Tag Archives: naturally gaited horse

The Versatile Gaited Horse

Every Horse is Good for Something

When I first bought my naturally gaited TWH Makana, Candace Rundell was one of the first friends I made with the Minnesota Walking Horse Association. How she acquired her naturally gaited Spotted Saddle Horse, Yankee Doodle Mandy, is heroing on its own. Yet it is the adversity I witnessed this duo face which exemplifies a shining example of hope, a trusting partnership, and what is possible when you persevere to never let up on your dreams.
—Jennifer Klitzke

Jazzy 2013 3 gait champions
Candace Rundell riding her naturally gaited Spotted Saddle Horse mare Yankee Doodle Mandy in one of their dozens of Country Pleasure Championship rides.

Every Horse is Good for Something

By Candace Rundell, Guest Writer

I’ve been horse crazy as long as I can remember and owned my first horse at the age of 9. Gaming and trail riding on the bouncy variety were my gig until I became acquainted with a naturally smooth gaited Spotted Saddle Horse in an unexpected way.

In 2003, my sister and I went to an auction, and I was drawn to a 1993 black and white Tobiano Spotted Saddle Horse mare named Yankee Doodle Mandy (Jazzy). After talking with the seller, I tested out Jazzy’s naturally smooth gait. I liked her a lot, only I didn’t come to the auction to buy. I wasn’t in a place to take on a horse.

When the auction began, my sister and I noticed that not all of the horses were getting sold to good homes. We were sickened to learn that the horses no one bid on were being sold to the “kill buyer.”

Just as my sister and I were ready to leave, Jazzy’s owner caught up to us and said that no one had bid on her. The owner explained that she was pregnant and had promised her husband that she wouldn’t return home with the horse. I saw her husband anxiously waiting by their rig and ready to get going. The woman said in a panic, “It’s either you or the “kill buyer.”

My sister reached into her purse and wrote out a check for $600, and that’s how my first gaited horse entered my life.

“Every horse is good for something.”

Although Jazzy had a smooth ride, we were off to a rocky start. She was rather wild and used to charge at me which gave me quite a scare. After we overcame that hurdle, it took 45 minutes to saddle her and another 45 minutes to get on her back.

Remembering what Seabiscuit’s trainer, Tom Smith once said, “Every horse is good for something,” I set out to become educated about naturally gaited horses and the Spotted Saddle Horse breed. I joined the Minnesota Walking Horse Association (MWHA) and began attending clinics.

Slowly over time Jazzy and I developed a trusting bond, and she blossomed into a wonderfully reliable trail mount. In 2004, Jazzy and I became the MWHA Adult Trail Riding Reserve Champion.

barrels
Gaming the gaited horse.

Back in my younger years when I rode trotting horses, I gamed a lot. So in 2006, I entered Jazzy at a local show which offered two-gait game classes. That year we won the 2006 WSCA Free Spirit Riders Spring Fun Payday Walk Trot (two gait) High Point.

Then Jazzy and I rode at a MWHA sponsored B.L.E.S.S. your gaited horse clinic with Bucky Sparks. At this clinic those who watched our rides encouraged me to give gaited breed shows a try. Up until that point showing Jazzy in rail classes had never occurred to me.

gaited horse cantering
Despite the set back of Jazzy losing an eye in February 2010, Candace and Jazzy’s amazing partnership of trust developed their canter before traveling to the Nationals in Missouri.

So in 2009, I began showing Jazzy at gaited breed shows. To my surprise and delight, Jazzy earned Champion in Country Pleasure Amateur Owned and Trained 2 Gait, Reserve Champion Country Pleasure English 2 Gait, Reserve Champion Country Pleasure Western 2 Gait at the MWHA Celebration Show, and we became the 2009 MWHA Trail Riding Champion.

Looking ahead to 2010, I set a goal for Jazzy and I to develop our canter and travel to Missouri for the North American Pleasure Horse Championships.

Before the 2010 show season began, Jazzy sustained a serious eye injury in the pasture. I was devastated to learn that she would lose her eye. During the surgery, Jazzy developed atrial fibrillation from the anesthesia which caused a permanent irregular heartbeat. I feared that she wouldn’t be ride-able again, or worse, that I’d have to put her down.

“You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little.”

Thankfully Jazzy recovered from surgery quickly, and my confidence grew when I began riding Jazzy and discovered that she had become even more responsive and wiling than when she had two eyes!

Seabiscuit’s trainer, Tom Smith once said, “You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little.” So just two months after surgery, I took Jazzy to a cutting horse clinic. Not only was she the only one-eyed horse at the clinic, but she was the only gaited horse, and the clinician used her as the demonstration horse because of how soft and responsive she was.

Losing an eye didn’t stop us from pursuing our goals and reaching our dreams. Jazzy and I went on to a stellar 2010 show season. Jazzy earned Champion Country Pleasure English 2 Gait and Champion Country Pleasure Western 2 Gait at the 2010 MWHA Celebration Show before traveling to the North American Pleasure Horse Championships in Missouri to be crowned with a National SSH 3 Gait Grand Championship!

2010 National Grand Champion
Candace Rundell riding Yankee Doodle Mandy at the North American Pleasure Horse Championships in Missouri where the team earned a National SSH 3 Gait Grand Championship the same year after Jazzy lost her eye.

Since 2010, Jazzy and I have gone on to become an ambassador for naturally gaited horses and the Spotted Saddle Horse breed. Jazzy has participated in parades, mounted shooting, cattle work, English and western rail classes, reining, games, speed events, trail trials, and has been a flag bearer. Not only that, but Jazzy is an easy keeper and in good weight—even in the harshest of winters. She has GREAT feet, too, and has never needed shoes.

Gaited horse and trail obstacles
Candace Rundell and her naturally gaited Spotted Saddle Horse mare Yankee Doodle Mandy negotiating a trail obstacle.

As Jazzy turned 22 this year she will retire to a life of trail riding for others who want to come and ride with me as I train and show my other naturally gaited Spotted Saddle Horses.

Indeed, every horse is good for something. I am so glad that I pressed on through the rough beginning to experience the partnership Jazzy and I have developed and all we have accomplished together—even after losing an eye.

Candace Rundell and Yankee Doodle Mandy’s Impressive Show Record
2004 MWHA Adult Trail Riding Reserve Champion
2006 WSCA Free Spirit Riders Spring Fun Payday Walk Trot (2 Gait) High Point
2009 MWHA Celebration Champion Country Pleasure Amateur Owned and Trained 2 Gait
2009 MWHA Celebration Reserve Champion Country Pleasure English 2 Gait
2009 MWHA Celebration Reserve Champion Country Pleasure Western 2 Gait
2009 MWHA Trail Riding Champion
2010 MWHA Celebration Champion Country Pleasure English 2 Gait
2010 MWHA Celebration Champion Country Pleasure Western 2 Gait

2010 North American Pleasure Horse Championships, Sedalia, MO

  • Spotted Saddle Horse Western 3 Gait Grand Champion
  • Spotted Saddle Horse Western 2 Gait Reserve Champion
  • Spotted Saddle Horse Youth Reserve Champion
  • Hi 7 Reserve Champion
  • Spotted Saddle Horse Division Champion with 88 points

2010 AHAGN OSIP Pleasure/Performance Champion
2010 AHAGN OSIP Game Champion
2010 MWHA Country Pleasure Champion
2011 SSLCF Walk Trot (2 Gait) High Point
2011 MWHA MN Celebration 3 Gait Country Pleasure Champion
2011 MWHA MN Celebration Youth Country Pleasure Champion
2011 MWHA Country Pleasure 2 Gait High Point Champion
2011 MWHA Country Pleasure 3 Gait High Point Champion
2011 MWHA Country Pleasure Youth High Point Reserve Champion
2011 AHAGN OSIP Pleasure/Performance Champion
2012 Kutaways Spring Payday Senior High Point
2012 Countryside Saddle Club Spring Show Senior Plus Pleasure High Point
2012 MWHA MN Celebration Country Pleasure 3 Gait Reserve Champion
2012 SSLCF Walk Trot (2 Gait) High Point
2012 Northwood’s Saddle Club INC Pleasure Reserve Champion
2012 Northwood’s Saddle Club INC All Around Champion

2012 SSHBEA OIP

  • Adult Champion
  • Western Horsemanship Champion
  • Reining Champion
  • Stock/Ranch Champion
  • Western Pleasure Champion
  • English Pleasure Champion

2012 AHAGN OSIP Pleasure/Performance Champion
2012 AHAGN OSIP Game Champion

2012 Minnesota Walking Horse Association

  • 2 gait Country Pleasure Reserve Champion
  • 3 gait Country Pleasure Champion

2012 MWHA Horse of the Year
2013 SSLCF Pleasure / Performance High Point
2013 MWHA MN Celebration ADP 3 Gait Champion
2013 DFA Summer show 35+ Pleasure High Point
2013 Brew City Classic Charity Show ADP 3 Gait Reserve Champion
2013 ASCA All Around Pleasure Reserve Champion
2013 ASCA English Pleasure Reserve Champion
2013 ASCA English Equitation Reserve Champion
2013 DFA 35+ Game Champion
2013 DFA 35+ Pleasure Champion
2013 Tri-State 3 Gait Country Pleasure Champion
2013 MWHA Country Pleasure 3 Gait Champion

2013 SSHBEA OIP Adult Overall Champion

  • Gymkhana Champion
  • Saddle Seat Champion
  • Equitation champion
  • Trail Obstacle Champion
  • Reigning Champion

2014 SSLCF Pleasure Reserve High Point
2014 Mn Celebration Champion English ADP 3 Gait
2014 MN Celebration ADP West 3 Gait Champion
2014 Brew City Classic ADP 3 Gait Reserve Champion
2014 Tri-State ADP English 3 Gait  Champion
2014 Tri-State ADP Western 3 Gait Champion
2014 Tri-State Model Reserve Champion
2014 DFA Senior Plus Pleasure Champion

2014 SSHBEA OIP Adult Overall Champion

  • Gymkhana Champion
  • English Pleasure Champion
  • English Equitation Champion
  • Western Pleasure  Champion
  • Western Horsemanship Champion
  • Trail Obstacle Champion
  • Reigning Champion

2014 Tri-State Horse of the Year
2014 MWHA Reserve Champion Model, Champion
ADP 3 Gait, Champion Versatility
2015 Free Spirit Riders Spring High Point
2015 DFA Spring Reserve High point Pleasure
2015 DFA Spring Reserve High point games
2015 SSLCF Reserve High Point Pleasure
2015 MWHA MN Celebration ADP 2 Gait Reserve Champion
2015 MWHA MN Celebration ADP 3 Gait Champion
2015 DFA Summer High Point Pleasure
2015 WSCA DFA Buckle Series Reserve Champion High Point Pleasure
2015 WSCA DFA Buckle Series 3rd High Point Games
2015 Brew City Classic ADP 3 Gait Western Reserve Champion
2015 Brew City Classic SSH 2 Gait Western Reserve Champion
2015 Brew City Classic ADP 3 Gait English  Reserve Champion
2015 Brew City Classic AOT 2 Gait  Reserve  Champion
2015 Tri-State All Day Pleasure Amateur 3 Gait
2015 Tri-State All Day Pleasure Western 3 Gait
2015  SSHBEA OIP Overall Adult Champion Candace Rundell

2015 SSHBEA OIP Champion Yankee Doodle Mandy

  • Gymkhana
  • Trail
  • English  Pleasure
  • English  Equitation
  • Western  Pleasure
  • Western  Horsemanship
  • Halter
  • Showmanship

Qualified for WSCA Champ Show 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015

Candace Rundell Yankee Doodle Mandy and Bo's Whistling Dixie
Candace Rundell pictured with naturally gaited Spotted Saddle Horses Yankee Doodle Mandy (left) and Bo’s Whistling Dixie (right).

Candace Rundell and her husband own The Last Resort Farm in Brookston, MN where they rescue, breed, raise and train Spotted Saddle Horses. Candace is a SSHBEA Certified Inspector and SSHBEA Outreach Incentive Program Chair.

I hope you enjoyed reading Candace’s story about her partnership with her versatile Spotted Saddle Horse mare Yankee Doodle Mandy. If you have a naturally gaited horse you’ve developed a special relationship with and ride gaited dressage or versatility, and would like to share your story on NaturallyGaited.com, please contact me by completing the contact form. —Jennifer Klitzke

The Versatile Gaited Horse

The Critical Student

the critical student

Since many teachers make up the breadth and depth of a student’s education, could it be the same for one’s riding studies? Here’s my story.

The Critical Student

By Jennifer Klitzke

The sound of my sneakers gripping the polished floor caught the attention of fellow students as I entered the classroom. Looking around for a place to sit, Professor Larson interrupts the glances, “If you want an “A” you’ll have to sit in the front row.” Giggling classmates lighten my apprehensive return to college after a 21-year break.

Professor Larson was teasing of course. I regathered my items and took a seat in the “A” row. I have an ambitious nature (and my peepers don’t see as good as they used to).

Professor Larson made it his mission to form critical students by encouraging each of us to listen, take notes, think through, and apply what is presented. That’s how learning is best retained.

I discovered that you don’t have to be in school to learn, but college put words to what I had already been doing as a student of dressage. For years I have been taking notes after each dressage lesson and clinic I’ve ridden at. I practice what I’ve been taught in efforts to form a new habit. I even take notes while watching instructional DVDs and while auditing clinics. I underline and scribble notes in the margins of dressage books I purchase. I think through the concepts presented. Then I try them out the next time I ride.

In fact, in his book, Reflections on Equitation Art, the late Nuno Oliviera wrote, “I know that I still have much to learn, and will go on learning until my dying day, not only my riding, but my studying, thinking deeply, and observing.”

For one of the greatest dressage masters of our time to feel there is still so much to learn through riding, studying, and thinking critically encourages me in my lifelong learning pursuits.

My favorite way to learn is through lessons, but there isn’t anyone in my area who teaches dressage, let alone dressage for the gaited horse, so between traveling clinicians with Jennie Jackson and others, my second most helpful way to learn is through video. Each week I set up my Pivo with my cell phone and record my ride. After each exercise, I stop and describe how it felt to the camera. Then when I replay the video, I can verify if what I see on screen matches what I felt from the saddle. I guess you could call it a form of self-help dressage for the gaited horse (and rider) instruction!

I became a student of dressage in 1988 with my first riding instructor. For 12 years she did a wonderful job coaching me from Training level through Second level competition with my Trakehner/Thoroughbred gelding. She taught me a solid foundation of the feeling of right and what to do when it felt wrong (at least from the German dressage paradigm).

Back then I felt like a traitor if I took lessons from anyone other than my instructor or dabbled with another training philosophy, so I became locked into only one view of riding.

Looking back, I think this was rather silly. Professor Larson wasn’t the only teacher who encompassed my college education. I learned from dozens of professors who collectively imparted diverse knowledge to form the breadth and depth of my study.

After 12 years of dressage lessons with my first instructor (for which I am grateful), much has changed in both our lives. I remarried and moved away. My instructor went to Seminary and is now an ordained Pastor leading a church (and still riding horses of course)!

In fact, in his book, Reflections on Equitation Art, the late Nuno Oliviera wrote, “By reading, riding, and meditating great results may be obtained if there is a true feeling for the horse, provided the rider’s seat is good, without following exactly all the details of any one method.”

Thankful for my years under my first dressage instructor’s mentorship, my curiosity and passion for learning didn’t stop when our paths met forks in the road. It actually freed me to try new philosophies beyond my German dressage foundation. I acquired my first smooth gaited horse and dressage for gaited horses with Jennie Jackson and Larry Whitesell; cross country and gymnastic jumping with Len Danielson; began trail riding; trail obstacles; endurance riding; orienteering; sorting cows and team penning. Then was introduced to natural horsemanship with Pat Parelli and the importance of groundwork. Began studying natural hoof trimming, and then the study of classical French dressage. All of these instructors, riding philosophies, and versatilities have added to the depth and breadth of my naturally gaited riding experience.

You see, I am open to humane ideas and activities that foster and build teamwork, trust, balance, relaxation, forward movement without rushing, lightness, and symmetry, as I work with my naturally gaited horses. To me learning goes beyond the knowledge of just one instructor and one training paradigm.

My favorite way to learn is through lessons, especially as I navigate uncharted territory and apply dressage with my head shaking, four beat flat walking smooth gaited horses. Between lessons, I sift through my treasure chest of notebooks, dressage books, videos and DVDs, and if I don’t find an answer, I Google it or search Youtube.

While I’m blessed with an abundance of online resources and much of it free, it can get tricky knowing which ideas to consider and which ones to discard. Often times one philosophy contradicts another. That’s when I become a critical student. I’ll listen to an idea, think it through. If I believe it has merit, I’ll try give it a try. Evaluate it, and if it helps my horse find balance, relaxation, and helps us build harmony, I will add it to my treasure chest. If not, I’ll pitch it. If I’m in question, I’ll ask my riding friends what they think and pick my instructor’s brain during my lesson time.

Trying out a new idea doesn’t replace everything I’ve learned up to that point. Nor does it mean that by embracing ideas from a new training philosophy or instructor means scrapping everything I’ve learned from another. I merely add workable ideas to my methods of getting to my final outcome—which is a work in progress.

In the end, my intention aims to bring about a harmonious partnership with my horse, moving together in balance and relaxation, bringing about the best quality smooth gaits and full range of motion, lightness of aids, consistent rhythm, and symmetry as it relates to the gaited horse.

You see, I’m passionate about learning and will always consider myself a student—into my grandma years and beyond.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.

Visit website: NaturallyGaitedHorse.com
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Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Tips for the Gaited Horse

Rider Position and its Effect on the Gaited Horse

rider position and its effect on the gaited horse

Did you know that there is more than one rider position? Did you know that rider position has an effect on the horse and smooth gait? Did you know that rider position can place you in a more secure position to help you confidently ride through spooks?

Rider Position and its Effect on the Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

Since 1988, I’ve taken hundreds of dressage lessons, ridden at dressage clinics, read many books, and watched dozens of dressage videos. When it comes to rider position, there are a variety of methods.

Comparing Rider Positions

The rider position I first learned teaches an ear, hip, and heel alignment and balance by loosely following the horse’s movement. This position focuses on growing tall with the upper body while stretching the legs long and pressing the heel down into the iron. It gives the rider a straight leg feeling. The rider’s seat focuses on the three seat bones. While riding, there is a feeling of leaning back with the upper body, especially at the sitting trot.

Jennifer Klitzke riding at a Mary Wanless Clinic
Jennifer Klitzke riding her Spanish Mustang at a
Mary Wanless Clinic and getting established in the
A,B,Cs of riding bio-mechanics.

I learned another rider position when I rode at a Mary Wanless rider bio-mechanics clinic. She teaches balance through stillness made through the isokinetic bearing down of the core muscles and sealing the thighs and knees against the saddle. The rider’s seat includes the knees, thighs and seat bones where the majority of the rider’s weight is held in thighs and not pressed down into the heel. Instead, the toe lightly rests in the iron. This rider position also teaches an ear, hip, heel alignment, but with a 90-degree bend at the knee between the hip and heel instead of the straight leg. Instead of a leaning back feeling, there is a pressing forward feeling from the sternum as if resisting someone’s push.

Mary’s theories have been developed through her education in physics, biomechanics, riding dressage through the upper levels, and studying the best dressage riders of her time. She’s coached top riders such as long-time student and successful Grand Prix rider Heather Blitz.

Mary has a knack for putting words to how talented dressage riders ride. Even though I have been a book and video student for decades, it wasn’t until experiencing this clinic where her rider position and biomechanics really clicked.

naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse flat walk

Eleven steps to a more secure rider position that benefits the horse and smooth gaits

  1. Stirrup length: Adjust the stirrups to a 90-degree bend in the knee. At first it might feel too short.
  2. External alignment: While sitting on the horse just behind the wither, align the ear, hip, and heel.
  3. Thigh and knee position: Then rotate the thighs inward so that the thighs and knees seal to the saddle. This helps distribute the rider’s weight along the horse’s back instead of resting on the spine. When the horse is comfortable, the horse moves smoother.
  4. Toe in iron: The toes lightly rest in the irons.
  5. Rotate tailbone: Next, rotate the tail bone forward as if drawing it between the thighs. This flattens the lower back.
  6. Position in motion: In the rider position, ask the horse to walk. In each walk step feel one hip slightly rotate forward with the horse’s movement and then the other.
  7. Bear down: While at a walk, add what Mary refers to as “bear down.” This engages the core and lowers the center of gravity for more stability in the saddle. Mary describes it as, “sucking in your stomach and pushing your guts against it.”
  8. Seat bones: Then become aware of the three seat bones and lower them evenly to the saddle.
  9. Breathing: Adding to bearing down and lowering the seat bones to the saddle, breath deep as if the lungs fill up the stomach.
  10. Resisting the push: Next, imagine someone pushing against your sternum as you resist the push. This further engages the core.
    Another concept is to imagine someone pushing against your hands as you hold the reins. This concept helps you riding forward with the horse instead hold the horse back with the hands.
  11. Awareness of sitting surface: Finally, become aware of the full sitting surface: the lowering of the core and seat bones closer to the saddle for stability, the knees and thighs lightly holding the rider’s body weight along the saddle.

Rider Position and its Effect on the Horse

While Mary teaches this rider position to those with non-gaited horses, I’ve found that this rider position has worked well with my naturally gaited horses. Each time I align my position, lower my core, and distribute my weight through my thighs, my horses immediately lift their back, wither and shoulder, and move more naturally forward without prompting on my part. And best of all, their gaits are smoother.

This riding position has shown me how my rider position directly affects my horse. When I am riding in alignment and correctly positioned, my horse need less fixing and my horses move more comfortably forward. Each time my old habits creep back, my horses let me know by dropping their back and getting tense which reminds me to reposition myself.

A Secure Rider Position

When comparing my former riding position to the one Mary taught me, Mary’s rider position is more stable and secure. I notice that the angle my knees and thighs have to the back of my seat offer more stability when compared to a straight leg. Plus, by lowering my center of gravity closer to the saddle while holding my knees and thighs lightly along the saddle provides more security than when my upper body grew tall. Each time I ride through an unexpected spook, Mary’s rider position keeps me in place which builds my confidence. When I have confidence, it is easier to be relaxed which helps my horse relax.

Yes, there is more than one way to ride a horse. After 25 years of riding one way, I’m sure glad that I gave Mary’s rider position a try. It has made me a more effective, aware and confident rider which has translated into becoming a more trusted leader to my horse.

Video: Naturally Gaited Flat walk and Canter

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/naturallygaitedhorse.

Visit: mary-wanless.com for educational videos, published stories, books and DVDs. You can even become a cyber student and find where she is teaching world wide near you.

Overcoming Riding Fear, Rider Position for Gaited Horses

Rider Biomechanics and the Gaited Horse

Rider Biomechanics and the Gaited Horse

Does rider position impact the quality of movement with the naturally gaited horse? In what ways can a rider help the horse through riding position?

Rider Biomechanics and the
Naturally Gaited Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

In 1989, a series of falls led me to paralyzing fear and panic attacks at the thought of riding. I faced a cross-roads: Do I give up my passion for riding horses or face my fear?

Thankfully, the latter won out.

Facing my riding fear introduced me to The Natural Rider, a book written by riding biomechanic expert Mary Wanless. In her book, she outlines ways to become an empowered and effective rider through breathing and relaxation; right-brain visualization that engages multiple body parts at the same time; and developing an engaged core for a more secure balanced riding position.

Over time, these concepts helped me overcome my riding fear. I became a more relaxed, confident, and effective rider, both mentally and physically.

Twenty years later, I learned that the England-native author/clinician was traveling to my state to teach a three-day riding biomechanic clinic. I cleared my schedule to attend as an auditor and re-acclimate myself to the concepts that saved my riding career.

Instead of fixating on the horse’s errors, Mary challenges riders to fix their position first. Often a horse will rush or lose their balance because the rider has lost their balance. If a rider is relaxed and balanced over the horse’s center of gravity, the horse is more likely to mirror balance and relaxation.

For the rider, this means:

  • Developing an awareness of body balance over the horse’s center of gravity
  • Aligning ear, hip, and heel
  • Breathing deep into the belly to produce relaxation
  • Maintaining symmetry between the front side and back side, right side and left side
  • Riding with a lowered center of gravity by isokinetic engagement of core muscles that bring balance, power, and impact
  • Developing stillness from core tone reducing noise (the extraneous body movements sent to my horse) so aids are more clear and the horse becomes more responsive
  • Wrapping these steps into right-brain visualizations that can impact multiple body parts

I couldn’t get home fast enough to apply these clinic insights with my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse, Makana and naturally gaited fox trotting horse, Lady.

Each time my naturally gaited horse loses balance or rushes, this reminds me to fix my position first. Each time I do, I find my horse naturally aligns with my balanced riding position quicker than if just fix my horse with my rein and leg aids alone. My horse feels more balanced, more through from the hindquarters, relaxed through the back and neck to the bit, and she takes deeper, steadier steps under her belly in her natural smooth gaits.

While Mary’s clinic featured non-gaited horses, I find that her rider biomechanic paradigm applies equally well with riders of naturally gaited horses.

Two decades after reading The Natural Rider I am grateful to have met Mary Wanless in person whose rider biomechanic concepts have pushed me through fear instead of giving up and onto becoming a better rider.

Today Mary has rekindled my passion for riding like I had in the beginning. She’s given me a rider biomechanic paradigm that impacts the quality of my riding with my naturally gaited horses.

Mary Wanless has written many books since The Natural Rider, including Ride With Your Mind, Ride With Your Mind Essentials, Ride With Your Mind Masterclass, For the Good of the Rider, For the Good of the Horse, Ride With Your Mind Clinic: Rider Biomechanics from Basics to Brilliance.

Visit: www.Mary Wanless.com.

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, Tips for the Gaited Horse

Age-defying Dressage with a Smooth Gaited Horse

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.

SeilTanzer
Jennifer Klitzke riding her dressage gelding SeilTanzer (1998)

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.

canter
First level tests require 15 meter canter circles, working canter, canter lengthenings, and one loop counter canter serpentines.

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.

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