Gia - session 601 - dressage

 I worked with Gia on her flatwork today in my dressage arena.  We hadn't been in there in a while, but it didn't seem to phase her mentally.  The footing is quite different, since it's grass instead of sand, and not quite level, but she handled it fairly well for the most part. 

I started out working on getting her to stretch at the walk.  My main focus today was to get her more in front of my leg, and get her hind legs more active.  One way to know if you are successful with that is to watch the base of the neck.  You are looking for the base of the neck to be thicker and then taper towards the head.  At first, Gia was quite quick as I pushed her up with my leg, but once she started stretching more properly, she relaxed and really got into it.  

I focused on the same thing at the medium walk, working trot and working canter.  She did have a couple of minor naughty moments, but it was harder for her because I had been able to get her hind end under her better.  I also worked on a lot of bending, and balancing at all gaits.  Overall, we had a pretty good ride!

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