Do the variations of dressage produce the same results? What about dressage for naturally gaited horses―you know, the smooth ones that don’t trot?

Here’s my story.

Differences in Dressage

By Jennifer Klitzke

In 1988, I embarked on a journey to learn dressage. Back then the competition dressage pyramid of training was the only form taught within my dressage community. Mind you, the world wide web and social media did not exist then. There were no moments access to differing dressage applications in those days. So, in my corner of the world, I believed there was only one way to do dressage. This meant regular lessons to prepare for competition and confirm whether my horse and I were ready to graduate to the next level of complexity.

However, in 1995 I was introduced to an altogether different dressage paradigm when French dressage master Dominic Barbier was invited to my corner of the world for a series of clinics. Intrigued, I had to spectate and then participate in this unique application of dressage.

The lightness, harmony, and joy he personified with each horse was more like an artistic dance. This creative right-brain approach challenged my left-brain methods and awakened my heart and soul to participate in a two-way dialogue with my horse.

Yet, after each clinic ended, I returned to the competition dressage community to further education with my Trakehner/Thoroughbred gelding, Seili. We pressed on to compete through Second level.

Dressage on a horse that didn’t trot?

In 2002, a move northward to rural western games territory forced me to rely on my hard-wired habits from the dressage training pyramid. Seili grew into retirement and my grandma body took shape.

Smooth called me by name, and I acquired a three-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse in 2007. With the exception of a few clinicians who traveled to my region, I continued to apply the dressage training pyramid with my naturally gaited horse Makana with one modification. I replaced trot with flat walk. We even traveled to a variety of dressage schooling shows willing to embrace the only non-trotting entry. From 2010 to 2015 we rode over 60 tests as we moved through Intro, Training and First levels.

Second level posed a challenge for us. We needed more impulsion, engagement and balance. I began a quest for answers on a horse that didn’t trot.

In 2013, the evolving digital era introduced me to the work of two classical French dressage masters, Philippe Karl and his School of Légèreté (School of Lightness) and the late Jean Claude Racinet. I purchased a library of their books and DVDs to begin experimenting with a different approach to dressage.

Among my collection is Classical Versus Classique. On this DVD French dressage master Philippe Karl and Christoph Hess, head of the training department of the German National Equestrian Federation, demonstrate and discuss their differing dressage methodologies.

While Hess confirmed my competition dressage understanding, Karl challenged my hard-wired habits. Karl’s application of French dressage awakened me to a for-the-horse approach to training that seeks my horse’s response in a partnership of harmony.

Navigating differences in dressage application

Trying out this new dressage paradigm, I observed significant impacts on the horses I rode, particularly their responses to my hand, leg, seat and weight aids. Indeed, we found a new way to produce the balance and impulsion needed for Second level requirements (and beyond).

Application of aids and the effect

The competition dressage system taught a back-to-front approach. I used my seat and legs to drive my horse forward into a contact. We were encouraged to ride with a low hand position. However, this method lacked true connection.

How? The low hand position made contact with my horse’s tongue and bars causing discomfort. My horse evaded the bit by tucking behind the vertical creating an illusion of lightness.

Adding to this, riding was an aerobic workout! I wrongly perceived my horse as lazy and felt compelled to drive my horse forward with each step. In actuality, my melded leg, seat and hand aids created this perceived laziness―much like driving my car with a foot on the gas pedal and brake pedal simultaneously! What a revelation to realize my mixed message prevented my horse’s forwardness.

In addition, while I had believed I had been driving my horse forward from back to front. In reality I was rushing my horse forward onto the forehand―conditioning my horse out of balance.

Racinet’s books explained the teachings of classical French dressage master Francois Baucher’s second manner which introduces “hand without leg and leg without hand.” Instead of combining the driving aids into the hand, there is a momentary separation of the “go” aids (leg and seat) apart from the “stop” aids (hand). This has brought newfound clarity to our communication leading to the lightness and responsiveness I desire.

Achieving relaxation and balance

In competition dressage, relaxation grew from many 20-meter circles in a long and low position. We encouraged the horse to move forward with a regular rhythm along the arc of the circle. I would apply the concept of “inside leg to outside rein” and encourage my horse to step deep under the body mass with the inside hind leg.

While prolonged long and low developed the top line muscles of my horse, this approach actually conditioned my horse on the forehand. How do I know? Second level was a rude awakening! Required movements as shoulder-in, haunches-in, and rein back abruptly confronted us with the balance we didn’t know. 

In competition dressage, we believed the horse was in balance when ridden briskly forward enough to track up the hind leg steps into the forefoot hoofprints.

True balance occurs when the head and neck are carried more over the horse’s body mass. The hindquarters engage where the hind legs lift beneath the belly more than push beyond the tail in disengagement. Engaging the abdominal muscles lift the back, and the chest muscles lift the shoulders and wither. This doesn’t happen in a long and low position.

In competition dressage, true balance is introduced at Second level where shoulder-in, haunches-in, and rein back are required. No wonder why it took us a couple years before we reached Second level. We had to undo the habit of riding on the forehand and develop a posture of balance.

Few riders I know ever reach Second level and beyond from the competition dressage system. How do horse’s learn balance? Wouldn’t it make more sense to teach the horse top line stretching AND balance from the get go?

French dressage prioritizes balance and relaxation from the beginning of training. The rider gently teaches the horse how to accept and follow a mild snaffle bit from the ground at a halt. At a relaxed and balanced position, the horse learns to carry its own head and neck and not lean on the rider’s hands. The horse learns lateral exercises and rein back, as well as flexions and an extended position in-hand before saddle training begins.

Karl points out that the head and neck weigh up to 1/10th of the horse’s total weight. Imbalance occurs when the head and neck are propelled ahead of the body mass in a prolonged long and low position.

In French dressage any one position is not held at length. Rather the rider transitions the horse from moments of a balanced position to moments, not miles, of an extended position to stretch the top line muscles and spine and develop the full range of motion. Plus, this extended frame keeps the poll at wither height to maintain a lifted back and shoulders.

Unlearning hard-wired habits and adopting a new way of communicating with my horses takes time. Yet, it has been paying off. From the beginning of training my horses, we learn lightness, balance and forwardness without rushing onto the forehand, and we ride with the poll as the highest point. Plus, we transition through the full range of motion with momentary breaks of top line stretching and big strides.

This early-on emphasis on relaxed balance, flexibility and impulsion has revolutionized my training approach. My horses are developing softness, flexibility, and poised pride, setting the foundation for quality smooth gaits and a harmonious partnership of joy.

Lightness or bit avoidance

Achieving lightness to the hand and leg is a crucial aspect of dressage. Competition dressage taught me to drive my horse forward with my seat and legs into a low hand position. A higher hand position was frowned upon. To discourage my horse from leaning on the bit, we used draw reins, snug-fitting nosebands, and switched to thinner bits.

French dressage has taught me a greater respect for the horse’s wellbeing in ways I had been unaware. For instance, I never knew the effect hand position had on the horse’s mouth.

A low hand position presses the bit into the horse’s tongue and/or bars and causes pain leading to bit avoidance. My horse was light, but not comfortable or correct. My horse escaped pain behind the vertical, and the poll was not the highest point.

Pain also creates tension and for the naturally gaited horse, this leads to pacing and hard trot. The angle of a low hand position is how a single-jointed snaffle becomes a nutcracker. A raised hand position does not.

French dressage offers a different approach by teaching the horse to be responsive and light to the hand aids apart from the leg aids producing self-carriage. The rider separates the hand and leg aids providing clearer communication between the stop and go aids. The horse learns to maintain the requested tempo through a light leg aid. This eliminates the rider’s need to constantly drive the horse forward, leading to a more responsive and engaged partnership.

As soon as I began separating my go and stop aids, my perceived “lazy” horse became lighter.

Instead of a fixed low hand position, cues are applied with a raised hand to avoid pressing the bit into the horse’s tongue. I also learned how to help my horse relax the jaw, poll, and mouth to teach bit acceptance and guide my horse into various head and neck positions while maintaining lightness. My horse’s comfort leads to bit acceptance and has brought about a more mental and physical relaxation, resulting in smoother gaits.

Bit acceptance

Competition dressage rewarded a quiet mouth. We rode our horses with snug-fitting nose bands to keep our horses’ mouths closed. This conveyed an appearance of bit acceptance.

However, I had been unaware of the discomfort it caused many horses. The combination of a low hand position causing pain on the tongue and bars and a snug-fitting nose band led to tension in the horse’s jaw. Some horses would grind their teeth. Despite my belief that my horse was light and on-the-bit, he was actually avoiding true contact behind the vertical.

The emphasis on salivation as a sign of proper flexion at the poll is also misleading. Some foam along the lips is good. However, dripping foam can be a sign of a snug-fitting nose band preventing the horse from swallowing.

Discovering the French dressage approach opened my eyes to true bit acceptance. By allowing freedom to open and relax the mouth and jaw, taste the bit, and swallow freely, my horse became happier, more comfortable, and able to move more relaxed.

A nose band and flash attachment arrives with every dressage bridle I have ever purchased. At first it was foreign to ride without one. Yet without a snug-fitting nose band my horse is able to relax the mouth and lower jaw, taste the bit, and swallow. My horse is happier, more relaxed, more comfortable, and able to move more freely without the braces that lead to pace, step pace, and a hard hollow trot.

Ultimately, this newfound awareness on helping my horse find bit acceptance and relaxation of the jaw, mouth and poll has shown me its effect on the entire body leading to the natural smooth gaits I longed for.

One-way to two-way communication

In this French dressage exploration, I discovered the power of two-way dialogue with my horses and moved away from one-way requests. Our time together has become a harmonious exchange of communication through my voice, fingers, legs, seat and weight aids while listening for my horse’s response.

Transitioning from one-way to two-way communication has been a transformative journey between me and my horse. Initially, competition dressage instilled in me a unilateral approach, where my aids conveyed commands to my horse. Resistance was met with an escalation of cues until my horse complied as expected.

Delving into the realm of French dressage opened my eyes to a rich dialogue with my equine partner. I learned to not only ask with my hand, leg, seat, and weight aids but also to listen attentively to my horse’s response. Rather than interpreting resistance as disobedience, I now view this as misunderstanding of my request or an inability to perform a given request. Instead of an escalation of aids, I strive to refine my communication for understanding or lessen the difficulty for a successful outcome. This approach brings about harmony, lightness, relaxation, and respect for my horse.

While competition dressage confined us to an arena in preparation for shows, French dressage has broadened our horizons. Our two-way communication takes us beyond the arena to new adventures: enriching experiences on the trail, sorting cows, navigating obstacles, and addressing fences.

Finally, French dressage challenges the notion that only talented horses can perform advanced movements like piaffe and passage. It welcomes all horses, including naturally smooth gaited horses, to develop their skills and reach their full potential.

What French dressage offers the naturally gaited horse

• A deep respect for the horse
• Riding for the horse’s comfort
• Clarity of rider aids to the horse by separating stop from go
• Teaching the horse to be light to the hand and light to the leg
• Developing mental and physical relaxation and balanced forward movement without rushing
• Developing connection, straightness, symmetry, and collection to develop full range of motion and naturally smooth gaits

Learning differences in dressage has reshaped my approach to produce naturally smooth gaits in one of the most humane ways. Not all dressage is the same, but I believe what Philippe Karl says, “If the dressage is good, it will work on any horse.” Naturally gaited horses, like any other horse, thrive under these principles with grace and harmony.

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