Do you have a horse that walks off the minute you put your foot in the stirrup? Here’s a tip I learned that helps my horse relax and stand at the mounting block.
By Jennifer Klitzke
When my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana, was four years old, I took her to her first gaited dressage clinic with Bucky Sparks. I was so excited to be there and begin our gaited dressage journey.
I love Bucky’s teaching philosophy. He blends traditional dressage with practical elements of natural horsemanship. The former is what I came to the clinic for. However, I am forever grateful for the latter as I don’t know we would have learned much of the former if it hadn’t been for the latter.
You see, most of the time Makana stands perfectly at the mounting block until I get on, unless she is nervous. When my lesson time I was unable to get on. Every time I put my foot in the iron, Makana would walk off.
Thanks to Bucky, he showed me a helpful tip that worked that day and has helped me any time Makana doesn’t want to stand at the mounting block.
Watch: How to get on a horse that doesn’t want to stand
How to get on a horse that doesn’t want to stand:
1. Teach the horse to turn their head and neck to the side by slowly and gently drawing one rein to the saddle. Reward the horse by releasing as soon as the horse follows. Relaxation is the goal, not making the horse turn. Signs of relaxation include a lowering of the head and neck and when the horse licks and chews.
If the horse has tension in the poll, neck or shoulder, address these areas individually to release the tension before expecting a soft and relaxed turn to the side.
2. Once the horse understands how to turn to the side and is soft and relaxed, then turn the horse until the horse chews and lowers its head and neck. Then release the rein for a reward. Repeat this a couple more times.
3. Then turn the horse’s head and neck to the saddle and keep the horse turned while repositioning the mounting block and getting on. Then release the rein as a reward and encourage the horse to remain standing.
If the horse continues to walk off while turned to the saddle
During the clinic my horse kept walking off while in a turned position.
Bucky said, “You can’t make a horse stand.”
Don’t punish the horse. Just remain calm to encourage relaxation, keep the horse turned and gently follow the horse around. Pretty soon the horse will discover it is a lot easier to stand in a turned position than to walk around in a turned position.
Sure enough. It didn’t take long for my horse to stop. I repositioned the mounting block, got on, and released the rein. Then we moved on to the gaited dressage lesson I had signed up for.
This tip worked for me at the clinic and continues to work for me each time my horse doesn’t want to stand.
Questions?
Let me know your thoughts by completing the form below.
While both the flat foot walk and the flat walk have a head and neck nod and are even four beat gaits, how can you tell them apart?
Flat Foot Walk and Flat Walk: How can You Tell the Difference?
By Jennifer Klitzke
How can you tell the difference between a Tennessee walking horse flat foot walk and a flat walk? While the horse has a natural head and neck nod and natural four beat gait in both the flat foot walk and the flat walk, how can you tell the difference?
The main difference between the flat foot walk and the flat walk is that the flat foot walk still has a lot of motion in the horse’s back that the rider needs to follow. In the flat walk, the horse’s back is still and there isn’t motion to follow so the rider’s pelvis doesn’t move.
Not only that, both the flat foot walk and the flat walk can be ridden in many variations: free walk, working walk, medium walk, collected walk, extended walk.
Watch this video below:
Flat Foot Walk vs Flat Walk, How to Tell the Difference?
The secret is in watching the rider’s pelvis. If the pelvis is moving to follow each step, it is a flat foot walk. If the rider is still without bracing, it is a flat walk.
If you are the rider, it is a little trickier to discern. Begin to notice if in motion, the horse’s back is still, the gait is smooth as glass, it sounds like a four-beat gait with a head and neck nod with each hind leg step. Then it is likely a flat walk or running walk.
If the horse’s back has a lot of motion to follow with your pelvis, while the horse’s head and neck continue to nod with each step, it is likely a flat foot walk.
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 with neck rein turn moves balance from the outside shoulder to the inside shoulder.
Steps to the Counter Bend Neck Rein Turn:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
I began riding dressage with non-gaited horses in 1988. Back then we didn’t have videos, the internet, and the plethora of resources we have today. We were fortunate to have a traveling instructor to teach us.
The Pyramid of Training began with rhythm followed by relaxation. We believed that rhythm produced relaxation. So, for my first 20 years of dressage riding with non-gaited horses, I either lunged my horse until they relaxed (or worn out) or I rode them in 20-meter circles until they were relaxed (or bord). This is what was taught and what I did. I didn’t know there was another way.
How Tension Affects Horse and Rider
In 2007, I acquired a three-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana. I continued the dressage I learned with non-gaited horses. When she was young, Makana often worried about her surroundings and tensed her body. Tension created stiff movement. Was it quality smooth gaits. Not really. Mostly step pacing and a pacey canter.
Makana’s spooking certainly didn’t create relaxation in me. My tense reaction only reinforced her fear, step pacing, and perpetuated her worry. If I continued to ride her while she is worried, I felt like I was riding a stiff plank blowing in the wind, swirling around with each spook−praying to God that I stayed on long enough to establish rhythm in hopes of bringing about relaxation.
I wondered how long does a nervous rider ride a nervous horse through spooks and tension before rhythm is established and relaxation sets in for the horse?
If I could sweat it out, riding a step pacing stiff plank in the wind for an hour, was this really the best approach? What was I teaching my horse? Am I conveying anything positive to my horse through miles of tension? By working a worried horse, wasn’t I training my horse to be worried and reinforcing her fear with my fear? I certainly was reinforcing my fear!
Perhaps a relaxed rider could have helped Makana through her tension and spooking to rhythm until she relaxed. For me, it wasn’t working.
How Tension Affects Gaits
Does tension produce smooth gaits?
With my naturally gaited foxtrotting horse, Lady, when she was tense in her lower jaw, mouth, and poll, she tensed her back and that meant a rocky ride. Leaving it up to her, she’d grab the bit and blast off into a hard, hollow trot. If I pulled on the bit to slow her down, she trotted off even faster. She wasn’t having fun, and neither was I.
Perhaps after a few miles of a hard trot, Lady would have been tired enough to relax into a smooth gait. However, what kind of muscle memory was she learning if I were to lunge and/or ride Lady through the rhythm of a hard, hollow trot for miles until she wore out into relaxation? Wasn’t she just learning to run away in tension until she gave up? I had to find another way.
Barefoot and bareback naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse at 17 years old.
How French Dressage for the Gaited Horse Leads to Relaxation
In 2013, I began studying French dressage and applying it with my gaited horses. I began learning ways to lead my horses into relaxation of mind and body.
I purchased French Dressage Master, Philippe Karl’s DVDs: Classic vs Classique, Classical Dressage Volumes 1-4, and The School of Legerete. I also purchased and study his books: Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage and The Art of Riding.
My DVD collection of Classical French Dressage Master Philippe Karl.
In addition, I purchased Another Horsemanship, by the late French Dressage Master Jean-Claude Racinet and a video produced by one of his students, Lisa Maxwell, Getting Started in Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as Taught by Jean-Claude Racinet.
The late Jean Claude Racinet’s book Another Horsemanship and Lisa Maxwell’s DVD Getting Started In Lightness: The French Classical Dressage of Francois Baucher as taught by Jean Claude Racinet presented by one of his students Lisa Maxwell.
While Karl and the late Racinet teach dressage for non-gaited horses, I have found these methods work well for my naturally gaited horses and for me as the rider and trainer. The core of the French dressage philosophy is “respect for the horse” and the foundation of training is relaxation and balance (developed by the hand aid) and impulsion (developed by the leg aid) with separation of the “stop” and “go” aids. The ideal is to train the horse to be responsive to the lightest hand and leg aids.
Watch: How to Introduce the Gaited Horse to Accept and Follow Snaffle Bit Contact
This video shows How to Introduce the Gaited Horse to Accept and Follow Snaffle Bit Contact. The best ways to introduce contact is in hand. Then once the horse learns how to accept and follow a light snaffle bit contact, the same flexibility exercises can be applied in saddle at a halt. Then at a slow walk. The tempo may be increased as long as the horse remains relaxed. If the horse gets tense, bring the horse back to a slower tempo or a halt to restore relaxation.
Educating the horse’s mouth
Instead of lunging and riding a worried or tense horse for miles and miles in hopes to develop rhythm leading to relaxation, I have learned in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises. Then I proceed with the same relaxation and balancing exercises from the saddle at a halt and then at a slow walk. Progressively over time, I increase the tempo to a smooth gait and canter.
Anytime the horse begins to get tense or anxious, I slow down the tempo until relaxation is restored.
After establishing relaxation and balance at a halt, then exercises such as the shoulder in are added.
Through the work in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises, I’ve developed a better partnership of communication and trust with my gaited horses. I’ve found that learning these in-hand relaxation and balancing exercises make riding easier, since my horses already understand what I’m asking for. Within a few minutes of in-hand exercises, my horses are relaxed and ready for quality smooth gaits.
The Flechi droit on a 20-meter circle asks the horse to keep its body bent to the 20-meter circle while the head and neck bend more. This helps the horse find balance in the shoulders, stretches the outside neck muscles, and prepares the horse for balanced circles.
I might have an idea about what I’d like to work on during a riding session, but I am open to adjust these ideas to meet my horse needs. This way we have a productive ride.
Shoulder in on a circle and pivot the fore help Lady engage from behind, lift her back and whither by activating her abdominal and chest muscles, and relaxing the jaw, tasting the bit, getting softer on the bridle, and accepting contact.
Anytime my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse gets worried, or my Foxtrotting mare 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 relaxation of mind and body.
How relaxation in mind and body creates smooth gaits
For me and my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana, we don’t pass “GO” before she is relaxed in her mind, then her body. And for my naturally gaited foxtrotting mare, Lady, we don’t proceed until she has relaxation in her body, and then her mind.
Without relaxation, there is no quality rhythm, no quality steps, no trainable or teachable horse to produce quality smooth gaits.
Thankfully French dressage has been the training philosophy I needed for my naturally gaited horses. Directing the horse to relaxation in mind makes a teachable horse−less tense and distracted and able to stay more focused on our time together. Teaching the gaited horse to relax its body leads to smoother gaits.
Ways to lead the horse into relaxation are:
Teaching the horse to accept and follow a light snaffle bit contact
Teaching the horse how to relax the mouth, lower jaw, and poll which will help the horse relax the back
Riding with a snaffle bit contact and following the natural head and neck motion with relaxed hands, arms, and shoulders
Developing a partnership of trust and harmony with the horse
Relaxation of the horse’s jaw and back are especially important for the naturally gaited horse. The gaited horse is more prone to pacing when there is tension in the mouth, lower jaw, poll, and back, and has learned bit avoidance.
My Tennessee Walking Horse has learned to relax her mouth, lower jaw, poll, and back. The step pace and lateral canter are gone. Now she has quality smooth gaits such as flat walk, running walk and saddle rack, and her canter is a quality three-beat canter.
Smooth, natural gaits such as the flat walk, running walk, fox trot and saddle rack are fun to ride! Shown above is a naturally gaited and barefoot Tennessee walking horse performing an evenly timed, four beat flat walk with a head nod.
For my foxtrotting mare, by relaxing her mouth and lower jaw helps her relax her back. The hollow, hard trot is gone. Now she consistently offers a smooth gait.
Relaxation of mind and body has transformed Lady’s gait from hard trot to smooth gait.
Does a Relaxed Rider make a Difference?
Applying French dressage with my gaited horses in hand and in saddle has built my confidence as the trusted leader in our partnership. It has also helped me be a more relaxed rider when we increase the tempo to a smooth gait or canter.
Over the last several years, I have learned tools that have helped me become a more relaxed and confident rider. My relaxation and confidence lead my naturally gaited horses into relaxation of mind and body. From this relaxation in both me and my horses I can then help them produce quality, smooth gaits.
Riding my smooth gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana in a flat walk with neck extension. The neck extension allows the horse to both stretch its spine and build its top line while allowing maximum stride length.
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