Dan Wain Equestrian: Training, Development & Rehabilitation

Dan Wain Equestrian: Training, Development & Rehabilitation Visit www.danwainequestrian.com to find out more about me & the different ways I may be able to help For full details please get in touch.

Dan Wain Equestrian offers a holistic approach to training, promoting correct posture and independent balance, to enhance the performance and longevity of the sport horse. We specialise in making long term changes to how horses move and use their bodies, with the aim of reducing the risk of injury (or injury reoccurrence) and providing the owner with a well educated and correctly developed horse t

o excel in any sphere. We are competent in all aspects of bringing horses back into work following injury, and have a team of professionals able to assist us as required. We offer a comprehensive range of services from individual training sessions and clinics, residential training packages, poor performance/behaviour consultations, right through to long term training packages.

Derbyshire/Leicestershire/Staffordshire clients:3rd-5th October It’s almost time for my monthly Derbyshire trip. Final c...
29/09/2025

Derbyshire/Leicestershire/Staffordshire clients:

3rd-5th October

It’s almost time for my monthly Derbyshire trip.
Final call for any training sessions, assessments or poor performance evaluations, in and around Derbyshire or near to the route below. I’ll be finalising times no later than tomorrow.

Sessions on:
> Ridden/ground work training
> Trailer loading training
> Behavioural/handling training
> Rehab support

Send me a message ASAP to be added to my list

With regret, I have to rehome some horses…If any of my friends who I know personally, are looking for another horse- or ...
18/09/2025

With regret, I have to rehome some horses…

If any of my friends who I know personally, are looking for another horse- or if someone you can personally vouch for is looking, please get in touch.

I appreciate the time of year and the forage situation in many parts of the country so I am realistic about the options I have and I will do the right thing by my horses regardless.

Some of the horses are only suitable as non-ridden companions or for light work in hand, and I have some horses who are able to be ridden but have not been in work since we moved 18 months ago.

I know the history of them all, and can give honest information as to their temperaments, capabilities, and the types of homes they need.

Genuine enquiries only
South Shropshire based

15/08/2025

Take it from someone who has made this mistake in the past…

…Never ever lose your temper with a horse.

If you fight and you lose, you have lost the horse.

If you fight and you win, you have lost the horse.

Now read that again…

13/08/2025

The more I’ve learned about horses, the more I realise how little I know…

…I think it’s only natural.

It can be overwhelming because if you’re like me, you only want to do the best by the horses in your care…

…but no one can learn everything.

Just being calm in your riding and handling, clear and consistent in your actions and instructions, and confident with where you’re currently at, will often get you far further than you might think.

BTW, just because you’re confident with where you’re at, doesn’t mean you have an ego and are unwilling to learn more…

Keep showing up, putting in the hours, remember your basics…

…most of all…

…Learn from your mistakes (and don’t keep repeating them!).

It’s important to keep looking into new ideas and keeping an open mind but at the same time, overwhelming yourself with too much information can just make you second guess yourself and therefore give unclear instruction to your horse…

If you need help with structuring your training, working out what to prioritise and where to put your focus and your time, reach out to me to arrange a 1-2-1 phone, video, or in-person consultation

10/08/2025

Getting good with horses is something that takes a lifetime.

Sure, there are people who can really ride and who are really skilled horse people in their 20’s & 30’s but I bet if you ask them when they’re 50 or 60 what they thought of what they were doing with horses 30 years ago, they’d probably say the same…

…I wish I knew back then, what I know now.

There is no short cut.

Just thousands of hours…

…thousands of horses…

…thousands of mistakes.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get good at picking up patterns and after a while you’ll quit making the same mistake over and over.

Also, if you follow the right guidance from people who’ve trodden the path before you, as well as being humble and always learning from the horse you might expedite the process, slightly(!).

This brings me to my point…

When choosing who to learn from, I think there is a huge danger in putting your faith in any trainer who changes their methods like the wind- always following the latest fad.

That just screams someone who isn’t confident with where they’re at and what they stand for as a trainer.

There have been a few fads come and go in recent years - all claiming to be the next best method for your horse - all claiming to stand up where other methods have fallen short…

…and to any clients who’ve asked my opinion on them my replies have been the same,

“Be careful…

…A horse is a horse (and there’s only so many things you can do with it!)”…

…Any trainer, or method of training that doesn’t consider the whole horse the whole time, will not see the whole picture and will not be the whole answer to your problems.

Everyone is learning and has a right to expand their knowledge into new areas but if they boomerang from one approach or technique to another, year after year, that’s an issue because there should be some foundational principles that anchor them in their beliefs and their identity as a horse person.

Likewise, any trainer who claims to have one method for every horse is certainly someone to approach with caution.

That’s not to say that you can’t learn something from these people, but be aware that in order to specialise in one topic, you have to really go all in and so it’s likely that other things have had to go to the back of their mind.

It takes a lifetime to be able to know when to dig out something niche from the back of your mind and use it for a particular horse. It also takes a lifetime to know when to keep it simple.

Get comfortable with where you’re at on your particular journey. Keep an open mind, but remember, a horse is a horse…

04/08/2025

I hate to break it to you, but…

…if you are riding your horse on a circle and you have distinctly more pressure in one rein than the other, you are not bending, you are doing something else.

Yep. Same goes for during your lateral work…

…and around corners too.

Bending ironically has not so much to do with bend. It is much more about repositioning parts of the horse relative to one another and for it to work, the horse needs to be able to coordinate all of the necessary changes in his body…

and keep them there…

whilst taking instruction from the rider onboard…

and maintaining vertical balance…

(Think of patting your head and rubbing your tummy while standing on one leg!)

Bending a horse correctly under saddle is one of the hardest things to achieve and unfortunately like most things it’s easier to do it wrong than it is to do it right!

Also, it looks very different from one horse to another since different body types and postures require different directives- so don’t compare your horse with your stable mates (or the ones on TV!), (especially not the ones on TV!!).

It takes so much more time, coordination, cognition, strength and effort, that it simply cannot be faked or rushed. Any attempts to do so will only result in future problems with training, movement and maybe even soundness.

On the other hand, taking the time to establish the very basic (!!) skill of bending equally in both directions will open many doors in your training. Movements which may seem too complex right now will be much easier and will almost seem like second nature… like an extension of the skills already acquired by learning to bend properly.

An added bonus?- you might even mitigate the risk of lameness through repetitive strain and uneven loading of limbs.

Now who wouldn’t want that?!…

29/07/2025

I’ve been out to a lot of horses recently who’ve shown a similar issue in their training…

…It’s so important and yet hardly anybody seems to be taught about it!…

…There seems to be this notion that as long as you are including lateral work in your schooling then you are helping your horse (and one day he/she will be straight!), but unfortunately it’s not that simple.

See, you can ride all of the lateral work in the world but if you don’t control the rotation of the spine and ribcage then you are not making your horse more straight, you are in fact compounding their restrictions and potentially making them more crooked.

This shows up in issues such as:-
Reduced push from one or both hind legs,
Dropping behind the leg,
Shortening the neck and not taking the contact forward when offered,
Tilting the poll,
& more(!)

FYI… It’s more than just ‘preventing the horse from falling through the shoulder’.

Even when starting out, it isn’t enough to simply place the horses feet on the appropriate track and hope that as they learn they’ll get better. (I wouldn’t even suggest that approach for a young green horse BTW).

The whole horse must be organised and oriented in the correct manner from nose to tail in order for any lateral work to be beneficial. The tempo must be appropriate for the individual horse and its gait, as must the angle ridden as well as the degree of bend.

Over the years I’ve been able to develop a keen eye for when horses are ‘cheating’ in their lateral work. If you’ve felt as though your training is hitting a brick wall then send me a video of your training for review, or come along to a clinic.

As with most things, it’s much easier to learn a skill correctly the first time, than to have to re-learn a skill
after being taught incorrectly

I’ve recommended these saddles to many clients over the last few years. If you’ve been tempted, check out these for sale...
29/07/2025

I’ve recommended these saddles to many clients over the last few years. If you’ve been tempted, check out these for sale. They are very good saddles sold by an excellent fitter who will give you honest and accurate advice.
Edited to add: I’m 6ft and fit perfectly into a 16.5in

Lovely to see the gang at Daneswood Dressage last Sunday. Some cracking, thoughtful training and relaxed work on show. L...
23/07/2025

Lovely to see the gang at Daneswood Dressage last Sunday. Some cracking, thoughtful training and relaxed work on show. Looking forward to heading back there in August.

My whereabouts for Clinics & Yard visits for the next couple of weeks. As always, thanks goes to clinic hosts and organisers:

24th - 26th July - Warwickshire & surrounding areas
Clinic with The Osteopathic Vet Fri 25th (CV37 9UQ)

26th July - Stourbridge & Cleobury Mortimer

1st August - Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Over Newbold Equestrian

2nd August - Grassmoor, Derbyshire (& surrounding areas)

3rd August - Debyshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire

10th August - Stourbridge
KT Livery

15th August - Tenbury Wells

16th August - Grendon & Bozeat
Low Farm Equestrian

17th August - Ombersley
Daneswood Dressage

As usual, Home & Yard Visits and Clinics available in Shropshire/Herefordshire mid week.

Specialising in:
Settling anxious or nervous horses
Unblocking stiff or reluctant horses
Problem Solving
Young horse handling & training
Improving way of going and gymnastic ability
Loading/travelling issues
Poor performance/behaviour
(& more!)

Photo credit: Leonie Brown

16/07/2025

Next coaching trip to Derbyshire scheduled for 1st-3rd August. Please send me a message ASAP if you’d like to get on my list

Address

Craven Arms

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 4:30pm
Sunday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+447929746373

Website

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