Gia - session 227 - jumping

 Gia was quite tense today.  I'm not really sure why, but it is what it is.  She started before I even walked her into the ring at CDP.  She saw "something" (who knows what), as we were walking into the arena, and slammed on the brakes.  It took her a few hesitant steps to get all the way in.  Each time she took a step forward, I relaxed, patted her and tried again.  When we finally got in the ring, I gave her a treat.  

In the arena, she was very looky at pretty much everything.  I tried not to make a big deal about any of it (definitely a challenge for me).  Each time she spooked, I put her on a circle, asking her to bend away from the direction of the "scary thing" by keeping my outside hand at the withers and using a leading inside hand, as well as a pushing inside leg, to make her body move towards the spooky item.  As soon as she relaxed, I would relax and we would carry on as if nothing had happened.  It took a while, but she finally started to relax a bit.  Anytime I had the opportunity, I would reward her with a treat.  That really seemed to help a lot.  

We worked over several jumps today, culminating in a small course by the end.  She did really well with all the jumps, they weren't a problem at all today.  However, I also rode fairly defensive/supportive by sitting the trot on approach to each jump, closing my leg and keeping my eyes focused ahead of me.  I never felt her hesitate at any jump today, even the scary globe and the even scarier blue block!  

By the end of the ride, she was much more relaxed, and we even cooled out walking next to another horse.  That can be a challenge for a young horse, but she could have cared less.  Maybe Gia can make it on drill team next year ... ☺

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gia - session 955 - lesson at CDP

 I had a lesson with Hayley today at CDP.  Gia felt great today!  We started with a nice, crisp walk, and then moved right into a forward trot.  We worked all over the ring with changes of direction and in a good, steady tempo, we also worked on lengthening and collecting the trot.  Gia was nicely obedient to everything I asked her to do.  When I first asked for the canter, I forgot to keep my arms soft, so it didn't last more than a few steps.  But the second time, I remembered, and stayed a little off her back as well.  It started awkward, and counterbent, but as I stayed soft and following with my seat and arms, she eventually figured out what to do with her body, and started to come nicely around my inside leg.  We did the same thing in the other direction (which is usually her bad direction), but it went really well!  We decided to quite while we were ahead after that!  Hopefully, this ride will carry into this weekend for the show! 
Read more

Gia - session 956 and 957 - War Horse schooling and show

 I took Gia to the War Horse schooling and show this weekend at the Carolina Horse Park.  When I got on Saturday morning, she started out quite tense - wanting to go up in the front, and up in the back as well, but not really wanting to go forward.  I finally did get her forward, eventually, and slowly, and we made it to the stadium warm up.  After warming up with some trot, and over a few jumps, we schooled the stadium course.  She was a bit nervous, but did OK otherwise.  So, on to cross country schooling.  She felt fairly the same on cross country - a little nervous, but at least by that time, she was moving forward.  She was a bit nervous about a couple of the jumps, and some of the soggy ground.  We "discussed" it, and then she was able to get over/through it.  She felt a lot more confident by the end. On Sunday, she felt fine when I got on for dressage.  I warmed her up in the grass, near the barns, first, where she could stay calmer.  She was fairly responsive and rela
Read more

Gia - session 947 - lesson at CDP

 I took Gia to CDP for a lesson today.  She was very good with her shipping boots this morning - no drama at all!.  She was also pretty good for getting on the trailer, with me on the off side.  She did get her head a little stuck on the wrong side of the divider, but I quickly got it unstuck, and she was good to go. I warmed Gia up deep and low at the walk and trot with lots of changes of bend and direction, all over the ring.  She was a bit spooky and resistant, but we worked through it, and she started to settle down, relax, and stretch her neck out a little.  I added canter transitions, and those went fairly well.   Susan worked with us today.  She had me focus on Gia's rhythm and the timing of her footfalls at all gaits.  She also had me focus on my straightness in the saddle and my alignment with Gia, as well as Gia's straightness on the circle, and through changes of direction.  We worked through transitions between the gaits, and they gradually improved, and I felt Gia
Read more