Gia - session 443 - more long lining

 Suzin wanted to work with Gia on the long lines today, so we tacked her up in the surcingle and headed up to the round pen.  The main thing Suzin wanted to tackle was Gia's trot to canter transition.  First we needed to get her to soften at the walk and trot.  She was fairly willing to do that, although sometimes she didn't want to move into the outside rein.  Once we got her loosened up, and she was soft at the trot, we asked her for the canter.  For the most part, her transitions were much better than they are under saddle.  Sometimes she came up against the lines, but not very far and not nearly as hard as she does under saddle.  Sometimes she fumbled with her feet, taking the wrong lead, or stumbling through the transition.  All of that is part of Gia learning what to do with her body during the transition.  She did give us several good transitions to canter in each direction.

Suzin also worked a little on teaching Gia to move away from the whip on the inside, towards the outside rein, much like a leg yield.  That was a little harder for her, but she did give a few good steps.