Gia - session 146 - intense lunging at CHP show grounds
I took Gia along today to the Carolina Horse Park (CHP) for their schooling day. We were bringing a few other horses to school cross country before the show tomorrow, and we weren't too pressed for time, so I decided this would be another good outing for Gia.
She was slightly less nervous about getting on, and standing on, the larger trailer this weekend. Although, I did manage to get a video of her "piaffeing" in the trailer after I loaded her.
Once we got there, she was the first one to school. This may have made her more nervous, since she didn't have any down time on the trailer, but sometimes that's the way it will go with events, and she will need to learn to be flexible. She may have also been more nervous because, if you've never been there, CHP is a HUGE venue for competitions, and there are TONS more people and horses there for events.
Despite that, she did stand tied to the trailer fairly well. She was a bit fidgety and looky, but she never offered to pull back.
Once I got her tacked up, I took her out to lunge her first. She was immediately upset - moving around, trying to look at everything, hollering at anyone who would listen.
I made my main goal just to get her attention and get her to relax - no timers, no agenda, just help her relax.
It took a while. There was some bucking, although not as much as last week. Mostly, she was hollering a lot more and losing focus a lot more. I kept her moving and applied pressure to her halter whenever she was distracted, and immediately released and allowed her complete freedom from my cues whenever she put her attention back on me, even if it was brief.
I didn't time her, but it probably took a good 20-30 minutes, just going in one direction, before she settled somewhat.
I turned her to go in the other direction, and she got a little hyper again, but not as bad. It only took her about 5 minutes to settle in that direction. I changed direction several more times, until she was staying focused and dropping her head almost immediately, and remaining focused once she came to a stop.
Since all that took so long, I opted not to ride her today. The atmosphere was just a bit too electric, and she had done well to calm down on the lunge line. I decided to leave it at that.
She was slightly less nervous about getting on, and standing on, the larger trailer this weekend. Although, I did manage to get a video of her "piaffeing" in the trailer after I loaded her.
Once we got there, she was the first one to school. This may have made her more nervous, since she didn't have any down time on the trailer, but sometimes that's the way it will go with events, and she will need to learn to be flexible. She may have also been more nervous because, if you've never been there, CHP is a HUGE venue for competitions, and there are TONS more people and horses there for events.
Despite that, she did stand tied to the trailer fairly well. She was a bit fidgety and looky, but she never offered to pull back.
Once I got her tacked up, I took her out to lunge her first. She was immediately upset - moving around, trying to look at everything, hollering at anyone who would listen.
I made my main goal just to get her attention and get her to relax - no timers, no agenda, just help her relax.
It took a while. There was some bucking, although not as much as last week. Mostly, she was hollering a lot more and losing focus a lot more. I kept her moving and applied pressure to her halter whenever she was distracted, and immediately released and allowed her complete freedom from my cues whenever she put her attention back on me, even if it was brief.
I didn't time her, but it probably took a good 20-30 minutes, just going in one direction, before she settled somewhat.
I turned her to go in the other direction, and she got a little hyper again, but not as bad. It only took her about 5 minutes to settle in that direction. I changed direction several more times, until she was staying focused and dropping her head almost immediately, and remaining focused once she came to a stop.
Since all that took so long, I opted not to ride her today. The atmosphere was just a bit too electric, and she had done well to calm down on the lunge line. I decided to leave it at that.
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