Tag Archives: natural 4 beat gait

Jennifer Klitzke riding a gaited dressage school master — No better way to discover “the feeling of right” than by riding a gaited dressage school master.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Blooming trees and sunny daffodils, friendly southern folks, and lots of gaited dressage learning experiences to apply with my naturally gaited Walking horse Makana.

March 20-22, 2015 was my third Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic with Jennie Jackson. Only this time I traveled to White Stables near Knoxville, Tennessee instead of hosting a clinic in my state. I thoroughly enjoyed time with my gaited dressage mentor and an early spring with daffodils and flowering trees in full bloom, plus no snow. (Well, not until I returned home!)

En route to the clinic I had to stop by and visit the legendary naturally gaited dressage stallion Champagne Watchout. Still wearing his winter fuzzies, he stood handsome for a picture!

The first two days of the clinic were held in the spacious outdoor arena where Jennie taught riders the importance of teaching their horses lateral exercises such as pivot the fore and leg yield.

It is easiest to teach lateral exercises to the gaited horses in hand before applying them from the saddle.

Both leg yield and pivot the fore are helpful in relaxing the horse’s back and break up pace to establish a natural four beat gait. The pivot on the fore is a great exercise to teach riders the coordination of inside calf to outside indirect rein which relate with the horse’s inside hind leg as it steps beneath its body and neck, shoulder, and outside fore. Once each horse and rider understood these exercises in hand, they mounted up and applied the exercises from the saddle.

By day two every horse and rider were catching on wonderfully to these new exercises. Then Jennie proceeded to coach them to establish forwardness, rhythm, relaxation, and depth of stride in medium walk and gait. Each time the horse began to pace or stiffen, Jennie asked the rider to turn the horse into the fence and leg yield until the natural four beat gait returned.

Naturally gaited Champaign horse — Leg yield breaks up pace to restore a natural four beat gait.

The more advanced dressage riders worked on canter departs from a shoulder fore position, as well as breaking up stiffness at a flat walk (or trot) using shoulder in and haunches in. (I say “trot” because there were a few non-gaited horses at this clinic in addition to us gaited folk.)

This dressage rider brought her fiance's three-year-old TWH filly and got established in flat walk, running walk, rack and canter by day two! — This dressage rider brought her fiance’s three-year-old TWH filly and got established in flat walk, running walk, rack and canter by day two!

On the second day Jennie demonstrated canter and counter canter; showed the difference between flat walk and running walk; demonstrated how shoulder in, haunches in, shoulder out, and haunches out at a flat walk break up tension and stiffness within the horse to make them soft and supple; and she showed us ways to lengthen the gaited horse’s depth of stride.

Jennie Jackson demonstrates canter and romvere on a gaited horse — Contrary to popular belief, cantering the gaited horse actually improves the four beat gait while lateral exercises improve relaxation and suppleness.

Video: Jennie Jackson demonstrates cantering the gaited horse

Video: Jennie Jackson demonstrates how lateral exercises supple the gaited horse and improve depth of stride in the flat walk

The third day our group headed out to the trails to enjoy the beautiful 135 wooded acres surrounding White Stables.

Gaited horses and trotting horses riding together on a trail ride—who said it can’t be done!

What a great group of people I met in Tennessee. I couldn’t help but giggle at your friendly Southern accents, yet ya’all kept insisting that I was the one with the Minnes-O-ta accent!

Jennie Jackson Clinic Photo Gallery»

Thank you to White Stables for opening your beautiful facility to host the clinic. Thank you to Ronance for lending your exquisite gaited dressage school master to me, and thank you to Mary and Sydney for taking photos of me while I rode.

For Jennie Jackson’s Clinic schedule or to book a clinic in your area, connect with Jennie on Facebook at Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite.

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, Tips for the Gaited Horse

Age-defying Dressage with a Smooth Gaited Horse

October 14, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

age defying dressage with a gaited horse

When your body can no longer endure the sitting trot, it’s time to discover dressage with a naturally smooth gaited horse!

Age-Defying Dressage with a Smooth Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

H-X-F, extended trot along the diagonal. Oh, dread, my German warmblood Seiltanzer has never been smooth to sit, especially at the extended trot, and over the last twenty years both of us have aged. Each stride has become more dislodging, resulting in back pain, sagging breasts seeming to hit me in the face with each step, and sometimes “splash”—the loss of bladder control! What began as a beautiful dance between horse and rider has now become a losing fight with gravity.

In 2007, I joined other aging baby boomers and retired from showing hard-trotting horses, but I didn’t want to give up riding, especially the beautiful dance of dressage.

This quandary introduced me to the bounceless stride of the Tennessee walking horse, and I have learned that I’m not alone. The naturally gaited horse industry has seen a continual climb in popularity. Tennessee walking horses, Missouri foxtrotters, Rocky Mountain spotted horses, Icelandics, gaited mules, Paso Finos, and Peruvian Pasos are among these naturally smooth-gaited horse breeds. Not only that, I was thrilled to learn that dressage actually improves the gaited horse’s quality of movement. The principles of dressage build balance, forwardness, relaxation, suppleness, and engagement and can actually transform a pacey horse into a smooth four-beat gaiting dance partner.

Below are seven ways that improve the naturally gaited horses’s quality of movement using the dressage I learned while riding trotting horses. These humane training methods transform an ordinary ride into a beautiful dance—even while on the trail!

1. Equipment: Just as it is no fun to dance with ill-fitting shoes, an uncomfortable horse is an unhappy dance partner. Dressage methods are best applied by riding with a well-fitted snaffle bit that encourages salivation and acceptance of the bit, as opposed to bits that are engineered for pain avoidance. Remember to loosely adjust the noseband so your horse is able to open its mouth. A tight noseband causes undue tension that can show itself throughout all dance expressions. Equally important is a properly fitting saddle that does not pinch the shoulders or touch the wither while you’re in the saddle.

2. Stretching: Begin and end each dance session with 5-10 minutes of a forward moving without rushing walk. Follow your horse’s side-to-side belly sway with your hip joints and encourage your horse to maximize each step deep under its body. Allow the horse to stretch forward, down and out. Stretching helps lengthen the naturally gaited horse’s topline muscles and increase a horse’s stride. Be careful that the horse’s poll doesn’t drop below the wither height, or the gaited horse will begin to fall onto the forehand. It is important that the gaited horse remains balanced over all four feet during the stretching.

Neck extension at a flat walk — *This is a great example of a neck extension at a flat walk. My horse is engaged, lifting her back, stretching out, forward, and down at chest level with an even snaffle bit contact.*

3. Transitions: Choreograph every ride with changes of direction and tempo to keep it interesting for you and your horse. Walk-canter-walk, halt-rein back-walk, and transitions from walk to gait and back every 5-10 steps are great exercises that will improve the communication between you and your equine dance partner. Transitions can improve your horse’s responsiveness and graciously establish you as the dance leader.

4. Bending: Twenty-meter circles, three-loop serpentines, spiraling in and out of a circle are great exercises to encourage a horse to bend through the neck, shoulders, and rib cage, and teach the horse to step deeper under its body with its hind leg steps. Bending exercises improve a horse’s balance, lighten the forehand to carry itself more poised, and help smooth out a rough gait.

Lateral exercises at a collected walk — *Lateral exercises at a slow collected walk help the naturally gaited horse develop balance.*

5. Lateral exercises: Zig-zag leg yields, turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, haunches-in, shoulder-in, and half-pass are great dance moves to bring balance, supple and soften your gaited horse and build trust and communication between you and your dance partner.

6. Canter: It is a popular myth that cantering a gaited horse will ruin its naturally smooth four-beat gait. On the contrary, I have found that cantering actually improves my Walking Horse’s flat walk and running walk. Cantering up hills, in 20-meter circles, over ground rails and small jumps will strengthen your horse, lengthen its stride, and break up a pace.

7. Become a dressage student: There are a few gaited horse trainers and nationally known clinicians who I have learned from who use dressage methods to improve the movement of naturally gaited horses. Among them are Jennie Jackson, Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer. Audit their clinics, read their books, and watch their training DVDs or find an open-minded traditional dressage instructor to help you and your gaited horse get started with suppling exercises.

Dressage will help your gaited horse improve its smooth, four-beat gaits, and make your horse a more mentally connected dance partner. Dressage with your smooth gaited horse can transform even a ride on the trail into a beautiful dance you can comfortably enjoy well into your senior years.

What are your thoughts? Please reach out and send me a message or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and “like” us on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

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

Gaited Dressage at Lakeview Farm

July 4, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

By Jennifer Klitzke

I took my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana to Lakeview Farms on Saturday, June 21, 2014. The farm hosted an open schooling dressage show featuring traditional dressage, western dressage and gaited dressage. It isn’t surprising that we were the only gaited entry, but, I was surprised to learn that our First Level Test One ride was the highest level test ridden of all competitors that day!

Lakeview is a well chosen name since the facility is located on a lake shore. Only June’s record rains have created a few more than the one lake it is known for. Flooding forced the schooling show to the indoor arena.

After we rode NWHA Training Level Test Three, judge Nancy Porter, a long time USDF R-judge remarked, “That was very interesting. Judging a gaited horse in dressage is a first for me!”

I smiled and thanked her for accommodating us as there are few venues for gaited riders to get expert feedback from an “R” judge on where we are at with our balance, rhythm, harmony, relaxation, suppleness, transition, submission, rider’s position, and use of aids.

Our recent lessons with Jennie Jackson helped us maintain our bending through serpentines and 10 meter half circles at a flat walk, our connection has improved over last year, and my mare’s canter was clearly three beat with more roundness. We received respectable scores of 64.2% in Training Level Test Three and 65% in First Level Test One.

Lakeview plans on one more schooling dressage show this Fall. I hope more gaited folks will give it a try. This is a very low-key, beginner-friendly show with beautiful trails to ride and even a trail obstacle course to play around in after your tests are complete. In fact, I met two women at the show who own Tennessee walking horses and one of the women tacked up after my last ride and we took a lovely trail ride through the beautifully groomed wooded trails.

Thank you to Lakeview Farm for accommodating gaited dressage at their schooling dressage show and to Nancy Porter for judging. It was a privilege to ride for and receive feedback from a USDF “R” Judge.

Video: NWHA Training Level Test Three

Video: NWHA First Level Test One

Video: Backing an L-shape

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

2014 Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite Clinic

June 4, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

By Jennifer Klitzke

2014 Jennie Jackson Clinic: Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse

Coming from 28 years as a devoted dressage student riding trotting horses, dressage is not new to me. But applying dressage training methods to my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse has raised a few questions: How do I ride a head-shaking horse on-the-bit? Does the dressage training pyramid apply to the gaited horse? Can a gaited horse reach high levels of dressage? Is it possible to collect a gaited horse without trotting? What about rider position?

In January 2013 I stumbled upon Jennie Jackson’s Dressage en Gaite training DVDs and purchased them with my Christmas money in hopes of finding answers to these questions.

Jennie is the only person I’ve come to know IN HISTORY who has trained and shown a Tennessee walking horse to the highest levels of dressage: piaffe en gait, passage en gait, canter pirouettes, tempi changes, and has developed the full range of motion–collected through extended walks, gaits, and canters.

Watching Jennie’s DVDs began to answer my questions. That’s when I invited her to teach a Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic in MN last year. The clinic was a huge success. So this year, I team with the Minnesota Walking Horse Association for the 2014 Jennie Jackson Clinic held Friday-Sunday, May 30-June 1 in Proctor, MN.

Not only is Jennie the pioneer of Dressage en Gaite, she is an international Walking Horse judge and clinician and has a full scope of knowledge and experience with Tennessee walking horses‒from breeding through breaking, training and finishing, in and out of the show ring: English, western, trail obstacle, driving, stadium jumping, cross-country, and dressage. Plus, Jennie and her husband Nate have been on the front lines fighting soring and abuse for 30 years. What an honor to have them in our midst!

Auditors, riders, gaited horses, and a gaited mule came to the clinic from various backgrounds: some from the Walking horse show world, others from the trail, some new to dressage, and a few returned for more advanced dressage teaching.

Clinic riders and auditors experienced the importance of: teaching the horse relaxation, stretching and seeking a snaffle bit contact; teaching the horse to move away from the rider’s lower leg, step across and under its belly with its inside hind leg, and into the outside indirect rein through leg yield, turn on the fore, and shoulder in exercises; using ground rails to break pace; using half halts to discourage trot and establish a smooth four beat gait; establishing correct canter leads over ground rails; using travere through counter canter to maintain lead; applying the freshening canter to establish a true three-beat canter; collected walk-canter-walk transitions; simple changes at “X”; transitions between collected, medium, flat walk, and running walk; turn on the forehand; turn on the haunches; walk pirouettes; leg yield to half pass; introducing the kinton noseband and its function; introducing a double bridle and the function of the curb vs. the snaffle bit; plus demonstration rides by Jennie on some of the student’s horses to help riders, horses, and auditors understand the exercises Jennie taught.

I hope everyone who attended the clinic enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you Jennie and Nate Jackson for traveling to MN and to the MWHA for sponsoring this clinic!

Photo gallery>

For more about Jennie Jackson and Dressage en Gaite, visit Jennie Jackson: Dressage En Gaite