But the walk is not only part of every dressage test from training level to grand prix; the movement that includes the free or extended walk is also always a coefficient movement, worth double the score. Additionally, when the judge gives the collective marks for gaits, the walk is part of that assessment; it can also be a factor in the collective mark for submission.

The walk is often considered the most difficult gait to improve, but David Marcus believes all the horse’s gaits can be improved with correct training. “I have a horse that, in his most tense moments, walks better than my other horse in his most relaxed moments,” he says. “But I’m a firm believer that you can improve any gait, including the walk, provided you remember that you can improve it only within the horse’s natural abilities.” Whether it’s medium and free walk for a training-level horse, or collected and extended walk for a grand prix horse, Marcus uses a systematic approach and simple exercises to school this important, but often under-estimated, gait.

It’s the thought that counts

With my students, I have observed a behaviour that reveals much about their attitude toward the walk. If I ask a student who is at the walk to show me a canter transition, the first thing the student does is to change the walk in preparation for the transition. The horse’s walk after the rider’s correction is in fact the collected walk that the rider should already have been riding.

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