Bart Hartogsveld - Classical dressage instruction

Get monthly updates on upcoming clinics, lesson days, and more (like the ebook)!

I decided to create a newsletter, mainly to have an easy way to keep everyone up to date on where I'm going next to give lessons and clinics. And if you ever wanted to organize a clinic, this is also where you can find whether I have weekends available for booking.

Undoubtedly I will end up adding some other things to the newsletter in the future, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them in the comments 😊

You can find the subscription box directly on my website:
barthartogsveld.nl

It is very common to see methods being marketed as ‘liberty’, while they have nothing to do with freedom. True liberty by definition has choice as its foundation.

This means that when the horse wants to do something else, we let them. We respect their choice and let them explore and look around. As trainers I don’t think we should use any pressure in those moments. The only thing to do is wait, and then ask for their attention back by walking softly walking.

I don’t believe in using whips or ropes during liberty training, or even as a preparation. Liberty should be tackless from the start.

Personally I do use food rewards and positive reinforcement, but I do make sure there is some other food source available. It might be grass, some hay, or a bucket of food, as long as they can choose. If we are the only source of food, that isn’t much of a choice.

Lastly and most importantly, the horse should be free to leave, or giving you a signal when they want to end. If you are the one deciding when you are done, the horse is not at true liberty. It is basically spending their time in an enclosed space, until you decide to leave.

For me it was hard to learn these lessons. They might seem harsh, but without the horse being able to choose I don’t think we can speak of liberty. Liberty is more than just the lack of a rope, it is a way of training, and something that I try to apply in everything I do with horses.

So remember: when the horse is in a roundpen, and the trainer only puts pressure on the horse when they walk away, this is not liberty. It is using negative reinforcement to make the wrong thing hard (in other words uncomfortable), until they obey.

Op neckrope, paardvriendelijk én toch rechtgericht en verzameld? Het kan 🤩

In deze demo laat Bart Hartogsveld - Classical dressage instruction zien hoe je ieder paard dit kunt leren, zónder druk te gebruiken. In plaats van eerst alles via teugels aan te leren, werkt hij vanaf het begin met de neckrope, bij uiteenlopende rassen en verschillende persoonlijkheden 🐴🥰

Je ontdekt hoe je de neckrope op een zachte, duidelijke manier inzet en hoe je met positieve bekrachtiging de hulpen stap voor stap opbouwt. Daarbij staat niet alleen het aanleren van de hulpen centraal, maar vooral ook het welzijn en de motivatie van het paard 💪

Bart laat bovendien zien hoe je dit verder uitbouwt naar zijgangen in stap en draf op neckrope en hoe je werkt aan steeds meer verzameling. Ontdek hoe positieve bekrachtiging niet alleen helpt bij het aanleren van hulpen, maar ook een krachtig middel is om lichtheid, draagkracht en echte verzameling te ontwikkelen 😍

Enthousiast geworden? Koop je tickets voor EquiDay Voorjaar nu via: https://equiday.nl/edtickets/tickets/ 🛒

There's still a few clinic spots available for the second half of the year, so if you're interested in organising, please DM or send me an email:

[email protected]

By the way, I've been thinking of creating an email list with all the updates on clinics and lesson days, more in depth posts/thoughts on neckrope and dressage, and some behind the scenes. Maybe that's something people would be interested in?

I would like to thank all of you for following us on our journey to make the dressage world a better place for horses and their riders 😊 I'm very grateful so many of you liked the recent reels, and I have a lot more educational content planned for next year, plus some exciting new plans!

2025 was a year of change and new beginnings. I'm so happy to have taken this path of neckrope riding and positive reinforcement, and can't wait where it will lead in the future!

I wish all of you, your loved ones, and your ponies and horses the very best for next year ✨