Gia - session 70 - Adventures with Danielle!

     Hi everyone! This is Danielle. Heather asked me if I wanted to write up Gia’s blog entry from Friday, and, of course, I said sure. I’ve been helping Heather out once a week for over a year now so I’ve gotten to know Gia pretty well (and vise versa). I grew up working with Amazing Arabians, so I have a bit of experience with working with horses that can be a bit spirited and spooky.

     

     Awhile back, Heather had mentioned in a blog post that Gia spooked while being led and planted her feet. A few days after that, when I was leading her in, she thought for a minute about doing it with me. It didn’t work for her the same way it had a few days prior. Gia is big, young, and powerful. Just like kids, horses will test people. Also like kids, it’s a lot harder to break bad behaviors with horses if they are allowed to get into a habit. So, Gia and I began a new routine of walking different paths into the barn or past “scary” things. Ironically, Gia can be scared of silly things and looks to people to “protect” her. Gia and I had been making some progress on developing her confidence, but then she got sick.

     There wasn’t much we could do to work with Gia when she was taking her “sick leave”, but we did still work on some of those ground manners.

      On her first week back, I took Gia on a scary walk. There was as a new dog in the yard behind her pasture. So, treats and whip in hand, I put on her halter and we went to check it out. With a few snorts and trotting steps, we walked back and forth until she no longer paid the dog any attention. We then moved on to a walk through the woods. This was quite scary for Gia, but she definitely needs to learn to be confident in all terrain. Working with a horse who is scared requires all of your attention. Your mood can transmit to the horse, so you have to maintain your composure. However, it is imperative to remember these are big, powerful animals. Letting your guard down can be dangerous for you and the horse. Gia was a bit funny on our first walk because she kept getting behind me and wanting me to protect her. Towards the end of our walk she began to calm down and became more interested in the sugar cubes I had in my pocket than the surroundings. This was a great sign and a huge improvement so we ended with a good groom and some loving.

     Last Friday, I worked with Gia again. I decided to take her on another new adventure. We went down to an empty field where there are lots of new, scary things like cross county jumps, the pond, and a view of the busy road. This was a great opportunity to expose Gia to these things, but also in a safe space. When I walk with Gia and she tells me she's scared (tenses up, snorts, throws her head and tail up, or even cowers behind me), I reassure her but keep her moving. Usually, just by speaking quietly she continues on and refocuses on me. When she does so, I give her a treat. I like to take Gia around to see all different things. I let her sniff and explore new things. Last week, Gia certainly saw a lot! She stepped in the pond, walked over some poles, jumped at the first car, but not much after, and jogged up a hill. At the top of the hill, we both had a surprise when 3 large turkey buzzards flew by right in front of us. I won’t lie....we both jumped, but Gia definitely got more air! I quickly calmed myself and reassured Gia everything was okay. The buzzards were now sitting on a jump about 10 feet in front of us, so we walked on. I was so proud of Gia for continuing with very little coaxing from me. We walked right past the buzzards and Gia paid them almost no attention. We headed back on that note. There was a bit of a ruckus going on in the next field over as 3 horses decided it was time to run and act crazy. Gia handled all this very well.

     Later that night, my daughter had a lesson, so I took the opportunity to take Gia on one more walk as the sun was going down. We walked through the woods and back through the field. She did so well. In fact, a few times I had to use the whip I had with me to push Gia back as she wanted to “lead” me. While the goal is to give Gia confidence, she still needs to stay humble with her handlers. Gia weighs almost 10 times what I do, so this is very important. At the end of our walk, the sun was completely down and the scary red light by the duck pen made her jump behind me. It was still a very successful day and I feel honored that Gia trusts me to protect her.