Tag Archives: dressage for gaited horses

Fear is a struggle many riders can relate to, like me. Yet there is hope. Today, I ride with much more confidence, and my horses have more faith in me, too.
Here’s my story…

Spooky Horse or Nervous Rider?

By Jennifer Klitzke

A traumatic fall in 1990 gripped me with paralyzing riding fear. I became a precautionary rider and only felt safe riding in a highly controlled environment. I only rode in an indoor arena, no distractions, on a calm day, in a small circle at a slow walk.

Control only lasted so long.

Famished, fear awaits another opportunity. My horse moves unexpectedly. Fear whispers, “Just what MIGHT happen next?”

Replaying falling flashbacks across my mind I must have fallen a hundred times by know. I halt frozen. I can’t breathe. My horse tenses. “Uh, oh, here we go again!” says fear.

I snatch up the reins. My horse begins the “I gotta get outta here” dance. “You’re going to fall off again!” warns fear. I quickly dismount in self-protection and return home wet with tears. Again.

Am I reacting to a spooky horse? Or am I leading my horse into a spookiness with my nervousness?

I faced a crossroads: Do I give up my passion for riding horses or courageously face this fear.

My passion wins out, and I courageously face my fear. Just how do I break this cycle?

Facing fear hasn’t been easy, nor was it an overnight fix. There were many who have helped me―including my faith. I couldn’t have overcome fear on my own.

Since 1990, I have developed a theory based upon my plight: Some horses are more reactive than others, and a fearful rider heightens a horse’s reactivity.

My husband proves it to me each time my horse spooks at the swaying bird-filled bush on a windy day. My darling husband hops on and in minutes he’s riding my horse by the disco bush without a care. I’ve had hundreds of riding lessons, and he’s had a handful. How does he do it?

For starters, I believe God brought horses into my life to mirror my soul and help me get in touch with what’s really going on. After a rough day at the office, I used to think going to the barn to ride my horses will make me feel better, only to have had a horrible ride and leave feeling even worse than when I arrived.

Two lessons can be gleaned from this. First of all, I believe God has used horses to teach me about myself and lean on him as my source of life, not wrongfully place the burden on my horses. From time to time, I lose sight of this, and horses continue to humble me and keep my priorities in order. God has given me life purpose, meaning, and an identity. He has also given me the courage to persevere through facing my riding fear and not give up.

Secondly, horses are sensitive creatures and react to what’s going on in me. When I have a rough day at the office, my horses mirror the junk in my soul. Now I’ve learned. If I desire a quality time with my horses, I need to leave work at work.

Jennifer Klitzke riding at a Larry Whitesell gaited horsemanship clinic — Larry Whitesell demonstrating and explaining
shoulder-in as I get a feel for it from the saddle.

In addition, I learned the importance of leadership from Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer. If my horse reacts to noise or sudden movement, how I react to my horse makes all the difference. When I maintain a sense of calm and redirect her attention back to balance and relaxation, that’s when we are successful. BUT when I react to what she MIGHT do, irrational fear springs up in me, my body tenses, I snatch up the reins, and this only reinforces my horse’s nervousness.

Larry and Jennifer taught me how to become a trusted leader with my horses and riding with the mindset of meeting the horse’s needs. Horses look to the rider for leadership. If the rider doesn’t lead the horse to a place of wellbeing, the horse will take matters into their own hands. Horses generally don’t make good decisions, so it is in our best interest that I learn how to lead well. I will stay safer, my horse will remain calmer, and the voice of fear will not whisper in either of our ears.

2013 jennie jackson dressage en gaite clinic — Jennie Jackson teaching dressage
as applied to the gaited horse.

Another mentor who has been instrumental in building my riding confidence is Jennie Jackson. She is the only person in history who has trained and shown a Tennessee Walking Horse to the highest levels of dressage with her naturally gaited stallion Champaign Watchout. Jennie has taught me how to ride my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse using dressage to develop quality smooth gaits. She has challenged me to confidently ride through the storms, and not react to them. These tips have increased my riding confidence and consequently, my mare spooks less.

Finally, developing a secure and balanced riding position builds rider confidence like none other. Right after facing my crossroads in 1990, I began studying riding bio-mechanics from Mary Wanless when she published her first book, The Natural Rider. This book addresses riding fear and how to overcome it.

Jennifer Klitzke riding at a Mary Wanless Clinic — Jennifer Klitzke riding her Spanish Mustang
getting established in the ABCs of riding
bio-mechanics with Mary Wanless.

Since then I have purchased Mary’s Ride With Your Mind DVD series, several of her other books, and have audited her clinics whenever she comes to my region. I was fortunate enough to have ridden at one of her clinics in 2012. Mary brought my book and DVD studies to real-time application. She taught me the importance of aligning my external anatomy, breathing deep into my stomach, and the isokinetic effort of bearing down my internal anatomy and sealing my seat and thighs alongside the saddle for a more secure position while distributing my body weight more comfortably along the horse’s back. Instead of fixing the horse, she challenged me to fix my riding position which naturally restores my horse’s way of going.

Mary’s riding bio-mechanics have taught me a more secure and balanced riding position. Because of this I am better able to confidently ride through spooks. As a result, there is less fear in me and I produce less reactive fear in my horse. This translates into less overall spooks and a more harmonious riding relationship with my horse.

So, what is my darling husband’s secret to calmly riding my horse by the disco bush? I think he is deeply grounded in his faith, he presents a trusted leadership with the horse, and a naturally balanced riding position. He doesn’t think about what the horse MIGHT do. In fact, his mind doesn’t even go there. If the horse were to spook, his secure position would keep him in the saddle, he wouldn’t react to the horse’s nervousness, he would bring the horse back to balance and relaxation, and the horse would look to him as the trusted leader.

Some horses are more reactive than others, and a fearful rider heightens a horse’s reactivity. The example of me and my husband riding the same horse within minutes of each other with the same conditions and completely different outcomes reinforces my theory.

If you struggle with riding fear, hang in there and persevere. Find others who can help you through this and don’t let fear win out. I’m sure glad that I did. My struggle with debilitating fear didn’t disappear overnight. But today I enjoy showing my naturally gaited Walking horse at open schooling dressage shows, trail riding, team penning, sorting cows, endurance races, jumping courses, and trail obstacles.

Fear no longer controls my life—thank God—I am FREE!

naturallygaited-riding-in-snow — Cow sorting

For more about riding bio-mechanics, visit mary-wanless.com.

For more about gaited dressage, visit Jennie Jackson at, www.facebook.com/groups/JennieJacksonDressageEnGaite/

For more about natural gaited horsemanship, visit Larry Whitesell’s Web site, whitesellgaitedhorsemanship.com and Jennifer Bauer’s Web site, gaitedhorsemanship.com

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

Gaited Horse Stories

A Bumpy Start to a Smooth Finish

January 1, 2015 Jennifer Klitzke

A Bumpy Start to a Smooth Finish

By Jennifer Klitzke

“Horse crazy!” my mom exclaimed.

Smiling, my mom stood on the back porch of her 1966 suburban Seattle backyard watching me, her three-year-old daughter riding through the dessert sunset. I’m bumping up and down on a spring-loaded plastic pony and pretending to be Jane West, a famous cowgirl. Mom mutters, “I don’t know where she gets it from maybe she’ll outgrow it.”

Forty-eight years later, I’m still “horse crazy.” Only I’ve upgraded from the low-maintenance variety to ones that eat and eliminate 50-pounds of waste each day.

With the exception of one week each summer at Girl Scout camp, I was horseless until someone said to me, “Jennifer, you’ll always be saying ‘someday I’ll get a horse’ unless you do it now.” At 22, I saved my money until I had $1,000 to buy my first horse, Seasons, a five-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred mare.

First horse: Five-year-old ex-race horse

One of the boarders at Jacqueri Oaks Stables asked me if I was going to take lessons. At that time I thought lessons were for people who didn’t own horses and provided them with a way to ride. Little did I know the importance of learning how to effectively communicate with horses in ways they understood.

That summer I stopped by the annual Brightonwood Dressage Show, in Maple Plain, Minnesota just in time to watch Kathy Theissen waltz with her horse Bullwinkle. The pair performed a musical freestyle in perfect rhythm. As if effortless, Bullwinkle skipped along the arena, changing canter leads with each stride. Then he powerfully soared along the diagonal in an extended trot, seeming not to touch the ground—all the while, Kathy smiled in pure delight while sitting that bumpy trot so elegantly. The teamwork, beauty and connection deeply inspired me.

From that moment on I was set out to study this form of riding called “dressage,” a French term for “training of the horse and rider.” This humane and natural training method produces balance, rhythm, relaxation, suppleness, connection and forwardness in the horse and teaches rider effective use of aids and riding position.

In 1988, I sold Seasons to a young girl who was just beginning her riding career. Later I fell in love with a five-year-old Thoroughbred/ Trakehner named SeilTanzer. His loose, scopey movement had hang time, and his personality gelled well with mine. Indeed, this was the dance partner I searched for. Seili and I showed successfully through second level dressage.

The next few years it was like driving 65 mph through a Minnesota Spring riddled with potholes. My husband of 17 years left our marriage three days before Christmas. Then I lost my home, my good-paying job and Seili turned lame at age 13. Thankfully God gave me courage and strength to get through these dark and bumpy years.

And thankfully, the story didn’t end there. Several years later I remarried to a wonderful husband, Dan, and we moved from the city to a hobby farm and Seili recovered from his lameness.

By 2007, my grandma body felt like a rusty car with bad shocks when it came to riding Seili’s sitting trot. I liked the thought of a non-bouncy gaited horse. Yet I wondered if the dressage training methods I had learned on trotting horses would apply to the gaited horse or would I have to start over and learn a different style of riding? These thoughts ran through my mind as I searched for a new horse.

Makana in 2006 — My dream horse: naturally smooth gaited, friendly, trainable, and BLACK!

That Valentine’s Day, my husband surprised me with a black, just turning three-year-old Tennessee walking horse mare named Makana (Hawaiian for “gift”). She had 20 rides on her. In addition to her smooth gait, I fell in love with her friendly personality, trainability, and striking beauty.

I couldn’t help but giggle in pure joy riding her: how can a horse travel so fast and be so smooth? Not only that, but all of my dressage training has translated beautifully in working with Makana in establishing balance, rhythm, relaxation, suppleness, connection and forwardness. There are differences in the gaits and the head nod from that of trotting horses, but the dressage training methods, rider position and rider’s use of aids still apply.

Have I outgrown horses?

Certainly not, I am more horse crazy today than ever. And now with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, and a horse-happy husband, I am enjoying a smooth finish to a bumpy beginning.

Naturally gaited four beat flatwalk — My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana (Hawaiian for Gift)

stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and joining our community on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Gaited Dressage: The Feeling of Right

November 29, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

The Feeling of Right

By Jennifer Klitzke

Effective dressage training comes through developing “the feeling of right” as it relates to the naturally gaited horse’s balance, relaxation, rhythm, connection, engagement, straightness, and collection.

This means discerning when the naturally gaited horse begins to move off course in order to restore the horse’s balance, relaxation, rhythm, connection, engagement, and straightness. It takes time to develop what balance feels like in each naturally smooth gait and feel the difference between a quality and impure gait from the saddle, to feel when the horse begins to rush or lag, go hollow, duck behind the bit, drop its back, fall on the forehand, get tense in the jaw, lack bend or rhythm, and the list goes on.

I began my dressage journey in 1988 riding hard trotting horses and competed successfully through second level until my aging dressage horse retired in 1996.

Over the next 16 years I moved to a hobby farm in non-dressage country and relied on the knowledge and skills gained through 12 years of regular dressage lessons.

Then in 2007, I purchased my first naturally gaited horse—mainly to save my aging body from the jarring sitting trot. I knew nothing about training gaited horses. All I knew is that I wanted SMOOTH, and out of default dressage became our method of training. I wasn’t even sure if dressage and gaited horses worked together. We would just have to find out.

While there are many similarities between riding trotting and riding naturally gaited horses, I quickly discovered how “the feeling of right” on a trotting horse is not the same as how it feels on a naturally gaited horse. I had leaned the feeling of feel balance, rhythm, impulsion, connection, straightness, and collection in trot, yet trot and flat walk feel entirely different. Adding to that is the head and neck nod!

I became perplexed with questions like: How do I develop “the feeling of right” between one smooth feeling and another smooth feeling? The flat walk, rack, fox trot, stepping pace, and running walk are all SMOOTH? Once I recognize a gait, what does balance, relaxation, rhythm, engagement, connection, straightness, and collection feel like in each smooth gait? How do I ride a head nodding horse while maintaining an even contact with both reins?

I had 20 years experience developing “the feeling of right” on trotting horses and this gaited dressage thing was a whole new feeling of right to discover.

It became clear that I needed dressage lessons with my naturally gaited horse to develop a new sense of “the feeling of right.” Since gaited dressage instruction didn’t exist in my area, I began trailering my horse to gaited dressage clinics that came to my region each year. Receiving instruction from Jennie Jackson, Larry Whitesell, Jennifer Bauer, and Bucky Sparks began to give me a better feel for balance, relaxation, rhythm, engagement, connection, straightness, and collection in order to develop discernment between the smooth gaits, and gait quality.

If you’re fortunate enough to live by a gaited dressage instructor, start taking regular lessons with your naturally gaited horse. If not, join a local dressage club to connect with dressage riders and find an open-minded dressage instructor who will teach you a balanced rider position and effective use and timing of rein, seat, leg and weight aids as you lead your naturally gaited horse into “the feeling of right” as it relates to balance, relaxation, rhythm, engagement, connection, straightness, and collection in the smooth gaits.

Pursuing “the feeling of right” is an ongoing journey and thanks to the quality instruction I’ve received, I’m developing a better sense of it. You can, too!

If you are on this gaited dressage journey, I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me, join the NaturallyGaited Facebook community, and subscribe to the NaturallyGaited YouTube channel.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Shows

Where to Show Gaited Dressage

November 14, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

By Jennifer Klitzke

Schooling dressage shows are a terrific way to get feedback from a dressage professional as to where you and your horse are at with balance, rhythm, connection, engagement, relaxation, harmony, accuracy of the required movements, gait quality, and your balanced riding position and effective use and timing of your leg, seat, and rein aids. The score sheets provide terrific feedback from a trained dressage professional to confirm what is going well, what needs to improve, and when you and your horse are ready to move up a level.

Where to Show Gaited Dressage

After a 16-year break from competitive dressage, I never imagined that I’d return to the dressage arena on a horse that didn’t trot!

In 2007, I purchased Gift of Freedom, a just turning three-year-old Tennessee walking horse filly with 20 rides on her. I knew nothing about gaited horses. All I knew is that I wanted SMOOTH and out of default dressage became our method of communication. I wasn’t sure if dressage and gaited horses went together‒we would just have to give it a try.

Then in 2010, I learned of a schooling dressage show in my area, so I contacted the show manager and asked if I could ride my gaited horse using the National Walking Horse Association tests which are patterned after the United States Dressage Federation tests with flat walk and running walk replacing trot.

Thankfully the show manager and judge accommodated us. I received the feedback I was seeking to know where we were at in our training.

Since 2010 I’ve ridden 60 dressage tests at traditional schooling dressage shows. These low key, beginner-friendly shows are a terrific way to get feedback from a trained dressage professional as to where we are at with balance, rhythm, connection, engagement, relaxation, harmony, accuracy of the required movements, gait quality, and my riding position and effective use and timing of leg, seat, and rein aids.

The judge makes comments to a scribe during my test that are written on a score sheet. This feedback is so helpful to confirm what is established in our training, areas we still need to work on, and when we are ready to move to the next level of training.

If showing dressage with your naturally gaited horse is something you’d like to try, below are a few ways to get it started in your area.

Where to show gaited dressage in your area:

1. Take dressage lessons

If you’re lucky enough to live by a gaited dressage instructor, start taking regular lessons. If not, join a local dressage club to connect with dressage riders and start taking lessons with an open-minded dressage instructor who will teach you a balanced riding position and effective use and timing of your leg, seat, and rein aids as you learn how to direct your gaited horse into relaxation, balance, rhythm, connection, engagement, straightness, and collection in your horse’s easy gait. A dressage instructor can help you connect with local schooling shows.

2. Find traditional schooling dressage shows in your area through a local dressage club

Contact the show manager in advance and ask if you can enter your naturally gaited horse using FOSH, NWHA, or Western gaited dressage tests. Then mail the tests with your entry so that the judge can get familiar with the tests before the show. (I have found that the NWHA tests have been easier to accommodate for traditional dressage schooling shows since they are patterned after the USDF test that the judges are already familiar with.)

3. Find a gaited horse show and volunteer to help coordinate dressage classes

Ask a gaited breed show manager if they would be open to offering gaited dressage classes and then get a few friends to help you organize it.

Details include setting up the dressage ring with letters and ropes or chains and a judge table with two chairs, hiring an “r” judge, finding volunteers to scribe, be the ring steward, organize the order of ride times in advance, informing the riders of their times, completing the score sheets after each test is ridden, and post the percentages for all to see.

4. Organize a schooling dressage show in your area

Organize a show that is open to gaited, western dressage, and traditional dressage riders. If you have a riding facility, this can be a money-making opportunity for you and a way to reach new boarders and students.

5. Submit your video to virtual schooling shows

Here’s an exciting collaboration between Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) and North American Western Dressage (NAWD) which allows for inclusive competition with other naturally gaited horse and rider teams worldwide without ever leaving your backyard!

In 2013, FOSH introduced a Gaited Dressage program for live showing where you submit copies of your tests at the end of the year for awards. In addition to the Traditional live show category, FOSH has expanded the Gaited Dressage program to include a “Virtual” category using the NAWD Virtual Schooling Show “Gaits Wide Open” platform. The FOSH Gaited Dressage rules apply to both the Traditional and Virtual categories. Each category will be awarded separately, yet you may choose to participate in both.

The FOSH Virtual Schooling Show “Gaits Wide Open” category is open to Western (and English) gaited dressage using any of the tests included in the FOSH Independent Judges Association Manual for Gaited Dressage (pdf). All Virtual Gaited Dressage tests will be judged by licensed IJA dressage judges.

For more information about the FOSH Gaited Dressage Program, visit Friends of Sound Horses Gaited Dressage Program.

For more information about the NAWD Virtual Schooling Shows, visit North American Western Association Virtual Schooling Shows.

I long for the day when I’m not the only gaited dressage entry riding among the trotting horses in my area. My hope is that this longing will soon be satisfied as gaited dressage grows in popularity.

Do you show your naturally gaited horse in dressage? If so, I’d love to hear from you. Please reach out and share your story by sending me a message.Or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and joining our community on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Shows

Naturally Gaited Dressage

November 1, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

By Jennifer Klitzke

To me naturally gaited dressage is a humane method of training and communicating with a horse that brings about beauty and harmony, balance, rhythm, relaxation, and suppleness, which results in gait quality. It develops a connection of trust and respect between horse and rider, and as the relationship grows in trust, understanding, skill and refinement, the horse and rider transform into a wonderful dance partnership without the use of heavy shoes, big bits and spurs, and mechanical devices.

I took my naturally gaited walking horse Makana to North Run Farm for our last schooling dressage show of the season. We were the only gaited entry among trotting horses. I bring her to schooling dressage shows because I like to get feedback from a professional eye as to where we are at in our training as it relates to balance, rhythm, gaits, impulsion, submission, harmony, rider position and effective use of aids, and accuracy of the required movements. It helps confirm areas of improvement and areas we still need to work on.

At the North Run show several spectators were given an introduction to dressage as it applies to the gaited horse. After every two test rides, the arena opened for ten minutes of schooling, so Makana’s expressive head shaking movement was quite the contrast as we warmed up with the trotting horses! Many onlookers had never seen a gaited horse ridden dressage style, barefoot and in a snaffle bit (without mechanical devices, big bits, and heavy shoes). Plus, the SMOOTH ride was evident in comparison to the bouncy sitting trot.

Thanks to the fine coaching I had received from Jennie Jackson this summer, the dressage judge remembered us from last year and commented on how we had made a noticeable improvement. We placed 5th of 9 in Training Level with a score of 67% and 4th of 6 in First Level with a score of 68.966%.

A huge thank you to my wonderful husband who volunteered to film my rides. (Wow, I love that man!)

Photos>

Video: Warming up with the Trotters