Anke Hawke Balanced Dressage

18/08/2025

I always start the day with big ideas about what I’ll do with the horses… then I get to them and they’re already exhausted. Paddocks are still slippery, two are still perched on the hill, and Lucy decided this morning to show me exactly what she thought of my “brilliant training plan.”

Let’s just say her contribution involved falling over and going straight back to sleep. Clearly, she’s the brains of this operation. 😅🐴💤

10/08/2025

Big shout-out to the amazing friends and community around me right now 💛 With the rain turning paddocks into soup, riding’s taken a back seat while maintenance takes over. It’s not really an option to stable the horses 24/7 or let them slip around in deep mud—both extremes just create tension in their bodies—so it’s a constant balancing act.

The horses are really feeling it, living in the weather 24/7. They’re tired and worn out. On a good day, I get some maintenance work in, but more often they’re just happy to find a dry spot and lie flat for a rest.

What’s keeping the spirit up is knowing we’re all in this together. The calls, the check-ins, the “how are you holding up?” chats… they mean the world. We’ve had one major flood and three near-misses this year, and the ground can’t take much more, but we keep going.

Here’s to holding each other up until the sun decides to stick around for a while ☀️

05/08/2025

Some impression

05/08/2025

✨ Canberra Clinic Reflections ✨

It was so lovely to be back in Canberra for the clinic McMullen organised – we have a beautiful venue we return to each time. And Canberra, in true style, turned on its “best” winter weather for us. Day one brought wind and a good dose of cold – highly entertaining in its own way – but the horses coped far better than expected.

I always like the first day of a clinic. It’s a chance for horses to settle into the arena, realise nothing bad is going to happen, and get familiar with the environment before we add more to the mix. We started with groundwork, giving horses and riders a clear, calm start. For a few, we headed into the round yard – especially if they were a bit pushy on the lead – to safely check how they moved freely without any gadgets, and to see how the owner handled them in that space.

By day two, the weather was kinder and we enjoyed some lovely, quiet ridden lessons. We could focus on things like a balanced seat, a quieter leg, and – for many – a longer leg aid. It’s amazing how much rhythm and balance improves when you’re not constantly nagging with your heels. Without that bracing and tension, forward movement just becomes easier.

One of the themes that kept coming up was time. In horse training, time is your friend. You’re always better off taking the time to explain something properly – whether that’s a halt in-hand, a smooth transition, or improving the quality of a gait – rather than rushing on and leaving a hole in the training. And if the quality improves, give it a moment – reward the horse and acknowledge that they’ve just given you more. That pause lets them know they’re on the right track and makes it easier for them to offer it again.

It was such a pleasure to watch everyone’s progress over the two days – both horse and rider finding more ease, connection, and balance. 💛

31/07/2025

What a fantastic resource for all the Otts starting new careers outside of racing!

Off the Track and Into the Deep End: Why "New Home Syndrome” Runs Deeper for Racehorses 🐎💥🏠

What is “New Home Syndrome” — and Why I Named It

I coined the term New Home Syndrome to describe the often-overlooked psychological and physiological stress response and its impact horses experience when they move to a new home.

It’s not just general stress or “settling in.” It’s a full-body, full-mind disruption — one that affects a horse’s behaviour, health, sleep, wellbeing, and ability to learn. It’s a syndrome in the truest sense: a cluster of symptoms that consistently occur together in response to a sudden and overwhelming change in environment.
All horses are impacted when they move homes. But for off-the-track Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, the effects can be magnified tenfold.

Why? Because they come from a world of order and routine. Their lives have been shaped by structure — same people, same schedule, same job. They’ve been conditioned to perform a specific task, and their environment is designed to support that task with military-level predictability.

When all of that vanishes overnight, their nervous system doesn’t just wobble — it spirals. And sadly, this is often misinterpreted as “bad behaviour,” “danger,” or “problem horse” status.

🖼️ This is Dash — imaged attached.

Dash is a 10-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred and a powerful example of what happens when New Home Syndrome goes unrecognised.

He was returned to his rehoming program three times, labelled as “dangerous.” But the truth is likely something else entirely.
What happened to Dash was a full physical, mental, and emotional unraveling — a textbook case of New Home Syndrome.

His world kept collapsing and no one saw it for what it was. His confusion, anxiety, and distress were interpreted as reactive and unpredictable.

But he isn’t dangerous, he was just being dangerous because he was drowning.

And Dash’s story helped shape this blog — and the resource we created to help horses like him make a successful transition into a second life.

Thrown Into the Deep End

When a racehorse leaves the track, they don’t just change jobs — they enter a world they don’t recognise. 🌏
They’re used to:
- Routine and repetition
- Clear, singular expectations
- Practical, task-focused handling
- A training system designed to produce fast, forward responses

Suddenly, they’re in a paddock. Being hugged. Offered carrots. Asked to stand still in wide open spaces. Handled by unfamiliar people using unfamiliar language.

They don’t understand what’s happening — and they don’t know how to navigate it and that is acutely stressful. That’s New Home Syndrome.

And without support, even the kindest horse can spiral into confusion or panic.

Not a Behaviour Problem — A Learning History

Working with Isabelle Chandler — a racing industry insider, brilliant bodyworker, rehoming advocate, and former track rider and jockey — I’ve come to appreciate how subtle things we are completely ignorant of can trigger huge reactions in OTTBs.

Take Dash again in the early stages of his re-training. 🐎
Isabelle showed me how simply putting feet in the stirrups triggered him. He braced, tensed, and got agitated. Why? Because on the track, riders only put their feet in the stirrups when they’re ready to work. 🏇

The moment she removed her feet? He softened and instantly relaxed.

It only took a few quiet repetitions to reframe the association. Soon, Dash could stand at the mounting block without tension. No drama. No confusion. Just a horse learning something new — the right way.

These horses aren’t being difficult. They’re just doing their old job in a new world.

When Affection Feels Like Pressure

Many OTTBs haven’t experienced affection as comfort. Touch often meant tacking up, grooming, or veterinary care — not bonding.

So when you reach out with affection, they may brace, flinch or become unsettled— not because they don’t like you, but because they don’t know what that touch means. 💔

They’re not used to your way of loving them yet. That will come — with consistency, safety, and time.

Connection doesn’t start with cuddles. It starts with understanding.

Retraining Isn’t Enough — You Must Rebuild

Helping a racehorse transition isn’t just about teaching new skills. It’s about:
- Unlearning old patterns
- Establishing safe routines
- Reframing ingrained associations
- Supporting body, mind, gut and nervous system

These horses aren’t blank slates. But they are brilliant learners — and with calm, skilled guidance, they transform.

Because deep down, just like every horse they just seek three things - peace, predictability and safety. They just need someone to help them find it. 💛

New Home Syndrome Isn’t a Setback — It’s the Starting Point

Off-the-track horses don’t need fixing. They need time, empathy, and someone who understands the path they’re on.
When we offer that:
- They settle
- They soften
- They connect
- They begin to shine ✨

And we see the truth: they were never crazy. They were just misunderstood.

And Because Dash Deserved Better…

Horses like Dash — and so many others we’ve met — made it clear that something was missing.

There wasn’t a clear roadmap. There are gaps in understanding between the inside of the racing industry and the broader equestrian world — and it’s in these gaps that many horses get lost. Dash nearly did. 😔

Without that shared roadmap, you have well-meaning, brilliant people — rehomers, trainers, owners, coaches, equine professionals — all trying their best, sometimes in the dark.

Rehomers and trainers hand horses to owners who may not have the same skillset or insights. Owners turn to instructors on the outside of the industry who may not recognise what the horse is truly going through. And no one is at fault — we just haven’t all been working from the same page. I am an experienced trainer but I have learned so much from Isabelle that I was unaware of!

So Isabelle and I started putting our heads together — combining her experience in the racing industry, rehoming and rehabilitation with my expertise in retraining and teaching people how to work well with horses — to piece together a better way forward.

What emerged is a resource built from everything we wish more people knew — something to develop people’s knowledge, skills, and awareness for the task of rehoming racehorses:
- How to recognise and support horses going through New Home Syndrome
- How to retrain patterns shaped by life on the track
- How to identify, manage post-racing health, pain, and stress
- How to create stability, safety, and real communication

It’s not a quick fix. But it is incredibly effective.
We also got expert help from veterinarian Dr Jodie Gossage, Standardbred breeder, re-trainer who is involved in harness racing to add an entire section on these horses who have their own unique misconceptions!

It’s the kind of thing we believe can change lives — horse and human. 🧠❤️🐎

And if you’re someone who wants to help these horses thrive, this might be exactly what you’ve been looking for. In the comments will tell you more.

Please share — the respectful way.
💬 Hit the share button — don’t copy and paste. This piece is the result of lived experience, collaboration, and deep care.
Sharing it might help a horse like Dash land softly — and maybe help someone like you give them the second chance they deserve. 🙏🐴

IMAGE📸: Dash with Isabelle and me — we’re on a mission to raise awareness of the gap in understanding and skill that nearly cost this lovely, sweet, and clever horse his future.

31/07/2025

I often get asked to help riders with specific challenges, and about 90% of the time, the question is about canter. But here’s the thing—often the issue isn’t really the canter itself. Canter is just the first moment you truly notice whether your horse is balanced or not.

Balance isn’t simply staying upright. It’s about the three-dimensional swing of your horse’s back and the ease and flow in their movement. You can’t rush or shortcut this; riding well takes time. Every horse, like every person, has their own unique gait and way of moving. What we’re aiming for isn’t uniformity, but a natural, comfortable flow.

You can spot balance issues early, even at the walk—watch how your horse organizes their shoulders and how evenly they move on both sides. From there, you build up mobility and strength step by step.

Here’s a simple tip: every horse should have a chance to canter freely, without interference. Try observing your horse on a lunge line or in a round yard, with minimal gear, and just let them show you where they’re at naturally. You’ll quickly see if they’re balanced or if they’re struggling. If they find it challenging by themselves, adding a rider only amplifies the difficulty.

So next time you’re wrestling with canter issues, take a step back. Check in on the basics—balance, mobility, and ease—because that’s where real progress happens.

29/07/2025

Mobility Equals Functionality

I often get asked, “How do you build a top line without gadgets?”
The short answer? Through mobility and function.

For me, it’s about accessing every part of the horse—shoulders, hips, ribcage, rotation—not just letting them move where they prefer, but gently guiding them to where I ask. When a horse can move with ease in all directions, it shows you exactly where things are stuck. And when you help them unlock that? That’s where the softness returns.

Poles are often suggested to “lift” the horse, but I find they can just as easily encourage bracing. Instead, I look for access through lateral work, body awareness, and thoughtful shaping.

The more available movement you have in the whole system, the more functional and comfortable the horse becomes—physically and mentally.

That’s where the change happens.

27/07/2025

Gently Persuasive & Encouraging

October is coming up quickly, and I just wanted to share a quick reminder—we still have a few clinic spots available with Bettina Biolik this year!

📍 Three in WA (with AMT Equestrian Services
📍 Two in Adelaide (with Susan Castel
📍 Two in Canberra (with Anamir Equine

If you’ve been sitting on the fence, now’s a great time to jump in. These clinics keep filling up with returning riders for a reason—there’s something really valuable about Bettina’s calm, thoughtful, and holistic approach.

Curious about what she’s like? Have a look at this short video:

Reach out to me or the hosts if you want more info or to grab a spot. 🌟

25/07/2025

Why I Don’t Just Trot Around

I had a lovely, highly educated horse here yesterday—but with my sore back, I can’t sit on anything that doesn’t go over the back.
I need a horse that swings, lifts, and really places the hind legs under the body. Otherwise, it just jars right through me.

This horse isn’t trained for school walk, half steps, or piaffe—but I thought in that direction.
Not because I expected him to perform them, but because the idea of those movements helped guide my seat and set him up for better balance, weight transfer, and functionality.

✨ Plant the seed. The rest grows from there. ✨

Every time he tried, he got a little reward. We weren’t chasing big flashy steps—we were encouraging better use of the hind legs, more breath, and a softer, more connected body.

So instead of mindlessly trotting around and locking in tension (which tends to tighten his back and mess with his breathing and rotation), we stayed in walk. I played with the idea of higher movements—just gently shaping things.
Like softening clay in your hands.

We used what he does know—shoulder-in, travers, half pass—and let those movements guide us toward more freedom and elasticity.
The aim wasn’t to muscle through. It was to shape the whole body—like yoga. A full-body experience, not just a leg workout.

And the result?
He became incredibly soft. And when we did take that feeling into trot and canter, it felt like something we had built together—not something I forced him into.

So next time you’re tempted to “just trot around,” pause.
Ask yourself: Is this building function—or just adding tension?

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22/07/2025

The horse will never be softer than in that very first moment—when you reward the first try. That’s where the secret sauce is. The quicker you let them know they’re on the right track, the more they’ll want to try again—and with softness.

It made me think of the kids who came for lessons last week. One of them really got me thinking. I asked her, “Would you kick your cat if it didn’t do what you wanted?” She looked shocked—“Of course not! My cat is adorable.” So I said, “Well, I find your horse adorable too. Why do you think we should teach horses any differently?”

And I get it—we were all taught differently. I was told that if a horse doesn’t go, you kick. And if that doesn’t work, you smack. I even passed that on in riding schools years ago, because that’s what I knew. But I think it’s time to say that way is outdated. The more you kick, the more tension you create. And when someone is near you with the intent to smack, you know that feeling—you brace, you stop breathing, you freeze up. Horses feel that too.

It’s not the whip that’s the problem. It’s how it’s used. I see it as an extension of my hand or leg—a way to gently bring awareness to a part of the horse I can’t physically reach. I might scratch their back while standing in front, or guide their shoulder from behind. It’s not about force—it’s about feel.

That said, kind doesn’t mean permissive. You still have boundaries. Horses don’t get to barge into you or sn**ch food out of your hand. But there’s a big difference between teaching with clarity and teaching through pressure or fear.

The real art lies in balance. First, our own. Then noticing the horse’s—where they are physically, and where they are mentally. And just as importantly, where we are mentally too. Because every horse and rider combination is unique, and how we show up matters.

It’s always an evolving journey. But the more we can stay aware, stay kind, and stay in balance—physically and mentally—the better the conversation becomes. That’s where the real learning happens, for both of you. And honestly, if we can teach the next generation to ride with kindness and understanding from the start, that’s how we create lasting change. It’s much easier to build good habits now than to spend 20 years trying to undo the old ones.

18/07/2025

Don’t Ride Through the Rearview Mirror

Riding is a bit like driving a car.

Your biggest screen is the windscreen—that’s where you’re headed. Your direction. Your intention.
Then you’ve got your side mirrors—your seat, your aids, your rotation—small adjustments to help you stay on track.
But what you don’t do is stare in the rearview mirror.

Yes, it’s useful to glance back. Maybe your horse drifted. Maybe you hit a cone. Maybe your circle was more of a teardrop. It’s all good feedback—but the moment has passed. You can’t go back and fix it.
You can only adjust and ride forward.

And you have to ride forward. You’ve got to look up, have a plan, and ride somewhere. Learn from the line you just rode, but don’t get stuck in it.

I often think—I wish I had the knowledge I have now back when I was younger. I probably would’ve built better habits instead of spending years trying to undo them.

But that’s the thing about riding. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being present, curious, and willing to course-correct.

And yes, please rotate your upper body like a kebab stick so you don’t burn one side while ignoring the other 😅
(That one’s staying.)

So next time you ride, ask yourself:
👉 Am I riding where I want to go?
👉 Or am I stuck trying to fix what already happened?