9/19: Friday

On Friday, I got my whip back (it was kindly suggested I take it, haha). And it really did make all the difference. When she was being slow at the walk, I reached back and just once gave her a decent tap across the top of her butt to let her know I had it and that it could be used. I got a big cowkick, but after that all I had to do (for the most part) was hold it back there and she'd go forward again. Because she knew I had it, too, she didn't get nervous if I did have to use it. We used it to just get her to go forward, somewhere...didn't worry about steering for a little bit, just forward. I'd get off her back and tap tap tap until I got a transition of some sort (either within the gait or into the next gait) and then I'd let her be. By the time I got off of her, she was very accepting of the leg and was ready to move off.