The Cowboy Dressage Gaits

One of the things that uniquely defines the cowboy dressage horse is the quality of the gaits.  Being first and foremost a western discipline, dedicated to the production of superior western
 horses, we ask for movements and gaits that showcase the ability and strengths of the western horse.  Looking back at the heritage of the cowboy and western lifestyle, we strive to capture
 the very best of what the cowboy was and is supposed to be and recreate that in our modern equine partners.  How do we define the the western horse's gaits?  Do we use the benchmarks established by classical dressage?  Do we use the traditional western descriptions and terms?  Is there truly a difference in the western jog and the english trot or is it just nomenclature? This article will attempt to lay to rest those debates and help define the terms and vision of the movement of the
Cowboy Dressage horse.

Cowboy Dressage showcases three gaits; the walk, the jog and the lope.  In the creation and development of those gaits we also ask for lengthening of each off those gaits and mark the distinction between the shortened gait and lengthened gait by using the terms working and free.  A working gait is one preformed on a softened frame with the horse working off of soft contact on the bit.  A free gait is one where the horse is showing lengthening of the stride and working off a long rein with light contact. For example, the working walk is defined as follows:

       Working Walk : Four beat gait with forward reaching steps.  The head and neck should swing naturally as a result of a relaxed back and free shoulders. The horse maintains a light
contact with the bit with his nose slightly in front of vertical.

Because one of the goals of Cowboy Dressage is to create a soft and willing partner, relaxation and willingness through all of the gaits is important.  If you consider the tradition of the 

working ranch horse, having a calm and willing partner that possessed an easy to ride gait was of considerable value.  It is the same in Cowboy Dressage.

The confusion and debate in the discussion of the Cowboy Dressage horse and his gaits generally doesn't start with the walk.  As luck would have it, almost all disciplines expect the same
basic qualities in the walk and agree without dissent that it is a 4 beat gait.  Discussion of the jog and lope can be fraught with a little more obscurity and confusion which unfortunately arises
from the "dressage" in  Cowboy Dressage.

In creating Cowboy Dressage, we attempted to select some of the basic principles that are to be valued most in dressage to apply to our western horses:  an emphasis on slowness of
training and a step-wise training program, the benefits of markers and a court for establishing accountability in training and visual benchmarks for horse and rider, a tried and true scoring
system that is easily adaptable and useful for our Cowboy Dressage shows.  What we didn't adopt in Cowboy Dressage were the gaits required and desired by the competitive modern
dressage rider and this goes beyond just nomenclature.

Let's consider the difference between the jog and the trot.  A jog is a distinctly western gait.  Unlike the difference between a couch and a divan, it is not just a regional language variant.  The jog is a two beat gait that is meant to be smooth, quiet and comfortable.  In it's purest form it is relaxed and easily on both horse and rider.  It is the quiet confident gait used by the western horse when moving between pens, or between groups of cattle with low enough energy to not spook the rodear up and over the next hill.  It originated on the ranch and was meant to be an all day energy saving gait.  Back in the dawning of Western Pleasure classes it was also one of the defining gaits of a horse that was supposed to be first and foremost a pleasure to ride.  Cowboy Dressage defines the working jog as follows:

    Working Jog:  Two beat gait and forward with even and elastic steps. The back is relaxed and the shoulder is free.  The hind legs should step forward and under the horse. The horse maintains light contact with the bit and his nose is slightly in front of the vertical.  The rider must sit the working jog.

Here are some photos showing the foot fall patterns in the working jog:

Here you can see all four feet on the ground briefly as the horse changes diagonals.  There is no moment of suspension at the jog.

Here again the change from right diagonal to left diagonal.  The left diagonal pair has already hit the ground before the right diagonal finishes their flight pattern. 

The Cowboy Dressage working jog should look much different than does today's Western Pleasure jog. While the two gaits have the same origin, much of the Western Pleasure horses have lost the forward and elastic steps that we are striving for in Cowboy Dressage.  Having a free and relaxed shoulder gives the horse a quality of gait while maintaining elasticity and comfort of movement for both horse and rider.  This is not a jarring gait but a soft two beat gait. Proper propulsion in the gait is evident, even in the softer frame, by the horse reaching forward and under himself. Propulsion in the gait is the force that moves the horse forward.  Without proper propulsion the gait dies and ceases to be a forward movement.  The Western pleasure horse jogging in painfully slow increments around the ring is lacking in propulsion.  Impulsion is the upward force in the gait and it is the beginnings of creating suspension in a modern dressage horse.

Cowboy Dressage defines the lengthened or free jog as follows:

Free Jog: Two beat gait with forward movement allowing lengthening of even and elastic steps.  The horse is relaxed and allowed by the lengthening of reins to lower his head and neck and to stretch
forward.  The horse maintains light contact with the bit with his nose slightly in front of the vertical.
Posting is an option.

Here is a sequence of the free jog demonstrating foot fall patterns, again without suspension.

Right diagonal pair weight bearing

 Here is the moment of shift from the right diagonal pair to the left diagonal pair without a moment of suspension. 

Left diagonal pair weight bearing. 

When you compare the Cowboy Dressage Jog with required gaits in other disciplines the difference and value of this gait becomes even more clear.  If you consider the lofty trot favored by
dressage the horse is asked to display a moment of suspension in the gait and there are those that believe that without that suspension the gait is both incorrect and somehow exhibits
different (and therefore incorrect) footfalls.  The moment of suspension does not create the beat of the gait.  The beat of the gait is created by the rhythm of the feet striking the ground.  The moment of suspension only serves to increase the concussion of the feet as they strike the ground.  The dressage horse creates suspension by increasing impulsion not propulsion in gait.


It is also true that suspension in gaits is often an illusion of sorts.  Many believe that a true trot only occurs when there is a moment in time, however brief, when all four feet are off the ground.
While a large and lofty trot will exhibit suspension when accompanied by increased impulsion, most horses do not exhibit suspension characterized by levitation and instead will just shift weight from the diagonal pair before the other pair leaves the ground.  It's true that you can have a trot with suspension, but it is false that only a "true trot" will have suspension.  Instead there is a moment between diagonal pairs when the weight shifts from one pair to the other without accompanied impulsion or complete suspension.  The horse can and does correctly perform a trot at liberty without a rider both with and without suspension but will most commonly choose to trot without suspension and exhibit a gait with flat propulsion.

The reason for this should be obvious.  While increased life and adrenalin can create increased impulsion in a horse, it is not the most efficient or comfortable form of movement.  The
increased concussion and elevation does not make the the horse cover more ground.  It only serves to increase the concussion on the joints and muscles as it lands.

You can also create suspension by increasing the speed of the gait.  This is the case when you view the difference between the lope and the gallop.  The lope is a three beat gait that is relaxed and soft.  It is characterized by the footfall pattern of the leading leg, diagonal pairs and then the off hind leg.  A four beat lope is created when the footfalls of the diagonal pair are split and hit the ground not together but separately so that you have the beats of four feet hitting the ground.  Notice that in none of the descriptions we have mentioned for footfalls in gaits is there a beat accounted for in suspension phase.  The three beat lope in the Cowboy Dressage horse does not have a moment of suspension.  Instead the off hind follows so closely to the leading foreleg that it touches the ground before that leg leaves the ground and removes the suspension in the gait.  There is no change in beats of the gait because you still have 3 sets of feet hitting the ground independently.  The off hind, diagonal pairs, then leading foreleg.  The footfall of the off hind following so closely on the leading foreleg still creates a footfall beat the same as if you stood in place and marched one foot at a time. The beat of the gait is exhibited by footfalls, not suspension. By increasing both impulsion and propulsion from the lope to the gallop you create life and speed and introduce a moment when all four feet are off the ground in true suspension. As the stride length changes and the weight of the horse is carried forward with speed and impulsion into the gallop it ceases to become a 3 beat gait and becomes a four beat gait with the front leg of the diagonal pair hitting the ground first.

Here are the foot fall patterns in the lope.

In a right lead the left hind leg initiates the stride. Beat 1.

The diagonal pair of the inside hind (RH) and outside fore (LF) strike the ground together. Beat 2

Then the inside foreleg (RF in the right lead) strikes the ground and carries the stride forward. Beat 3. 

This shows the left hind leg striking the ground before the right foreleg has finished it's stride.  This eliminates the suspension in the gait but doesn't change the beats.  

Lengthening of the strides is accomplished primarily through the use of propulsion.  We ask the horse to stretch the limbs forward and out and not up in elevation or in speed.  Because there in no increase in impulsion in the free (lengthened) gaits called for in Cowboy Dressage, these gaits also do not include suspension and should be as comfortable to ride sitting as they are posting, and having a soft, willing partner that is a joy to ride should be a primary goal of every Cowboy Dressage participant.

While the discussion of the nuances and differences between gaits can be confusing and overwhelming the take home message for the Cowboy Dressage enthusiast is simple.  Cowboy Dressage asks for your horse to have an easy rhythmic gait that is correct and soft for both you and your horse.  That end goal will look different from one horse to the next but the softness exhibited should be easy for even the casual observer to see.  We aren't going to tell you how your horse should look.  We are only trying to help you understand how your horse should feel.

Cowboy Dressage In a Nutshell

My husband Dan and I were recently asked to describe Cowboy Dressage "in a nutshell".  I am sure the person inquiring was more interested in getting the short version from a pair of enthusiasts than he was in really hearing the answer but it made me realize that describing Cowboy Dressage in a few words accurately is highly difficult.  It's a struggle to try and describe something that is so near and dear to your heart in a way that doesn't tend to border on mystical when you are as passionate as we are! But, it is a conversation that needs to happen more and more as folks look at this growing discipline and wonder if maybe it is for them.  So, maybe you have been asked as well and are looking for some way to provide answers to your inquiring friends.  If so, I have provided the internet's favorite approach to frequent queries in the form of the beloved FAQ.  I will endeavor to remain completely non-mystical in my descriptions!

1. What is Cowboy Dressage?

Cowboy Dressage is a new discipline in western riding that takes some of the best principles of classical dressage training and applies them to the traditional training of the western horse.  It is a method of training and being with your horses that encompasses much more than riding.  It is a lifestyle and a commitment to kindness and partnership with your horse.

2.  Isn't Cowboy Dressage and Western Dressage the same thing?

No, no, and double no.  I get this question at least once a day and often more than that.  They are definitely not the same thing.  Cowboy Dressage has actually been around much longer than Western Dressage.  Cowboy Dressage began with the unique style of a single horseman, Eitan Beth Helachmy.  Eitan and his winning Morgan Western Pleasure champion Holiday Compadre introduced what became branded as Cowboy Dressage at the Morgan Grand National show in 1993 during a very entertaining victory lap.  Eitan showed that his stallion could as easily go from a western pleasure jog to an extended trot to a reining spin and sliding stop and then a canter pirouette all with soft feel, lightness and partnership.  They shattered the rules about what a Western horse was supposed to do and look like and a new style was born.  Western Dressage was the first concerted effort to turn Eitan's Cowboy Dressage into a new discipline.  Western Dressage was very early on adopted by the USEF and during that process the goals and "look" changed from what Eitan's Cowboy Dressage is meant to be.  Western Dressage and Cowboy Dressage are now two separate entities;  similar in taking principles of dressage and applying them to western horses but different in their approach, goals, and overall look.

3. Do I have to show to do Cowboy Dressage?

Definitely not.  The whole purpose of Cowboy Dressage is to make Western horses better at their jobs.  Learning and embracing the principles of Cowboy Dressage and using the court to train your horse will make your horse better at his job whether he is a ranch horse, trail horse, cutting horse, gaming horse or western pleasure horse.

4. Isn't Cowboy Dressage just Dressage in western tack?

Nope.  I do think that Western Dressage more closely resembles Dressage in western tack than Cowboy Dressage does.  In Cowboy Dressage we strive for self carriage and for the horse to get off the bit, not reach for it.  You will hear the term Soft Feel talked about almost continuously in Cowboy Dressage.  While that concept is a mystical journey all unto itself, it basically means full body soft communication with your horse.  A Cowboy Dressage horse, properly engaged will feel almost weightless in your hands and soft and willing between your legs and seat.  The gaits  we are striving to achieve in Cowboy Dressage also make it unique.  The Cowboy Dressage jog and lope are shortened versions of the trot and canter and have no suspension.  Western Dressage specifically defines their desired gaits with suspension.

5. Can I participate in both Cowboy Dressage and Western Dressage?

Absolutely!  Depending on which area you live in you may find more opportunities to participate in one discipline over the other.  A Cowboy Dressage horse will show well at a Western Dressage show and often vice versa.  The tests are different between the two disciplines as are the goals and scoring sheets.  Remember that in Cowboy Dressage it is all about Soft Feel and partnership so much so that your Soft Feel and partnership scores are multiplied by 3.  Riding with too much contact, a horse behind the vertical or a horse with suspension may not score as well at a Cowboy Dressage show.

6.  Do I have to join an association to participate?

Not with Cowboy Dressage!  Cowboy Dressage features membership with a handshake at www.cowboydressageworld.com.  All you have to do is agree to embrace the principles of kindness and softness and confirm your membership with an electronic "handshake" to join the movement.  The growth of Cowboy Dressage has been completely organic and is spread by horse folk just like you giving it a try and bringing their friends.  There are no dues and few rules and we welcome all breeds, ages, and western disciplines.

7.  Do I need special tack?

Nope.  Cowboy Dressage has a few rules about tack but by and large all forms of traditional Western tack are accepted.  Mechanical hackamores, side pulls and bitless bridles are not currently allowed, but bosals or loping hackamores are.  Any western saddle is welcomed and at a show you are only required to be in western attire.  There are no points awarded for silver or fancy outfits.  It's all about you and your horse.

8.  What if my horse isn't good at arena stuff?

Well, that's kind of the whole point of participating is to get your horse good at this arena stuff.  You don't need an arena to practice the principles of bend, transitions, straight lines and softness.  Much of that can be accomplished on the trail.  You can also set up the Cowboy Dressage court in a field, meadow or pasture.  Helping your horse to understand these simple principles will make it better at whatever job it is you do with your horse.

9.  How do I get started?

The best way to get started is to visit www.cowboydressageworld.com and join with your handshake.  The tests, principles, rules and goals are all outlined there.  You should also check out www.cowboydressage.com, which is Eitan and Debbie Beth Helachmy's webpage.  There are DVD's, video clips and books that will help you learn what this is all about.  All it takes is a piece of flat ground and a measuring tape and you can set up your own court and get to riding!

How Old is Old Enough

It's interesting to me that now that horses are used primarily for pleasure or entertainment instead of as a means of survival or transportation that we are less patient with putting them to work.  Perhaps that is a reflection of our throw-a-way society.  Or maybe it is the fault of the the veterinary community that has perfected the band-aids necessary to keep a horse working when it maybe shouldn't be. Or maybe it's the fault of the high end competitive venues that have turned towards making money off of equine children rather than equine adults and the rest of us just follow suit.

I'm talking about the incredibly controversial issue of skeletal maturation and optimum age of starting a young horse.  There are many misconceptions and widely spread misunderstandings in this area of the horse world. The modern horse world seems to be more and more impressed with the advanced abilities of a young horse as showcased in a futurity.   We prize that young horse who achieves enormous amounts of money earnings early in his career and then retires to the breeding shed as a 3 or 4 year old.

You can see this change in almost every aspect of the horse industry, but maybe nowhere so dramatically as in the American Racing industry.  Where race horses used to have to be at least 4 before they began competing in long heats of 4 mile feats of endurance, the concept of the quick sprint futurities was introduced to allow betters a "glimpse" of the talent coming up.  Racing of 2 and 3 year olds in shorter more "humane" races became the norm and were immensely popular for the ability to stage a shorter race in a track that could seat more people, allow for more prospective betters and overall increase the excitement of the race.  Soon the only horses racing at maturity were cheap claimers or geldings that didn't have a career in the breeding shed to look forward to.  What has occurred in the racing industry is a significant drop in the number of starts a horse will have in his life paired with an increase in the number of breakdowns.

The same has occurred in the western reined cowhorse industry. What used to be a competition for a mature bridle horse (generally 6 or older) was then turned into a futurity for hackamore horses.  As the snaffle bit increased in popularity for it's ability to accomplish more advanced training more quickly the snaffle bit futurity was born.  This is a high dollar competition for young Quarter horses that are 3 years of age.  In order to compete in this highly demanding and physical sport those horses are often started under saddle at 18 months.One of the sad parts about this is that right there on the first page of the NRCHA rule book is the purpose of the association:  "The purpose of the NRCHA is to improve the quality of the western reined stock horse: to perpetuate the early Spanish traditions of highly trained and well reined working cow horses;"  It has traveled quite a way from the goals at it's inception.

Sadly the tradition of the early Spanish horseman were to not put any metal in their horse's mouth until age 5 or 6 and to bring them along slowly to protect not only their physical well-being, but mental well being. Spanish tradition would start a horse at 3 or 4 with very light riding with a hackamore until he was ready to move into the two-rein at 5 or 6 and only after he was carefully prepared would be be straight up in the bridle and riding one handed.  For many horses this wasn't until they were 7 or older.  Today, a 7 year old reined cow horse is likely ready to retire from the show ring.  Not always, but often.  It's like seeing Billy Etbauer still riding in the NFR.  Not impossible at his age, but very rare.

But it's not just high dollar performance horses that are being started as 2 year olds.  Conventional wisdom seems to push folks to start their backyard pleasure horses sometime during their 2 year old year.  The conscientious owner knows to wait until "the knees are closed".  This piece of equine wisdom is referring to the growth plates at the distal radius.  While you can't actually tell by palpating the horse if that growth plate has fused or not, many folks feel that you can and use this colloquial rule of thumb for starting youngsters under saddle.

What we know about rate of skeletal maturity is that the growth plates in the equine body slowly fuse between 1.5 years and 5.5 years.  Across the board.  There is no truth to the myth that some breeds of horse mature faster than others.  All horses reach skeletal maturity at about 5 1/2 to 6 years of age.  This really shouldn't surprise us as we know that the horse continues to erupt molars until they are 6.  Why shouldn't the timing for completion of growth be at about the same time.

What may not be common knowledge is that it's not the legs that are the slowest maturing part of the body.  The growth plates of the knees mature ( or close) at about 2 years for the small bones and 3 years for the distal radius and ulna.  The very last growth plates to fuse are in the equine vertebrae.  All 32 of them.  The last of those are the ones in the base of the neck.

The reason this is relevant to our young horses that we plan to ride well into their advanced years is that the process of riding our young horses can contribute to not only excessive wear and tear on their young joints (the hocks also don't fuse until 3.5 years) but strain to their backs and necks as well.

The process of teaching a horse to be ridden at a very young age teaches the horse to protect itself from back pain.  To do this the horse  braces his back and drops his shoulders and hollows out so that he can help take the weight of his vertebral column.  It's a minor thing at first and one that every young horse being started under saddle goes through to a certain degree until their back muscles get better at carrying that weight.  But if you persist in riding a young horse who's vertebral column is not able to bear that weight even with muscular conditioning, you create a habit caused by pain that becomes deeply ingrained and prevents the horse from properly learning to round up and use his body.

The next step in training a young horse after getting on their back (especially in many of today's "natural horsemanship" methods) is the one rein stop.  This is accomplished by repetitively pulling the horse's head over to your foot and limbering up the neck until it is quite soft and "rubbery".  Isn't this putting added stresses on the last vertebrae to fuse in the horse's entire body?  Pain here causes stiffness in the bridle that causes the horse to flex by turning his head at the atlas rather than flexing his entire vertebral column.   With vertical flexion he then learns to brace his withers and instead of flexing along his entire column will flex at the third vertebra to protect the rest of the cervical vertebrae.  All of this might look like a broke young horse to the uninitiated, but in truth it is a horse with reflexes built on pain.  Those horses can never move in a true collected frame.

So while the now common and widespread practice of putting a 2 year old to work in a rigorous training program undoubtedly leads to increased incidences of breakdowns in race horses and the widespread practice of injecting young horse's joints to try to stave off juvenile osteoarthritis, the other long lasting effects of braces and pain through their back and neck are less often addressed.

Does this mean that we shouldn't start our horses until they are fully skeletally mature?  That, for me, is a harder question to answer.

Paired with the data of skeletal maturity is the data that exists on mental maturity.  Horses can and do learn to learn.  One of the great things that have been bred into the Quarter Horse performance horses is their ability to calmly and easily learn what is expected of them.  They are almost "born broke".  This is because they have been selected for train-ability which is really the capacity to learn.  (Whether that makes them the smartest breed of horse or just the most trainable is a discussion for another time!)  For most folks that work with young horses and start colts the ones that have had an introduction to good handling and training as yearlings are much easier to start as 2 or 3 year olds.  That ability to retain a lesson and understand what is being taught is a learned behavior.  The younger they learn that, the easier they seem to be to train and quicker to trust.

Therefore, I believe the answer lies in moderation, as with most things.  I think you have to take into consideration your youngster and your training program.  I am 100% not in favor of futurities that demand a horse be put into rigorous training as a 2 year old.  I am also not in favor of any practice that deems it common and prudent to inject a young horse's joints in order to maintain joint health or cover-up a lameness and keep them working.  But, that's just me.  I have many colleagues happily preforming these procedures and building their retirement accounts much faster than I am.

I don't think you necessarily need to completely stay off your horse until they are 4.  I think you can teach a horse some valuable lessons, expose them to important stimuli and situations and in general build their confidence and ability to learn as a young horse.  I personally put 10 short (all but one of them were under 20 minutes) rides on my 2 year old this summer.  He had already had about a month of various groundwork exercises to establish some basic commands and improve his comfort with me and the tack.  Riding sessions would generally consist of going both directions at a walk and a trot with some simple directing with the hackamore.  We established whoa and the beginnings of a back.  I pushed him into a lope just to get him to feel it and then allowed him to trot again. That was it.  I did take him on one short trail ride just to expose him to an area other than our arena and home trail.  In my mind, that was about all he could handle.

This year as a 3 year old I will put some more rides on him throughout the summer.  He will be lightly ridden and exposed to basic commands and stimuli in a rotation with the other horses.  He'll probably be ridden about twice a month lightly through his 3 year old year. He certainly won't be loping circle after circle, going on 4 hour trail rides or schooling on spins and sliding stops.   He's almost 15 hands and probably 900#.  Had he been smaller (or I bigger) I would have waited until he was 4 to start the process.  

I don't feel that lack of skeletal maturity means no work or riding at all, but I think it means conscientious riding and training to preserve not only your horse's mind but his physical ability to be a good sound partner throughout his entire life.  I want to be riding my horses well into their third decade and possibly longer.  There is nothing sadder to me than a 6 year old that is too lame to be ridden in the show pen anymore because it was ridden too hard as a youngster.  That's like seeing a teenage girl that trained too hard as a gymnast and now has collapsed bones in her wrists and deformed radius.  Too much work too soon.  We need to be smarter than this for our horses.  Increasing the usable upper age limits of our horses through smart training will go miles to decreasing the numbers of unwanted or crippled  horses out there.

Top Hand

Do you have what it takes to be a Cowboy Dressage Top Hand? If so be ready to ride at our 2015 Gathering and Finals Show Nov 5-8 at Murieta Equestrian Center, Rancho Murieta, CA.

This is a new division just for our Gathering and Finals Show. We are looking for the best of the best, a Top Hand.

Look for details to follow this summer.  We can tell you this much:

• ·        It will be a $200 non refundable fee
• ·        Preliminary tests will be on Thurs Nov 5^th
• ·        Top 5 high scores will come back on Sat PM Nov 7th to compete for the event High Point.
• ·        Both the preliminary and the championship tests will be judged by 3 judges.
• ·        Both test will not be known until just before competition time
• ·        Riders can ride more than one horse
• ·        Top scores will be the accumulative scores from all 3 judges in both the preliminary and Top 5 tests.
• ·        Eitan, Lyn and Garn will judge the top 5.
• ·        The top 5 will ride a different test from the qualifying tests and will then return to ride a different horse from the top 5 . (riders will be required to switch horses. This will be determined by a draw)
• ·        All order of  go times will be determined by a draw
• ·        High Point will receive a Cowboy Dressage Saddle and Buckle. Top 2-5 will receive a buckle and Top 10 will get ribbons.
• ·        Top Hand is open to amateurs and open riders. No juniors.
• ·        The awards are in addition to the awards usually given at this show.

·        Final details will be at www.cowboydressageworld.com in the next few months.

·        This is subject to change so keep in the loop.

 In the tradition of the Cowboy and the ranches of the west there is no higher compliment than being christened the top hand.  All Cowboys worth their salt strive to be worthy of such a title.  It is not a title given lightly nor one that is awarded to a man that hasn't put in their time.  It is a title of honor and respect.  While the Cowboy needed to be a man of many skills, including some of the dirtier ground crew work, the highest skill of the Cowboy and the one most respected was the horseman.  In all the skills the Top Hand had mastered, it was his skill as horseman that most earned him the title.

In Cowboy Dressage we honor the tradition of the Cowboy and the lifestyle of the West while building partnership and harmony with our horses.  We believe that in order to create the ultimate horse we have to be the ultimate partner for that horse.  By working to improve communication with the horse through soft feel we aim to create the perfect working partner that is soft and willing and capable and able to take on any job on the ranch or in the arena.

Creating that partnership and relationship with a horse requires a rider that is dedicated to the goal of soft feel.  While it takes time to develop true partnership in a horse, a rider that embodies soft feel can cultivate partnership in any horse that he mounts.  A true horseman can quickly adapt to communicate with each horse that he comes into contact with.  You might say the rider that has embraced the principles of soft feel and partnership in Cowboy Dressage is worthy of being called a Top Hand.

As we in Cowboy Dressage honor the Cowboy we also honor the horseman and no skill in the horseman is as highly valued in Cowboy Dressage as the skill of soft feel and partnership.  Do you think you have what it takes to be a Top Hand? Cowboy Dressage World is poised to give you the opportunity to find out.

While the end goal of Cowboy Dressage is not the competition we feel that it is right and fitting to honor the Top Hands out there that have dedicated the time and energy to become worthy of the title. Though we no longer have the ability to prove our worth while riding for the brand each season, we can get together to showcase and honor the work we have done with our horses and recognize the men and women that have made themselves worthy of being deemed Top Hand.

New Year's Cowboy Dressage Clinic

Photo Credits to Mrs. Chris Holloway, Post Falls, Idaho

It takes a lot of grit to come out for a clinic in the middle of a North Idaho winter.  Grit is something that comes easily to a dedicated group of North Idaho horsemen.  The temps hovered around a frigid 15 degrees or so the first day and a balmy 20 degrees on the second day.   There was snow on the ground and still they came ready to learn and ride and grow in Cowboy Dressage.

The clinic was sponsored by the Northwest Saddle Sisters and featured the charismatic clinician, Dale Rumens Partee from Snohomish, Washington.  We had two sessions, one on New Years Eve and one on the 3rd of January that was open to riders and spectators alike.  Though we had new snow fall that limited the ability of some folks to haul in we were still able to have 8 riders for our final date on the 3rd.  For those of you that were stymied by weather, here is what you missed!

Dale starts her clinics with ground work, which is incredibly important both for good horsemanship and good partnership.  Teaching some basic horsemanship exercises helps us to improve our feel and timing and establish communication before we ever climb in the saddle.  If you can't control the feet properly from the ground, why would you ever climb aboard?  Cowboy Dressage World strongly believes in the benefits of a solid ground work program and has included the partnership on the ground classes not only for youth and amateurs
but for all folks that are learning Cowboy Dressage or teaching a young or new horse partnership and softness.   I think a lot of the clinic attendees were surprised to find some holes lurking in their groundwork.  I know that almost every person had some difficulty leading their horse properly from the right side.  Because Cowboy Dressage emphases balance in the horse, the partnership on the ground splits the pattern between leading the horse on the right and leading the horse on the left.  It sounds easy until you try to do it with bend, softness, and accuracy! Dale was able to help us find our holes and fix them so that we could lead and position our horses as easily from the left as the right.


The other wonderful part of a ground work is that it gives you a way to go back and fix maneuvers that aren't working for you under saddle.  For instance, I have a problem with my horse executing a proper turn on the haunches.  In Cowboy Dressage this is a forward movement.  To be executed properly the horse must almost walk a small circle forward with bend but moving only his forehand while the hindquarters stay in place.  They pivot on the inside hind leg.  Some programs, especially cow horse programs, teach that the turn on the haunches is a backing maneuver and it is often taught to back the horse a few steps to shift that weight onto the hindquarters and then open the hands for
the forequarters to come through.

 When taught this way the horse sucks back and places it's weight on the outside hind leg.  Because I have used this technique to teach my horses performing one with forward movement that still results in the hindquarters staying in place has been a challenge.  Through ground work exercises I was able to identify at least a part of my horse's problem in that he generally begins to execute that turn not with the inside forefoot stepping and reaching into the turn but instead with the outside forefoot stepping over.  The only way he can create the room for that foot to move is by stepping under himself.  His weight is therefore on the outside hind leg and the resulting turn on the haunches is messy with shifting pivot legs as I try to redirect the energy of the turn forward.  Teaching my horse to step first with that inside front leg and to prepare by shifting is weight to the inside hind leg helped to clean up the turn on the haunches for us.  Obviously that can be fixed from the saddle as well, but for me, it's easier to correct when I can watch what is happening with the feet from the ground.

When performing groundwork exercises it is important to be particular.  By not being particular in how my horse was stepping I had allowed him to develop the habit of not initiating that turn with the correct leg.   When you are particular about which foot should move first, suddenly your groundwork takes on new meaning to the horse.  It's not just drilling or mindless lunging, it's a dance and that's when you start to have partnership and feel and without that you won't be able to properly execute a partnership on the ground test.

Most of us had skipped learning how to do the partnership on the ground when we started cowboy dressage.  We were anxious to get onto the riding tests and like most folks we really wanted to get to the loping tests!  Imagine our dismay when we found out we couldn't even do partnership on the ground properly.   This clinic really emphasized for the participants how important it is to get that groundwork solid if you hope to go on to have success under saddle.


As we moved onto the riding portion we again worked on some basic horsemanship exercises before moving onto riding Cowboy Dressage tests.  This allowed us to again clean up some holes in our horses and our partnership.  I think the thing that surprises folks that are new to Cowboy Dressage the most is how difficult it is to ride with accuracy.  When you read a Cowboy Dressage test, say Walk/Jog 1 it sounds elementary.  It's just some circles and some straight lines.  No fancy roll backs, spins, obstacles or even loping are required.

 Sounds simple and perhaps even boring!  That is until you try to do it with accuracy, hitting all your marks, with proper bend, cadence, softness and accurate transitions.  Even the most experienced horseman can find things to work on.  One of the things I love most about riding with Dale is that good enough isn't good enough.  Obviously you can't attain perfection in a day and we all have to start somewhere but if she feels you are capable of executing the maneuver with more perfection, she won't let you quit until you do.  It's this kind of thinking that makes better horses and better riders.

There are so many great things to learn when it comes to Cowboy Dressage.  Softness.  Accuracy.  Cadence.  Bend.  Straightness.  All great things for horse and rider.  But the most important thing and the beautiful thing to watch as you work on these things through Cowboy Dressage is to watch the development of partnership and harmony through soft feel.  When you learn how to communicate with your horse softly and accurately the partnership grows and it's so rewarding to watch some one that was struggling with their horse being with them at the beginning of the clinic suddenly make that final turn on to the center line for the last test of the day and have it be soft, accurate and lovely in every way.  Cowboy Dressage builds better horses and better riders but ultimately it builds better partnership and therein lies the beauty.

Fanning the Flames

There has been a spark of Cowboy Dressage smoldering in North Idaho.  Whiffs of smoke and fleeting glimpses of flames had started folks whispering in barn alleys and arenas across the northern counties.  What is this Cowboy Dressage?  How can we learn more?  How is it different from Western Dressage?  Yesterday a dedicated group of Cowboy Dressage enthusiasts met at a local barn to fan those flames and firmly establish the fire of Cowboy Dressage in North Idaho.

Through word of mouth and a heavy campaign via local and national Facebook pages local horse enthusiasts were invited to the gorgeous Running W ranch in Rathdrum, Idaho for an introduction lecture and demonstration rides on Cowboy Dressage.  We were expecting 25 people to attend.  We were hoping for 50 people to attend.  We were blessed with over 125 people in a standing room only gathering of what can only be called a mob of dedicated and enthusiastic horsemen and women and children hungering for a better way of being with their horses.

The presentation described the origin of Cowboy Dressage and it's evolution and brief association with Western Dressage.  The emphasis throughout the presentation was always soft feel as that is the driving principle of Cowboy Dressage and the hallmark that sets it apart from every other equine discipline.  The courts, tests, and rules were explained in brevity and then in more detail why each and every western horseman and western horse can benefit from time spent on the Cowboy Dressage court.

Looking out across the packed crowd of enthusiastic faces with one poor lady left to stand with just her head in the door I was struck by the enormity of the blessing and privilege that we have in spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage.  The Cowboy Dressage movement has been largely an organic one.  Eitan and Debbie Beth-Helachamy, the founders of Cowboy Dressage, have gifted this to the equine community because they believe in making better horseman and making life better for horses.  Through a campaign trail of expositions and clinics and appearances they have set small fires through the country and left the fires of enthusiasm and the spirit of Cowboy Dressage in the hands of the local horse folks to fan and build and grow Cowboy Dressage in their own communities.

Through the founding of Cowboy Dressage world they have selected leaders to help spread that word and grow the discipline for folks craving the competitive side of Cowboy Dressage.  The judges certification (boot camp) program is working hard to teach people how to judge Cowboy Dressage because the future of Cowboy Dressage as a competition lies in the hands of the folks sitting at the table at C.  Without judges who are rewarding soft feel and harmony we will lose the focus and purpose of Cowboy Dressage.  As this side of Cowboy Dressage world grows, so too will the shows available for folks across the US and Canada grow to.

But, for those of us waiting in rural parts of the country where Cowboy Dressage is still a smoldering flame and whisper of smoke on the air it is difficult to know how to get started.  Waiting for a show to come to your area so you can give it a try is backwards thinking.  That's how the other disciplines function, not so Cowboy Dressage.  While the shows and gatherings are fun and will grow, that is not the purpose.  Anybody interested in Cowboy Dressage that has access to flat ground and a tape measure can set up a Cowboy Dressage court and get started.  Invite your friends, fire up the BBQ and have a Cowboy Dressage party.  Even if you are still struggling with the concept of soft feel, if you are riding with soft feel in mind and beginning the search, it will come.  Everything that you need to get started with Cowboy Dressage is out there for the taking at www.cowboydressageworld.com and www.cowboydressage.com.

If you will allow me to wax rhapsodic, the Cowboy Dressage court really is the field of dreams.  If you build it, like minded horseman will flock to learn more and try this new discipline.  What may start with just one or two friends playing in a field with some white buckets will grow as more and more people come to see what it's about and stay because they love how good it feels.

Spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage is up to us, my friends.  I can't tell you how good it feels to share Cowboy Dressage with a horse person who has been hungering for something to do with their horse or a community of horse folks they can ride with and feel welcome.  I've seen ladies moved to tears and exclaim with feeling, "This.  This is what I've been looking for."  Haven't we all? With a handshake membership we can all be part of the movement.

For North Idaho folks local resources include:

http://www.cowboydressage.com

http://www.cowboydressageworld.com

Marcia Moore Harrison of Potlatch, Idaho
http://www.mm-horsetraining.com/marcia/

Cowboy Dressage World of Idaho Facebook page

Running W Ranch, Rathdrum, Idaho hosting Eitan Beth-Helachamy July 24-26, 2015
(you can find them on facebook)

Michelle Binder Zolezzi, of Spokane, Washington
http://www.relationalridingacademy.com/

Jenni Grimmett, DVM of Sagle, Idaho
drgrimmett@live.com

Balancing Act

Brothers Bill and Tom Dorrance used to argue about the "big 3" covenants of horsemanship:  Feel, Timing, and Balance.  Which should come first?  Which is most important?  If you are serious about your horsemanship I doubt you could pick just one;  you really can't have one without the other three. One day you may strive to improve your timing, but the next you will work on your balance. The next you will be trying to tune your feel.  When you learn to use all three in concert you may begin to approach that coveted title of horseman.

But, as mind boggling as contemplating the finer points of horsemanship often is, it is easier to attempt to consider each of the big three separately.  Today I'd like to turn the spot light onto Balance and make a case for it's importance in horsemanship and especially Cowboy Dressage.

Balance is often thought of as an attribute of a good rider.  If you have good balance you can stay in the seat and stay mounted should your horse do something unexpected.  It's an athletic quality in a good rider.  My brother has amazing balance in the saddle.  He always has and can sit anything I put him on.  I can also count the times my brother has been in a saddle during his lifetime without the need to take my shoes off.  He's athletic and has good balance but he does not use his balance like a horseman.  When we talk about balance in the framework of horsemanship it is about so much more than your ability to stay mounted.  We are talking about balance being one of your aids in communication. We are talking about balance not as sport but as art.

In Cowboy Dressage where we aim to ride always with Soft Feel it  is of utmost importance that we use all of our aids, including balance, to greatest communication with our horses.  Soft Feel isn't just about the hands. Soft feel isn't just about lightness. It certainly is not just where your horse's head happens to be carried.  Soft Feel is really about maximizing soft communication with your horse so that you co-exist almost as two halves of a whole.  It is so hard to define Soft Feel. It's like trying to describe color to a blind person or melody to a deaf person.  It is a conglomerate of sensations that when working together just "feels" right.  When you really have soft feel working for you and you have established partnership and harmony with your horse, your horse can feel you breathing or changing your seat and will follow that change almost before you even complete the thought.  That is where Soft Feel can take you with your horse.

Balance is a integral part of riding with soft feel. We can use our balance to effectively communicate with our horses.  While bad balance and rider positioning can impede a horse's movement, so can good balance enhance a horse's movement.  Balance in horsemanship is a constantly shifting dynamic weight game.  The neutral position is the home position sitting directly over the horse's natural center of gravity that lies somewhere about the level of your girth.  A rider that is sitting in this position is telling the horse, yes, that's right, stay straight and right beneath me.  Any shift outside of the neutral or home position should communicate a transition of some kind to your horse.

For instance, if you would like the horse to lift his left front leg, your body needs to be in a position to not block that movement and allow the horse the freedom of movement to adjust his weight and carriage to properly lift that leg.  If you are leaning forward and looking at the leg you wish to move (which is a very common mistake) you are impeding the horse's ability to adjust his weight to carry out the cue.  This may lead to either an undesired response such as moving the wrong leg, or the horse having to execute the maneuver handicapped by your weight and therefore impeding his next maneuver or transition. However, if you transfer your weight from the neutral position to the the diagonal leg that will be carrying the weight when the left front leg is in motion, the horse can execute the maneuver to lift the left front leg by shifting his weight back under your seat.  In this dance the horse follows your lead as you adjust your body position.  This happens before you even cue the horse to move the leg.  You prepare the horse for the maneuver and help him to set his body up for the maneuver and then you cue for the response.

Balance, then, can work as a sort of  pre-cue.  Before asking your horse for a maneuver, such as yield the hindquarters to the left, you first position your body to be in balance for the execution of that maneuver.  You sit up and active in your seat.  Shift your weight slightly to left in preparation for bringing your right leg back to cue the horse to step over.  The horse moves under the motion of your shifted balance to be back underneath your seat and back into perfect balance.

When walking a 10 m circle to the left you do not want your balance to be tipped to the inside of the circle.  You want your horse to carry his bend throughout his body in a 10 m arc from head to tail.  In order to adjust your balance to create the bend you will shift your balance just to the outside of the circle and ask the horse to move his body under your balance point.  It is very important to remember that while balance is an aid, it is not a cue and so it is more dynamic in it's affect.  It is constantly shifting and changing.  You ride your horse with balance in each and every stride, coming back to neutral between each transition in balance.

Balance is also important in creating forward impulsion and stop.  You can create impulsion in your horse just by shifting your balance slightly forward into an active seat.  By shifting your balance forward of the horse's center of gravity the horse is obliged to move out reaching and lengthening the stride.  Shifting your balance back behind the center of gravity can indicate stop, or other transitions requiring elevation of the front end or shortening of stride.

Imagine, now, if your balance is poor or inconsistent.  Instead of your horse adjusting to slight changes in your body position, he must learn to ignore that because he has found those changes to be meaningless.  Instead of following your seat and balance he may even push against it to compensate for a rider that always sits heavier to the left side.  Does your horse have a lead problem or do you as a rider have a balance problem?  Is your horse really stiff to one side or do you tend to sit on that side interfering with his natural carriage and suppleness.

If you watch great horseman ride you can see how the rider's body seems to mirror what the horse is doing.  This is truly riding with balance.  The horse can feel small shifts in the rider's seat and balance point and shifts to follow that change.  So, the next time you mount up and ride, focus on your balance and what it is telling your horse.  Are you telling your horse to ignore your balance or are you helping him by leading him through the dance by your body position?  Be sure that your balance is meaningful to the horse and doesn't inadvertently become white noise to which he is desensitized.