After feeling inspired from the comments over there I seen a whip on the side of the school and decided to give it another try. I never typically use whips on her as she must've had somewhat of a bad experience with them in the past as whenever you give her a tap on the bum to back up the leg she will try to kick your leg as to say 'get off'. So knowing that I decided to just show her the whip, and it actually worked. I didn't have to hit her with in once, she knew it was there. Each time I felt she was going to slow down I would just show her the whip and she go back to working. There was a few head throws in the beginning but when she got into a rhythm she would work nicely. Even at the end of the session I asked her for a little canter on each rein, which we both have to work on very much as more as ground work before ridden but it was nice to have a little canter on her which we haven't been able to do for about the last 6 months.
In today's lesson she tried to start off a little slow but there was no stopping and no head throwing as usual. In the lesson today we worked on a big 20m circle then smaller ones at certain parts of the bigger circle. This was so we could help Legacy become more supple from her left side on the right rein and so she doesn't flick her back end out on the left rein. As she flicks her back end out on the right rein she's not sure what to do with her back legs as she's turning corners within the circle, she's kicking herself with her back legs which results in her stumbling and then having to correct herself. This now means that she has to wear boots on her back legs. This isn't too much of a major problem as I've gotten her used to having boots on her back legs, she can just try to swipe her legs at times to try and get them off, once the first velcro is done she's fine. This is just something I've got to watch with her. 
Didn't manage to get any pictures from the lesson so I've added these in to break it all up.
Glad it's going better now!! If she doesn't like boots on her legs, have you tried using bandages instead?
ReplyDeleteThanks, It's not that she doesn't like boots, it's more that she'd never had anything on her back legs before I got her so she doesn't really like fuss around them. Once I've got the boots on she's fine in them :)
DeleteGreat to hear that you are starting to see progress! Look forward to your next updates :)
ReplyDeleteLegacy sounds a lot like Delight. He's an ex-racer too and gets cranky and kicks if you use a crop on his hind. Especially his left where he is quite sensitive. So lately we've been using a makeshift crop (branch with bushy leaves) to just show him when he doesn't listen to my aids. It works a treat but he's so smart he's catching on that I won't use it on him......he really needs some groundwork I guess. Glad you are changing it up and finding what works through the Equestrian Bloggers!
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