Gia - session 760 - cantering up hills

 I took Gia out in the field today, with the intention of hopefully jumping some jumps.  However, I wanted to tackle the canter first.  As we were warming up with a bit of walk and trot work, I thought about trying her canter heading up a hill.  It would be a lot harder for her to buck as she goes up a hill.  It definitely was!  I started by asking her for her canter transitions at the bottom of a fairly good hill we have.  I could definitely tell that she wanted to get sassy with me, but she found it physically difficult.  Once we got to the top of the hill, we walked or trotted back down and tried again.  After just a few in one direction, she was a lot quieter, with a lot less effort on my part.  We repeated the exercise in the opposite direction, and had similar results.  We went back and forth a few more times, alternating directions, with the intention of trying to keep the canter all the way to a jump.  We didn't make it that far, because I could feel her starting to tire when she would get to the top of the hill.  So, we left it at that today.  This will definitely be a good strengthening exercise for her, as well as a great way to work on the canter with less drama!

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