Gia - session 168 - more cantering, and more water, banks and ditches!
I warmed Gia up with the usual again today - stretching down at the walk, corners, diagonal lines and centerlines at the trot.
When I cantered her today, it was soooo much better! Rather than doing all the trot work and then all the canter work, I did a little at the trot, then cantered a little, then back for more trot, then back to another canter, etc, until she had completed three canter sets in each direction. I liked being able to go back to a good amount of trot work to reset her, rather than just changing directions to canter the other way.
With the last few times I've cantered, I've kept going at each canter, until I had gotten three good moments before I would let her take a break. However, with today's first canter, and all the successive ones, she was doing so good, that I really didn't have to count individual moments. Rather, I just cantered 1-2 circles and then brought her back. She never bucked, never took a wrong lead, and hardly even hesitated when I asked!
When we headed out to the field, we started by going into the pond. I think that might be her favorite thing. I let her play and splash around for a few minutes before moving on.
Next, we approached the ditch. I attempted to have her go over it without any help from Danielle, and I thought she was about to, but then she slammed on the brakes (don't worry, she was only at a walk, so it wasn't too bad ☺ ). I had Danielle tug on her noseband, and then she followed right over. After that, she went over the ditch completely on her own with no help or encouragement at all. On the last time, she even took a little hop over it, instead of just stepping over it, and then trotted off, very proud of herself!
Finally, we approached the bank jump. She didn't really hesitate at all going up the bank. She just kind of looked to see where to put her feet, and then went on up! Coming down, she was about to do it on her own, and then changed her mind at the last second. After a few unsuccessful attempts from me, I had Danielle tug on her noseband a few times. It took a few more tugs to go down the bank than it did to go over the ditch, but she got it eventually. After that, it was smooth sailing, and she didn't hesitate to go up or down again. On her last one down, she got excited again, and hopped off the bank, rather than stepping off, and then trotted away. Again, very proud of herself!
As an aside, whenever I approach an obstacle with Gia, I will always cue her to go forward, just like any other time I want her to go forward. If she hesitates or stops or backs up, I DON'T STOP cueing her to go forward. I might add my whip, in rhythmic taps, to assist my leg cues. And if that doesn't work, I still DON'T STOP cueing. That's when I ask for an assist. As soon as Gia does go forward, even if it's just a tiny step in the right direction, I immediately stop cueing and praise her. She gets big praises when she finally gets all the way over the obstacle. And then I typically repeat the obstacle three times to reinforce the good stuff.
When I cantered her today, it was soooo much better! Rather than doing all the trot work and then all the canter work, I did a little at the trot, then cantered a little, then back for more trot, then back to another canter, etc, until she had completed three canter sets in each direction. I liked being able to go back to a good amount of trot work to reset her, rather than just changing directions to canter the other way.
With the last few times I've cantered, I've kept going at each canter, until I had gotten three good moments before I would let her take a break. However, with today's first canter, and all the successive ones, she was doing so good, that I really didn't have to count individual moments. Rather, I just cantered 1-2 circles and then brought her back. She never bucked, never took a wrong lead, and hardly even hesitated when I asked!
When we headed out to the field, we started by going into the pond. I think that might be her favorite thing. I let her play and splash around for a few minutes before moving on.
Next, we approached the ditch. I attempted to have her go over it without any help from Danielle, and I thought she was about to, but then she slammed on the brakes (don't worry, she was only at a walk, so it wasn't too bad ☺ ). I had Danielle tug on her noseband, and then she followed right over. After that, she went over the ditch completely on her own with no help or encouragement at all. On the last time, she even took a little hop over it, instead of just stepping over it, and then trotted off, very proud of herself!
Finally, we approached the bank jump. She didn't really hesitate at all going up the bank. She just kind of looked to see where to put her feet, and then went on up! Coming down, she was about to do it on her own, and then changed her mind at the last second. After a few unsuccessful attempts from me, I had Danielle tug on her noseband a few times. It took a few more tugs to go down the bank than it did to go over the ditch, but she got it eventually. After that, it was smooth sailing, and she didn't hesitate to go up or down again. On her last one down, she got excited again, and hopped off the bank, rather than stepping off, and then trotted away. Again, very proud of herself!
As an aside, whenever I approach an obstacle with Gia, I will always cue her to go forward, just like any other time I want her to go forward. If she hesitates or stops or backs up, I DON'T STOP cueing her to go forward. I might add my whip, in rhythmic taps, to assist my leg cues. And if that doesn't work, I still DON'T STOP cueing. That's when I ask for an assist. As soon as Gia does go forward, even if it's just a tiny step in the right direction, I immediately stop cueing and praise her. She gets big praises when she finally gets all the way over the obstacle. And then I typically repeat the obstacle three times to reinforce the good stuff.
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