Making legs stronger

[miggy]

Robbie needs a lot of leg, he can work nicely in walk and his canter transition is nice But his trot is hard work. He needs masses of leg to keep going let alone work in an outline. Have got very sloppy with my legs as mainly hack my ditsy mare and she will go on voice commands and I try not to use too much leg on her anyway.
Any good tips on making my legs stronger.
Or on getting more impulsion? Have been doing lots of lateral work and t on the forehand as suggested in one of the horsemags this month and he will do that beautifully but doesnt exactly gee him up!

[Peanut]

I've always put my strong legs down to having cycled a great deal.

[andreaB]

it sounds to me that you need the horse to respond more to your leg not you to have stronger legs

he probably needs to listen more & had got away with not doing

i would suggest backing up your leg with a whip & exercises aimed at improving hoe off the leg he is

also you need to be sure that you are giving effctive aids & not nagging , as if he's a bit lazy or not off the leg & you have fallen into nagging it may be the case that he has shut off to it?

[miggy]

Andrea-yes I agree but think its a bit of both. Hes new to us and been ridden by children before. He doesnt take a huge amount of notice of a schooling whip with a tap and Im not going to smack him hard.
Any ideas at getting him more off the leg, am used to Arabs so this isnt something Ive dealt with before!

[andreaB]

i'm afraid being soft on horses like this generally gets you no where:rolleyes:

it tends to be a case of ask first time , TELL the second

don't be scared of using the schooling whip firmly , one firm tap if you are ignored is the way to go rather than nagging , using 2 schooling whips can be very effective with some horses

basically work on exercises aimed at keeping him forward without constantly working your leg hard , push him on in whatever gait you are working on & see how many strides he maintains before you have to work your leg again

as soon as he looses impulsion give him a leg aid , but if he is constantly not forward or breaking the gait repremand him with your whip

it may be the case that you need some lessons to get you going, especially if he is very different to what you usually ride

good luck

[PonyGirlAsh]

I agree with AndreaB...I think it's actually more humane to use a whip or a nudge with a short spur once than it is to constantly nag with the leg (too much leg squeezing and kicking can bruise their ribs and make them sore!!). I used to ride a pony who would get so mad when riders would constantly use leg pressure to keep her going; but once you put a pair of spurs on (I'm just talkin the short stubby ones mind!), she was a much happier girl and only needed to be told once! I know some people are uncomfortable doing this, but it most cases its only a temporary thing and you can stop using backup aids when they become more sensitive and in tune with what you are asking.

If you want to strengthen your legs in general though, I highly recommend the stairmaster!! :)

[miggy]

I had thought about Spurs.
Problem with the whip is he isnt that bothered, tap is just ignored, I think it would need a good thwack to get his attention and thats what I meant I didnt want to do.
Yesterday I tried "irritating" him with the dressage whip, squeeze/tap/kick then pat pat pat with the whip till I got a response, that seemed to gee him up a bit and he rounded nicely. Think my legs are gradually improving too.
Have booked a lesson with a local advanced dressage rider in her international size arena in a few weeks. Really dont think I will be able to walk after that-perhaps Iii start the stairmaster now :)

[PonyGirlAsh]

Haha, yeah it really helps!! You can also doing tip toe raises (go from standing with feet just a bit apart, then go onto your tip toes, then back) and do like 3 sets of 20 of those...or you can sit on the couch and put a towel on the floor, and only using your toes, keep grabbing the towel until the whole thing is bunched up around your feet, and do that a few times...your calves will feel it!! :)

If you do decide to try spurs, I would have someone watch you and make sure that you are only using them when you intend to, and not the entire time, as this will have the opposite effect! When you wear spurs, always make sure you use leg first, then spur to correct if necessary! Good luck with the trainer!!