Many gaited riders choose to ride still or to ride with a long floppy rein. So, why follow the natural head and neck motion of the gaited horse with relaxed arms, shoulders, hands and fingers? If dressage is your riding style, here’s something to consider.
Following the Head and Neck of the Gaited Horse with Relaxed Arms & Rubber Band Fingers
By Jennifer Klitzke
When I returned from my Seattle vacation last Fall, I was excited to try out all I learned from Nichole Walters, a student of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl. I was especially curious about following the natural head and neck motion of my naturally gaited horse with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands.
Granted, I rode non gaited horses at Nichole’s farm. Yet a trotting horse walk expresses an even four-beat gait. The head and neck nods naturally with each step. This is where Nicole encouraged me to relax my shoulders, back, and arms so that I would follow the horse’s motion.
It got me thinking. This seemed like a direct take-a-way for how I ride my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and fox trotting horse. It was critical that I learn to follow the natural head and neck motion while maintaining a light, even contact.
After publishing the video: Following the Motion of the Head Shaking Horse, I received a great tip from someone on the Naturally Gaited Facebook page. Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms, a women encouraged to open and close my fingers with each head nod. This is what I call “rubber band fingers.”
I began giving this idea a try with both my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and my fox trotting mare.
Along with following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms and rubber band fingers are leading my naturally gaited horse into:
Relaxation: relaxed in the mind and relaxed in the jaw and back which will help break up pace.
Balance: so my naturally gaited horse will carry equal weight on all four legs and not be heavier on the forehand or leaning on the bit.
Rhythm: that my naturally gaited horses tempo is even, steady, forward, and not rushing.
Engagement: that of the hind leg steps deeper under the body more than trailing behind the tail.
Straightness: so that the shoulders are carrying equal weight and the horse isn’t leaning on the inside shoulder or bulging the outside shoulder.
I am seeing great results from combining these elements. My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse’s head nod is more defined and regular in timing with the hind leg steps. Her rhythm is more even, and she seems more forward and engaged from behind.
Video: Following the Motion of the Head & Neck
I hope you find this video helpful. Please let me know your thoughts by completing the contact form.
Dressage requires riding with light, even, steady contact—not floppy, loose reins. Contact is easier when the horse’s head and neck remain stationary, but how do you maintain contact when the horse’s head and neck nod with each step?
Here’s my story.
Following the Natural Head and Neck Motion
I’ve been a passionate student of dressage since 1988, predominantly of the German school, riding bouncy trotting horses. They kept me in shape, I’ll give you that!
Then in 2007, my aging body longed for smooth, and that’s when I acquired my first naturally gaited horse: a just turning three-year-old Tennessee walking horse filly named Makana. Dressage is the only form of riding I knew, so that’s the form of training I applied. We began with the German dressage I learned.
Then through clinics with Larry Whitesell and Susan Norman, I became acquainted with the books and videos of classical French dressage Master Philippe Karl. Around 2014 I began to gradually adopt a new way to ride.
My DVD collection of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl.
In 2016, I set out to Seattle, WA, to visit family and learned that Karl had been teaching School of Légèreté instructor certification clinics at three USA locations—one of which was not far from where I would be staying. I contacted the Seattle location for lessons with Nichole, one of Karl’s instructors in training.
I took several lessons each day with Nichole on her non-gaited horses. First, I learned work in hand. Here’s a recap of my lessons: Work in Hand: Educating the Mouth.
Then Nichole taught me how to apply the same exercises from the saddle while riding at a slow walk. She noticed that I wasn’t following the horse’s natural head and neck motion with my hands. Instead, I was keeping my arms still at my sides. She encouraged me to follow the horse’s natural head and neck motion with my hands while maintaining an even, steady contact with both reins connected to a snaffle bit.
Nicole noticed that while my arms were quiet at my sides, my pelvis and back followed the motion of the horse more than necessary. My efforts to remain still with my arms and hands created tension which translated heaviness to the horse.
Interesting.
While some following motion with my body is needed, Nichole encouraged me to also follow the horse’s natural head and neck motion with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands while maintaining a light, even, steady contact with both reins to the snaffle bit.
This was an epiphany for me!
Granted, I was riding a non gaited horse, but I was riding the horse at a natural four-beat walk. This got me thinking about the smooth four-beat gaits of the naturally gaited head nodding breeds.
I wondered, what compromises have tension to create stillness had on the quality of the naturally smooth flat walk, running walk, and fox trot in my naturally gaited horses?
Could the tension in my shoulders and still arms and hands be saying “stop” to my naturally gaited horse, Makana?
Would following hands produce less prodding on my part to encourage Makana to go forward?
Would following hands produce less tension and more relaxation, harmony and lightness in my naturally gaited fox trotting horse, Lady?
Would Lady be more apt to seek contact with a snaffle bit if I followed her head nod?
Would Lady’s back be less hollow if I rode her with following hands?
Would Lady be less heavy on the bit?
Would Lady learn to relax more rather than take off at a quick gait?
Would Lady track up more with deeper strides if there was greater relaxation in her back?
Think about it. Are we creating braces in our horses through our tension to ride still? How many of us struggle with a camel walk, hard pace, step pace, and a lateral canter? Wouldn’t our horses be smoother to ride if they felt more comfortable and relaxed if we followed their natural head and neck motion?
Nichole taught me the importance of following the natural head and neck motion of the horse’s four-beat walk with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands. This fostered relaxation, harmony and lightness with each horse I worked with.
If following the natural head and neck motion of non-gaited horses at a walk produces relaxation, wouldn’t this translate to the naturally gaited head-nodding breeds that move in flat walk, fox trot, and running walk?
I just wonder if following the horse’s natural head and neck motion—the head nod, head shake or what ever we want to call it—might lead our naturally gaited horses to greater relaxation, harmony, and lightness, and produce less bracing in the jaw and back and produce more naturally smooth gaits?
True or False
When the horse’s tongue, jaw and poll are stiff and tense, it will lead to tension in the back which will cause more pace in horses prone to pace when tense.
True.
Wouldn’t the opposite be true? If we follow the natural head and neck motion of the horse with relaxed shoulders, elbows hands, seat and back, our naturally gaited horses will be more apt at relaxing their backs which helps to break up pace caused by tension. Right?
Granted, it is a lot easier to ride a naturally gaited head nodding horse with floppy reins, but if dressage is your passion, like it is mine, then we need to figure out a way to establish a light, steady contact with both reins that produces relaxation, harmony and lightness. I believe following the naturally head and neck motion of the naturally gaited horse is the way to do it.
Watch: Why follow the natural head and neck motion with relaxed arms
Special thanks to Nichole Walters, the owner and instructor of Cadbury Farm who taught me the “Educating the Mouth” and “Following Hands” exercises that she learned first hand from Philippe Karl and his School of Légèreté.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
Work in hand? If you’re like me, I just like to get on and ride. Recently, I experienced the purpose work in hand has in building communication with my horse. This translates to our riding time, makes training easier, develops harmony, and helps the naturally gaited horse move in lightness and balance.
Why Work in Hand Makes Training Gaited Horses Easier
By Jennifer Klitzke
Before I set out to Seattle, WA to visit family for a week in 2016, I learned that Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl had been teaching School of Légèreté instructor certification clinics in three USA locations. One of these locations was not far from where I would be staying.
Ecstatic with the opportunity to get first-hand teaching in this Classical French Dressage method I have been studying, I contacted Nichole Walters, the Légèreté instructor in training to take lessons while I was in Seattle.
Nichole asked about my experience with Karl’s philosophy and the training with my horses. I explained that I had been studying Karl’s DVDs Classical versus Classique and Classical Dressage 1-4 and applying what I learned with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, fox trotting horse, and Spanish Mustang.
My DVD collection of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl.
Learning by DVDs are great for teaching concepts, but nothing beats one-on-one instruction for applying these concepts in real time. Lessons with Nichole were dot connectors!
When Nichole urged me to begin understanding balance and lightness with working in hand, I sighed. I just wanted to get on and ride. Philippe Karl’s DVDs cover work in hand, but I had glossed over that portion thinking it wasn’t important.
WRONG!
Nichole said Karl believes educating the horse’s mouth in hand is so important. He won’t teach his students how to ride until they know how to work the horse effectively in hand.
Benefits of working in hand
Balance: Teaches the horse lightness; how to carry its own head and neck and not lean on the bit; teaches the horse to lift its head and neck, open the throat latch; shift its balance from the forehand to carry more weight on the hindquarters; and helps the horse raise its whither by engaging the chest and shoulder muscles.
Educates the mouth: Teaches the horse how seek and follow a light, steady, even contact with a snaffle bit; relaxs the mouth and lower jaw, taste the snaffle bit and swallow; flex at the poll; and carry its own head and neck and not lean on the bit.
Flexing: Teaches the horse to follow an even, steady contact of the bit to a 45- to 90-degree bend to the right and left. This allows the horse to stretch the outside neck muscles while remaining balanced in the shoulders; then follow the snaffle bit to extend its neck down and out to stretch the top line muscles and spine. (Ideally the poll should be no lower than the height of the wither, so the horse remains in balance.)
After these work in hand exercises in place, I learned to direct the horse in hand at a walk. The horse’s body remains straight while the neck is in a 45- to 90-degree flexed position. This teaches the horse lightness, balance, forwardness, and straightness in the shoulders before the horse is directed into a small circle while remaining in balance.
After the horse walks straight while bending in the neck, then directed the horse into a neck extension on a small circle (volte). If the horse learns circles first, it often loads the inside shoulder. This in hand exercise helps the horse learn balance, lightness, and straightness as it follows an even, light, steady rein contact.
Three hours of work-in-hand lessons were GOLDEN! Work-in-hand taught me how to direct my horse to find body balance and acceptance of a light, following snaffle bit contact. This ground work made it easier to train my horse from the saddle.
Video: Why work in hand makes training the naturally gaited horse easier
Steps to work in hand
1) Face the horse and align my spine to the horse’s spine;
2) Raise the horse’s head and neck and open the throat latch (open the angle between the neck and the lower jaw) by applying equal contact on the corners of the horse’s mouth in direction of the horse’s ears. This helps the horse shift its balance from the shoulders onto the hindquarters. (Notice the horse square up its fore legs and raise its chest). This is a terrific for horses that lean on the bit.
3) Keep gently raising the horse’s head and neck until the horse begins to taste the bit and swallow. If the horse leans on the bit, QUICKLY press and release upward with both hands on the bit toward the ears. Wait for the horse to respond with lightness and remain in the upward position you desire. If the horse leans on the bit, repeat with a QUICK upward motion. The horse will learn that it has to carry its own head and neck.
4) If the horse stops tasting the bit, unlock the tension in the jaw. One hand remains neutral and holds the snaffle ring and the other hand directs the snaffle toward the bridge of the nose. As soon as the horse begins to taste the bit, bring both hands to the neutral position and maintain a light and steady contact;
Lift the head and neck high enough to be light into an open throat latch position (open the angle between the underside of the horse’s neck and jaw), encourage the horse to shift its balance from the shoulders and more onto the hindquarters. Noticed the forelegs are perpendicular to the ground and not leaning toward me and the chest and wither are raised.
5) Then, while holding one ring of the snaffle while the horse is in a balanced stance, collect the rein of the opposite snaffle ring so that there is EVEN contact with the snaffle ring and the opposite rein;
Then I move to the side while maintaining the contact and head and neck position. One hand remains on the ring of the snaffle and the other on the rein.
6) Gently lead the horse’s head and neck to one side with even contact. This stretches the outside neck muscles. (Notice the inside neck muscles concave and the outside muscles convex) ;
With even contact, I reposition myself from the side to the front of the horse while encouraging the horse follow the contact and turn its head and neck. This stretches the outside neck muscles. Be careful that the ears remain level and the horse continues to taste the bit.
7) Then direct the horse to follow the contact down and out to the side to stretch while keeping its ears level. This stretches the outside neck muscles and prevents the horse from contracting the neck muscles and hollowing the underside muscles. It also builds the top line muscles. Karl’s book Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage goes into detail why this is so important.
Extend the neck with even contact by guiding the horse with the hand down and out. Seek to maintain balance without the horse leaning onto the inside shoulder. It is most ideal if the horse’s poll is no lower than the height of the whither because it helps the horse maintain balance on all four legs, evenly in the shoulders, and the horse won’t collapse its pectoral muscles.
My lessons began with a horse that knew these exercises so that I could experience how it feels when it goes right. Then I worked with a horse that was just starting these exercises so that I could experience what it is like when things go wrong and how to correct it. This would help me at home when I began teaching my naturally gaited horses these in hand exercises.
Nichole guaranteed that if I spent ten to fifteen minutes in hand with each of my horses, it would produce balance, each horse would learn how to taste the bit, swallow, flex to each side, and follow an even, light, steady contact before riding. My horses will progress quicker in their training and become lighter on the bridle.
Applying work in hand at home
After the lessons with Nichole, I returned home and began to apply these exercises with my horses. Now I see why Karl feels so strongly about educating the horse’s mouth while in hand. I’m astounded with how soft, light, and balanced all of my naturally gaited horses are becoming when I begin riding sessions with these in hand exercises.
Lady: Grade fox trotting mare
Lift to LightnessFlexionNeck extension
Anytime my horse begins to get tense, anxious, or lose balance, I slow down the tempo or to a halt and reapply these flexibility and suppling exercises until relaxation and balance are restored. This has been a better option for me and my naturally gaited horses compared with riding through miles of tension.
The same cues used in hand can be applied from the saddle at a halt. Plus, the riding we do in a relaxed and balanced state develops the quality smooth gaits and muscle memory I desire. This dressage approach has led to a harmonious partnership with my naturally gaited horses.
Makana: Tennessee Walking Horse
Relaxing the mouthFlexionActionReactionFlexionNeck extensionShoulder inShoulder inFlat walk
Years later, work in hand and Legerete is how my unstarted three-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse / Spotted Saddle Horse, Marvel, has been trained and is coming along nicely. Plus, I cherish the fun and interactive partnership we have developed. Below are photos of us as a six-year-old.
In handSquare haltActionReactionFlexionJambetteFlat walkNeck extension
Anytime my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horses get worried, or my Foxtrotting mare, Lady 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 mental and physical relaxation.
Getting started with work in hand
I had never given work-in-hand its proper respect until Nichole’s introduction. If you are a visual learner like me, I’d encourage you to purchase Philippe Karl’s Classical Dressage DVD Volume 1 which covers the work-in-hand exercises plus much more. Karl’s book Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage is also a great study aid with lots of pictures and detailed explanation.
For those who have studied decades of German dressage like I have and wonder what the differences are between German and French dressage, Karl’s DVD Classic versus Classique is an amazing contrast with riding lessons from Philippe Karl and FEI German Trainer Christoph Hess. Here’s my thoughts about it after watching this DVD: Can German and French Dressage Co-Exist?
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
What does riding with lightness mean? Is it riding with looped reins? What about contact and its role in developing balance?
May 2016: I took one of my horses to a classical French dressage “Riding with Lightness” clinic taught by Susan Norman. Susan had been a 15-year student of the late Jean Claude Racinet and a three-year student of Philippe Karl. Both Racinet and Karl are highly acclaimed French classical dressage thinkers of our modern era and have studied the work of Baucher.
Well-meaning riders release their horses to lightness before their horses have learned balance and self carriage.
Susan holds dear the principle of riding with lightness, and when she said that she sees people riding their horses on loose reins when they shouldn’t, all of us at the clinic were braced for her next words. She continued to say that well-meaning riders release their horses to lightness before their horses have learned balance and self carriage.
What about the Tennessee Walking Horse Head Nod
Susan’s words really resonate with me as it relates to recent feedback I received from my gaited dressage mentor Jennie Jackson. A month ago, I had asked Jennie for feedback on ways to improve my Western gaited dressage with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana. Jennie said that I need to ride my mare with MORE contact to establish forward balance into the correct mechanics of the head nod.
Jennie explained that Makana wasn’t traveling through from behind to the bit, and it showed in the presence of a “head peck” instead of a “head nod.” A head peck is an upward nose flicking evasion which is disconnected from the hind leg steps. Whereas the head nod is when the head and neck bob downward in sequence with each hind leg as it steps deep under the body.
Watch: Is this a Tennessee Walking Horse Head Nod or a Head Peck?
After studying French classical dressage for the last year, my initial reaction to Jennie’s comment was, “What? Ride with MORE contact?!” But blending Jennie’s feedback with what Susan Norman said in her clinic put it into perspective.
Yes, ride with more contact UNTIL my horse learns to travel in a relaxed, balanced, forward rhythm with the correct mechanics of a head nod. THEN I can offer a release to a lighter contact and reward her AS LONG AS she remains in balance with the same quality of head nod. That’s what training for self carriage and lightness are all about.
Riding with floppy reins wasn’t training my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse to move in balance or in self carriage. Training my horse to lightness offers her a release to looped reins when she travels forward in relaxed balance and rhythm with the correct mechanics of a head nod.
If my horse leans on the bit, that’s when I briefly lift both reins upward with equal contact on the corners of my horse’s mouth and meet the heaviness. Then lower my hands to a neutral position as soon as my horse lightens.
The meaning and benefits of short reins
“There is no intimacy in long reins.” —Susan Norman
During the clinic Susan said, “There is no intimacy in long reins.” This was another profound statement coming from a dressage clinician who teaches lightness. Susan explained what riding with short reins is all about. Short reins don’t mean pulling back on the contact nor is it maintaining a heavy contact with the horse’s mouth. Short reins allow my fingers to have an even light feeling with the corners of the horse’s mouth. Short reins offer a dialogue with the horse. A soft move of a finger prepares my horse for what’s coming next. When my horse responds, my hands are quiet and in a neutral position.
Another benefit to riding with short reins is that they anchor my center of gravity over my horse’s center of gravity. When my elbows are at my sides, they align with my ears, shoulders, hips and heels over the horse’s center of balance. As soon as my reins grow too long, my elbows extend forward, and I begin to lean forward and lose my balanced alignment. Then my horse loses her balance, and she falls onto the forehand in response.
How do you know when your horse is in balance or not?
That’s the tricky part. Balance is something that takes time to develop a feel for. How balance feels on a Tennessee walking horse is different from that of a non-gaited horse and even from one horse to another within the same breed.
The best way to learn the feeling of balance is through regular lessons with an educated dressage instructor who can coach you as you ride your horse. Over time, you’ll develop a feeling of balance more instinctively as you ride on your own.
The counted walk by a naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse.
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…
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.
Using the counted walk as a way to create balance into the flat walk and 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
The Counted Walk
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 it 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 aboutLisa Maxwelland the DVD: Getting Started in Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as Taught by Jean Claude Racinet.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
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