Throughout the levels of dressage, riders are asked to show four types of walk – medium walk, collected walk, extended walk and free walk on a long rein. The extended walk first appears in British Dressage elementary level tests.
Walk is an important pace in the sport of dressage as there’s often a coefficient mark for walk movements, meaning they get a double score. When training can be tempting to neglect the walk in favour of the more interesting trot and canter movements, but nailing the walk sections can really boost your marks.
What is extended walk?
In extended walk, a horse should step forward with energy from his hindlegs, swinging through his back and using his shoulders to cover as much ground as possible. The hind feet should clearly overtrack the prints left by his front feet, and the horse should reach forward for the contact, extending his neck horizontally as he does so. The four-beat rhythm should remain regular and consistent with no changes in tempo or signs of tension – and your horse should stay soft and relaxed. The extended walk can a deceptively difficult movement to ride well and it takes practice to get it right.
Extended walk vs free walk
These variations of the pace have similarities, but the main difference is that in free walk your horse is stretching out and down into the rein, whereas in extended walk he should be marching and stretching forwards with the poll remaining as the highest point. Although you’re aiming for your horse’s steps and frame to be as long as possible – as in the free walk – the extended walk should demonstrate uphill balance.
How to introduce and improve extended walk
Teaching your horse how to perform an extended walk begins with encouraging him to lengthen his stride and there are several ways to do this.
1. Poles
Placing poles on the ground can encourage your horse to lengthen his stride without the step becoming too flat, as well as having the added benefits of keeping your schooling sessions varied, encouraging concentration and making him think.
Start by placing three poles out with a walk stride between them and then gradually increase the distance between the poles, thereby pressing your horse to stretch a little further with each step.
2. “Pedalling”
“Pedalling” is a riding technique that helps to increase your horse’s suppleness and loosen his back, which in turn will enable him to lengthen his stride.
As your horse walks, notice that his ribcage swings from side to side each time he takes a step. When the horse’s left shoulder is the furthest back, his left hind leg pushes off, and his ribcage swings to the right at the same moment. As it swings to the right, allow a bit of energy to bounce down from your right hip into your heel, and do the same as the left side swings away with your left hip – this should increase the stride length.
It’s called pedalling because as you move the energy into each heel, they drop down in a similar action to pedalling a bike. Be sure to avoid grinding your seat against the saddle as you “pedal” – it should remain still and you should not rock from side to side.
3. “Panther walking”
This exercise helps to develop your horse’s extended walk. It’s called panther walking because your horse should be stretching forward into the contact and using his back, similar to the way a panther would stalk prey through the jungle.
To ride the exercise, ask your horse for long strides – think marching but not hurried, and avoid nagging with your leg. He should be walking forwards himself and using every part of his body. Allow your hands to follow his head movement without restricting him. When you’ve got this powerful rhythm, imagine your reins are pushing your horse’s nose forwards with every stride.
Pitfalls and common problems with the extended walk
There are several common problems that are seen with the extended walk…
Problem: lack of activity
Solution: if you feel your horse is ignoring your leg, give a quick, slightly sharper leg aid to regain his attention rather than continuing to nudge him – if he loses activity he won’t work through his back properly and any throughness will be lost. Be sure not to give the contact away – keep your leg on and relax your arms, particularly through the shoulders and elbows, to allow the neck to move without lengthening the rein so that the horse can extend while maintaining the connection from behind.
Problem: tension and jogging
Solution: if your horse puts jogs when you put your leg on to ask for long strides, try riding a 10m circle to encourage the horse to accept the leg and step forward with activity, then return to the extended walk without losing the connection between your leg and the horse’s side. Remember that you need to ride a “hot” horse with your legs on, and a less-forward horse with the legs off between applying new aids.
Problem: poll coming too low
Solution: this is caused by lack of activity – encourage your horse step forward with more purpose and activity so that he takes the bit forward and out, rather than out and down like he would in free walk.
Problem: hollowing through the back
Solution: open and relax your hips to lighten your seat, which will allow your horse to move forward and swing through his back, rather than pushing down or scrubbing with the seat.
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