All The Kings' Horses

 It's a Monday!  My brain was so busy with all the things I had to think of today that I completely forgot to lunge Gia.  Luckily, she was pretty good and didn't really need it. I started with some walk work, really hammering down on her attention today.  Every time she tried to look around, I would move the bit on the opposite side of her mouth, deepen my seat bone, and push with my leg until she softened and paid more attention to me.  I had to repeat this a lot at the walk and trot.  I did this little exercise in combination with a lot of lateral work like leg yields, bending on circles, changes of direction, and even some baby shoulder-ins.  When she felt more attentive, I asked for the canter.  She became a bit tense, but she did not make a naughty move.  I only had time to canter a little today, but she was good for both directions.  Also, when she became more attentive, she became a lot more relaxed and gave me a nice free walk at the end.

 Gia's session today was a little out of the norm.  Castle Farm has a drill team every year, consisting of various teams of horses and riders performing tests at the walk, trot and canter.  This year, I designed a Pas de Deux (team of two) for two very special horses - the largest and smallest at Castle Farm!  I'm not really sure how it will turn out, but it's an idea I've had for a while.  It's just hard to find a rider who is not only good enough to ride the tests, but also small enough.  Luckily, Julia has been working really hard in her lessons, and it turns out, she is really good at geometry, visualization, and following directions too! So Gia made her debut on the drill team at last night's practice.  All we did was walk our test (it's a long test to memorize, so walking it helps us learn the test without crashing into each other).  I didn't focus too much on our general riding, more so on the test pattern itself.  But I did try to keep her soft a

 I lunged Gia for about 10 minutes at the canter before riding today.  Under saddle I worked on stretching and bending at the walk.  Then we worked on walk trot transitions.  Anytime she came against my hand, I asked her to soften and/or make a down transition.  I also worked a bit on the canter today.  She started out fairly good and obedient, but when I asked her to speed up, or keep going, she threw in a few bucks.  So, I had to push her even harder to get her through it.  She didn't put up as much of a fight as she has in the past.  We ended when she was more obedient to my cues to canter and keep going.

 Suzin came out for a lesson with Gia and I today.  I was running a bit behind, so no lunging today.  Luckily, she didn't seem to need it, but we also didn't do any cantering today. We started with some work on the walk - stretching down, lengthening, collecting, softening.  She was very responsive to everything I asked.   At the trot we did a lot of transitions and softening.  Anytime she came even slightly against my hand, I had to soften her and/or make a transition.  We worked all over the arena, with lots of figures and bending as well.  Suzin really had us focusing on how steady we could keep things together - definitely a challenge for a young horse, but Gia seemed to get the idea and we had a lot of nice moments!

 Hayley rode Gia again today at CDP.  She was a bit more resistant to do what Hayley asked, but she kept pushing her forward, and eventually got through to her.  I hopped on afterwards.  She did ok with her basic walk, trot and canter work.  She was a bit squeamish about going past the gazebo today (I think she was just testing me).  We went back and forth past it several times.  She always had to go forward, but it was ok if she was sideways at first.  Eventually, she went past it much straighter!

 I lunged Gia for about 10 minutes of cantering today before I rode.   Under saddle she was mostly good.  After stretching a little, and going over a few poles, at the walk and trot, we picked up the canter.  She only tossed in a couple of low kicks out, but was otherwise fairly uneventful.  I was even able to work a little bit on straightening her body at the canter!

 I took Gia to the Carolina Horse Park yesterday to school during the show.  I lunged her for about 15 minutes, mostly at the canter, to get her a little tired before I hopped on. Under saddle, she was a little nervous heading up to the warm up ring, but it seemed to be less than last time.  Each time she hesitated, I kicked her on and made sure she went forward. In the arena, she was MUCH better behaved, but it was also much less crowded.  We did a lot of stretching, bending and leg yields at the walk and trot.  There was a very scary baby stroller, and an even scarier dog (on a leash).  She tried to dart to the side, or bolt, but it didn't take too much effort to get her under control and working again.  She didn't get completely relax yesterday, but she did try to be obedient and responsive. She has gotten really good at hanging out at the trailer.  At the last couple of outings, she has stood very quietly, even when we leave to take other horses to the show ring.  She hasn&

 I lunged Gia for about 10 minutes of cantering today.  I was a little concerned with how windy it was, but she didn't seem to mind. Under saddle, we stretched a bit at the walk, and went over ground poles as well.  We did the same at the trot, and then worked on the canter.  She was soooo good!!  She didn't think about being naughty at all!  I cantered over a few ground poles as well.  She was so good, I felt her start to relax at the canter, which led to a very comfortable gait.  She even felt quiet enough that I popped her over a couple of small crossrails!

 I lunged Gia for about 10 minutes today before my lesson with Suzin.  She was nice and quiet and balanced in her canter on the lunge. Under saddle, she had a really nice, big, ground covering and relaxed walk to start out with.  We did a lot of work at the trot on bending, leg yielding and a little shoulder-in.  There were a few times that she felt stuck and didn't want to go forward, so I pushed her on into a canter.  She did fuss a few times with kicking out, but each time I pushed her more forward.  Her negative attitude was very brief today.  We didn't focus too much on the canter, but rather on the quality of the trot work.  We did a lot of down transitions, whenever she came against my hand, then I would soften her and send her back up again.  She was much more supple and responsive by the end.

 I lunged Gia for about 15 minutes of cantering today.  Five minutes less than when I lunged her at the show this weekend.  I'm hoping I can reduce her lunging each day, but we'll see how she reacts under saddle. She rode fairly well.  At the walk and trot, she felt about like she usually does.  She went forward, and stretched a little.  She also did a little bending, and went over some ground poles. When I pushed her up into the canter, she went fairly willingly, and with almost no fussiness.  She thought about kicking out one time, tracking right, but I pushed her on, and she changed her mind.  The next time I cantered her to the right, she went forward much more willingly, and did not bat an eye!

 Hayley rode Gia again today at CDP.  She was soooo much better! She went forward much more easily when Hayley asked, and she only briefly thought about maybe being naughty twice, but didn't have any follow through.  We kept the session fairly brief since she was so good!

 Since yesterday was so horrible, and today we were at a show, meaning it could be even more horrible, I decided to lunge the crap out of Gia before riding her.  I will typically just lunge her until she is more relaxed and focused on me, but today I went on until she was breathing hard, sweaty, and nostrils a little flaring (and most of it was at the canter).   She was remarkably good after that!  I didn't push it though, and the ring was much quieter than when we go to the Carolina Horse Park.  I did a lot of walking and stretching, then a bit of trot work.  That was all feeling pretty good, so I popped her over a few little jumps (although I did have to raise them a bit for her to actually jump them).  She even cantered after a couple of them and it was very good!

 Well, I earned my belt buckle today, and you might see Gia at the National Finals Rodeo this year.  At least we'd get to go to Vegas! I started her out with some long lining, mostly at the canter.  She was pretty good - no bucking, and not even fussy.  She was saving it all for the under saddle work ... Once I got on, I walked her over a few poles and allowed her to stretch for a few minutes, then I picked her up to a trot.  Fairly quickly we moved in the canter work.  Right off the bat, Gia started bucking all over the ring, with very few breaks.  I managed to stick it out, and to keep her going, but when I was finally able to take a break (because she finally went forward without bucking for a few steps), I was exhausted, my lungs were burning and I was thirsty.  I knew I couldn't just end the ride there or it would be worse the next time.  So, I took a few minutes at the walk to catch my breath, and then we went another round.  Things went about the same the second time, bu

 I started Gia out on the long lines today.  We went right to work on her canter.  She actually did really well on the lines, maybe a little stiffer and more resistant when tracking right. Under saddle, I allowed her to stretch a little at the walk, and then picked her right up into the trot.  She was a tiny bit resistant to go at first, so we did a few transitions, and she received a good kick if she didn't respond promptly enough.  Then we moved into the canter work.  She did throw in a few good bucks, but I just kept kicking her on, and she eventually quit.  I also worked her over several ground poles at the walk, trot and canter.  She had to figure out what to do with her feet, and it made her forget about wanted to kick out at the canter.  She still tried a few times, but it was less often and less severe.

 Gia got on the trailer much better this morning!  There was still a little fussiness about her boots, and a little snorting at the truck, but she didn't hesitate when we got to the back! At CDP today, Hayley was helping us out, and she got up on Gia first.  She really put Gia to work! She sent her forward anytime Gia wanted to spook and stop.  It's fine for her to be worried, but she still has to go forward.  After a brief warm up, she put her right into the canter.  Gia tossed her hind end up a little bit, but every time she did, Hayley sent her even more forward.  Gia figured out pretty quickly that she should behave, and then she wouldn't have to work as hard. I got up on her afterwards, and did the same work.  It's a little out of my comfort zone to send Gia so fast and forward, but I could definitely feel the difference in Gia's attitude after her work with Hayley!

 It was pouring at Castle Farm today, so I decided to work on some long lining with Gia in the round pen. She was actually really good for the work!  She was ready to canter when I asked.  She was a bit against my inside line in both directions, but after several transitions, I was able to get her a bit softer. After the long lining, Danielle dressed her up in her shipping boots while I pulled the trailer forward and left the truck on.  This was another good opportunity to work on loading her with almost everything the way it will be when I want to take her to CDP tomorrow.  I thought that working her first might keep her from reacting they way she does on Tuesday mornings, but it did not.  She was still hesitant to get on the trailer the first time, and I had to get her to follow me on rather than her getting on by herself.  As soon as she got through the first time, she was much better!  I backed her off and put her back on several more times.  She was really good with all the repeti

 I didn't have much time to work with Gia this morning, so I did not lunge her to start with, even though I had a feeling she was not going to be on her best behavior. I was right. She wasn't any worse than usual, but she was snorting a little when I stretched her out and warmed her up at the walk.  When I asked for trot, she must have had in her head that we were going to be working on the canter, because she immediately got defensive and didn't want to go forward.  When I insisted, she threw in a few good bucks, just for asking for trot.  I had no intentions of asking her for canter with the little time I had, but apparently that didn't matter to Gia.  I stuck with it, however, and kept asking for her to go forward until she finally let go and moved on.  Once I got her through her tantrum, her trot work was really quite good.  I did a little bit of bending and straightening, but it was mostly about going forward today. That was hard enough for the day.

 Finally the ground was not frozen today, and I was able to get a lesson in with Suzin! Suzin started things out by long lining Gia, and getting right to work on the canter.  She did really well tracking left!  She didn't even pin her ears or act grumpy at all!  She was also nicely bent and collected on a fairly small circle.  Tracking right was a little harder, but not too bad.  She had things more together after several transitions. Under saddle, we went right to work on the canter as well.  First she had to soften and bend at the walk and trot, and then I asked for the canter.  There was a lot of bucking and kicking out during the transitions, and even some when she just anticipated the transition.  Despite all that, I sat back, kept my leg on and waited for her to quit.  As soon as she quit screwing around and went forward, I took my leg off immediately and relaxed.  I was able to get her through it each time, but some times took longer than others.  By the end, I was able to g

 So, the last time I took Gia on the trailer to CDP (last Tuesday), she was not very good.  Despite all the good practices we had prior to her going, she still resisted loading on her own, and was quite anxious once I got her on. Since the ground was frozen yesterday, I decided to do more trailer practice.  However, this time, I set everything up exactly like I would if we really were going to go somewhere.  I pulled the truck and trailer up to where it usually is when I load her to go.  I left the truck running.  We brought her in and put her shipping boots on.  I did put a pan of grain in the front of the trailer as well.   She felt anxious almost immediately, and did hesitate when I approached the trailer with her.  I kept encouraging her until she finally got on (only about a minute).  Once on, it took a few minutes before she relaxed.  Once she relaxed, I took her off and tried again.  Each time did get easier, and she was actually pulling to get on by the end.   It seems my horse