How can a slow walk with small steps offer any benefit for a big striding Tennessee Walking Horse?

While studying French classical dressage with my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, I stumbled upon the counted walk which has helped improve our flat walk in unexpected ways.

Here’s my story…

The Counted Walk and the Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

I had been a long-time student of the German dressage system with non-gaited horses. A few concepts had been drilled into my paradigm. First of all, over track. Meaning, I rode my horse forward at a walk so that the hind hoof overreached the front hoof print after it left the ground. Then I rode my horse forward at a trot so that the hind hoof tracked up to meet the fore hoof.

When I became a naturally gaited horse rider in 2007, I applied the same ideas of riding forward for over track to produce big long strides for walk, flat walk, and running walk.

Then in 2014, I became acquainted with a differing dressage paradigm. I was introduced to classical French dressage as taught by the late Jean Claude Racinet and Philippe Karl through books and DVDs.

Among my growing library is a DVD, Getting Started in Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as Taught by Jean Claude Racinet produced by Lisa Maxwell. This terrific DVD has many inciteful take aways including helping the horse relax the mouth, find lightness, and discover balance through the “counted walk.” The counted what? In 30 years of passionate dressage study, I had never heard about the counted walk until watching this DVD.

Coming from my forward moving, over tracking, long striding paradigm, I wondered how a deliberately slow, small stepping walk could benefit my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse.

However, I loved the lightness, relaxation, and balance the horses demonstrated in the DVD. Even though I didn’t expect this short stepping, slow walk to help my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, I was wrong.

I began with the in-hand work by teaching my horse how to relax the mouth and jaw using a mild snaffle bit. Then we dabbled with a couple steps of the counted walk in-hand.

After a week or so of in hand work, we began the counted walk from the saddle. I immediately felt how it improved my horse’s balance, so much so I now use the counted walk as a balancing exercise. Each time my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse feels heavy in front of me, like her weight is spilling through her front down a hill, we slow down, and the counted walk helps her rebalance herself. I feel my horse slow down, organize her legs under her body mass, and she grows taller through the wither, head and neck.

My naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse and I are far from a textbook example, but where we are has already made a huge difference. After a few steps of counted walk, I take the balance, lightness, and relaxation created into a flat walk or canter.

Now curious about the counted walk, I have searched for more examples. Some riders demonstrate the counted walk as a mini piaffe or half steps, which is a trot sequence of diagonal pairs. Others define it as a walk sequence of four even steps. In either case, both applications are excellent exercises for the naturally gaited horse to improve balance, lightness, and engagement.

Video: The Counted Walk to Flat Walk by a Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse

Cues for the counted walk

1. Relax the mind and body. First step is to help my horse be free of anxiety and tension by teaching relaxation of the mouth and jaw with a mild snaffle bit in hand.

2. Slow tempo and small steps. First, I teach my horse the counted walk along the fence in hand. The fence helps keep my horse straight as she learns the exercise. Then I teach the counted walk from the saddle. This is likely not the same day. It may even be a week or two of in-hand work before beginning the counted walk from the saddle.

Then from the saddle, I encourage the slowest walk my horse is able to do with the smallest steps possible. I allow my lower back, hip joints, and legs to be relaxed. Any bracing in my body tenses my horse. While my horse is walking, it feels like the withers, head and neck grow taller while the hindquarters lower. Each step feels soft.

If my horse wants to rush, then I gently position her into a leg yield, shoulder in or counter shoulder in along the fence until she slows down. Then I direct her straight into a few slow small steps of counted walk along the fence.

3. Halt and rein back. If we need more engagement. I will ask my horse to halt and take a few slow steps of rein back to engage the hindquarters and lift the back. Then I ask resume with a few more steps of the counted walk.

4. Transitions. When I feel my horse is in balance, we transition to a medium walk, flat walk or canter from the counted walk.

The counted walk might not look like much compared with the deep striding, head shaking flat walk, but when you feel the balance, relaxation and lightness the counted walk produces, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Let me know the difference the counted walk is making for you and your naturally gaited horse.

Learn more about Lisa Maxwell and the DVD: Getting Started in Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as Taught by Jean Claude Racinet.

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