Gia - session 187 - more of the same

 I started out today's ride on Gia with some work on her halt transitions.  She has been slow to respond to my halt aids lately, so I decided to add a little incentive.  Each time she halted today, I reached down and gave her a tiny treat.  After a few halts, she did feel like she was responding a little more promptly.  

I don't like to use treats too often when training, especially with young horses, because it can lead to biting.  So, I will be keeping a close eye on her for that.  When I am riding and want to use treats, I keep them in a small pouch on my waist so they are easily accessible.  I will usually keep one ready in my mouth (I just use life cereal, so it doesn't taste bad), so that I can reward the horse as quickly as possible, and they aren't having to wait for me to fish the treat out of my pouch.  The sooner the reward or release can happen after the desired task is performed, the less time it takes for the horse to make the connection with what you want them to do.  I also use very small treats, or break up larger ones.  The horse only needs a taste of something for it to be a reward.  

After a little work on the halt, we resumed our usual work of moving off my leg at the walk, trot and canter.  We worked on circles as well as leg yields.  She felt a lot more responsive to my leg aids today, and also a lot more balanced.  She only got a little fussy at the canter to the right, but it wasn't too bad, and no bucking!  She did feel a lot more balance in her canter in both directions, and the transitions into and out of the canter were slightly better as well!

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