| DRESSAGE AS APPLIED TO GAITED HORSES |
Dressage has been the fastest growing of all equestrian sports for many years, yet the discipline still
retains a certain mystique. The object of Dressage is the harmonious development of the physique
and ability of the horse. As a result it makes the horse calm, supple, loose, balanced and flexible, but
also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.
The tests of these qualities are:
1. Free, regular gaits,
2. Harmony, lightness and ease in all movements,
3. Impulsion with engagement of the hindquarters, and a lightening of the forehand, and
4. Acceptance of the bridle without tension or resistance, so there is submission throughout the body.
A dressage horse therefore needs gaits which are naturally athletic, and correct, a character which
will accept and enjoy the work so he does it willingly and not sourly, and confirmation that will help
him keep his balance so he can move lightly and without resistance and which enables him to
develop the crucial power in his hindquarters and lightness in his forehand.
retains a certain mystique. The object of Dressage is the harmonious development of the physique
and ability of the horse. As a result it makes the horse calm, supple, loose, balanced and flexible, but
also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.
The tests of these qualities are:
1. Free, regular gaits,
2. Harmony, lightness and ease in all movements,
3. Impulsion with engagement of the hindquarters, and a lightening of the forehand, and
4. Acceptance of the bridle without tension or resistance, so there is submission throughout the body.
A dressage horse therefore needs gaits which are naturally athletic, and correct, a character which
will accept and enjoy the work so he does it willingly and not sourly, and confirmation that will help
him keep his balance so he can move lightly and without resistance and which enables him to
develop the crucial power in his hindquarters and lightness in his forehand.
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DRESSAGE TRAINING FOR GAITED BREEDS
You have a TWH, MFT, PERUVIAN PASO, PASO FINO, MOUNTAIN HORSE OR ROCKY MOUNTAIN HORSE or
any of the other number of gaited breeds, horses that are laterally gaited. However, you did not know that
Dressage Techniques and Half Halts as taught by Jane Savoie starting with her videotape “The Half Halt-
Demystified! Tape 1: Learning the Half Halt,” could be taught without asking the horse to trot. There is simply
not enough information out there to instruct us how to maintain the correct gait and smoothness of the gaited horse
teaching these techniques.
I have been training gaited horses for over 30 years.
Can Classic Dressage Be Applied To The Gaited Horses?
The answer is a resounding yes! After all what is Dressage but the relationship between rider and horse? I would
reason with you in stating that because of the harmony between horse and rider, any horse of every breed would
benefit tremendously from being supple, loose and flexible, increasing in calmness, relaxation and
confidence without sacrificing impulsion and collection, rather harnessing all elements of Dressage into
Centered Balanced Riding as taught by Sally Swift, in her book and Videotape “Centered Riding.”
Must The Gaited Horse Trot In Order To Be Dressage Trained?
Not at all, the specific conformations of gaited breeds are structurally built to be laterally gaited, most horses can be
taught to trot, but not all horses can be taught to do the runningwalk/gait.
How Does Dressage And Half Halts Improve The Gaited Horse?
My husband says the difference between a trotting horse and the gaited horse, is the difference between a stick
shift and the automatic transmission automobile. The trotting horse has shorter muscle groups which contract
stronger and quicker than the lengthen muscle groups of the gaited horse, which take a little time to reach the same
impulsion of a trotting horse. You can burn rubber from a standstill with a stick shift, but an automatic does not have
that burst of power. Not to say one is better than the other, they’re different with pros and cons for each.
What Dressage and Half Halts do for the gaited horse is this; it squares up the pacey horse and lengthens
the square walking horse. But what most trainers and riders miss in applying these techniques to the gaited
horse is at what point in the horse’s training they are applied. What I mean by this is; if you read this article today
and get excited about applying this to your horse the next time you plan on riding him, well, the cow has left the barn
and the doors have been shut, in other words a lot learned behavior may have to be unlearned by the horse and
you to get these techniques to be effective.
The basic foundational and most fundamental gait with all gaited horses is the same,
The Flat Walk, makes no different what breed it is, the Flat Walk applies to them all. We may have to erase
everything you both know and restart correctly by developing the loose and correct Flat Walk, let’s not worry about
collection now, we’ll get to that in time. What we need to concentrate on now is to get the most comfortable and
correct Flat Walk for you and the horse. The best and probably the only way to develop the correct Flat Walk is by
developing the Dog Walk. What’s the difference you ask? Well let’s say the Flat Walk is 3 mph, well then the
Dog Walk would be 1 mph. You would be surprised at just how many horses cannot do the Dog Walk; they have
been rushed prematurely into the Flat Walk that this crucial step was missed. Equate it to trying to do algebra and
geometry without having first taken and fully understanding basic arithmetic. It can be done, but what an uphill battle.
I use the leg yield in a 20 meter circle to keep the Dog Walk a true 4 beat footfall pattern; Inside Hind; Inside
Fore; Outside Hind; Outside Fore.
Example
When the horse hurries the Dog Walk and goes into his favorite gait, is when you want to apply a Leg Yield to
bring him back to the 4 beat Dog Walk and into a balanced frame, keeping the whole body in an arch to the 20-
meter circle. You will feel him flatten and hollow his back with his neck wanting to stretch out when the horse is
trying to come out of a true Dog Walk to pick up his favorite gait, once again applying the leg yield will put him
back into the Dog Walk and being in balanced. You will feel him round his back; lighten up his front end and
becoming lighter on the bit. Insisting on being consistent in the Dog Walk is confirming to the horse that this is the
gait I want to build on to later lengthening the gait with collection, impulsion and speed.
Does Training The Gaited Horse Require Specialized Equipment?
Many folks when they purchased their gaited horse have found that it came with a bit and even maybe a saddle. If
the bit has a shank, get rid of it, if the saddle is a cutback saddle, (popular with some breeds) get rid of that too. It
has long been believed however incorrectly, that the gaited horse needs long shanked bits with severe mouth
pieces in order to get them to gait because it was called a walking horse bit. It also is a misnomer to believe that the
correct position to be on a gaited horse is where the cutback saddle places you, on his flank area. Dressage is
about a lot of contact and communication between horse and rider, when you use a cutback saddle it places you too
far back on the horse’s flanks to have good contact, I always see it as trying to drive a car from the back seat.
I recommend a good fitting dressage saddle, which will put you at the correct center of balance of the horse
To communicate with the horse in his mouth is to use a large diameter loose ring snaffle bit, for breeds that need
their head shake or nod to gait properly, I suggest getting a lighter weighted hollow snaffle bit as this allows the
horse to shake it’s head without a heavy bit in their mouths clanking on their teeth inhibiting their head movement if
it is uncomfortable for them to do it.
Before putting a snaffle bit in your horses mouth, make sure the horse does not have any Wolf Teeth in their heads
as a snaffle will definitely hit these teeth and cause it great discomfort. Much like the pain you feel when you have a
bad hangnail and it’s brushed up against something. If the horse’s mouth is uncomfortable he will exhibit signs of this
by head tossing or rooting at the bit. I suggest a qualified equine dentist to balance the horse’s mouth by adjusting
misaligned teeth. Lateral Control and Suppling Exercises will also help balance the head. I also believe that
many horses would benefit greatly from Acupressure Point Massages in the neck and head area, as shown
below:
Fig 1
Some gaited breeds like The Tennessee Walking Horses are starting to appreciate the growth and popularity of
Dressage as applied to the breed and are offering Dressage classes from the Intro Level, Training Level and
First level at more and more of their shows including their World and International Versatility Championship Shows.
It is with great interest and participation these classes are being received. But even if you have no intention of
showing your horse, Dressage and Half Halts develops the best performance and most comfortable gait possible,
as you and your horses grow more and more confident in each other and happier all around.
"If your horse can do one step correctly, he can do a thousand."
Quote by one of my old trainers; Glen Randall
Acknowledgements:
Centered Riding (A Trafalgar Square Farm Book)
By Sally Swift, Jean Macfarland (Illustrator), Mike Noble (Photographer), Edward E. Emerson (Preface)
The Half Halt-Demystified! Tape 1: Learning The Half Halt
(A Trafalgar Square Farm Book)
By Jane Savoie
Fig 1. Riegel, Ronald J; Hakola, Susan E., Illustrated Atlas of Clinical Equine Anatomy and Common Disorders of the
Horse, Volume One. Equistar Publication, LTD Marysville, Ohio. P., 231
You have a TWH, MFT, PERUVIAN PASO, PASO FINO, MOUNTAIN HORSE OR ROCKY MOUNTAIN HORSE or
any of the other number of gaited breeds, horses that are laterally gaited. However, you did not know that
Dressage Techniques and Half Halts as taught by Jane Savoie starting with her videotape “The Half Halt-
Demystified! Tape 1: Learning the Half Halt,” could be taught without asking the horse to trot. There is simply
not enough information out there to instruct us how to maintain the correct gait and smoothness of the gaited horse
teaching these techniques.
I have been training gaited horses for over 30 years.
Can Classic Dressage Be Applied To The Gaited Horses?
The answer is a resounding yes! After all what is Dressage but the relationship between rider and horse? I would
reason with you in stating that because of the harmony between horse and rider, any horse of every breed would
benefit tremendously from being supple, loose and flexible, increasing in calmness, relaxation and
confidence without sacrificing impulsion and collection, rather harnessing all elements of Dressage into
Centered Balanced Riding as taught by Sally Swift, in her book and Videotape “Centered Riding.”
Must The Gaited Horse Trot In Order To Be Dressage Trained?
Not at all, the specific conformations of gaited breeds are structurally built to be laterally gaited, most horses can be
taught to trot, but not all horses can be taught to do the runningwalk/gait.
How Does Dressage And Half Halts Improve The Gaited Horse?
My husband says the difference between a trotting horse and the gaited horse, is the difference between a stick
shift and the automatic transmission automobile. The trotting horse has shorter muscle groups which contract
stronger and quicker than the lengthen muscle groups of the gaited horse, which take a little time to reach the same
impulsion of a trotting horse. You can burn rubber from a standstill with a stick shift, but an automatic does not have
that burst of power. Not to say one is better than the other, they’re different with pros and cons for each.
What Dressage and Half Halts do for the gaited horse is this; it squares up the pacey horse and lengthens
the square walking horse. But what most trainers and riders miss in applying these techniques to the gaited
horse is at what point in the horse’s training they are applied. What I mean by this is; if you read this article today
and get excited about applying this to your horse the next time you plan on riding him, well, the cow has left the barn
and the doors have been shut, in other words a lot learned behavior may have to be unlearned by the horse and
you to get these techniques to be effective.
The basic foundational and most fundamental gait with all gaited horses is the same,
The Flat Walk, makes no different what breed it is, the Flat Walk applies to them all. We may have to erase
everything you both know and restart correctly by developing the loose and correct Flat Walk, let’s not worry about
collection now, we’ll get to that in time. What we need to concentrate on now is to get the most comfortable and
correct Flat Walk for you and the horse. The best and probably the only way to develop the correct Flat Walk is by
developing the Dog Walk. What’s the difference you ask? Well let’s say the Flat Walk is 3 mph, well then the
Dog Walk would be 1 mph. You would be surprised at just how many horses cannot do the Dog Walk; they have
been rushed prematurely into the Flat Walk that this crucial step was missed. Equate it to trying to do algebra and
geometry without having first taken and fully understanding basic arithmetic. It can be done, but what an uphill battle.
I use the leg yield in a 20 meter circle to keep the Dog Walk a true 4 beat footfall pattern; Inside Hind; Inside
Fore; Outside Hind; Outside Fore.
Example
When the horse hurries the Dog Walk and goes into his favorite gait, is when you want to apply a Leg Yield to
bring him back to the 4 beat Dog Walk and into a balanced frame, keeping the whole body in an arch to the 20-
meter circle. You will feel him flatten and hollow his back with his neck wanting to stretch out when the horse is
trying to come out of a true Dog Walk to pick up his favorite gait, once again applying the leg yield will put him
back into the Dog Walk and being in balanced. You will feel him round his back; lighten up his front end and
becoming lighter on the bit. Insisting on being consistent in the Dog Walk is confirming to the horse that this is the
gait I want to build on to later lengthening the gait with collection, impulsion and speed.
Does Training The Gaited Horse Require Specialized Equipment?
Many folks when they purchased their gaited horse have found that it came with a bit and even maybe a saddle. If
the bit has a shank, get rid of it, if the saddle is a cutback saddle, (popular with some breeds) get rid of that too. It
has long been believed however incorrectly, that the gaited horse needs long shanked bits with severe mouth
pieces in order to get them to gait because it was called a walking horse bit. It also is a misnomer to believe that the
correct position to be on a gaited horse is where the cutback saddle places you, on his flank area. Dressage is
about a lot of contact and communication between horse and rider, when you use a cutback saddle it places you too
far back on the horse’s flanks to have good contact, I always see it as trying to drive a car from the back seat.
I recommend a good fitting dressage saddle, which will put you at the correct center of balance of the horse
To communicate with the horse in his mouth is to use a large diameter loose ring snaffle bit, for breeds that need
their head shake or nod to gait properly, I suggest getting a lighter weighted hollow snaffle bit as this allows the
horse to shake it’s head without a heavy bit in their mouths clanking on their teeth inhibiting their head movement if
it is uncomfortable for them to do it.
Before putting a snaffle bit in your horses mouth, make sure the horse does not have any Wolf Teeth in their heads
as a snaffle will definitely hit these teeth and cause it great discomfort. Much like the pain you feel when you have a
bad hangnail and it’s brushed up against something. If the horse’s mouth is uncomfortable he will exhibit signs of this
by head tossing or rooting at the bit. I suggest a qualified equine dentist to balance the horse’s mouth by adjusting
misaligned teeth. Lateral Control and Suppling Exercises will also help balance the head. I also believe that
many horses would benefit greatly from Acupressure Point Massages in the neck and head area, as shown
below:
Fig 1
Some gaited breeds like The Tennessee Walking Horses are starting to appreciate the growth and popularity of
Dressage as applied to the breed and are offering Dressage classes from the Intro Level, Training Level and
First level at more and more of their shows including their World and International Versatility Championship Shows.
It is with great interest and participation these classes are being received. But even if you have no intention of
showing your horse, Dressage and Half Halts develops the best performance and most comfortable gait possible,
as you and your horses grow more and more confident in each other and happier all around.
"If your horse can do one step correctly, he can do a thousand."
Quote by one of my old trainers; Glen Randall
Acknowledgements:
Centered Riding (A Trafalgar Square Farm Book)
By Sally Swift, Jean Macfarland (Illustrator), Mike Noble (Photographer), Edward E. Emerson (Preface)
The Half Halt-Demystified! Tape 1: Learning The Half Halt
(A Trafalgar Square Farm Book)
By Jane Savoie
Fig 1. Riegel, Ronald J; Hakola, Susan E., Illustrated Atlas of Clinical Equine Anatomy and Common Disorders of the
Horse, Volume One. Equistar Publication, LTD Marysville, Ohio. P., 231
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