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Balanced Horse Training

The skill building program that builds a foundation of understanding with feel and understandings for purpose, performance and pleasure.
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The BHT Training customized for transitioning off-track thoroughbreds to a new career after racing.
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Balanced Horse Training

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Kalley Krickeberg

Kalley Krickeberg is a world-class equestrian who developed her innovative Balanced Horse Training (BHT) curriculum through extensive study across multiple disciplines—from Dressage and Reining to Hunter/Jumper, Ranch Horse work, and Barrel Racing. While her expertise spans everything from foal training to liberty work, her true passion lies in Polo. Kalley has earned one of the industry’s highest success rates in rehabilitating problem horses, thanks to her comprehensive knowledge base and fair, deliberate approach. This diverse experience and skill set has culminated in her unique and groundbreaking Balanced Horse Training Foundation Program.
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Keepin' It Fresh - The Book

Kalley Krickeberg is a world-class equestrian who developed her innovative Balanced Horse Training (BHT) curriculum through extensive study across multiple disciplines.
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Foaling Season is Here!

Don’t get caught without the essentials. Kalley will help set you and your new arrival up for success, whether that’s with high quality tools or helpful tips for safe and proven steps for a smooth halter breaking process.
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Memberships Details

Groundwork Program Membership

On-line, Off-line/Liberty

Overview

When you build a foundation of understanding and respect with feel, everything else comes easy. That’s the goal — balance from the ground up.

BHT Groundwork Program builds communication through the horse’s natural responses to pressure and release, body language, and the drive-line — that invisible line that influences direction, speed, and focus. The goal: Develop a calm, connected, and confident partner who moves off your feel — not your strength.

Member Benefits
  • Groundwork video lessons - Essentials, Intermediate, & Advanced
  • Members Newsletter with news, program updates, and special promotions
  • Member-only discounts on tools & gear, educational books and guides, clinics, and events.
  • New lessons and troubleshooting videos, added regularly, to keep your training fresh and progressive.
Course Details
BHT Essentials starts with foundational basics of clarity and connection: establish space, boundaries, and lightness through purposeful movement.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Building confidence through sight exposure, touch, and a rhythmic flow between circles and obstacles like bridges, tarps, ground poles and more.
  • Establishing “driveline control” — using your natural focus and path of travel, to guide and direct the motion of the horse in regards to their natural tendencies surrounding the Driveline
  • Teaching lightness through forequarter and hindquarter yields, back-ups, and smooth circles.
  • Developing light communication — where two fingers on the line can move your horse’s whole body.
Add precision and flow: using patterns for developing a responsive, balanced horse who stays mentally connected through every turn, transition, and task.This is where precision meets feel — where groundwork turns into partnership in motion.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Patterns like the Tear Drop, Leapfrog, and Slice-n-Dice to control and coordinate the forehand and hindquarters.
  • Pivots and slack-line circles to improve rhythm and lightness.
  • Liberty transitions that test trust, respect and timing.
  • Advanced steering through Sternum Steering and Convex Circles.
  • Introducing advanced groundwork skills like using the “knot lariat” in a safe, controlled way.
Freedom through focus: perform obstacles and liberty maneuvers with timing and feel. The Advanced Groundwork module transforms into artistry. This is where horse and human move together in self-carriage — at liberty, at distance, and in complete understanding. Every cue becomes intention, and every movement flows from trust and respect.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Mastering maneuvers and obstacles at distance with accuracy and lightness.
  • Refining circles, pivots, and transitions for advanced balance and rhythm.
  • Liberty exercises like Lead Changes, Mirroring and Sternum Steering.
  • Engaging multiple obstacles and changing patterns without losing connection.
  • Cultivating self-carriage — where your horse takes responsibility for balance and rhythm.
Memberships Details

Riding Program Membership

Balance, Feel & Body Control

Overview

When you ride with feel you start to realize how little you actually need to do.

Ride with intention, not reaction. BHT Riding Program builds on the Groundwork, helping riders connect through seat position, timing, and balance. It’s about riding with clarity , precision and control. You’ll learn to use your seat, feet, “comma, comma” hands, and focus in ways that make sense to your horse. Every cue has a meaning, and every balanced ride builds trust, respect, and understanding.

Each level—Essentials, Intermediate, and Advanced—gives you a step-by-step framework for developing a horse that moves freely, willingly, and with purpose.

Member Benefits
  • Riding video lessons - Essentials, Intermediate, & Advanced
  • Members Newsletter with news, program updates, and special promotions
  • Member-only discounts on tools & gear, educational books and guides, clinics, and events.
  • New lessons and troubleshooting videos, added regularly, to keep your training fresh and progressive.
Course Details
Essentials — Build Connection and Confidence in Motion
This is where we put the foundation in place. You’ll learn to guide all four feet with your reins, move the horse’s body with your body – sternum riding, seat, feet, & hands with accurate intent. The Essentials lessons help you and your horse find balance and communication through simple, meaningful exercises. You’ll start to see how your horse mirrors your position and follows your light feel when you ride with clarity.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Rein to all four feet—understanding how each rein connects to movement.
  • One-rein backups, light bends, and easy transitions.
  • Forward rhythm and straightness through all gaits.
  • Relaxed stops and balanced turns without tension.
  • Using physics, your body and focus to guide direction instead of relying on direct pressure.
Intermediate — Shape, Balance, and Refinement
Now that your horse understands the basics, it’s time to refine how you accomplish transitions, collection, and suppleness through balance and feel. The Intermediate lessons focus on shaping movement and building control through rhythm, posture, and flow. This level bridges everyday riding with higher-level responsiveness—without losing lightness or connection. Collection isn’t about pulling or shoving a horse together. It’s about helping them find their own balance so they want to carry themselves.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Lateral work like half-passes, counter-bends, and correct turns.
  • Timing and rhythm through transitions and lateral movements.
  • Collection through body balance and holding a frame, but not pulling on the reins.
  • Introducing simple patterns to improve precision and flow.
  • Maintaining feel and focus at different speeds and energy levels.
Advanced — Refine the Feel: Connection Through Precision
The Advanced Riding Program is where the smallest details make the biggest difference. You’ll learn to ride with invisible cues—using your seat, physics, and intent to guide movement instead of relying on direct pressure. The horse learns to stay relaxed and balanced even in challenging maneuvers.
What You’ll Work On:
  • Lead changes, pirouettes, and advanced transitions.
  • Strengthening collection and self-carriage.
  • Straightness and balance through higher-energy/higher effort work.
  • Light stops, precise turns, and smooth rollbacks.
  • Riding through energy, not effort—refining truly following a feel.
Memberships Details

All-Access — All Inclusive BHT Membership

BHT Groundwork + Riding Programs

Overview

When you connect the groundwork to the riding, you don’t just train a horse — you build a relationship that works anywhere.

The All-Access Anytime Membership is designed to meet you wherever you are — from the first touch of a lead rope to the lightest cue under saddle. It’s about teaching your horse to think, not react. And it’s about helping you ride and work with balance, clarity, and purpose — every day, in every interaction.

All-Access Member Benefits
  • All lessons in both Ground/Liberty and Riding programs — all levels, all topics.
  • BHT Members Newsletter with news, program updates, special promotions, and more
  • Step-by-step videos that connect groundwork, liberty, and riding - all levels - in a single system.
  • Exclusive discounts on BHT gear and training tools.
  • New lessons, added monthly, so your training never stops growing.
Course Details

BHT All-Access is for the horseman or horsewoman who wants it all — the full program from groundwork through to advanced riding, combining both the BHT Ground/Liberty and BHT Riding Programs.

This membership is designed for people who want a complete understanding of Kalley’s balanced approach of understanding how the horse thinks, moves, and learns — and how to carry that same feel from the ground into the saddle. You’ll learn not only what to do, but why it matters.

  • Establishing communication and boundaries through groundwork and liberty.
  • Understanding the horse’s natural response to pressure and the drive-line.
  • Developing body control, focus, and timing for true connection.
  • Translating groundwork skills directly into the saddle for light, balanced movement.
  • Building feel through positioning, seat, and rhythm — so your cues make sense to the horse.
  • Refining transitions, collection, and advanced maneuvers through understanding and respect, not force.

When you train with balance and clarity, the horse learns to trust your leadership — on the ground and under saddle. The AAA Membership connects every piece of the puzzle: how the horse thinks, how they move, and how your body language, timing, and feel shape the conversation between you.

You’ll start to see how groundwork and riding aren’t two separate worlds — they’re the same language, spoken in different places. By combining both programs, you’ll develop timing that feels effortless, movement that flows naturally, and a partnership built on mutual understanding.

OTTB Program – Phase I

Ground Manners

Building Safety, Respect, and Trust

Overview
Before a horse can relax under saddle, it must feel safe and understood on the ground.These lessons are about teaching the OTTB to think instead of react, and to respect personal space without fear or tension.
Why It Matters
Good ground manners create safety and peace of mind for everyone. These skills build mutual respect and help the OTTB learn that being handled is something to look forward to — not something to brace against. The horse begins to replace “flight” with “focus.”
What you’ll Work On
  • Moving quietly around people during stall cleaning instead of pinning ears, evading, or kicking
  • Lowering the head and helping to be haltered, rather than needing to be cornered or avoiding capture
  • Leading and backing calmly on a loose line, staying light on the lead beside the handler
  • Ground tying — standing still while the lead rope rests on the ground
  • Standing quietly for grooming, clipping, and cleaning feet
  • Ground tying for saddling — no helpers, no resistance, no avoidance
  • Tying patiently in various settings (stall, tie rail, trailer, patience pole) and learning to relax while waiting
OTTB Program – Phase II

Basic Groundwork

Building Body Control and Mental Connection

Overview

Once the horse is calm and manageable on the ground, it’s time to start communication through movement. These stages teach the OTTB how to yield to pressure, follow the handler’s focus, and develop confidence through purposeful work.

Stages
What You’ll Work On
  • Forequarter and hindquarter yields at the standstill and in motion
  • Backing up lightly with the lead rope or training tooll
  • Circling (lunging) on a loose line at all three gaits
  • Stopping on a circle using cones or obstacles as visual focus points
  • Pressure and drive-line control — moving the horse’s feet with clarity and timing
  • Direction changes with lightness, encouraging the horse to turn toward the handler
  • Gait transitions: walk, trot, canter — up and down through feel and handler position
  • Backward spirals that end with the horse turning and waiting calmly to be caught
Why It Matters
This stage replaces racing instinct with responsiveness. The horse begins to understand how to read the handler’s intent, find comfort in stillness, and accept direction without anxiety. It’s the foundation of self-control.
This is where the OTTB learns curiosity instead of fear. We use obstacles to teach the horse to think and move through challenges calmly.
What You’ll Work On
  • Approaching, touching, or stepping on/over obstacles like tarps, bridges, and poles
  • Navigating figure-8 barrels, hanging tarps, and roping dummies
  • Building confidence to go over, under, around, and through new things
  • Accepting a Western saddle, breast collar, and back cinch without reaction
  • Repeating groundwork drills while saddled to confirm acceptance
Why It Matters

Horses coming off the track can often be desensitized to a soft feel, but hypersensitive to noise and motion. This stage rebuilds emotional balance — teaching them to pause, assess, and relax in motion.

OTTB Program – Phase III

Basic Riding Skills

From Track Horse to Riding Partner

Overview
When Groundwork is solid, the OTTB is ready to transition under saddle. These lessons help the horse understand how to respond correctly to pressure from the rider’s seat, legs, and reins — not act like they are continuously charging out of the starting gate of life.
Stages
What You’ll Work On
  • Mounting quietly from the ground
  • Bending to a stop at walk, trot, and canter in both directions
  • Yielding the hindquarters lightly and willingly
  • Rein to front foot at all gaits for balance and lightness
  • Backing up without pulling — one step at a time
  • Developing the “stall-to-a-stop” and relaxed standstill
Why It Matters

This stage establishes safety and control under saddle. It replaces reaction with response and teaches the OTTB to stay light or slow down/stop when asked to move out.

What You’ll Work On
  • The Rest-Area Cloverleaf Pattern: teaching calm rest points within work
  • Using circles, direction changes, and pauses to manage energy
  • Returning to calm after anxiety by revisiting earlier exercises
  • Building trust through repetition and predictable structure
Why It Matters

Thoroughbreds are forward thinkers. This stage teaches them that forward motion doesn’t mean racing — it means thinking. The horse learns rhythm, control, and patience.

What You’ll Work On
  • Riding in wide open spaces and staying mentally connected
  • Trail rides (ideally with a buddy horse)
  • Trail obstacle courses and trot pole patterns
  • Stick-n-ball, roping dummy, cutting flag, or light stock work
  • Advanced exposure like following a live cow or small group work
Why It Matters

This stage transitions the OTTB from “tolerating” to “trusting.” The horse learns to carry the same confidence outside the arena that was built inside it. Each new experience is approached with calm curiosity instead of tension, resistance or panic.

“You can’t rush trust and respect. You build it one experience at a time.” — Kalley Krickeberg

Working with Kalley Krickeberg has completely changed the way my OTTB and I work together. When I first started, my horse had all the raw talent in the world but not a lot of direction. He was forward, sensitive, and athletic, but still very much a racehorse in his mind. Kalley helped us turn that energy into something focused and productive.

Her training has improved every part of our program. In show jumping, she taught us how to balance, stay rhythmic, and ride each fence with confidence instead of just “getting to the other side.” She explains things in a way that actually makes sense, and she always pays attention to what both horse and rider need. Because of that, my OTTB has gone from unpredictable distances and inconsistent form to jumping around with power, straightness, and relaxation.

But what I appreciate most is that Kalley doesn’t just help create a competitive horse. she builds a complete, well-rounded partner. She helped us develop softness on the flat, better lateral work, and the kind of adjustability that makes everything else easier. My horse is more responsive, more confident, and honestly happier in his job.

Thanks to Kalley’s guidance, I feel like I finally have a horse who can do it all, and I’ve grown a ton as a rider along the way. I’m so grateful for the foundation she’s helped us build and the progress we continue to make because of her.

Augie Staudacher & Lewis Cielo