Legs!!!!!

[Kylie Chamberlain]

Okay, I am now leasing a very easy to get going ex-race horse named Molly. I am having trouble rising to the trot on her because I my leg so much as brushes her side she takes off.
I sit like a triangle on her.
Any suggestions of what I can do??

[lamprellsarah]

thats a hard one!!! well you can't stop your legs brushing her so i think you will just have to teach her that the slight pressure you give in trot does not mean canter, you will have to keep bringing her back ino trot when she tries to canter and when you do ask for canter use a bit more pressure so that she can't get the two mixed up.
more schooling would help!!!
also use your voice to calm her and as a back up to what you want to do hopefully she will learn and calm down soon.
good luck!!

[Dizzy]

You need to go back to walk and get her to accept your legs. Do lots of halts, changes of rein, figures of 8, circles and serpentines.

Some horses esp TB are ultra sensitive, so at first its best to be as relaxed and soggy as you can be and get them used to having your legs just draped but in contact with their sides, let your seat and thighs move with their stride so you can feel when each back leg steps under and have a nice soft elastic contact.

When she is happy and relaxed begin to sneak in the odd gentle lower leg (calf) aid, the first response is normally for them to rush forward, stay relaxed, allow her forward for a couple of strides (don't pull the reins as they normally shoot forward with thier heads in the air and they'll just balance and lean on your hands), use your hands individually close/release each rein and with each rein aid block forward motion with your seat until she is listening and then start again from scratch. It can take a long time, its lots of repetition, practise and mountains of patience. It's best done in a school, and with an instructor, you can't beat an experienced pair of eyes on the ground.

Good luck

Lesley

[intouch]

Yeah, I had one of those, had to learn to ride with my toes pointing in! Took a while, about six months, before she really started to accept my legs, but she was a really nice little horse in the end. You just need to respect her sensitivity, and let her come to accept the aids gradually.