Gia - session 511 - jumping

 I hopped on Gia with no lunging today (mostly because my brain is full of a million other thoughts, and I completely forgot).  She was a bit tense while warming up at the walk with stretching and bending.  She was also a bit tense when I picked up the trot.  I think she thought about being naughty, but never followed through.  We did transitions, and a lot of bending and leg yields.  She felt very tight through her body, but did feel a bit looser by the end of warm up.

I haven't jumped her since before she got sick (several weeks ago), so I wasn't sure how it would go.  She thought about being naughty as I pointed her at small jumps at the trot, but again, didn't follow through.  Her first several jumps were quite awkward, like she forgot how to use her legs.  Which is probably exactly what happened. I trotted her around, jumped a jump, got her organized on a circle, and jumped another jump.  I repeated that exercise several times until she started to remember what to do.  By the end, she was jumping MUCH better, more like herself, and seemed to have loosened up, not just in her body, but also in her mind.  She was having fun!

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