Gia - session 553 - canter and jump in the field

 I took Gia out to the field for her work today.  My intention was just to play over the jumps and canter through the field in a "play-like" manner.  Gia had other ideas ...

We started out with a bit of stretching at the walk.  I also took her down to walk in the pond.  She was hesitant at first, but then went in.  When we came out, I took her right back in, and she went in willingly.  At the trot, we did some transitions and stretching as well.  She felt a bit stiff to the right, and a bit resistant to go forward.  I noticed that she was willing to go forward if we were heading in the direction of her friends, but otherwise, she was stiff and wiggly and sucking back.  When I popped her over a jump, everything was about the same.  So, I worked on getting her more forward on the flat.  I pointed her over a jump in the direction of her friends.  When she landed at the canter, I just kept her going.  She became resistant as soon as we headed away, but I pushed her to keep going.  There was some bucking, but nothing too bad, and she was on the wrong lead, but I just kept her going.  We ended up galloping around the field several times.  Eventually, the resistance faded and the jumps were better.  She still preferred her left lead and still felt stiffer on the right though.

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