Gia - session 124 - More offsite lunging and another bodywork checkup!
I took Gia to CDP Stables today for another lunging session off-site. She loaded on the trailer with much less hesitation than she has previously, and stood VERY quietly while I closed the doors and got ready to leave. That was a HUGE improvement for her when it comes to trailering. You may remember me talking about her "piaffeing" in the trailer in the past. She has typically done that as soon as she is loaded, and then again when we are almost home, or at home. Another plus for her trailering experience today - she had eaten almost all her hay by the time we got there! In the past, she has been too stressed to even eat much, but she was definitely more relaxed today!
Once there, I put her on the hot walker to relax and warm up a bit while I rode Butch. She was much less nervous walking out there, and much less nervous once I put her on the hot walker.
After riding Butch, I noticed that Cameron, the bodywork specialist that worked on Gia about 2-3 months ago and suggested the Theraband Pads, was at the farm treating several other horses. I had an appointment scheduled with him to recheck Gia next Tuesday, but he said he could take a look at her today while he was already out.
Cameron checked her back and pressure points for any pain, watched her walk and trot to check for any unsoundness or unevenness in her gait, and flexed her joints to check for any deeper unsoundness.
His findings were fantastic! Apparently, the work with the Theraband pads is definitely helping her to improve! He said that she is much more even in her gaits, and much less sore than the last time. He suggested using the pads more equally on all four legs instead of focusing just on the ones that were out of balance, to avoid shifting her unevenness in the opposite direction.
After her checkup, I tacked her up in the Pessoa for a lunging session.
She seemed a lot quieter, in general, today, so I tried loosely tying her to the trailer. If she panicked, then it would be easy to grab her, but it's a good way to get her started learning to stand tied. She was super, and didn't really move at all!
On our lunging session today, I pretty much did the same thing I did last week at the farm. I used the same time frames that I have been using, but focused on keeping her attention on me when she got distracted.
She did still get distracted often, but it wasn't bad, and she quickly came back to focus on me when asked. She was also much more relaxed and stretching down today. She was, however, a bit grumpy when asked to canter.
Oh well, I can't have everything ☺.
When we were done, she got back on the trailer easily and stood quietly again. She did get a little fussy and "piaffey" once or twice on the way home, but was standing quietly when I pulled into the driveway.
One more session like this off site, and I think I'll be ready to ride her there!
Once there, I put her on the hot walker to relax and warm up a bit while I rode Butch. She was much less nervous walking out there, and much less nervous once I put her on the hot walker.
After riding Butch, I noticed that Cameron, the bodywork specialist that worked on Gia about 2-3 months ago and suggested the Theraband Pads, was at the farm treating several other horses. I had an appointment scheduled with him to recheck Gia next Tuesday, but he said he could take a look at her today while he was already out.
Cameron checked her back and pressure points for any pain, watched her walk and trot to check for any unsoundness or unevenness in her gait, and flexed her joints to check for any deeper unsoundness.
His findings were fantastic! Apparently, the work with the Theraband pads is definitely helping her to improve! He said that she is much more even in her gaits, and much less sore than the last time. He suggested using the pads more equally on all four legs instead of focusing just on the ones that were out of balance, to avoid shifting her unevenness in the opposite direction.
After her checkup, I tacked her up in the Pessoa for a lunging session.
She seemed a lot quieter, in general, today, so I tried loosely tying her to the trailer. If she panicked, then it would be easy to grab her, but it's a good way to get her started learning to stand tied. She was super, and didn't really move at all!
On our lunging session today, I pretty much did the same thing I did last week at the farm. I used the same time frames that I have been using, but focused on keeping her attention on me when she got distracted.
She did still get distracted often, but it wasn't bad, and she quickly came back to focus on me when asked. She was also much more relaxed and stretching down today. She was, however, a bit grumpy when asked to canter.
Oh well, I can't have everything ☺.
When we were done, she got back on the trailer easily and stood quietly again. She did get a little fussy and "piaffey" once or twice on the way home, but was standing quietly when I pulled into the driveway.
One more session like this off site, and I think I'll be ready to ride her there!
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