Gia - session 54 - New saddle!
Since Gia has been doing so well, I decided it was time to switch her out of the western saddle and into a dressage saddle. I do not jump my horses until they are at least 4, so she'll live in this saddle for a while.
I started out lunging her, mainly to check her obedience to the aids and make sure she was good to go before I got on. However, I had to spend a bit more time lunging than I did the last few sessions. I had left my stirrups down, which is typically not recommended, but when I'm working with a young horse, I want them to experience all things possible on the lunge line, so that I don't have to go through it with them while I'm in the saddle. After just a few steps in to the trot, Gia started bucking. My dressage stirrups are metal, with metal inserts, hitting the metal on the buckle to the girth, and all that clanging around made her hit the roof. I did A LOT of transitions between all gaits until she could do them calmly, without any drama. It took quite a while, so we did a lot more lunging than I had originally wanted, but I definitely did not want to get on her until she was cool with the metal noises. Finally, she calmed down and seemed less wary of her new tack, so I was able to get on.
Once I was on, she did not seem worried about the stirrups anymore, but of course, with a rider in the saddle, they don't make as much noise as they do when they are banging around loose on her sides. However, she was very distracted by the light breeze, the horses running in the fields, the saddle pads on the fence moving, and one of my neighbors doing something in their yard. All quite normal things, that, under normal circumstances would not have been a big deal. But, since she was on heightened awareness after the stirrup incident, she thought every little thing was out to get her. I spent the entire time working on getting her to focus on me, using the same techniques I have been using the last couple of rides. She felt pissy because I wasn't letting her look around and get worried. She felt a little stuck in her forward impulsion, but not as bad as she has been in the past. She did give to me on each side, the right feeling stiffer, but she felt like she was only doing it to get it over with, and she did not feel like she was into the work or trying to learn or figure things out. She wasn't exactly naughty, although she did spook sideways once, but she wasn't exactly in a good mood either. It was one of those rides, where I just had to find something good and end on that. As soon as I felt that she had slightly relaxed and given herself to me the tiniest bit, I hopped off and we ended things there. Sometimes, as much as I would like to, keeping at it just won't get us anywhere. So, as Kenny Rogers sings - "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em"...
I had a new person helping me on Wednesday, so we didn't work on clipping, and she wasn't sweaty enough to bathe, so that was it for her for the day. Hopefully, the next session will be more productive.
Once I was on, she did not seem worried about the stirrups anymore, but of course, with a rider in the saddle, they don't make as much noise as they do when they are banging around loose on her sides. However, she was very distracted by the light breeze, the horses running in the fields, the saddle pads on the fence moving, and one of my neighbors doing something in their yard. All quite normal things, that, under normal circumstances would not have been a big deal. But, since she was on heightened awareness after the stirrup incident, she thought every little thing was out to get her. I spent the entire time working on getting her to focus on me, using the same techniques I have been using the last couple of rides. She felt pissy because I wasn't letting her look around and get worried. She felt a little stuck in her forward impulsion, but not as bad as she has been in the past. She did give to me on each side, the right feeling stiffer, but she felt like she was only doing it to get it over with, and she did not feel like she was into the work or trying to learn or figure things out. She wasn't exactly naughty, although she did spook sideways once, but she wasn't exactly in a good mood either. It was one of those rides, where I just had to find something good and end on that. As soon as I felt that she had slightly relaxed and given herself to me the tiniest bit, I hopped off and we ended things there. Sometimes, as much as I would like to, keeping at it just won't get us anywhere. So, as Kenny Rogers sings - "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em"...
I had a new person helping me on Wednesday, so we didn't work on clipping, and she wasn't sweaty enough to bathe, so that was it for her for the day. Hopefully, the next session will be more productive.
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