Gia - sessions 1319 thru 1321 - one step at a time

 Tuesday 9/15/26 - I was finally able to get on Gia today after a week and a half of her being home and still not being able to ride due to high fevers and increased respiratory rates.  Today was about 10 degrees cooler out, so that probably helped a lot as well!  I kept it very light on her, and we just stayed at the walk.  I also kept a close eye on her respiratory rate the entire time.  I mainly worked on  my own position flaws (of which there are many 🫤).  Today it was about keeping more weight in my big toes, rather than allowing my ankles to roll to the outside and letting the weight go to my pinkie toes.  And I had to keep the weight symmetrical in both stirrups, which meant I had to focus on putting more weight in my right stirrup, since that leg always wants to draw up.  I also worked on pushing my leg down and backwards, drawing my thigh away from the thigh block of my saddle - I thought about pedaling a bike backwards.  And finally, when I managed to have all that together, I tried to relax completely, even if I ended up losing all that and having to start all over again.  When I was feeling more confident in myself, I asked Gia for a few walk/halt transitions.  It took a few before she was more obedient to the down transition, but it did get better by the end.

Wednesday 9/16/26 - Gia's respiratory rate was a tiny bit higher today, and I had less time anyway, so I just took her for a short hack in the woods.  She was a little nervous about some of the stuff on the way in, but once in the woods, she was fine.  She was walking fast ... or maybe I'm just not used to how big her walk is yet 😊.

Friday 9/18/26 - I was able to get one more ride on Gia this week, but it wasn't much of a ride.  I was running behind, so I basically just sat on her while I taught another lesson.  I somewhat focused on my position stuff, but I didn't really focus on anything with her specifically.  She was really good though!