All The Kings' Horses

 I pretty much did the same with Gia today that I did yesterday.  We started with a little stretching at the walk.  Then we did a little shoulder-in at the walk.  Moving into the trot, we did several transitions, as well as bending and changes of direction.  I could feel her want to be a little naughty for a few moments, but I used shoulder-in to shut the naughty moments down, and they never escalated.   When she felt pretty good, we went over a few jumps.  I had a variety of things set up in the arena, so I just played over what was there.  There were different heights, and she actually did better when the jumps were around 2', rather than the small crossrails or verticals.  Fine by me! ☺

 Gia started out stretching really nicely at the walk today.  Before trotting, I worked a little on her shoulder-in at the walk, circling whenever she would get stuck.  Then we moved into the trot work and focused on walk trot transitions.  I used the shoulder-in to keep her together when she wanted to be naughty.  She still wanted to be a little naughty (although not as bad), but the reaction was stifled by the shoulder-in work.  Eventually, she relaxed and quit fighting me about the transitions.  She didn't really get fussy the rest of the ride.   We did a little bit of shoulder-in work at the trot, and included changes of bend and direction as well.  Once she felt pretty good with all that, I let her go over a few jumps.  She definitely got excited (in a good way) when I pointed her at the jumps.  Most of them felt a bit awkward today, but she did have a couple of good moments.  She loses her balance and coordination on...

 Gia and I had a dressage lesson with Suzin today.  Gia was ok at the walk, but once we picked up the trot, she started to get a little too reactive and naughty.  We did several walk trot transitions, working on being obedient and not naughty.  After a few transitions, she was doing much better.  She did throw in a little bit of naughty behavior later, but it was quickly corrected.  Suzin had us work a lot on bending, changing bend, and using shoulder-in to help create a better bend with less resistance.  We also did a little bit of leg yield and shoulder-out, but we primarily focused on the shoulder-in work.  At the end, I stretched her down a little at the trot.   Once we got through the naughty moments, she was really quite good!  Hopefully, those moments will start to come out less often!

 I took Gia out on the trail today to warm up.  She was quite nervous, but it has been a while since I've taken her out there.  Unfortunately, I dropped my glasses while out there, and had to get off, and then figure out how to get back on.  There was a spot with a slight bank that I was able to use, but it definitely was not easy! Back in the arena, I worked on walk/trot transitions and straightness.  She was quite naughty when I asked for the up transitions at first.  Each time she kicked out, I halted and turned her and then asked again.  Eventually, she got the clue that her behavior was unacceptable.  After that, she was pretty good.   She felt quiet enough after our trot warm up, that I put her over a few small jumps.  She started out not getting the distances very well, but by the end was jumping much better!  She even got most of her leads, although she didn't keep the canter for very long in either direction.

 I worked with Gia again at the show yesterday.  I lunged her to start with.  She was a bit naughtier this time.  Possibly because we were closer to the trailer and within earshot of her friends, possibly because she was upset at being at the show for two days.  Whatever the reason doesn't really matter.  I still had to insist that she go when I said go and whoa when I said whoa.  She had a really hard time standing still, but did get it eventually. Under saddle was about the same as the day before.  I was able to get her up to a nice trot in the warm up ring after starting out a bit tense and anxious - trying to get back to the trailer.  Each time I had a good, relaxed moment, whether on the ground or in the saddle, I gave her a small treat.  She didn't get any treats back at the trailer though.  Going back to the trailer is reward enough.

 I took Gia to the Carolina Horse Park again this weekend to school during the horse show.   Charlie started out with her, working on lunging her in the rope halter.  He basically just worked on getting her to halt and stand when he asked, and then allowing her to go when he said she could.  She started out VERY anxious and tense, but eventually settled down. After that, I tacked Gia up and took her back up to the warm up ring.  She was still a bit tense, so I just asked her to bend and leg yield until she finally relaxed and started to focus more on me than on getting back to the trailer.  All we did was walk and trot, but it did get better by the end.  Once she was quieter in the warm up ring, I took her into the open dressage ring and schooled her there a little as well.  She was nervous to walk between the rings and to and from the trailer, but she did fairly well in the rings.

 Gia and I had a lesson with Suzin today.  Gia was unusually difficult to catch this morning.  She typically will come right up to me or Danielle when we call her, but this morning was different.  She decided to be a little naughty, and when reprimanded, decided to play "keep away".  Her attitude could have been due to the cooler weather, and/or, a change to her pasture situation.  Needless to say, I expected today's ride to be a bit difficult. I started out with a bit of lunging in the rope halter.  She was actually fairly quiet and obedient, so after only a few minutes, I decided she was ok to ride. I was pleasantly surprised by our ride today, and even Suzin said that she looked fantastic and "Yummy!"  I mainly worked on keeping her soft in the bridle during everything I asked her to do - walk/halt transitions, walk/trot transitions, halt/trot transitions, changing bend, etc. I focused a lot on keeping my feet flat in the irons, and pushing my ...