Gia - session 360 - in hand work in the field

 I started Gia out in the field walking and trotting up and down the hills.  She did fairly well with that.  She struggled with staying off my hands and staying straight at first, but she got better by the end.

Next, my plan was to warm up a bit by trotting throughout the field, and then take some jumps.  However, things did not go to plan.

Gia was VERY resistant to go forward, especially at a trot, while I was asking her to be soft at the same time.  I really had to use a lot of leg, especially right leg, and whip, but she got a bit naughty, trying small bucks and hops.

So, I ended up hopping off and working with her in-hand.  I was able to keep her together with one hand, while I used my "bad" hand to make her go forward with the whip.  She was pretty resistant to that at first too, but on the ground I was in a better position to work through it.  She got quite naughty at one point, especially when I pushed on her right shoulder because she kept falling towards me.  However, by the end, she understood better what I wanted, and was more cooperative.  Since it was so hot, and we had both worked much harder than I had wanted us to, I ended our session when she was behaving better about going forward, but staying soft in my hands.  

I always try to have a plan when I work with a horse, but I am always mindful that the horse might change the plan!