How do I teach him to accept the whip? or any other ideas in place of the whip?
He's got worse with it lately, probably because he's been more forward so I haven't even carried it with him. He doesn't react badly when I touch him with it when I'm not on him!
Today we were running through a dressage test and it was effort getting him to move, so I touched the short crop on his shoulder and he flat out galloped around the arena for half a lap, then he was really snorty and het up. it's not like I whacked him, literally stroked his shoulder.
SO FRUSTRATING. sometimes he ignores my leg and it's not easy having nothing to back it up with. he'll respond to my voice to a degree. He responds just as strongly to flicking the end of the reins on his neck as he does to the whip so I can't even do that.
He's got worse with it lately, probably because he's been more forward so I haven't even carried it with him. He doesn't react badly when I touch him with it when I'm not on him!
Today we were running through a dressage test and it was effort getting him to move, so I touched the short crop on his shoulder and he flat out galloped around the arena for half a lap, then he was really snorty and het up. it's not like I whacked him, literally stroked his shoulder.
SO FRUSTRATING. sometimes he ignores my leg and it's not easy having nothing to back it up with. he'll respond to my voice to a degree. He responds just as strongly to flicking the end of the reins on his neck as he does to the whip so I can't even do that.