Gia - session 345 - lots of transitions!

 Gia and I had a dressage lesson with Suzin today.  After warming up with a little stretching and bending, we mainly worked on transitions - trot to halt to trot, with some rein-back in there too, then walk to canter to walk.  The main goal was obedience to the aids.  If she didn't respond promptly to the up transition, then I had to kick, then add whip, if necessary.  For the down transition, I started with shoulders back, then tightened abs, then tightened thighs, then tightened hands.  As soon as she responded, I released everything, and I only added the aids necessary to get the transition I wanted.  For the canter to walk transition, it still took most of the aids, most of the time.  She was a bit fussy at the canter, at first.  But once she understood the aid better, her response was better, and she was more relaxed.  I also kept her on a smallish (15 meter) circle, so that helped keep her from getting too carried away at the canter.  She was definitely starting to respond more obediently at the end.

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