All posts by Jennifer Klitzke

"Dressage is more than trot...and the saddle you ride in." -Jennifer KlitzkeSome traditional dressage riders believe that dressage is ONLY for horses that trot. While many gaited horse owners believe that dressage will MAKE their gaited horse trot. Others believe that teaching their gaited horse to trot on cue will ruin their horse's natural gait.I challenge these notions and here's why...Dressage improves the quality of natural movement in a horse whether it trots or has a smooth four-beat gait.Dressage is a French term for training the horse and rider. Whether a horse is ridden in an english or western saddle; whether the horse trots or gaits, it doesn't matter. Dressage brings about the best natural movement whether the horse walks, trots, flat walks, fox trots, or canters.Why? When a rider grows in knowledge, awareness, and application of a balanced riding position with the horse's center of gravity and applies effective use and timing of leg, rein, seat, and weight aids to communicate with the horse, dressage improves relaxation, balance, rhythm, connection, harmony, engagement, straightness, and collection. These elements improve the quality of movement and the full range of motion. For the naturally gaited horse, this means, smoother gaits, deeper strides, and a sounder horse for longer.Enjoy the journey!

By Jennifer Klitzke

Among the many new experiences tried this year, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana and I entered our first mounted orienteering event. Only I rode my Spanish Mustang, and I loaned Makana to a friend. The two of us joined another friend and her horse where we teamed together for the National Association of Competitive Mounted Orienteering (NACMO) event at Crow Hassan Park Preserve. The three of us were sent on our way with maps, compasses, and clues to find six hidden targets.

Our map led us to a general area where we had to decipher two clues with a Halloween theme. Each clue offered compass point readings that intersected with the hidden target. The six targets took us four-and-a-half hours of searching and cantering to our next clue. I got lots of exercise posting the trot between targets as my friend comfortably glided along the way. (Guess who did and didn’t wake up with sore muscles the next day?)

It was a perfect autumn day for an adventurous trail ride. Our team of three newbies returned to take seventh place. We may have been the last team to cross the finish line, but at least we found all of the hidden targets. The teams cheered for us as we rode in. (Likely because they could finally pack up and go home!)

Photo gallery>

For more about National Association of Competitive Mounted Orienteering, visit www.nacmo.org.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Gaited Dressage Riding Recipe

October 25, 2013 Jennifer Klitzke

Gaited dressage: My riding recipe

By Jennifer Klitzke

Have you ever thought about how you ride your naturally gaited horse as a culinary chef experiments with flavors, colors, textures, temperatures, and techniques to enhance a recipe?

I do. I like to keep my mind open to ideas that improve relaxation, balance, rhythm, connection, symmetry, and collection as I ride my naturally gaited horses, Makana and Lady.

Over the years I have learned a lot from a diverse mix of equestrian professionals such as my gaited dressage mentor Jennie Jackson; riding biomechanics clinician and author Mary Wanless; gaited horsemanship clinicians Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer; and classical French dressage clinicians Nichole Walters, Susan Norman, Philippe Karl, and Lisa Maxwell.

Each clinician has taught me life-enhancing ingredients for my riding recipe.

Jennie Jackson has helped me best understand how to ride a head-shaking horse with contact to develop a quality four-beat gait.
Mary Wanless has helped me improve my riding position to become a more confident rider which has helped me overcome riding fear.
Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer have helped me discover how to become a trusted leader for my horse and to understand the bio-mechanics needed to help my horse improve the quality of her gaits by unlocking the braces in her jaw and back, and by engaging her abdominal muscles to lift her back and engage her hindquarters.
Nichole Walters, Susan Norman, and Linda Kaye Hollingworth Jones, all studied under Philippe Karl, have helped me develop the feeling of balance in relaxation (of body and mind) to produce lightness and self carriage.

I have also learned through the books and DVDs of French dressage masters Philippe Karl and the late Jean Claude Racinet. Their method taught me a different application of dressage which aligns with the late François Baucher’s second manner “balance before movement.”

Blending these essential ingredients has enhanced my riding recipe.

Sometimes one instructor’s philosophy or set of aids differs from another’s. This is when I experiment with the ingredients of my riding recipe to see what will work best for the horse, its level of training, and the situation.

While my goal to produce rhythm, relaxation, balance, impulsion, lightness, harmony, and trust does not change, the ingredients I use in my riding recipe are a work in progress.

In the end, I aim to bring about a riding recipe that delivers a harmonious partnership of trust with my horse, where we move together as one in rhythm, relaxation, and balance to produce my horse’s best movement in elegance and lightness of aids.

Bon Appétit!

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

Visit website: NaturallyGaitedHorse.com
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Dressage Exercises for the Gaited Horse

Rein Back To Smooth Gait

October 18, 2013 Jennifer Klitzke 2 Comments

How to perform a quality rein back for smooth gait:

Develop awareness of feel while riding—the feeling of hollow, the feeling of round, and the impact each have on smooth gait. Here’s an exercise that can help..

Rein Back to Smooth Gait

By Jennifer Klitzke

My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana has a rather long back for her size, and she has been rather stiff. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I registered for another gaited horse clinic with Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer.

At last year’s gaited horse clinic, Larry and Jennifer showed me ways to unlock tension and set us on a course to balance and relaxation.

The importance of saddle fit

At this clinic, Larry and Jennifer helped me address my horse’s back bracing issues. We began with saddle fit.

Since 2007, I have tried nine different saddles to find one that fits Makana. I’ve ridden in round skirted western saddles, dressage saddles, gaited saddles, and treeless saddles. Most saddles have been too narrow which pinched her shoulders and restricted her movement. The saddle I have been riding in is an all-purpose saddle which seemed to fit.

At closer examination, the saddle fit my horse in the cross ties. It had plenty of clearance over her wither—until I sat in the saddle. Then the saddle sank and rested on her wither. This is likely a big reason Makana was bracing her back.

Larry switched to his saddle with a gaited tree. It fit perfectly (in and out of the cross ties), and we proceeded with the lesson.

The feeling of hollow, the feeling of round and its impact on movement

Larry and Jennifer helped open my riding awareness to the “feel” of my horse’s back. They challenged me to notice when my horse feels hollow and when it feels round and then pay attention to how each impact her movement.

When my horse hollows her back, she loses forwardness, impulsion, and the depth of stride. Cueing her forward while hollow only makes her take short, quick steps. She feels smooth, but she is not producing the smooth quality four-beat flat walk she is capable of.

Larry explained how I needed to improve the bio-mechanics of my horse’s way of going. Instead of driving her forward while hollow, I needed to help Makana engage her abdominal muscles to lift and round her back before encouraging her forward with relaxed deeper steps.

Rein Back and Forth to Smooth Gaits

Larry taught me a great exercise that helped my horse engage her abdominal muscles to lift her back.

Rein Back to Forward Steps

Beginning at a soft and round halt, I gently cue my horse three to five steps of slow and steady rein back
Then halt and gently cue my horse three to five steps forward and halt
Repeat the back and forth sequence three times
The exercise is not rushed or forced
It is important that the horse remains relaxed and round from nose to tail
Once the horse feels lifted in the back during the last sequence of back and forth, then continue to move forward and maintain the feeling of relaxation and engaged abdominal muscles to lift the back
When introducing this exercise, I only asked for a step or two of rein back

How to perform a quality rein back for smooth gait:

For the rein back, I close my fingers on the reins without pulling back. This tells the horse don’t go forward. Then I draw my heels slightly behind the girth, hold my weight in my thighs and move my pelvis upward to lighten my seat. If my horse feels hollow, then I hug my horse with my heels to encourage her to engage her abdominal muscles and lift her back.
The forward cues are opening my fingers without giving away the reins, move my pelvis forward and squeezing and release my calves if needed to move forward.
Repeat the back and forth three times until I feel my horse’s back lift the saddle beneath me. Then I proceed forward ending the exercise and maintain the roundness in her back, the connection back to front, and engagement for deeper steps.

So each time I feel my horse’s back begin to sag, I repeat the “Rein Back and Forth to Better Movement” exercise and then resume where we left off before the exercise. This exercise has made a big difference in my horse’s movement and willingness to go forward.

Makana is happy that I am now on saddle number ten that is wide enough for her shoulders and tall enough to clear her withers.

Does anyone want to buy a saddle?

Video: Back and Forth to Better Movements

More Exercises for the Gaited Horse to improve smooth gaits.

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

Visit website: NaturallyGaitedHorse.com
Subscribe: Naturally Gaited youtube channel
Follow: facebook.com/naturallygaitedhorse

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

Naturally Gaited at Whitesell-Bauer Clinic

August 25, 2013 Jennifer Klitzke 1 Comment

naturallygaited-whitesell-bauer-clinic-engaging-the-back

If you’ve been to a Larry Whitesell Gaited Horsemanship Clinic, you know what I mean when I say, “It is a lot to take in.” I have audited four of Larry’s clinics and ridden in three, and the last two clinics included Jennifer Bauer, a beautiful rider and a wonderful horsewoman. At each clinic a few more dots are connected in my understanding of Larry’s training philosophy which focuses entirely on what the horse needs and teaches riders how to lead their horses into balance, relaxation and engagement.

For me, the August 2013 clinic held at RNR Ranch in St. Croix Falls, WI was all about unlocking the braces in my horse’s back and hindquarters for engagement and discovering what braces I have in my riding position that say “stop” to my horse.

Larry explained the “escalation of aids” in this metaphor. He said, “What if for the rest of the clinic, I speak in French and if you didn’t understand, I speak louder and louder, would you understand me then? How would you feel about my teaching method? Confused? Frustrated?”

I have struggled to get my mare to go forward and know the escalation of aids all too well: squeeze, cluck, tap, and repeat louder and louder until my horse goes forward. It had never occurred to me that perhaps I have been speaking French to my horse.

Larry and Jennifer helped me discover braces in my riding position that say “stop” to my horse, such as my inside rein was saying “go this way” but my outside rein was saying “no”; my legs were saying “go”, but my locked hip joints were saying “whoa”; and my saddle which fit my mare beautifully in the cross ties touched her wither as soon as I sat in the saddle which says “ouch.” Adding squeeze, cluck, tap and repeat louder and louder only sent my horse forward in tension with a hollow back.

naturallygaited-whitesell-bauer-unlocking-braces

Larry and Jennifer worked with my mare and discovered that she had braces in her hindquarter joints and her back was hollow. They showed me a few places to massage Makana each day to release the tension. Then they switched out my saddle with Larry’s Freedom endurance saddle, and Larry and Jennifer demonstrated riding exercises that will help strengthen Makana’s abdominal muscles to lift her back and flex her haunch joints for engagement. Among the exercises are turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, three repetitions of three steps forward followed by three steps reinback, and switching up a riding session with lots of transitions in gaits and between gaits every 5-10 steps and changes of direction. Most importantly, reward often.

naturallygaited-090413-back-strengthening

Now that I am back home, I’m riding in a well-fitting saddle and putting into practice what I learned. And none of it includes French.

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

Visit website: NaturallyGaitedHorse.com
Subscribe: Naturally Gaited youtube channel
Follow: facebook.com/naturallygaitedhorse

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Shows, Gaited Dressage Videos

Gaited Dressage at St. George

August 10, 2013 Jennifer Klitzke 2 Comments

By Jennifer Klitzke

What could be more unusual than seeing a Mustang among Warmbloods at a dressage show? How about a barefoot horse that doesn’t trot!

Last month I took my Spanish Mustang to St. George’s Dressage Academy Schooling Show and was so impressed with the facility, the friendly people, and the show organization, that I asked if I could bring my Tennessee walking horse to the next show and ride the NWHA tests that mimic the USDF tests with gait in lieu of trot. After the show secretary talked with the judge, they both welcomed us into our own division.

St. George’s Dressage Academy not only has a state-of-the-art facility, they really know how to order the weather! A perfect “10” summer day: sunny, slight breeze, 75-degrees, and no bugs, made for a very comfortable outdoor show. Warming up in the St. George’s 80 x 220 indoor arena was such a treat: giant fans kept the air moving, dust-free felt footing was so comfortable to ride on, and mirrors along the far wall helped me see what I was feeling in real time. There was plenty of space for everyone to warm up. The outdoor arena at St George’s is on an even plane and the footing is also well groomed, watered, and consistent through out. If you’ve ever ridden your horse on inconsistent footing or in an arena on a slope, you know how much that affects consistency of gait and balance.

Gift of Freedom (Makana), my naturally gaited barefoot Walking Horse, had the second highest score of 72.4% among 58 rides ranging from Intro to Prix St George. Not bad being the only gaited horse among trotting Warmbloods. Training Level Test Three includes flatwalk, flatwalk on a long rein, medium walk, freewalk on a long rein and canter with movements as serpentines, 20 meter circles, straight lines across the diagonal and center line halts.

Makana and I also earned a respectable score of 68.79% in First Level Test One which includes all of the gaits in Training Level plus medium canter and running walk, and canter circles are reduced to 15 meters. The coaching I had received from Jennie Jackson has really helped us be more forward, connected, and engaged. Plus, the longer leg position Jennie showed me is helping to keep my heels from creeping too far back.

St. George’s Dressage Academy plans on having more schooling shows next year. A schooling show doesn’t get any better than this, so we’ll be back and I hope to see you there too!

A huge “thank you” to St. George’s Dressage Academy for opening up their luxurious facility to schooling shows. It is a treat to ride at such a nice place!