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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

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

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Balance for Gaited Horses

Counter Bend Balance for the Gaited Horse

Counter bend
Counter bend with neck rein moves balance from the outside shoulder to the inside shoulder.

Do you have a gaited horse that’s heavy on the forehand and leans on the bit? Counter bend exercises have helped my gaited horses find balance and lightness.

Counter Bend Balance and Lightness for the Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

For years I rode true bends along the arc of on a circle as I trained my non gaited and gaited horses. While the true bend helps the horse strengthen the inside hind leg as it steps under its body mass, it wasn’t helping my naturally gaited horse find balance and lightness through the shoulders.

Why? Because my horses were on the forehand and I needed to teach a shoulder moving exercise before introducing true bend exercises. It wasn’t until I learned a simple but effective exercise called the counter bend neck rein turn that we found lightness, straightness and balance in the shoulders.

What is a Counter Bend Neck Rein Turn?

Introduced to me during a French dressage clinic, the counter bend neck rein turn became a game-changer on our journey towards balance. This exercise shifts the horse’s balance from the outside shoulder to the inside shoulder. The horse’s outside foreleg steps forward while the inside foreleg steps into the circle as if the horse is extending sideways. It is a terrific exercise to help the horse find shoulder balance, straightness, and lightness.

How Counter Bends are True

After this clinic I began applying counter bend neck rein turns with my naturally gaited horses. This exercise began at a slow walk before increasing the tempo to a slow smooth gait. We did counter bend turns in a variety of patterns such as serpentines, squares, figure eights, circles and random turns any time we needed to regain balance and lightness in the shoulders.

To my amazement, the counter bend neck rein turns have freed up my horses’ shoulders and improved the quality of our true bends. My naturally gaited horses have become lighter in my hands because they are less on the forehand and more balanced overall.

Counter bend
Counter bend with neck rein turn moves balance from the outside shoulder to the inside shoulder.

Steps to the Counter Bend Neck Rein Turn:

  1. With an equal light contact with both reins riding in a snaffle bit, I position the horse just enough to see the outside eye while keeping the neck straight.
  2. To turn, I draw both hands toward the inside of the circle (opposite side of the bend) with gentle nudges in timing with the inside shoulder as it begins to lift forward. This encourages the inside leg to move forward and slightly into the circle. The outside leg continues straight and forward. The front legs do not cross over the inside leg for the counter bend turn.
  3. Important tip: This is a shoulder moving exercise, not a hindquarter moving exercise. The rider uses the reins to move the shoulders, not the legs. The rider only uses the legs to cue the horse forward as needed, not to activate an outside hind leg or inside hind leg.
  4. I like to start the counter bend exercises at a SLOW walk until I am organized with my aids in timing with my horse’s shoulder steps and that my horse understands the concept of the exercise before we progress to more tempo at a walk or smooth gait.
  5. Counter Bend Applications: Counter bend neck rein turns can be applied on a serpentine by changing the counter bend at each turn, on a figure eight and changing the counter bend in the center, on a square by applying a counter bend neck rein turn at each corner, on a circle by maintaining a counter bend, or a random counter bend turn any time I feel the need to rebalance and straighten the shoulders.

What a Counter Bend Turn is NOT

neck rein turn out of balance
This is NOT a counter bend neck rein turn. Crossing the outside foreleg over the inside foreleg throws the horse out of balance instead of moving the shoulders in balance.
The purpose of the counter bend neck rein turn is to move the horse in balance from the outside shoulder to the inside shoulder. This will help the naturally gaited horse find lightness in their smooth gait.

Counter bend on a circle at a fox trot in regular and slow motion.

Counter bend turns have helped my naturally gaited horses became lighter on the forehand, lighter in the bridle, more balanced in the shoulders. Then I began to re-introduce true bends, shoulder-in and shoulder-fore exercises as long as Lady remained light in the shoulders. I began to notice improvement in engagement and lifting her back to a neutral position.

Together the counter bend and true bend exercises have improved bit acceptance, balance, engagement from behind, activating the abdominal muscles to lift the back, and lifting the chest and shoulders, plus Lady’s naturally smooth fox trot is getting faster without breaking into a hard trot!

Counter bend neck rein turns have helped us find lightness and balance in the shoulders and now I can apply shoulder in and haunches in with greater balance and effectiveness!

More exercises for gaited horses to develop quality smooth gaits.

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

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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.