Gia - session 207 - Another lesson with Suzin, and Gia does even better!

 Gia and I worked with Suzin again today.  We started out working on getting Gia to stretch down better at the walk.  She started out about as well as she finished the last lesson, and ended up really getting into it and stretching really well!

Then we worked on bringing her up into a medium walk frame, but without inverting.  That was a bit harder, but she was getting some nice moments.  We would go back and forth between free walk and medium walk, and I could really feel her starting to understand what I was asking for.

Next we worked on stretching down at the trot, then moving up to a working trot, and then going back-and-forth between those two gaits.  That was about as hard as the walk work, but because it's so similar, she was really getting it by the end.  The main focus at the medium walk and working trot was to keep her poll up (I had to keep the crown piece of her bridle in steady view), and to also get a slight flexion at the poll, in which she would release slightly and get a little rounder.  The moments where we had all that together and at the same time were few and far between, but we did get some!  At times, she was a little confused by my aids, and she thought I was asking for canter.  She very cautiously offered it a few times, but was never grumpy, and always came back as soon as I asked.

Intermingled with that work, I also had to ask Gia for transitions, and changes of bend and direction while trying to keep the working or stretching frames.  Everything was quite difficult, but we got many good moments all around, and I definitely felt Gia starting to understand what I was asking.  She had her best stretches ever, at the walk and trot, by the end!