Gia - session 93 - More lunging ... and riding! (and bonus hot walker session!)
On Monday I started out by lunging Gia on a line, with the neck stretcher, in the arena. It was quite cold (still is), and the round pen is a bit shadier than the arena, so it hadn't thawed out just yet. Gia was fairly well behaved on the line. I don't think she really pinned her ears at all. I only lunged her for a couple of minutes at the walk, and then for 5 minutes at the trot in each direction. I was able to get about 6 consecutive steps of stretch at the trot in each direction. I did allow her to do more trot-to-walk-to-trot transitions, which definitely helped her to relax, leading to a bit more stretch.
Finally, I was ready to hop on again, and see how all the lunging would pay off. She was almost perfectly still at the mounting block! I think she only moved once, and it was more about shifting her weight rather than being impatient to go. The entire ride was so much more relaxed! Thank you Suzin! We were able to get right down to work, rather than spending the majority of the ride focusing on relaxing. So, right away, and many more times during the ride, I did a position check - Are my feet flat on the stirrups? Do I have equal weight in both stirrups? Is my leg tight or relaxed? Do I have equal weight in my seat? Is my seat tight or relaxed? Am I sitting up tall? Are my fingers wrapped around the reins? Are my arms soft? Am I leaning one way or the other, or am I staying in the middle of the saddle?
Then I started to ask her to stretch down. I made sure my seat and legs were relaxed, and I subtly pushed her over from the stiffer side to the more hollow side. Since I'm writing this a couple of days after my ride, I can't remember now which was which, but Gia tends to be stiffer on the right. I focused on keeping my aids very miniscule, to help her become more sensitive and to pay more attention to me. She is really good at responding to very light aids! Each time I could feel her start to reach down, I would allow my arms to follow her movement slightly - enough that she could feel a release, but not so much that I lost the contact.
Once she was stretching a little better, we moved into the trot. Her transition was very prompt! We did a few transitions, practicing on light aids and straightness. Then we repeated the stretching work at the trot that we had done at the walk. I also worked with her on bending and counterbending on a circle and figure 8. It felt easier this time than it did on my last ride. Once that work was feeling consistent, I ended our ride. I could definitely feel the benefit of the 15 minutes of lunging that I did prior to riding. It allowed Gia time to relax and stretch, and it also allowed us to get right into the work as soon as I got on. Hopefully, today's ride will go just as nicely!
Bonus - Yesterday, I took Gia to Charlie's to spend some time on the hot walker. She was a bit slow to load, no worse than last time, but no better. She really likes to take her time to check things out. I was running a bit late, so I probably tried to push her to get on faster than she would like. Nothing bad happened, but I sensed that it made her uncomfortable, and she piaffed, out of nervousness, a bit once she got on. I have vowed to let her take more time the next time, regardless of my schedule. Once at Charlie's she was still a bit looky and blowing, but walked fairly well to the hot walker and was very quiet the entire time. I think she definitely understands what is going on when we go there now. I will likely try to lunge her the next time (if I have time). She rode much quieter in the trailer on the way home. She was a little fussy, but definitely not as bad as last time!
Finally, I was ready to hop on again, and see how all the lunging would pay off. She was almost perfectly still at the mounting block! I think she only moved once, and it was more about shifting her weight rather than being impatient to go. The entire ride was so much more relaxed! Thank you Suzin! We were able to get right down to work, rather than spending the majority of the ride focusing on relaxing. So, right away, and many more times during the ride, I did a position check - Are my feet flat on the stirrups? Do I have equal weight in both stirrups? Is my leg tight or relaxed? Do I have equal weight in my seat? Is my seat tight or relaxed? Am I sitting up tall? Are my fingers wrapped around the reins? Are my arms soft? Am I leaning one way or the other, or am I staying in the middle of the saddle?
Then I started to ask her to stretch down. I made sure my seat and legs were relaxed, and I subtly pushed her over from the stiffer side to the more hollow side. Since I'm writing this a couple of days after my ride, I can't remember now which was which, but Gia tends to be stiffer on the right. I focused on keeping my aids very miniscule, to help her become more sensitive and to pay more attention to me. She is really good at responding to very light aids! Each time I could feel her start to reach down, I would allow my arms to follow her movement slightly - enough that she could feel a release, but not so much that I lost the contact.
Once she was stretching a little better, we moved into the trot. Her transition was very prompt! We did a few transitions, practicing on light aids and straightness. Then we repeated the stretching work at the trot that we had done at the walk. I also worked with her on bending and counterbending on a circle and figure 8. It felt easier this time than it did on my last ride. Once that work was feeling consistent, I ended our ride. I could definitely feel the benefit of the 15 minutes of lunging that I did prior to riding. It allowed Gia time to relax and stretch, and it also allowed us to get right into the work as soon as I got on. Hopefully, today's ride will go just as nicely!
Bonus - Yesterday, I took Gia to Charlie's to spend some time on the hot walker. She was a bit slow to load, no worse than last time, but no better. She really likes to take her time to check things out. I was running a bit late, so I probably tried to push her to get on faster than she would like. Nothing bad happened, but I sensed that it made her uncomfortable, and she piaffed, out of nervousness, a bit once she got on. I have vowed to let her take more time the next time, regardless of my schedule. Once at Charlie's she was still a bit looky and blowing, but walked fairly well to the hot walker and was very quiet the entire time. I think she definitely understands what is going on when we go there now. I will likely try to lunge her the next time (if I have time). She rode much quieter in the trailer on the way home. She was a little fussy, but definitely not as bad as last time!
Comments
Post a Comment