Gia - session 167 - more cantering, fun in the pond, better over the ditch, and checking out the bank!

I warmed Gia up with the usual - stretching down, corners, diagonal lines, lots of circles - all at the walk and trot.  When her trot felt good, I asked for the canter, twice in each direction.  The first canter in each direction was much more relaxed.  The second one felt a bit tense, probably from anticipating the canter.  I asked for three good moments in each of the four canters, and then moved on.

For her adventures in the field today, we started out in the pond.  She hesitated, just slightly, going in, but then started to go in much deeper, and really played around today!

When we came to the ditch, she still stopped when I first walked up.  Danielle had to "lead" her across the first few times, but I never had to get off, and she went on her own for several times after that.

I decided to introduce her to the bank jump today.  She definitely stopped when I first approached it.  I let her check it out for a few minutes, and then I hopped off and led her up and down it several times.  After the first time or two, she didn't even hesitate when we approached it.

For bathing today, Danielle "mock-tied" her to the wash area and sprayed her off.  She moved her feet a little, but otherwise did fine.  I worked on getting her to put her head down while Danielle sprayed her face off.  She was still resistant, especially on the left side, but not as much as before, and she stayed down a little longer each time.

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