03/13/2025
The Release - Learn To Do It Correctly To Get Your Horse To Gait!
By Gaye Derusso
https://www.majesticrider.com/index.html
So today, I want to dive into something super important in horse training: the release. This is one of the biggest factors in helping your horse learn. The quicker you release pressure after they do something right, the better they’ll get what you want.
Let’s say you’re trying to get your horse to lower its head. You start in steps, by applying pressure on one rein - lateral flexion, so the horse learns to turn its head and give, when pressure is applied. You can watch my video on this for more detail. Once the horse does lateral flexion well then you move onto vertical flexion. You hold pressure on both the reins, and as soon as the horse tips its nose down just a tiny bit, you’ve got to release the reins—open your fingers up! This shows the horse, “Hey, that’s the right direction!” And then you reward them.
You keep doing this over and over. Once the horse gets it, you start holding the pressure longer. So instead of just getting them to tuck their nose, you ask them to tuck it even further and wait longer to release. In the beginning, it’s all about rewarding the effort, even if it’s not perfect. Horses don’t know what’s right or wrong yet, so if you’re waiting for perfection before releasing, you’re just going to confuse them, and it’ll take way longer to get there.
Now, let’s talk about teaching a saddle gait. First, you warm them up with their flat walk and running walk (if they have one). Then, you ask for the saddle gait. You need to apply more pressure on the reins to collect the horse, but don’t forget your legs! If you don’t use your legs, the horse won’t move forward enough. They might throw out some random attempts, like trying to do the trot or pacing. Just keep holding that pressure and say, “Nope, not the right answer—keep trying.”
If they go sideways, you correct that by applying your leg. Right leg for right, left leg for left, so they know going sideways isn’t it. Eventually, they’ll throw in a step that’s close to the saddle gait—could even be a step pace. As soon as that happens, you stop, drop the reins, give them a scratch, and let them rest for a bit. This tells them, “That’s what I’m looking for!”
Sometimes, the hard part is the horse doesn’t even know what it did to get that release. It just knows it got rewarded. After a couple of minutes of rest, you start again, going through the flat walk and running walk, and then ask for that saddle gait again. Same thing happens—they might throw their head around or try different gaits. But once you get that one step of the saddle gait, you stop, reward them, and scratch.
Repeat this process, but each time, increase your expectations. If they can do one step well, ask for two, then three, and so on. Don’t overdo it in the first session—just a few steps at a time. Then switch directions and do the same thing. Anytime they get close to that saddle gait, reward them with a release and a scratch.
Always let them know they did a good job! Use some baby talk, lean over, and really celebrate those wins. Now, if you’re not getting much saddle gait but they do a little step pace, reward them for that too because it’s close to what you want.
Now, many folks might find themselves alone, trying to figure out what the heck their gaited horse is doing. If you’re unsure about your cues and timing, get someone to help you out. Find a trainer who knows gaited horses or consider online lessons. I do lots of online lessons, there’s more info on my website.
Also, a great way to develop your feel is to record your rides. Talk through what you’re feeling as you ride—“This feels bouncy, I think their head is too high, I’m not sure is this a pace?” When you review it later, you can hear yourself and see what was happening. This helps you learn. But you still might need outside help because if you don’t have someone giving you feedback, you might never develop that feel. So now that you have video you can send it to me, and I can give you guidance.
Lessons really do make a difference. If you can’t get a trainer, try riding horses similar to yours. It’s all about what gaits you want your horse to do, not just the breed.
So, remember, your release is so important. The quicker and more consistent you are, the faster your horse will learn. If you’re releasing at the wrong times or not being consistent, the horse will get confused and frustrated, and we don’t want that! Frustrated horses can act out and show signs like head tossing or kicking, even bucking. These are signs you’re giving them mixed signals and they are trying to give you feedback, so listen to them.
Keep in mind, releasing correctly is essential for your horse to learn what to do. Sometimes just getting your release better and more consistent is all you need to do to get your horse to gait better.
The Majestic Rider provides natural horsemanship training for gaited horses and regular horses. Spec
