naturally gaited fox-trotting mare, Lady in a quality trot on cue to help her engage her hindquarter and abdominal muscles to step deeper under her body.


8) Free lunging. You can also help your horse build its top line by free lunging in a round pen or lunging on a long line. It is common for a naturally gaited horse to trot without the weight of a rider. Many do in the pasture, also. Do not worry, trot will not ruin their natural smooth gaits. Horses are smart enough to learn multiple gaits on cue. It is important that you are the one directing the gait and not the horse. That is the key.

Here is my naturally gaited fox-trotting mare, Lady in a quality trot on cue while free lunging in a round pen.

Free walk on a long rein

If dressage is in your wheelhouse, then developing the top line will improve your free walk on a long rein. This is a required movement in gaited dressage tests. The rider must maintain a light, even and steady contact with the snaffle bit and follow the natural motion of the head and neck.

Free walk on a long rein with following hands and a light contact with a snaffle bit.

Natural Smooth Gait on a Loose Rein

For those of you trail riders who prefer to ride on a floppy rein, these exercises also help to improve self-carriage in gait. It is important that your horse is relaxed and balanced before releasing the horse to a long rein. If the horse loses balance, collect the reins, re-establish balance and release again.

Here’s my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana on a loose rein in running walk. Before I release the contact, I make sure she is in balance. The release is the reward to self-carriage. If she falls out of balance, I re-collect the contact to establish balance and release to a loose rein again.

Remember that building the top line muscles of the naturally gaited horse is a full body activity. It is more than just lowering the head and neck. While many of us may be focused on smooth, think about quality smooth, less tripping, and the longevity of your riding partner by riding your horse in balance by training your naturally gaited horse in balance with lots and lots of transitions to a top line stretch.

Enjoy the journey!

Learn more about Dressage for the Gaited Horse

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Dressage Improves Quality Smooth Gaits

balanced flat walk with contact
Balanced flat walk.

Through relaxation, balance, connection, forward rhythm without rushing, connection and symmetry, dressage develops full range of motion for quality smooth gaits.

How Dressage Improves Quality Smooth Gaits

By Jennifer Klitzke

2 year old Tennessee walking horse
My Tennessee walking horse, Makana as a two year old.

As an avid dressage rider of the trotting horse variety since 1988, I had competed with my hard-to-sit Trakehner/thoroughbred gelding successfully through Second level dressage.

Then in 2007, I learned about smooth gaited horses that don’t trot, and I began searching for a horse that would be easier on my aging body. That’s when I fell in love with my first naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana. She was just turning three years old. Dressage was the only riding method I knew, so that’s how she was trained.

Trot or smooth gait, all horses need training

Beginning our training, I thought a Tennessee walking horse was born to be smooth! Well, smooth gaits like the flat walk and running walk are natural and inherent, BUT it was up to me to develop them.

I was familiar with walk, trot, and canter. My naturally gaited TWH had these gaits, too—plus a myriad of new gaits. Some were smooth, some not so smooth. I needed to identify the smooth gaits as the flat walk, running walk, fox trot, and saddle rack and began to develop each gait on cue. Then I helped my horse maintain more and more consecutive steps of each smooth gait without breaking. Over time we would work on refining the quality of each natural smooth gait.

My naturally gaited Walking horse also came with a few gaits that were not so smooth such as the pace, stepping pace, and lateral canter. These were gaits I wanted to discourage.

Communication tools

A dressage rider communicates with the horse through consistent use and timing of rein, leg, seat and weight aids. The reins connect to a mild snaffle bit, and the rider teaches the horse how to accept and follow the snaffle bit contact. The rider learns to follow the natural head and neck motion of the horse.

It takes an educated rider to train a horse. Regular lessons are a great place to start. I have been taking lessons for over 30 years. Dressage is never mastered. It is great for people who are life-long learners.
Learn More: Is Dressage Riding the Right Choice for You?

Smooth, natural gaits such as the flat walk, running walk, fox trot and saddle rack are fun to ride! Shown above is a naturally gaited and barefoot Tennessee walking horse performing an evenly timed, four beat flat walk with a head nod.

Connection and the head nodding horse

My biggest question, “How do you ride a head nodding horse using dressage?”

Dressage taught me to follow the natural head and neck motion of the horse’s walk with relaxed arms to maintain a light snaffle bit contact. Some naturally gaited horses, such as my Tennessee Walking Horse nods her head and neck at the walk, flat walk, running walk, and fox trot. Do I follow the natural head and neck motion in these gaits to maintain a light snaffle bit contact? yes.

It was a lot easier to maintain a light contact riding at a trot since the horse’s head and neck remained stationary. Now I would need to learn a following contact with my horse’s head and neck nod. This would prove important since maintaining low fixed hands leads to tension in the mouth, lower jaw and back which encourages pace and hard trot.

Following the natural motion of the head nod with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands would be my best way to earn trust and relaxation with my horse. This was new territory as we began our gaited dressage journey.

A good dressage program teaches the naturally gaited horse:

  • Relaxation of mind and body
  • Balance
  • Forward rhythm and tempo without rushing
  • Connection
  • Symmetry
  • Collection

Over time, these attributes develop the full range of motion of collected through extended smooth gaits and improve the quality of natural smooth gaits for long term soundness.

How dressage improves quality smooth gaits:

  • Dressage teaches a rider a balanced position and effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat and weight aids that lead a horse into relaxation of mind and body, balance, forwardness without rushing, rhythm, connection, straightness and collection over time
  • By relaxing the horse’s mind, the horse is in a more trainable state of mind
  • By relaxing the horse’s mouth, jaw and back, pace and hard trot can be replaced with a smooth natural four beat gait
  • With lateral exercises, the naturally gaited horse can develop symmetry to be more ambidextrous and supple
  • A good dressage program improves confidence in the rider which leads the horse into more trust in the rider as the leader
  • Most of all, naturally gaited horses flourish when ridden using a good dressage program that builds partnership, trust, and respect as compared with domination training methods or the use of severe bits, heavy shoes, chains, pads, artificial enhancements, and mechanical devices
naturally gaited flat walk
A good dressage program develops your horse’s best quality, smooth, natural gaits on cue.

Over the years, it is clear that dressage has improved the smooth, four-beat quality and range of movement in my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse. Her collected walk, medium walk, free walk, extended walk, flat walk, running walk, fox trot, saddle rack, and canter are well established now—all smooth and on cue. We are even dabbling with counted walk and steps of piaffe! 

Watch: How dressage improves smooth gaits

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

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Naturally Gaited Horse

Gaited Arabian Crosses the Rainbow Bridge

Tara 's striking beauty.
Tara ‘s striking beauty.

I swore I would NEVER buy another mare…since her I’ve had three.

I swore I would NEVER buy a horse under 16 hands…since her I’ve had four.

I swore I would NEVER buy an Arabian…since her I’ve had two.

That was 24 years ago.

They said you can NEVER teach a trotting horse a natural, smooth gait. She taught herself.

She watched Makana, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse move out in a natural smooth gait. I think she was smart enough to realize the fox trot was more comfortable on her back than the hard trot.

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

By Jennifer Klitzke

Today, I said farewell dear friend, to my Spanish/Egyptian Arabian mare, a great granddaughter of the famous Morofic Egyptian Arabian stallion who was a standing sire for the Egyptian palace for many years.

I’ve been praying about this weighty decision for two months since her last vet call. Nearly 35 years old and missing many teeth made it impossible for Tara to eat hay of any kind to keep her warm. Unlimited Senior feed couldn’t keep weight on her. Then she began to wobble like a drunken sailor. Her lack of coordination was a sign of being 120-something in people years. Then came an early October winter storm that made it clear she didn’t have another winter in her.

Yet, to her very last day, Tara remained the top-of-the-pecking-order boss mare who was the first to greet me in the morning with a nicker.

Making the decision to say goodbye is never easy even though the vet encouraged the decision for a peaceful and humane ending. It was better than finding her on a bitter cold winter day fallen on the ice with no way to get back up.

Yes, that’s true. It still doesn’t make the weight of the decision any easier.

How Tara Squashed the Nevers

Back in the early 1990s, I was searching the Sunday classified ads for a kid’s horse since my 16.1H trakehner/thoroughbred Seilie (aka, Mr. Seilie Monster) was not suitable. Seeing an ad for a 10-year-old, 14.1H, registered, purebred Arabian mare caught my eye.

Why? She was small, an Arabian and a mare. The three things I swore I would never.

Yet, small was practical for kids and her affordable price overshadowed the latter.

After interviewing the man on the phone, he assured me Tara would be a great kids horse. She began as a trail horse, you know.

Arriving to his small hobby farm, I was struck by her beauty which blinded all the red flags:

  • He didn’t want to ride her to show me what she knew
  • He wouldn’t let me ride her or work with her to know what she knew
  • Turns out she was only trail horse at Bunker for a week because it didn’t work out. That’s when he brought her home for his wife (who didn’t ride), and there she sat for the last six years.

I hit the road with disappointment. I loved her look. She reminded me of an Andalusian, my favorite breed. And she had a white heart on her nose the kids would surely love.

A week went by and I couldn’t stop thinking about Tara. If Tara was a kid’s horse, surely he could ride her for me, right? If Tara was a kid’s horse, surely I should be able to take a test ride, right? I called the man back and asked if he would reconsider.

The man agreed as long as I signed a waiver that I wouldn’t sue him if I were injured. Red flag number four.

Well, Tara clearly had little training . On a scale of 1 (lazy) to 10 (hot), she was an 11 (firecracker). I figured I could work with her for a while and she would settle down.

Tara at 27 years old.
Tara at 27 years old.

I remember taking her to the outdoor arena where I boarded. Tara was so explosive that riders began to disappear, one by one. No one wanted to ride with us, because she could rein back as fast as she moved forward and our steering wasn’t very good.

A year later, when she turned 11, I took her to the Brightonwood schooling show and rode her in three Training level tests. The first judge remarked, “Hmmm, perhaps you could look into getting your mare on some hormone treatment to help her settle down.”

Tara at Brightonwood, age 11.
Tara at Brightonwood, age 11.

The last Training Level 3 test was our best. (After schooling her for three hours, she had finally calm down.)

Well, ten years later. That’s how long it took before Tara became that kid’s horse after-all. She packed many young people around: Jumping, dressage, trail riding yee-haw style. Kid’s LOVED it!

Tara introduced many kids to riding including this 5-year-old who later returned as a teen to ride Tara.
Tara introduced many kids to riding including this 5-year-old who later returned as a teen to ride Tara.
One of the many kids who fell in love with Little Miss Tara.
One of the many kids who fell in love with Little Miss Tara.
Another ambition young rider with Tara.
Another ambition young rider with Tara.

Tara brought smiles to many adult riders, too.

First time on a horse for this teen and Tara took good care of her.
First time on a horse for this teen and Tara took good care of her.
Another adult rider who enjoyed Tara.
Another adult rider who enjoyed Tara.
Tara even brought smiles to many grownups, too.
Tara even brought smiles to many grownups, too.

A Gaited Arabian?

After I purchased Makana, my naturally, gaited Tennessee walking horse, Tara picked up a natural, smooth gait on her own. And because it was much more comfortable than her hard trot, I encouraged it. She still had her walk, trot and canter on cue, as well.

My naturally gaited Arabian. Call it a fast walk if you want: it is four beat and smooth with a head nod and her smooth natural gait is like a fox trot leaving my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in the dust.

One of my little friends who rode Tara was interested in showing Tara. She hadn’t been to a show since in 15 years, so I took Tara to a dressage schooling show when she was 26 years old to see how she would do. The judge commented, “The free walk on a long rein is not suppose to be a running walk!”

I would normally ride my Tennessee walking horse with a couple other gaited riders on the trail. One day I brought Tara instead.

Unloading her from the trailer, one of the gaited riders asked, “You’re going to ride an Arabian?! You’ll be trotting the whole time to keep up with us, you know!”

“Do you want to bet on that?” I replied.

Birthday ride with Tara when she was 24.
Birthday ride with Tara when she was 24.

Little Miss Tara kept up with the gaited horses without breaking into a trot or canter! She was happy to be the brave leader or to tag along behind.

In fact, when Tara and Makana, my TWH went on trail rides together, Makana could hardly keep up with Tara’s smooth, what-ya-gonna-call-it gait.

Tara’s last trail outing at 30 years old riding across bridges my late father had designed while at the MN State Department of Natural Resources.

All-around Trusted Friend

Tara was my go-to horse for decades between the kids who came to ride. I could ride her anywhere, with horses or alone. She jumped, did dressage, trails, obstacles, sorted cows and team penning. We even rode bridleless. I wish I had gotten into endurance riding earlier in her life, because Tara would have been amazing!

Tara at 26.
Tara was the only horse I've ever trusted enough to give bridleless riding a try.
Tara was the only horse I’ve ever trusted enough to give bridleless riding a try.
Team penning at 26 years old.
Dang, the cows were practically bigger than Tara! She had no fear.
Our first time sorting cows.

I rode Tara until she was 32 years old. Granted our rides were just hacks around the farm, but she still had spunk.

Me and Tara with Ernie enjoying the trails at our farm.

You are forever in my heart Miss Tara. You are the horse that turned those NEVERS into possibilities. You turned me into an Arabian lover, a mare lover and a short horse lover. You became the Arabian who learned a natural smooth gait, and you became that kid’s horse after all.

But one NEVER remains the same: Saying goodbye is NEVER easy.

Riding across the many bridges at Wild River State Park designed by my late father, Gerald Filson.

You and Mr. Seilie Monster are now running free on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Relaxation for Gaited Horses

How Relaxation Improves Quality Smooth Gaits

How relaxation improves smooth quality gaits
Moments of riding in a long and low position helps the naturally gaited horse relax.

A key in improving quality smooth gaits for the naturally gaited horse is mental and physical relaxation. So, where do you start?

Barefoot Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse Flat Walk

In this post, we will explore:

Does Rhythm Produce Relaxation?

How Tension Affects the Horse and Rider

How Tension Affects Gaits

How French Dressage for the Gaited Horse Leads to Relaxation

How to Introduce the Gaited Horse to Accept and Follow Snaffle Bit Contact

How Relaxation in Mind and Body Creates Smooth Gaits

Does a Relaxed Rider Make a Difference?

Does Rhythm Produce Relaxation?

I began riding dressage with non-gaited horses in 1988. Back then we didn’t have videos, the internet, and the plethora of resources we have today. We were fortunate to have a traveling instructor to teach us.

The Pyramid of Training began with rhythm followed by relaxation. We believed that rhythm produced relaxation. So, for my first 20 years of dressage riding with non-gaited horses, I either lunged my horse until they relaxed (or worn out) or I rode them in 20-meter circles until they were relaxed (or bord). This is what was taught and what I did. I didn’t know there was another way.

Dressage training pyramid

How Tension Affects Horse and Rider

In 2007, I acquired a three-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana. I continued the dressage I learned with non-gaited horses. When she was young, Makana often worried about her surroundings and tensed her body. Tension created stiff movement. Was it quality smooth gaits. Not really. Mostly step pacing and a pacey canter.

Makana’s spooking certainly didn’t create relaxation in me. My tense reaction only reinforced her fear, step pacing, and perpetuated her worry. If I continued to ride her while she is worried, I felt like I was riding a stiff plank blowing in the wind, swirling around with each spook−praying to God that I stayed on long enough to establish rhythm in hopes of bringing about relaxation.

I wondered how long does a nervous rider ride a nervous horse through spooks and tension before rhythm is established and relaxation sets in for the horse?

If I could sweat it out, riding a step pacing stiff plank in the wind for an hour, was this really the best approach? What was I teaching my horse? Am I conveying anything positive to my horse through miles of tension? By working a worried horse, wasn’t I training my horse to be worried and reinforcing her fear with my fear? I certainly was reinforcing my fear!

Perhaps a relaxed rider could have helped Makana through her tension and spooking to rhythm until she relaxed. For me, it wasn’t working.

How Tension Affects Gaits

Does tension produce smooth gaits?

With my naturally gaited foxtrotting horse, Lady, when she was tense in her lower jaw, mouth, and poll, she tensed her back and that meant a rocky ride. Leaving it up to her, she’d grab the bit and blast off into a hard, hollow trot. If I pulled on the bit to slow her down, she trotted off even faster. She wasn’t having fun, and neither was I.

Perhaps after a few miles of a hard trot, Lady would have been tired enough to relax into a smooth gait. However, what kind of muscle memory was she learning if I were to lunge and/or ride Lady through the rhythm of a hard, hollow trot for miles until she wore out into relaxation? Wasn’t she just learning to run away in tension until she gave up? I had to find another way.

Barefoot and bareback naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse at 17 years old.

How French Dressage for the Gaited Horse Leads to Relaxation

In 2013, I began studying French dressage and applying it with my gaited horses. I began learning ways to lead my horses into relaxation of mind and body.

I purchased French Dressage Master, Philippe Karl’s DVDs: Classic vs Classique, Classical Dressage Volumes 1-4, and The School of Legerete. I also purchased and study his books: Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage and The Art of Riding.

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

In addition, I purchased Another Horsemanship, by the late French Dressage Master Jean-Claude Racinet and a video produced by one of his students, Lisa Maxwell, Getting Started in Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as Taught by Jean-Claude Racinet.

Jean Claude Racinet's book and Lisa Maxwell's DVD
The late Jean Claude Racinet’s book Another Horsemanship and Lisa Maxwell’s 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.

While Karl and the late Racinet teach dressage for non-gaited horses, I have found these methods work well for my naturally gaited horses and for me as the rider and trainer. The core of the French dressage philosophy is “respect for the horse” and the foundation of training is relaxation and balance (developed by the hand aid) and impulsion (developed by the leg aid) with separation of the “stop” and “go” aids. The ideal is to train the horse to be responsive to the lightest hand and leg aids.

Watch: How to Introduce the Gaited Horse to Accept and Follow Snaffle Bit Contact

This video shows How to Introduce the Gaited Horse to Accept and Follow Snaffle Bit Contact. The best ways to introduce contact is in hand. Then once the horse learns how to accept and follow a light snaffle bit contact, the same flexibility exercises can be applied in saddle at a halt. Then at a slow walk. The tempo may be increased as long as the horse remains relaxed. If the horse gets tense, bring the horse back to a slower tempo or a halt to restore relaxation.

Educating the horse’s mouth

Instead of lunging and riding a worried or tense horse for miles and miles in hopes to develop rhythm leading to relaxation, I have learned in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises. Then I proceed with the same relaxation and balancing exercises from the saddle at a halt and then at a slow walk. Progressively over time, I increase the tempo to a smooth gait and canter.

Anytime the horse begins to get tense or anxious, I slow down the tempo until relaxation is restored.

After establishing relaxation and balance at a halt, then exercises such as the shoulder in are added.

Through the work in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises, I’ve developed a better partnership of communication and trust with my gaited horses. I’ve found that learning these in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises make riding easier, since my horses already understand what I’m asking for. Within a few minutes of in-hand exercises, my horses are relaxed and ready for quality smooth gaits.

flechi droit
The Flechi droit on a 20-meter circle asks the horse to keep its body bent to the 20-meter circle while the head and neck bend more. This helps the horse find balance in the shoulders, stretches the outside neck muscles, and prepares the horse for balanced circles.

I might have an idea about what I’d like to work on during a riding session, but I am open to adjust these ideas to meet my horse needs. This way we have a productive ride.

Shoulder in on a circle
Shoulder in on a circle and pivot the fore help Lady engage from behind, lift her back and whither by activating her abdominal and chest muscles, and relaxing the jaw, tasting the bit, getting softer on the bridle, and accepting contact.

Anytime my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse gets worried, or my Foxtrotting mare gets tense in her body, I just ease down to a slow walk, halt or even dismount to work in-hand and restore relaxation. I don’t proceed until I’ve established relaxation of mind and body.

How relaxation in mind and body creates smooth gaits

For me and my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana, we don’t pass “GO” before she is relaxed in her mind, then her body. And for my naturally gaited foxtrotting mare, Lady, we don’t proceed until she has relaxation in her body, and then her mind.

Without relaxation, there is no quality rhythm, no quality steps, no trainable or teachable horse to produce quality smooth gaits.

Thankfully French dressage has been the training philosophy I needed for my naturally gaited horses. Directing the horse to relaxation in mind makes a teachable horse−less tense and distracted and able to stay more focused on our time together. Teaching the gaited horse to relax its body leads to smoother gaits.

Ways to lead the horse into relaxation are:

  • Teaching the horse to accept and follow a light snaffle bit contact
  • Teaching the horse how to relax the mouth, lower jaw, and poll which will help the horse relax the back
  • Riding with a snaffle bit contact and following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed hands, arms, and shoulders
  • Developing a partnership of trust and harmony with the horse

Relaxation of the horse’s jaw and back are especially important for the naturally gaited horse. The gaited horse is more prone to pacing when there is tension in the mouth, lower jaw, poll, and back, and has learned bit avoidance.

My Tennessee Walking Horse has learned to relax her mouth, lower jaw, poll, and back. The step pace and lateral canter are gone. Now she has quality smooth gaits such as flat walk, running walk and saddle rack, and her canter is a quality three-beat canter.

natural Tennessee walking horse flat walk
Smooth, natural gaits such as the flat walk, running walk, fox trot and saddle rack are fun to ride! Shown above is a naturally gaited and barefoot Tennessee walking horse performing an evenly timed, four beat flat walk with a head nod.

For my foxtrotting mare, by relaxing her mouth and lower jaw helps her relax her back. The hollow, hard trot is gone. Now she consistently offers a smooth gait.

balanced fox trot with contact
Relaxation of mind and body has transformed Lady’s gait from hard trot to smooth gait.

Does a Relaxed Rider make a Difference?

Applying French dressage with my gaited horses in hand and in saddle has built my confidence as the trusted leader in our partnership. It has also helped me be a more relaxed rider when we increase the tempo to a smooth gait or canter.

Over the last several years, I have learned tools that have helped me become a more relaxed and confident rider. My relaxation and confidence lead my naturally gaited horses into relaxation of mind and body. From this relaxation in both me and my horses I can then help them produce quality, smooth gaits.

Neck extension at a flat walk
Riding my smooth gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana in a flat walk with neck extension. The neck extension allows the horse to both stretch its spine and build its top line while allowing maximum stride length.

Learn more about Dressage for the Gaited Horse

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

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