Dan Bizzarro Method

25/12/2025

“If your horse gets worse when you soften the rein, self-carriage was never there.”

This one catches a lot of riders out.

They finally soften the contact…
and the horse immediately speeds up, falls onto the forehand, or loses balance.

So the reins come back.
And the cycle continues.

That reaction doesn’t mean the horse needs holding.
It means he hasn’t learned how to carry himself yet.

Self-carriage isn’t what happens when the rider holds everything together.
It’s what shows up after the rider gives.

A horse in true self-carriage can:
– keep the same rhythm when you soften
– stay balanced without leaning
– stay straight without being held
– wait for the next aid

If softening the rein causes chaos, the answer isn’t to hold longer.
It’s to teach the horse how to organise his body before you give.

That’s built with:
– clear preparation
– quick reactions
– short moments of softness
– and immediate re-organisation if balance is lost

Softening is not the test.
It’s the result.

Teach the horse to carry himself, and the rein can finally become light.

💬 What happens when you soften the rein: nothing changes, or everything falls apart?

I you want help improving your horse self-carriage
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25/12/2025

“If your horse feels different every ride, the system is missing.”

One day he’s soft.
Next day he’s strong.
Then spooky.
Then flat.
Then sharp again.

Most riders think this is just “how horses are”.

But big day-to-day changes usually don’t come from the horse.
They come from a lack of structure.

When there’s no clear system, every ride becomes a guess:
– different warm-ups
– different reactions allowed
– different standards for transitions
– different responses to tension

The horse never quite knows what’s expected —
so he tries something new every day too.

Consistency doesn’t come from drilling the same exercise.
It comes from repeating the same principles:
clear reactions
early corrections
soft releases
and a predictable framework

When the rules stay the same, the horse settles.
When the horse settles, the ride starts to feel familiar again —
calmer, lighter, and easier to organise.

Good training doesn’t make every ride perfect.
It makes every ride recognisable.

💬 Does your horse feel consistent from ride to ride, or does it change every time?
👥 If this resonates, follow me for more clear, practical training advice like this.

24/12/2025

I’d like to wish a fantastic Christmas to everyone who has been helping, supporting, and following me this year, and to all the people I have helped, supported, and followed.

I’ve had lots of highs and lows in 2025, but my main goal has always been to keep moving forward, keep improving, and try to become a better person every day.

I’ll keep doing that.

I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

🎄 Give me some love in the comments 🎄

Dan

24/12/2025

“When riders say ‘he knows this already’, this is usually what’s missing.”

I hear this phrase a lot:
“He knows how to do that.”
“He’s done it before.”
“He understands.”

But knowing something once isn’t the same as being able to repeat it calmly, consistently, and under pressure.

Horses don’t learn in theory.
They learn through repetition, clarity, and timing.

A horse might “know” how to:
– do a transition
– stay straight
– wait
– soften

But if the reaction isn’t immediate and reliable, the skill isn’t finished yet.

Training isn’t about proving the horse can do something once.
It’s about making the right answer the easy answer every time.

That’s why I spend so much time revisiting simple things:
transitions
straight lines
small adjustments
early corrections
quick releases

Not because the horse doesn't know how to do it but because consistency is what creates confidence.

💬 What’s something your horse can do… but not always when it matters?

👥 If this resonates, follow me for more clear, practical training advice like this.

24/12/2025

“You don’t lose control suddenly — you lose it quietly.”

Most problems don’t start with a big moment.

They start small.

A transition that takes a little too long.
A circle that gets a bit bigger than planned.
A horse that leans for one stride… then two.
A reaction that’s slightly delayed — and ignored.

Nothing dramatic happens, so the rider carries on.

But those quiet moments are where control is either reinforced
or slowly handed away.

By the time the horse feels strong, fast, or unmanageable,
the decision has already been made —
just not in one obvious place.

That’s why waiting for things to “go wrong” never works.

Good riding is about noticing the early signs:
– the rhythm changing
– the balance tipping forward
– the response getting slower
– the attention drifting

And fixing them immediately, while they’re still small.

One clear correction.
An instant release.
Then move on.

Control isn’t something you regain in an emergency.
It’s something you protect quietly, step by step, all the way through the ride.

💬 Be honest — where do things usually start to slip for you: transitions, rhythm, or attention?

If you'd like some help with your STRONG horse you'll find my FREE guide super useful!

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23/12/2025

“‘He listens… until it matters.’”

This is something riders say all the time.

“He’s good on the flat.”
“He listens at home.”
“He’s fine… until the jump.”
“Until we canter.”
“Until we leave the arena.”

When that happens, it’s easy to blame excitement, atmosphere, or attitude.

But most of the time, it’s simpler than that.

The horse hasn’t learned to listen when pressure increases.

Listening isn’t a yes-or-no skill.
It exists on a scale.

A horse that responds when things are easy, quiet, and familiar
hasn’t necessarily learned to respond when:
– energy goes up
– the pace changes
– the environment feels different
– the rider gets tense

That’s why training can’t stop at “he does it once”.

The real question is:
Can the horse respond when it matters?

That’s built by:
– asking for the same reactions in walk, trot and canter
– keeping the rules the same as things get more difficult
– correcting early, not once control is already gone
– releasing the moment the horse gives the right answer

When listening becomes consistent, it doesn’t disappear under pressure.

💬 Where does your horse stop listening: transitions, canter, fences, or away from home?

👥 If this sounds familiar, follow me for more clear, practical training advice like this.

23/12/2025

“Most horses don’t rush because they’re keen.
They rush because nobody showed them how to wait.”

Rushing is often misunderstood.

People say:
“He loves jumping.”
“He’s just enthusiastic.”
“He gets excited.”

But most rushing isn’t excitement.
It’s lack of education.

The horse hasn’t been taught that waiting is an option.

If every time he goes forward nothing asks him to rebalance…
if every approach feels like “go and hope”…
if slowing down only ever means pulling…

Then the horse does the only thing he knows how to do:
he runs.

Waiting is not natural for a horse.
It has to be taught.

Waiting means:
– staying in the same rhythm
– keeping the balance uphill
– listening even when energy increases
– trusting that the rider will organise the moment

When a horse learns how to wait, rushing disappears on its own.
Not because you stop him —
but because he finally understands how to carry himself.

That’s why I spend so much time on simple things:
short transitions
changes of gear
clear moments of “go” and “wait”
and immediate releases when the horse responds

Rushing isn’t solved at the fence.
It’s solved in the preparation.

Teach the horse how to wait,
and suddenly everything feels calmer, lighter, and more controllable.

💬 Does your horse rush more from excitement or from tension?

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22/12/2025

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22/12/2025

Well done horsey people!

We have done it, guys. December 22nd.
And if you’re an equestrian… this date means something.

It means:

The days are (very slowly, almost insultingly slowly) getting lighter 🌅

You are officially past peak winter despair

Every frozen, muddy, dark, phone-torch-powered yard visit was not in vain

December 22nd is the quiet celebration no one talks about.
Not Christmas.
Not New Year.
But the moment we whisper to ourselves:

“Right… it can only get better from here.”

Sure, it’s still cold.
Sure, the mud still has opinions.
Sure, your horse still looks at you like “why are we doing this?” (100% had this yesterday when riding at 6.30am...the side eye was intense!)

But somewhere deep in the equestrian soul is hope:

Hope of riding without 14 layers

Hope of seeing your horse’s legs again

Hope of not feeling personally attacked by the weather app

So well done.
You survived the darkest days.
You fed, mucked out, carried hay, lost gloves, found gloves, lost them again.

December 22nd isn’t just a date.
It’s an equestrian milestone.

We made it. 🐎✨

22/12/2025

The purpose of dressage is actually very simple.

It was never about tricks, shortcuts, or quick results.
It was about developing the horse into a strong, balanced, supple athlete — and developing the rider into someone good enough to look after that horse properly.

Classical dressage was cross-training.
It prepared horses to do any job with strength, confidence, and longevity.
And it asked riders to put in the time to develop feel, understanding, and discipline — because the horse’s long-term wellbeing depended on it.

Somewhere along the line, we lost that focus.

We started chasing faster progress.
Looking for fixes instead of foundations.
Trying to skip steps rather than improve the basics.

But real development doesn’t work like that.
For horses or riders.

Correct training takes patience.
It takes repetition.
And it takes consistency over time.

Dressage only works when it’s done with integrity — when the goal is a sound, confident horse, not just a picture that looks good today.

As much as the world has changed, the horse hasn’t.
Their bodies still need time.
Their minds still need clarity.

Dressage was never meant to be rushed.
It was meant to be done properly.

Had you thought about this before?
What's your take?

21/12/2025

“A strong horse can quietly destroy a rider’s confidence.”

Not because the rider is weak.
Not because they’re doing everything wrong.

But because riding a horse that leans, rushes or pulls makes you feel:

behind the movement

out of control

tense before you even start

nervous to canter or jump

I see this all the time in lessons.

The frustrating part?
Most of these horses don’t need more strength from the rider —
they need better communication and clearer structure.

When the horse understands how to carry himself,
the rider relaxes.
Confidence comes back.
Everything feels simpler again.

That’s exactly why I wrote The Strong Horse Solution.
It’s free, practical, and built from real lessons.

👉 You can download it FOR FREE here: https://danbizzarromethod.com/guides/strong-horse