Gia - 1342- - my German coach

 Monday October 26th - Gia and I started on a loose rein at a walk in the arena today.  I did not ask her for anything in particular, I just allowed her to wander around while I focused on my own position and relaxation.  When I thought she was ready, I asked for the trot on a long rein.  She felt a bit sticky, not wanting to go forward.  I am working on listening to her small, polite requests, so she doesn't have to resort to "yelling", aka bucking.  This is her way of saying, something isn't right.  Now it's my job to figure out what.  That's the hard part.  It's not always obvious. In fact, it's not usually obvious, or I would have probably already done it.  TBH, I can't remember at this time what actually worked, but she did eventually go forward at the trot.  After a warm up on a loose rein, I started to add rhythm and then straightness.  When I was adding straightness, she again started to feel "sticky".  It took me a few tries to figure out what she wanted, but I eventually found that she wanted more left knee and thigh to move her shoulder to the right, WITHOUT left calf pushing her rib cage to the right.  As soon as I did that, she perked up and went forward easily into a beautiful trot!  I was then able to work on getting her poll up and regulating her tempo.  After that we had a LOT of nice moments!  I think she might be my best coach ever (no offense to Suzin and Charlie at all).  I mean she does yell at me and frustrate me WAY more than any coach ever has, but she sticks with me and rewards me IMMEDIATELY when I get it right!  😁 It's just that her German is REALLY hard to understand! 🤣😂

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gia - sessions 1159-1166 - lots of figuring out what exactly might be going on

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, so I apologize for just now getting around to Gia's blogs.  I have been doing a lot of detective work with her issues going on, and I do think I have figured it out.  It also might explain some attitude that we see in other horses we have. Monday 10/20 - I once again worked on massaging Gia's neck.  She really has gotten into this and is pretty much enjoying it, for the most part. Tuesday 10/21 - Ditto Wednesday 10/22 - Danielle worked with her on this day since I wasn't feeling well.  She also massaged her neck, and said that Gia was great for it!  (Gia's always great for Danielle though, so take this one with a grain of salt 😉) Friday 10/24 - I was back at it again.  I massaged her neck, treated a few wounds that she had, and groomed her a little, as well.  She did fairly well with all of it.  If I came across a spot that she didn't like (expressed by ear pinning, turning to bite, trying to kick, etc), I kept ...
Read more

Gia sessions 1258-1261 - a week of ups and downs

Image
 Monday May 4-“May the fourth be with you”….Gia was channeling a charming Bantha on Monday. She was very well behaved for her grooming, stretches, and saddling. I debated on just hopping on without lunging, but I decided that I would stick with my routine. I am glad I did because while Gia started lumbering along like a steady Rontos on the lunge line, all of a sudden she started running and bucking on the line as if she was being chased by a herd of Nexu. However, this only lasted a minute and she calmed down right away. I hopped on in hopes she wasn’t going to toss me into a Sarlacc’s den. She was a bit tense at first and needed a few taps with my lightsaber to keep moving but by the end of the ride she was calm and sweet as a Porg. Kudos to anyone who followed along! Tuesday May 5th - It’s Cinco de Mayo and I needed a margarita! I guess Gia just isn’t a fan. I started off the morning with a feeder check-in note that Gia (who has been much improved in her feeding behavior of late...
Read more

Gia - sessions 1170-1172 - A change of reins - Danielle works with Gia ... and writes the blog!

I am stepping away from riding and working my own horses for a few weeks to get a few big projects completed.  During that time, Danielle will be working with Gia and writing her blog.  They had a busy week last week ...  Gia’s Blog 11/11-14/25 Danielle here. I worked with Gia last week on grooming and treating her fungus. I will say it was an interesting week! On Tuesday, I worked with Gia in the same manner as I had been for years. I am familiar [to her], and she is a bit more patient with my touches. It is not necessarily a favoritism situation as much as I provide her with an expected, consistent experience. However, our mutual affection for each other does not hurt (usually…). Before the show, I had some time to bring in Gia and give her an antifungal bath with prescription strength shampoo. My hope was that this would get the fungal issue under control. Additionally, Heather was able to find her a flysheet that fit her while we were at the show. So, we came into thi...
Read more