Gia - session 948 - lesson at CDP

 I drove down to CDP today for a lesson on Gia with Hayley.  Gia was groomed and ready for me in the cross ties, but she would not look at me.  She just stared straight ahead.  I was definitely getting the cold shoulder for leaving her!

Hayley had us start with a very collected, and what felt like a very slow, trot on a small circle.  I focused on keeping her very straight, almost on a square, more than a circle.  We worked on that in both directions, and a few changes of direction, but the main focus was on keeping the trot very small and straight.

Then we added the canter.  That was a lot harder at first.  There was a lot of resistance in her face at first.  Hayley had me put my hands closer down to the withers, keep a softer feel, and focus more on keeping the shoulders straight than anything else.  When I did that, Gia started to figure it out better, and we were able to get some really nice canter moments in each direction!  It was all very hard for her, but she is building the strength she needs for the long body she has!

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