Gia - session 306 - transitions, bending, softening

 Gia and I had more of a mental lesson than a physical lesson with Suzin today.  We started out with a nice stretch at the walk, and then I picked her up to a working frame and some trot work.  We started working on changes of bend and direction, circles, figures, serpentines, etc.  Gia was a bit crooked, so Suzin had me work on feeling the lighter rein and pushing Gia into it.  That was going ok, except Gia was against my hand alot.  So, we stopped and worked on softening her to the left and right until she stopped pushing up against me when I asked.  We worked on that at the halt at first, then the walk when she got the hang of it, then finally, the trot.  I also had to work on remembering to give whenever she was correct, even if it was only for a second.  Finally, I had to remember to not let the trot get too slow.  I tend to do a lot of her work in sitting trot, because I feel I can be more effective at some things.  However, Suzin pointed out that posting the trot can help her go more forward when she feels stuck, or too slow.  It definitely did help!

After my ride, Suzin had us work a little on the same things, but from the ground.  We worked on softening Gia at the halt, and then at the walk.  We also did a little bit of shoulder-in at the walk.  I will be trying to include more of this ground work in my pre-ride sessions in the future!