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BTB training, Woking (2026)

05/08/2026

RIDER'S POSITION

How we sit on the horse and how we apply our aids play essential roles in how the horse will be able to work.
If the rider is unbalanced, stiff, too strong or confusing with the aids, the horse’s ability to answer the rider’s questions will be very poor to almost impossible.
Only a supple, balanced and quiet rider can produce a relaxed, forward thinking and supple horse.

Correct position of the rider:

● sit balanced and evenly on both seat bones in the deepest part of the saddle, with soft hips that following the motion of the horse.
● riders ear, shoulder, hip and heel should align.
● rider should keep their elbows close to the body and keep a straight line from the elbow to the bit. Elbows, shoulders and wrist should stay soft for the rider’s hands to be able to follow the horse’s movement and a create a steady but elastic contact.
● hands should hold the rein softly without gripping.
● rider’s thighs and knees should be rested gently against the saddle without gripping. The lower leg should stay in a light contact around the horse’s sides, and the ankles should be soft and elastic to help absorb the movement of the horse.

In my opinion, every rider should have also the ability to ride in light seat by just slightly lifting their seat-bones from the saddle, keeping an upright position in their torso with hands still softly following the horse. This position is great for young horses, those in rehabilitation or with weakness in the topline, as it helps the horse to lift and soften over the topline to build up strength.

Common mistakes:
● leaning forward - in doing so, the rider will put too much weight on the horse’s shoulders and the horse won't be able to balance.
● leaning backwards - again the horse’s balance will be affected as well as the ability to lift through the core and back and use his hind legs under.
● leaning sideways, collapsing through the hips or shoulders - this will affect balance, straightness and suppleness through the body.
● gripping tightly- stiff rider = stiff horse. Horse won't be able to relax if there is never ending pressure from the rider.
● tension in shoulders, elbows , wrists, hand pulling backwards - this will result i. problems in the contact and the horse will start to loose the confidence and trust in rider’s hands.

Every rider has the responsibility to work on their position and balance. It just takes a bit of discipline and self control. A balanced and relaxed rider that is following and allowing the horse to go forward can achieve a harmonious partnership. The horse will be able to relax, use his body, maintain a clear rhythm, seek the rider’s hand forward and develop roundness and softness through the frame.

26/07/2026

CONTACT / CONNECTION

Contact should never be forced or come from the rider’s hands.
The rider should only INVITE and OFFER the contact. Then the horse, once relaxed and working through the body correctly, accepts and takes the contact.
Only after the horse trusts the rider’s hand and starts to seek the rein forward, can we start developing true connection from the hind legs through a soft swinging back and supple neck, into the hand.
This is the only way that the horse can truly start lifting through the core and back and start to find a rounder and correct frame.

Good contact should be a conversation through feel, not pulling or holding tight.

How to create a good elastic contact?

● Always start with your position
- sit in balance with your ear, shoulder, hip and heel aligned in straight line
- keep straight line from your elbow through the rein to the bit
- keep your elbows and wrists soft and follow the movement of the horse
- keep your fingers closed softly around the rein.

● Ride forward
- maintain an active and even rhythm in every gait
- drive your horse forward before asking about contact - the horse needs to think forward first and be reactive on your driving aids before he truly connects into the rein.

● Let the horse find your hand and connect
- don't ride the head or frame - let the horse use his neck to find balance and find the frame.

● After any pressure on the rein there has to come release
- if you close your fingers around the rein, release the pressure and soften your fingers immediately when the horse responds correctly.

● Avoid pulling back
- hands should always be forward thinking without holding constant heavy pressure.

Two biggest mistakes

● tight restrictive contact

- imagine riding a bicycle or driving a car with a handbrake on! That wouldn't go too well!

Unfortunately, we see this type of riding very often with some riders just trying to hold the head and neck in some position while kicking the horse forward. All that this achieves is a short and tight neck; hollow and tight back; balance down onto the shoulders; horse heavy into the rein; uneven/ unlevelled strides; behind the vertical; hyperflexion and loss of relaxation leading to "naughtiness".

● Very loose, unconnected rein

- some people mistake a soft and elastic contact for no contact at all.

It is no better then riding with a restrictive and tight rein, and usually it will have the same effect - an unbalanced and tense horse that is resistant to the rider’s aids.

Riding into a correct contact and building true connection is something that requires patience and discipline from the rider. It is something that can't be and shouldn't be rushed by using gadgets such as draw-reins, side-reins, stronger bits, etc.

We have to remember that once the horse looses trust in the rider’s hands or learns to avoid the contact, the correction of this will be much harder than to start the horse correctly.

20/07/2026

Just little example our work...
This horse came to us with big issue with confidence and Relaxation due to not exactly great start to his riding career. He was very behind the leg, incredibly heavy in the contact especially in the left rein and had problem with canter as his balance was all over the place.

Naughty???? NO... Just need help to understand how to use his body and where to put his legs.

If you having problems with your horse or you simply want to get your horse trained in the correct way where welfare and cooperation always comes first please do get in touch with us.

13/07/2026

FORWARD THINKING

This is one thing in horse training that I see both as an instructor and judge, that is very confusing for many riders:

FORWARD DOESN'T MEAN FAST!!!

I have seen it many times when I say the horse needs to think more forward, the rider just start to ride faster. The tempo quickens, legs frantically move, the horse gets unbalanced and stressed - everything that we want to achieve in the training; the relaxation, the rhythm, the suppleness, the self carriage, the uphill tendency, all go out of the window.

Forward tendency means in front of the leg, it is nothing to do with speed.

A forward thinking horse is willing to go, but stays attentive and balanced. The forward thinking horse doesn't just run faster when the rider applies a leg aid, instead he steps more under his body with his hind legs. He creates energy from the hindquarters and this energy should travel through the body and the riders seat into a soft, responsive connection where it is contained and sent back to the hind leg. Here is where we start to talk about impulsion.

Imagine impulsion like some closed circle of energy. Hind legs response on your leg aid, create the energy that travels through the horses body and you as a rider containing this energy with your seat and light!!! use of rein within the horse. Then it is just up the rider as to what he needs to to with this energy:
● collect - higher, shorter and springy steps
Or
● lengthten- long, ground covering steps still with spring

A truly forward thinking forward horse
● responds on the lightest touch of the riders legs willingly and without hesitation
● stays soft over the back and neck and supple through the body
● stays soft, light and responsive through the poll and mouth
● doesn't change balance onto the shoulders. On the contrary, after some time he will become even lighter in front and you get the uphill feel
● horse keep his tendency to seek (and is allowed) the rein forward. It means that the nose is slightly in front of the vertical , never behind the vertical.

The biggest mistakes that can prevent forward tendency:
● tight and restrictive rein with/ without the riders excessive leg aid
● stiff rider bouncing out of balance
● Riding with very a loose, loopy rein either too forward or not forward at all.

If we talk about a forward thinking horse we really don't want to see a horse that just runs fast and out of control and balance. We want to see a horse who keeps the movement forward by himself, staying supple, attentive and confident about his work.

08/07/2026

BALANCE

Natural balance of the horse really depending on his confirmation:
-the vertical of his shoulders
- the vertical of his hindquarters
- horizontal of the shoulders and the hindquarters

If we learn how to assess these lines and any asymmetries then we can understand how to support the horse and train him into better balance and lightness, where he can move easily under our weight and have the mobility & strength to perform.

Improving horses balance takes time, a long time if it is done in the correct way.
Firstly, we need a freedom in the neck for the horse to be able to use it to find his natural balance under the saddle. Only after that, and when horse has understood the basic aids, can we start gymnastics with lateral movements that help develop more mobility and suppleness to engage the hindquarters. With more engagement from behind we gradually can train the horse be lighter on the shoulders and in the hand - have true self carriage, plus staying straight on straight and curved lines.

That is one of the reasons I stopped using gadgets, even for lunging. Any gadget you put on the horse will block him and that doesn't help the horse to move in natural balance and learn how to use his body to improve.

05/07/2026

HARMONY - RELAXATION - CONFIDENCE

Harmony between rider and horse goes hand in hand with relaxation and confidence.

Relaxation of the horse

● over the topline and through the body - horse should be supple through the neck and back to have some swing, and soft through the body to be able to bend around riders leg.
● soft poll and jaw - horse’s poll should be free and mobile and he should be soft in his jaw to be able to receive riders aids.
● the horse should mentally be focused on the rider and breathe, he shouldn't hold his breath at any point (you wouldn't when you exercise).

Relaxation of rider

● balanced and soft seat following movement of the horse.
● relaxed shoulders , elbows and wrists with hand following the horse and thinking forward.
● riders legs hanging from the hip down and softly touching horses sides without clamping.

Once relaxation and is more established and the rider is clear with his aids, the horse will build his confidence. A confident horse is enjoying his work and almost looks proud of himself. And only after this can we talk about harmony between rider and horse.

There was saying that has stayed in my mind;
" The horse should trust his rider more then his own instincts."

It takes time and patience but the result is a great feeling that no wins or ribbons can replace.

06/06/2025

Little introduction.

Let's start with introducing myself and why I have started this page.

I would like to classified myself as a dressage rider/ instructor, but I am little different. I haven't got the posh, well bred horses with flashy paces. Usually I am lucky if my horses has got 3 correct paces and can trot and canter without tripping over their own feet. They have no talent, some of them have no breeding recorded and one , my special one, he was just left at my yard after he proved he is just too difficult to ride.

I have been riding from young age and had a go with nearly everything, showjumping, eventing, racing, but at the end I decided I really want to focus on dressage. I just love to see how much the horses can improve not just in paces and way of going but even in behaviour. It is really nice to see, how the correct training can make the horse looking more healthy, athletic, happy and confident in the work and build partnership with his rider.

I always have had the idea, that riding dressage is almost as dancing. Horse and rider in mutual respect and cooperation showing movements in absolute harmony. And I wanted to really dance with my horses in the higher levels so when I could afford it , I got myself a trainer....

At the beginning all seemed to be ok and we did make some progress until we got to training on medium /advanced medium level. Then everything changed. Instead carry on with the training with patience and looking for ways how to keep the horse supple and happy when introducing new movements, all started to be a pressure.

Nearly every training I could hear
- "You need double bridle and spur to get more control"
-"He can do this movement, he just playing you up and is naughty and you need to use little more force to make him do that"
-"If you want to succeed you have to work him hard "

I had my doubts about this way of training. I didn't like the idea of dominance over the horse instead partnership with him. But I wanted to progress and paid a lot of money to experienced trainer so I did try listen , even though I did have a lot of questions that always been answered the same way... " if you want to get there you have to harden up"

It didn't take long and my horses started to show how unhappy they are. All this pressure just brought too much tension and frustration in the work and I started to have problems... loosing rhythm, loosing confidence and bad behavioral issues.

- I didn't want this. This wasn't the dream. So I said stop. Got rid of the trainer, put double bridles and spurs in the box in the darkest corner of the tackroom and started fix all the mistakes that's been done.

- After some tears, a lot sweat and few headaches I got my horses back to happy themselves. Are they perfect now? NO! Will they ever been perfect? I don't know. But for me it is important they started to be more relaxed, correct in the rhythm and they happy to work.

And yes there always will be some sort of pressure when you training, but there are ways how to teach the horse to understand better and that is rewards. Not always it means you have to give them treat ( well little guilty here as I always have some carrot in the pocket) but it means after you have to make some pressure there has to come release once the horse at least trying to understand to allow him to find the confidence to do it

That is why I set up this page. BTB means Back To Basics. I just would like to share my experiences from my journey and maybe help other people who struggle to understand where they going wrong. I will use this page to share training tips that have worked with my non talented lot and want to keep it strictly educational although not avoiding discussions. But not bullying and unkind comments. We all have own ways how to ride and train the horses and we can learn from each other , even just sharing your mistakes can be great learning curb for all of us.

BTB training

05/08/2026

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20/07/2026

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05/07/2026

06/06/2025

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