In this guide for H&H subscribers, FEI judge Stephen Clarke and four-time Olympic medallist Carl Hester explain why the walk is so often where dressage tests are won or lost – and what riders can do to improve their marks
Back when I was training, I can’t remember ever spending much time on how to ride the free walk on a long rein. It was one of those movements where you get to the test, throw the reins forward, mumble a quick prayer that no one slams a car boot or drops a coffee, and hope for the best. Sometimes, on a trickier horse, it was a brief pause to think about how I’d disgraced myself in the previous movements, casting apologetic glances at the judges.
And I don’t think I was alone. Even at the top levels of dressage, you see horses scoring eights and nines for their trot and canter, then plummeting down to sixes for the walk.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. The walk is the pace that reveals more about a horse’s training than almost any other. It’s the first to go if there’s tension in the back, and in most tests it carries a coefficient – meaning a low score hurts more than other movements.
Get it right, and you score handsomely. Get it wrong, and there’s nowhere to hide.
Why the walk matters more than you think
The walk isn’t just one movement in a dressage test – it runs through the whole horse’s training picture. As FEI judge Stephen Clarke puts it: “The extended walk is the tell-tale movement, because you see whether the horse is truly relaxed and supple, obedient and confident.”
A correct walk shows a regular, four-beat rhythm with the hindleg stepping clearly under the body – the foundation that every other gait builds on.
(Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)
He’s particularly emphatic about how revealing the free walk is: “It is a good safeguard – it makes sure that riders and trainers always look after that freedom of movement. As the horse reaches the higher levels, there is such an emphasis on collection that, sometimes, freedom is lost.”
In other words, free walk isn’t a break from the real training – it’s the test of whether the training is honest or not.
How to ride free walk: what the judge wants to see
In the free walk on a long rein, the judge is looking for:
A horse seeking the contact forward and down, with the rider allowing the rein
Long, free, purposeful strides – not slow, lazy ones
A regular, four-beat rhythm with clear overtrack
A relaxed, supple back, with the horse lengthening the frame naturally
Light contact maintained throughout – the rein lengthens, but doesn’t disappear
A smooth, balanced return to a medium walk before the next movement
As Stephen explains, the score reflects “the regularity of the four footfalls, as well as all of the qualities described in brackets within each of the collective marks: rhythm, suppleness, contact and co-operation.”
Where free walk goes wrong
Most riders, when they reach the diagonal for free walk, do one of two things: they drop the contact entirely and lose all influence on the horse, or they hold on and never let the horse genuinely stretch down.
Neither approach produces what the judge wants to see.
Stephen sees the pattern repeatedly: “Often it is the extension and collection which cause the problem. Riders sometimes fall into the trap of restricting the horse with the reins to collect, which constrains the neck and stiffens the back, thereby limiting the steps. This will have a damaging effect on the regularity of the four beats. At worst, this ends up as almost a two-beat movement, where the horse moves his limbs in lateral pairs.”
A lateral walk – where the legs on the same side move together rather than in true four-time beat – is one of the most damaging faults a dressage horse can develop. And once it appears, it’s a sign that something in the training has gone wrong.
Stretch without losing the contact
The technical heart of free walk is allowing the horse to lower and lengthen the neck while maintaining a light, elastic contact through the rein. The reins lengthen – they aren’t dropped.
Carl Hester puts it simply: “The use of the head and neck is so important in walk. It should be like a rowing motion. The horse has to take your hand forward and not fiddle and get behind the vertical.”
That “rowing motion” is a useful image to hold onto. The horse is actively seeking the bit forward and down, and the rider is allowing that movement without losing the connection. If the horse curls behind the vertical, the stretch isn’t honest. If the rider holds the rein too short, the stretch can’t happen at all. If the rider drops the reins, the contact is lost.
Slower is usually better
A common mistake – particularly in tests – is for riders to push the walk forward, driving with the seat in the hope of looking impressive. “When you walk, make it a slow walk,” Carl says. “The quicker it goes, the smaller the overtrack.”
The mathematics of the walk are a little counter-intuitive. A horse that hurries will shorten his stride; a horse that takes his time will lengthen it.
Carl adds: “If we have a one-hoof overtrack, the horse needs time on the floor – he doesn’t need to come off fast. A one-and-a-half overtrack is better. And if the front legs move too quickly for the hindlegs to keep up, the horse has to learn to use his shoulder. Then we will get closer to two hooves overtrack.”
How to practise the free walk at home
We all know this, really, but the free walk shouldn’t only be ridden during dressage tests. Stephen emphasises that the walk needs work every time you’re in that pace: “Whenever you give the horse a period of rest between movements, be aware of what’s going on underneath you. You should feel the rhythm and swing in the back – and should be influencing the walk, always.”
Try incorporating these three practical exercises into your schooling to help improve your walk:
1. Improving overtrack with leg-yield in walk
A shallow angle of leg-yield on a circle or straight line can encourage a longer stride. Feel down the inside rein for a slight bend and ask the horse to move away from your inside leg. The pace becomes more relaxed, and the overtrack will improve.
A shallow leg-yield on a circle can help improve overtrack by encouraging the horse to step further across the body with the inside hindleg.
(Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)
2. Riding the free walk as it appears in your test
Sit centrally with loose hips and soft hands. Slowly let your arms move forward while maintaining a slight inside bend. Push the walk forward gently with alternate legs until your horse is reaching for the bit. The reins lengthen progressively, not all at once.
3. Practising the transition back
Some horses predict the upward transition and jog. Make a series of halt transitions in walk during training, then remind your horse in the test with a half-halt. Keep a soft leg contact to reassure him, and gather the reins carefully – keeping a slight inside bend through the transition.
4. Get eyes on the ground
The walk is one of the hardest movements to accurately feel what’s going on underneath you. The footfalls are slower, the overtrack can be deceptive, and tension in the back is easy to miss when you’re focused on the contact. A second pair of eyes can confirm whether the rhythm is genuinely four-beat, whether the overtrack matches what you think it is, and whether the horse is honestly swinging through the back.
If you don’t have a coach available, video yourself again and again – ideally from the side – and check that your sense of what’s happening below you matches what’s actually showing up on the ground.
When the walk goes bad
Although we often consider the walk a natural pace, a poor walk often isn’t the horse’s fault.
Stephen is direct: “A bad walk is usually created because a rider has a disturbing influence on the horse – either a backward influence on the reins or a poor riding position. If the rider is stiff, then the horse will be stiff.”
The walk is the gait where rider faults show up first. A tight seat, busy hands, or a fixed contact will all interfere with the natural rhythm. Even small habits – pulling on the reins when the horse curls, pushing too hard with the seat – can disrupt the four-beat pattern.
Stephen’s solution is patience: “It is important not to try to collect the horse too early. Collection develops naturally. Wait for the horse. It is the gymnastic training which makes the horse strong enough to collect within all the paces.”
Common mistakes and fixes
1. Your horse jogs into the free walk
Fix: Use small half-halts before the diagonal to settle the horse, then allow the rein gradually rather than all at once.
2. Your horse drops the contact entirely
Fix: Maintain feel through your fingers. The rein lengthens, but the connection doesn’t disappear.
3. Your horse curls inwards
Fix: Encourage him forward to the bit, not down. Think “out” rather than “down”.
4. The walk becomes lateral
Fix: Slow the walk down. Resist the temptation to push for more overtrack with speed. Allow the horse to find the rhythm naturally.
5. The return to medium walk is abrupt
Fix: Gather the reins progressively as you approach the next marker. Don’t snatch them up at the end of the diagonal.
Marching on
The most important thing, Stephen says, is to remember that the walk reflects everything else in the training: “Honest training is the only way to preserve the walk. The work is done before the walk happens – it is all about whether the horse is truly in front of the leg, in real balance and self-carriage.”
Carl agrees that the answer is more straightforward than riders often make it: practise correct walk at home, ride forward without rushing, and trust the horse to march resolutely.
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
