Gia - session 94 - Lunging and riding
I started Gia on the lunge line in the arena with the neckstretcher to the left first. She seemed very stiff and quite grumpy in the beginning. I fussed at her and pushed her more forward every time she pinned her ears, but it wasn't as effective on the line as it is in the round pen. So, I switched tactics and instead gave a quick but sharp yank on the line each time. That seemed to deter her, and she eventually gave it up altogether. When she went to the right, she seemed more willing to stretch, and I was able to get up to 7 consecutive steps of stretching in that direction. I sent her back to the left one more time, and she had loosened up a bit, and relaxed her attitude a bit, but I was still only able to get 5 consecutive steps of stretching at the trot.
Once again, she stood almost perfectly still for mounting. I had to remind her twice not to go until I gave her permission, but she was willing to stand long enough for me to scratch her and then give her the ok. We worked again on stretching at the walk and trot, as well as bending and counter-bending on a figure 8. For the most part, her stiff side seemed to be the right side, although sometimes it was hard to tell. We got a lot of moments of stretch, and a really deep stretch by the end. I did keep an eye on how high or low her poll got during the stretching. You don't want the poll to get too low, or the nose to tip inwards towards the chest. Whenever that happens, you need to lift the horse up, push them forward, and try to stretch again. Gia is starting to understand the concept and what is expected, so she didn't give me very many moments that were too low or over bent today.
One nice thing that I noticed today (that some people take for granted) - when I stopped to chat with someone at the side of the arena today while riding Gia, she stood perfectly still the entire time! No fidgeting or fussing whatsoever! Many times I have been on a young horse, trying to talk to someone, and riding small circles in either direction, working on getting the horse to stand still. This is a very welcome change!
Once again, she stood almost perfectly still for mounting. I had to remind her twice not to go until I gave her permission, but she was willing to stand long enough for me to scratch her and then give her the ok. We worked again on stretching at the walk and trot, as well as bending and counter-bending on a figure 8. For the most part, her stiff side seemed to be the right side, although sometimes it was hard to tell. We got a lot of moments of stretch, and a really deep stretch by the end. I did keep an eye on how high or low her poll got during the stretching. You don't want the poll to get too low, or the nose to tip inwards towards the chest. Whenever that happens, you need to lift the horse up, push them forward, and try to stretch again. Gia is starting to understand the concept and what is expected, so she didn't give me very many moments that were too low or over bent today.
One nice thing that I noticed today (that some people take for granted) - when I stopped to chat with someone at the side of the arena today while riding Gia, she stood perfectly still the entire time! No fidgeting or fussing whatsoever! Many times I have been on a young horse, trying to talk to someone, and riding small circles in either direction, working on getting the horse to stand still. This is a very welcome change!
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