Parelli World and Questions

I was searching around for natural horsemanship articles on line, and I happened to notice a link to a site called Parelli World. "Oh. . . What's that?!?" Naturally, I had to click on it. And it turns out that a Parelli Professional called Jerry Williams has a blog! I read one of his articles and I thought it was very interesting. It's called Degrees. So, check it out!

About Moose, I had an interesting session the other day. He has now started head tossing and shaking whenever I try to put his halter on. I've realized that he's either over-confident, or the halter I have is irritating him (it's not a Parelli halter after all, so maybe he feels a difference?). Also, we had another moment where once the halter was on, his horsenality flipped. Actually, I wrote a post a few months ago about one time when Moose had a MAJOR lick and chew moment. My session was quite similar to that, except that this time I was singing the whole time, so I KNOW he wasn't mirroring me. So, I sent a PP an e-mail about a few questions that it brought up.  The real e-mail is a bit long, and here's most of it.

My name is Erica. I own a LBE named Moose and we're working on Level 1.  For the past month (or 2), I have been spending undemanding time with him for at least 45 minutes daily, because whenever I went to halter him, he'd walk away and seemed to be unconfident.


But I have 2 questions regarding Moose's behavior. I put the halter on him yesterday -the first time in maybe a month - and he kept tossing his head and trying to avoid it. Well, the head tossing was left brain, because he was chewing on the halter and blinking and such. It looked to me like he didn't want the halter on. Though, I'll mention that I do not own a Parelli halter, but I have one that is very similar. The only difference is that the material used is not as flexible as Parelli's.

Once the halter is on, Moose becomes very obedient, and just not himself. For one thing, he never itches. And I'm not sure if it's past baggage, or anything, but he just shuts up on line. I'm sure he's not being RBI, because he still looks at things, blinks, his tail is fine, etc. It just seems that he gets in this mode where he's very compliant, but not because he wants to be (and I'm not making him, I tend to be passive).

Well, I was getting a feeling that Moose had the Druthers already (even though we hadn't moved anywhere yet). So, I moved him closer to the others horses (Moose, I, and all his buddies were all in the same pasture at the time). We didn't move very far, maybe 5 or 10 feet (and the horses were close to begin with). Then, I decided to try moving his HQ to see what kind of response I get. He walked off, so I tightened up the rope to get him to move his HQ over. Once he took a step, I immediately released the pressure. And he started releasing TONS of adrenaline! I noticed when he was releasing the adrenaline that he mostly blew and itched his head on his legs. Total, I'd guess it took him 7ish minutes to be completely off adrenaline. Afterwards, he cocked his leg (the first time he's ever done that on line)!!

Then, I went to take the halter off, to reward him for being calm. And as soon as I started taking the halter off, he started throwing his head again. I waited until he stopped throwing his head for a second, and then took it off.

So, the questions I have for you are: can itching be a form of releasing adrenaline, or is he just suddenly realizing he's itchy because he's now calm? What do you think is going on with the halter: should I buy a new one, or is he just testing my leadership? And lastly, what happened on line: why does he suddenly release adrenaline and what is causing it? Also, what horsenality do you think he's being on line (and how should I react)?

Oh, and I was singing this whole time, so anything that happened did not happen because I wasn't breathing.

Thanks for your help,

Erica

Throu gh

Ever heard of Rebus puzzles before? Anyone . . . anyone? Well, if not, then here's a few examples.









I won't give away the answers until the bottom of this post, but basically that's what they are. Just word plays. Though, some are obviously going to be harder than others, as you can see. Anyways, the reason that all this is mentioned is because the title is a Rebus puzzle. So, see if you can figure it out. It should be easy-schmeezy if you read the rest of this post. But again, the answers are posted at the bottom if you have trouble.

But onto the reason for this post: a Throu  gh!!!! 2 of them, actually! So, it was an exciting day today. Now, seeing as it is Sunday, I have more time than normal with the horses. So, I went outside today with the intention of just spending undemanding time. Undemanding time with: an apple core, a halter,  12' rope, tarp, carrot stick, AND a brush! Not to mention that I'm all bundled up in snow pants and boots and gloves. Needless to say, I felt and looked quite silly! At least the ponies certainly thought so. . . lol.

I was very pleased with Dancer, to begin with. She was the first to greet me today, and thus earned an apple core for her effort. She also let me brush her which was incredible. Considering that the other horses get jealous whenever I LOOK at her, it was nice to be able to show her I care for once.

Back to the apple core scenario: Moose decides to come over, being hungry/jealous, and he let me brush him! That may sound like, "oh. . . whoopee," but for him that's amazing! If I hadn't brought all that stuff out, I probably would've left right then! So, I think our relationship is getting better in baby steps.

Afterwards, I messed around with the tarp. Sidenote: I made a decision that I'm not going to ride Moose until he trusts me enough to accept the tarp on his back. Key phrase there: until he trust me. If I feel that he trusts me enough without the tarp, then it'd be unnecessary. It's just that if he won't accept a tarp, how's he going to accept a saddle or blanket, or even a HUMAN on his back? As Pat says, "If he's afraid of blackbirds, get him used to eagles." So there was my original motivation for taking out the tarp, until Bella side-tracked me with her uber-curiousity.

Which leads me to the other 'throu gh' that happened today: Bella accepted the tarp on her! At liberty, too. While we still have more progress that can be made with it, it's a great start! I can put it over her back when it's bundled up, and I can rub her with it. I'm not keeping it there for very long yet, but she's still doing pretty good! And to make a long story short, the horses were really hungry today, because Bella started eating the tarp. I think it is only going to have a few more weeks longer to live, lol. She tore quite a hole in it. But that's okay, we have an extra.

Answers (from right to left):

1. Up for grabs


2. A friend in need


3. Painless operation (if you got this one, you must be a frickin genius!! Or you've seen it before, lol)


4. Wake up

Drumroll please . . . and the answer to the title is . . .

5.   Breakthrough

Thanks for playing! If you thought these were interesting, you can find more Rebus puzzles here.

There Is Hope For Us Yet

I haven't updated on the ponies for a while, so I thought I'd let everyone know about their progress recently. Today in particular went pretty well.

As background knowledge, Moose can't/won't (I'm not sure which one) stand near me at liberty while I pet him. And Dancer has become hard to catch again. But of course, I'm sure that's not anything new.

Sooo. . . .

Moose let himself be petted with no line on!! And while someone could totally ruin this moment by saying that I had treats, he still did it!! So, that made me really happy. And with that, he would've let me put the halter on him, too, had I decided to progress further.

Okay, but now this one is a shocker. Dancer actually greeted me at the gate today. I know, amazing right!? But here, let me just describe the magnitude of this for you. We have 3ish acres of pasture at our house. And she came all the way over from the other side of the pasture!!

[caption id="attachment_368" align="aligncenter" width="499" caption="Click on picture for a larger view"][/caption]

Needless to say, that made my day. But wait, it gets better. She even walked inside the stall! (background knowledge: Dancer has not been inside the stalls ever since Bella came here, because she she got trapped inside a few times). And when I went into the pasture, she didn't leave! She actually stood there and let me pet her!

"How interesting!"

Now for a little lecture, oh the horror. Okay, so I just saw the 6th DVD of L&HB yesterday. The 6th DVD wasn't real long, but I learned an interesting tidbit of information. Linda phrased it better, but basically there are 2 kinds of fear in horses: fear of death, and fear of a loss of dignity or spirit. Horses who have a fear of death are usually the RB kind, and are looking to be safe. Horses who are afraid of a loss of dignity/spirit are usually LB and are dominant.

Reflecting on that, Dancer is not afraid of dying. She is definitely a a more LB type. So, that means Dancer would most likely have the fear of a loss of dignity or spirit. So, maybe that's why Dancer doesn't (I'd say didn't, but I'm being realistic here) like me. Somehow, I am bringing up this fear in her. Hmm. . .

This made me decide to really try to get her rapport. Before, I had an oookay rapport and focused on respect to such a degree that I lost all of the rapport. So, this time I'm trying to do things different. But it's still interesting that even when I'm being nice, she's still dominant. For instance, I'll give her a treat and then she will perk up and barge right into my personal space. So, I wave my arms, like "Sorry, honey you're too close!" Then, her ears go back immediately and she just gets angry. I'm realizing that I have to be a better leader, but how can I do that without losing her rapport or causing her to be fearful?

Ah, well. "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still." There's my motto for today, lol!

Deb Bennett's Horse Training Commandments

THOU SHALT NOT SCARE THY HORSE TO DEATH

Neither because you're mad, nor by the force of your aids, nor by the force of your personal energy. When your horse makes a mistake, it is not your business to punish, but to teach - and re-teach.

THOU SHALT NOT GET THY HORSE IN TROUBLE

So that he loses his perfect inner comfort; nay, not even because you yourself are brave. Your main aim is to help your horse stay 100% OK 100% of the time. For your bravery does not help him; what he needs is help finding courage within himself. Nor does he understand your "performance requirements." For truly, no amount of performance nor degree of obedience is justified when it is not the horse's idea as much as yours.

THOU SHALT NOT REST AT THE BARN

Neither should you always get off your horse there. Instead, either tie your horse up at the barn, or find some busy work to do there. Don't ride him away from the barn in order to work him - ride him away from the barn in order to rest him!

THOU SHALT NOT WORK THY HORSE HARD

Without thorough warm-up, nor ask of him more work far away from the barn than at the barn, nor overmuch at any time. Remember that your horse learns only upon release and reflection. Blessed is the time of quiet unity which often comes at the end of a ride; blessed is him who would rather play with his horse's tail. And blessed are the little children, for they know not the meaning of hardness and contest.

THOU SHALT NOT RENDER THY HORSE'S BODY HARD

Nay, not even in quest of "fitness." Remember that the horse's heart is already created bigger and his muscles stronger than those of any other creature. Hardness of muscle deprives your horse's joints of range of motion. O vain human! Your plans for fitness are no more than legs upon a snake, and your failures in competition are the result of your own errors.

THOU SHALT NOT PUT THY PETTY AMBITIONS AHEAD OF THY HORSE'S WELFARE

For truly, no horse knows the cut of your saddle, the style of your hat, the color of your ribbon, the time on your watch, nor the smell of your money.

THOU SHALT NOT HANG UPON THE REINS

Neither through thoughtlessness nor because some "authority" has taught you that this is necessary. Never pick up the rein unless you intend to wait at the same pressure until there is a change in the neck and a change in the feet. And when there is a change - then you shall release!

THOU SHALT NOT PULL

You shall not turn your horse's head and neck away from the direction of his attention. For truly where his eyeballs point, there also shall his feet be pointing -- no matter how hard you drag on his head. Horses do not steer from the head; they steer from the brain. Therefore shalt thou call the birdie.

THOU SHALT LEARN TO USE THE OUTSIDE REIN WELL

You shall not steer; but instead, you shall prevent the horse from turning away. You shall call the birdie into the turn, knowing this will turn the feet as well as shaping up the body. You shall guide the inside forefoot by connecting that rein to it, and you shall anchor the outside hind foot by feeling of it. And to stop you shall stop the feet, not the face. And when thus for a time you shall have turned and stopped, so that the horse's body and postural habits shall have developed, truly will you call that collection.

THOU SHALT LEARN TO WAIT FOR THE HORSE TO RELEASE

And if he does not release, you shall continue to wait at the same pressure. And while waiting you shall not move your hand forward, neither shall you move it back, nor yet shall you repeat your first request, but you shall simply wait!

THOU SHALT NOT TRY TO OBTAIN COLLECTION BY "CAPTURING THE FACE" OR MERELY BENDING THE NECK

Nor through a "head set," nor by means of a "frame," neither by "pushing the horse forward from the seat and leg into a fixed hand," nor yet by leaning back to "weight the hindquarters." For these are the dictates of ignorance. Thou shalt remember that a horse is "on the bit" when every change in the rein creates an equivalent change in the hindquarters. This saying is correct, and implies humane and intelligent technique; but even technique shall pass away. Yet unto those that live all these commandments, collection shall be given: for the truth is, the horse collects from his innermost self, out of the joy of his being; he teaches people what collection is, and for this he needs no help from you.

THOU SHALT MAKE THE WRONG THING DIFFICULT AND THE RIGHT THING EASY - BUT THOU SHALT EMPHASIZE MAKING THE RIGHT THING EASY

How easy it is for us to make it tough on the horse when he makes a mistake! How difficult to create ways to make doing the right thing easy and obvious!

THOU SHALT STRIVE TO GET YOUR HORSE TO WHERE HE WANTS TO BE WITH YOU MORE THAN HE WANTS TO BE ANYWHERE ELSE

For truly, your ability to create ways to do this is the measure of your intelligence, and this shall be the measure by which results are measured out to you.

©1999 by Deb Bennett, resposted on internet with permission

If my horse is my mirror . . .

What the HECK do I look like?!?!?

Oh, how I wish I could have someone videotape me during sessions! That would be SOOO beneficial! Especially today . . .

I had lessons today, so I couldn't play with the ponies for very long. I decided to just take one of them out and just let him/her graze. Well, Moose volunteered to be haltered (yippee!), so I attempted to take him out. We didn't make it past the gate. I hadn't noticed beforehand, but Moose has a threshold practically ON the gate to go outside (which basically shows how herd-bound he is). Therefore, I suspended all plans for outside activity and just went back inside the pasture. I can't deal with thresholds under pressure when I only had a limited time.

So, we went back in and just messed around for a little while. I checked out our Friendly, did a little Porcupine. Mostly, I just was trying to read him correctly, so we didn't get a whole lot done. But we really had a "HOW INTERESTING!!!!!!!!!!" moment. Moose tried to rub on me, and I immediately took it as dominance. So, I reacted with a strong Forehand driving game. I automatically regretted that: what if it ruined his confidence? But, then I tried a Friendly toss of the string over his back and he didn't care! And I mean really didn't care! He was too busy licking and chewing! He seriously was licking and chewing for at least 3 minutes straight! His head was down, and he kept licking over and over again. If he wasn't licking, his head was down and he was blowing. He blew for a long time, about every 45 seconds. He even moaned, hehe! Then, he started itching! *Lightbulb clicks on* I realized that Moose never itches on line. And so, that made me wonder if he was actually trying to be dominant in the first place!

So, I thought about the whole thing, and came up with the phrase "My horse is my mirror." Then, was Moose trying to tell me that I was hyped up, too? Because I know there have been times that I've been on more adrenaline that that! So, maybe he finally finished settling in or something, because he was really digesting a thought there! Or . . . he could've just been plain itchy!

Step in the right direction

Well, I had an interesting experience a couple days ago. I played with Moose, and for once actually felt like I was doing Parelli!! I mean, it's a little hard to describe, but I mentioned previously that when I played with Moose I felt lost. . . that feeling dissapeared! So, a step in the right direction, I'm sure!

And I got to experience something very interesting, too. . . Moose was defensive! He wouldn't let me rub his belly! I have to admit, it was exciting and scary at the same time (though excitement won), for I've never dealt with a horse that didn't like the Friendly game before. That event made me thankful that I've watched the L2 pack before, because there's a session in there about a gelding that didn't like his sheath being touched. Linda said that in the last L2 class she taught a horse was being RB defensive. So, whenever you started rubbing the carrot stick by its sheath, it would start kicking. And Linda just kept rubbing and rubbing until the horse stopped kicking. After they had that discussion, the horse started wringing his tail. So, this time she would rub, until the horse stopped wringing its tail. Basically, I did this same thing with Moose. But he's such a fast learner, it barely counted, lol.

I'm hoping that getting through his defensiveness has progressed our relationship, for whenever I try to pet him with the carrot stick his head jerks up. I got about 5 times or so that his head didn't come up when I pet him which was great progress!

My photography skills

I just thought I'd share a little bit of the pictures taken in the past few months of horse adventures. Not that I'm a good photographer or anything, but I think a few of them turned out really well!!

[caption id="attachment_343" align="alignnone" width="499" caption="This picture is of Junior, my ex-horse. We asked his new owner Barbara how he was doing a little bit ago, and she actually told us that he is up for sale!! So, Junior is currently in need of a home.  But, man . . . he looks SOOOO pretty in this picture! He never got that clean for me, lol! (all credit for this picture goes to Barbara)."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_344" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Here's Stella (name sound familiar? I wrote a post about her before)."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_347" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="What do you think? Good . . . bad . . . ugly?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_348" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Here is Indianna, the Friesian that was one of the runaways we 'rounded up'."][/caption]

Recent Going-ons

Sorry about the non-updates. I just haven't got around to blogging lately.

Currently, Moose is the alpha in our pasture. So, interestingly enough, Dancer is at the bottom!! And if you know Dancer, that's extremely unusual: shes a very dominant horse. Yet, I can't say I blame her, for she probably feels like a midget around the other two. Hehe. Oops.

But now Ms. Bella!! She's definitely a hungry girl, holy cow!! The other day I caught her standing on some planks of wood next to the barn eating weeds. I guess drafts really do eat more. . . anyways, some observations:

1. Bella goes on adrenaline quickly, especially when taken away from her buddies.


2. She is pretty herd-bound, though that might change in the coming weeks. As of now, if her buddies are out of sight, then that's cause for concern.


3. She doesn't like the carrot stick. I'm guessing that's because she was trained by an Amish man to drive. (no offense intended if anyone's Amish. On second thought, if you were Amish you probably wouldn't be reading this right now. Never mind)


4. She's comfort-oriented, though when she is comfortable, food becomes a priority.

Okay, enough about Bella! Moosey's doing well, too. I'm still a little lost about what to do with him, exactly. But at least I've realized that if I get confused, or don't know what to do in a situation 'Stick to Me' really helps. I'm not good at it, per say, but the rules are simple and easy to grasp! So, Moose is going to get quite good at that! Anyways, I've still been spending a lot of undemanding time with him. I wanted to take him out and let him graze the other day, but it's hard with more horses here. They all want to get out, since 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.'

And I just had a real 'yahoo!!' moment. Our library has Parelli Level 3!! (Not that I need it anytime soon, it's just nice to know!!)

It's a girl!!

Yes, my mom got a pony! (YAY!!). Her name is Bella, she's a black 6 year old Percheron. At the moment, her horsenality is RBI. Though, it's not bad at all: she's pretty mild (it's mostly confusion), but such a sweetie, though!

Anyways, Bella was trained by the Amish to drive and was later trained to ride.  She's supposed to be 16.1hh, but she doesn't seem that tall to me. I think she's more like 15.3, but who knows? We're going to be getting her on Sunday. Unfortunately, my mom thinks it's a good idea to leave at 7am. . . whatever happened to sleeping in during weekends? Jeesh! So, it'll be about a good 2.5 hour drive to pick her up.

So, yay! Another pony, finally! Mom's a bit nervous, though. As she keeps saying, this is her first horse "in 3 years and 5 months, as of Monday." I think it's a bit ridiculous that she kept track, but anyways I'm still excited for her! I'll have more details once she arrives.

[caption id="attachment_323" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="An older picture of Bella! She's such a sweetie!"][/caption]

Karen Rholf clinic

[caption id="attachment_303" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Noelle Weiss with Coco and Kris Fulwhiler with her gooorgeous Friesian Wouter"][/caption]

Just got back from 7.5 hours of intense intstruction! That's enough to fill my brain, though, that's for sure! It sure was interesting!

Well, Karen started off doing an interesting simulation about Finesse, while entertaining us with the concept that Freestyle lives within Finesse.  The example she showed us was about Finesse being similar to dancing. Let's say I'm a bad dancer, and my dancer partner also isn't that great. Well, casually we can both dance together and not look so bad. But if we tried ballroom dancing it'd be a complete disaster! Now, if I was dancing with a good dance partner, ballroom dancing would be a breeze. My only job would be to keep out of his way! Well, these 2 types of dance are meant to be Freestyle and Finesse. In Freestyle, you're not really connected to each other, and it can be more laid-back and still look alright. But ballroom dancing is the real test of your partnership.

The simulation she demonstrated elaborated on this. Kris was the 'horse' and Karen the 'rider', so they held onto a pair of reins accordingly. She showed what it was like if Kris pulled back, and Karen braced in response. It pulled them both off balance, so they balanced on each other to make up for it. Then, she showed the right way to do things: stay in balance, and if the horse pulls back 'think forward' (sorry for the bad explanation). Also, another interesting note: when you use your hands in fists to hold the reins, don't make a fist. Make a box intead! When you make a fist, you use muscles in your forearm, and it causes your arm to get tight. If you instead think of making a box with your hand and wrapping (rather than grabbing) your hand around the reins, it uses muscles only in your palm. This makes it so that your arms aren't braced to begin with!

Well, from there, the riders got their horses ready. Karen told everyone to pick a yield to work on and get it going pretty well - Phase 1 or 2. The yield could be anything - going backwards, HQ yield, FQ yield, whatever you

[caption id="attachment_308" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="From left to right: Sherri Kuss on Breeze, Dave Anderson,  and Janet. "][/caption]

wanted!! Well, Dave was having trouble getting his horse to do a HQ yield. So, Karen hopped on! She got things going really well on him: the horse had a lot of try, and Karen said he just needed to learn that it was okay to think. He was used to people doing things for him! Well, after a little while Dave' s horse was doing the yield fantastically! So, once Karen worked out the communication, the rest was easy. By the time she was done, we got to break for lunch.

After lunch the private sessions began (oooh. . . ahhhh). During Dave's session, Karen had him try to back up at frequent intervals, because his horse leaned on the forehand. Also, the biggest thing they addressed was that his horse had a tendency to lean on the reins. So, she had him switching between Finesse and Freestyle a lot to get the horse to stop leaning. But they didn't do too much of it: Karen said that if his horse has been leaning on the reins for a long time, going around a circle even one time holding his own neck up would be hard for him.

Sheri Kuss and Breeze played with sideways. Sheri was extremely advanced in steering, for Breeze followed her focus REALLY well. I don't think Sheri ever needed her reins! Well, in order to get her horse to go sideways Sheri would do a L2 sideways, so her intention was really obvious, but she kept getting left behind the movement. Karen told her to try to make it less obvious (exaggerate to teach, refine as you go along: she needed refining now). Once Karen found out Sheri was really stiff/tight, Karen rode Breeze to see if she could help. Due to the high level of harmony between Sheri and Breeze (a blessing and a curse), when Sheri was tight, then her horse became stiff, also. So, Karen had the pony do a bit of sideways (remembering it was hard for her), and then let her trot off. Though, as soon as she'd get tight in the trot, she did more sideways. Basically, she conveyed the message that if you relax, sideways is easy!

During Noelle's session, they played with keeping Coco's head up. Coco was previously a Western Pleasure horse, and was trained to keep his head down very low and lean on the forehand. So, again Coco needed a lot of backing up. But in this session Karen had Noelle on a circle and pretend it was a clock. So, on her 'clock', at 3, 6, 9, and 12 she would back Coco up. Then, she would immediately go into a canter departure. At first this exercise was all about the backing up, but as they went, Coco started getting much lazier in her canter departures. Karen said Noelle had to get the timing right: it's "get ready, I'm cantering, you should've gone!" So, for a few strides they did that until Noelle got a really good departure and they quit.

Overall, the main theme of Saturday in my mind was "Make yourself comfortable." That seemed to be the thing that Karen really pounded into the horses brains was to be comfortable. For instance, if she pulled on the reins to get the horse to raise his head her attitude wouldn't be "Put your head over here!" it would  be "find a way to relieve the pressure." So, I learned a nice new attitude to take when applying pressure!

Well, I learned a whole assortment of new things. So, if Karen comes next year, I would love to go!! The variety of riders was interesting, because they each were having different problems. So, I'd say it was a pretty good clinic!!

NOTE: the Quote of the Day today was one Karen used in the clinic. I'll leave it up for a few days.

[caption id="attachment_316" align="aligncenter" width="499" caption="Couldn't resist another pic!"][/caption]

Drumroll please . . .

I have some exciting news!! Yesterday, I went out to take Morrie for a walk. Well, our driveway basically lines the horse's pasture. So, I was walking Morrie down the driveway and Moose picks his head up. And then he whinnies to me, and actually starts trotting to me!!!! :-0 So, he walked with me around the perimeter of the pasture a little bit. I started grinning like a fool (hehe). Heck, I was really excited!! We've finally made a leap of progress!!

One step at a time

Well, Moose and I have made some more progress. He'll now let me itch him which is exciting!! Plus, he's getting a little more LB. He actually turned into the alpha horse and now bosses Dancer around, which is a little suprising. Dancer's been the alpha around here for quite some time. It's quite interesting to see her finally resign her position. Though, smart of her: Moose could squash her with a hoof (lol, jk).

More about the itching thing: his favorite itchy spot is right on the middle of his neck. And he loves treats, too. Moose kicked Dancer out of her stall the other day, because I was trying to give her a treat and not him. Silly guys! So, he's obviously settling in better. Also, Moose is getting a little more accepting. He'll now remain LB when I put the halter on him, which is great news! Before he would kind of freeze and wouldn't move his feet very easily when I walked off.

So, slowly but surely we're getting there. I remember someone saying "If you get their confidence, they'll give you everything else." Currently, that's going to be my main focus. I'm just excited for the guy buried inside: a Dancer in disguise. Oh. . . yippee . . . lol. (hopefully, I won't have the same problems with Moose as I do with Dancer).

And we checked out that other Parelli 'trainer'. I think me and her would get along well, but she's a little too expensive for my liking. So, I'm just going to stick with Shirley (and Vicki, my current lessons instructor) which is fine by me!! :) This lady still wasn't 100% Parelli (she can't be, because she has competition-based clients) and Shirley is, so more power to her!

Elusive Moose

Well, I've been trying really hard recently to only spend undemanding time with the ponies (hehe). And it's going well, so I don't really have anything new to report. I'm a little impatient with the progress, but as they say "do less sooner rather than more later". Besides, he's improving!! Just not at the speed I want, lol. Anyways . . .

I realized there's a  predator in me, and that' s a little shocking! I always feel the need to just put the halter on and go, so I ended up forcing the halter onto the ponies (when they'd actually let me play with them, ah the good ol' days). I guess I found the right teachers then, lol. Neither Moose nor Dancer will let me get away with that!! :) Especially Dancer, she's made it clear she won't be forced into anything. *Nervous laugh*

On another note, we went to see a horse for my mom yesterday. She was everything she was looking for and then some!! I mean, she even costed more! So, yeah bottom line is we're not getting our hopes up. Mom wants her, yeah, but she costs too much. So, she made an offer, but we'll see. If it all pans out, I'll certainly give you more details!! Plus pictures (stupid camera didn't work at the time).

Lastly, I found another Parelli instructor!! Well, not a PP, but an instructor that does Parelli that lives about 20 minutes away from me! Fine by me!! So, we're going to go see her this weekend and if we like her I'll have a new riding lessons instructor! Which would be great, considering that the ones I currently attend are capitalizing on some of my progress-killing talents. Lol, lessons are great and all, it's just that I ride school horses and the ways I treat them are different than how I can treat the horses at home. So, I'm developing habits that aren't what I'd like to have (including, but not limited to: using a concentrated rein during Freestyle, over-analyzing, nagging, and expectations over principles). So, I'm hoping that I can downplay some of these 'talents' and learn how to get better results with a 100% Parelli mentor. Maybe there's hope for me yet! ;)

Progression? I wish. . .

Well, the first 2 days I got Moose I was ecstatic! And boy, do I mean ecstatic!! Oh, man, you should've heard me talking, my mom listened to me blab for about 2 hours on Saturday just saying how brilliant he was and how excited I was to finally have him here. I mean, he followed me back to the stall (without any prompting) after I took his halter off: translation, HE LIKED ME!!!! Oh, I was psyched! After all, Dancer hates me. So, it's nice to feel loved, you know? *

Sunday wasn't as great. Nothing horrible happened or anything, it's just it didn't go as I wanted it to. I got really confused! I mean, I can't tell what his horsenality is and it's driving me nuts! He's a fast learner, smart, mildly mouthy, mildly friendly, and curious (when I saw him in Prairie Du Chien he was non-spooky, and confident, too): LBE traits. But he's also extremely quiet/obedient, a little hesitant, and a little distrustful: RBI traits! So, which one do I treat him as?!?!?! *exasperated sigh* Plus, I was always told that/saw that horses start testing their owners in new environments to see what their limits are. Is it okay if Moose isn't doing that? I know I might be rushing this one, but he seems kind of RBI and not at all dominant! So, that notion is getting me confused, too. But again, I can be patient here: it's only been 4 days, lol!

WELL. . . Monday. . . one word: ugh. Apart from having to go to school, I also managed to ignore my gut feeling. Again. This time it said Moose was unconfident. So, I followed that feeling for a little while and just brushed Moose. Though, that (in my eyes) didn't seem to get anything done. Afterwards, I decided to try some of the games. He won't let me do Friendly (tossing the rope over his back)!!! He was backing up and trying to walk away from me, with a couple of little rears thrown in for emphasis. Of course, as soon as he stopped I stopped. Later, I looked up rearing on the Parelli problems area, and it says horses rear because A) they're being held back or B) they feel trapped or cornered. So, I can conclude that Moose must have felt trapped, RBI, since I wasn't holding him back at all. But if I can't convince him I'm not a threat, then how can I possibly do the rest of the games? And I know his needs are safety, comfort, play, and food. Another little thing I've noticed: when I'm near him on line he won't eat. So does that mean that he's not comfortable, or he's not safe?

And the thing that really got me is that when we went outside later to put some Neosporin on a cut on his back foot, he wouldn't let me :( He started walking away from me!! And it was RB kind of walking away, not like LB dominance. So, "oh boy!"

* Furthermore, I guess I'm just frustrated/sad, because Moose actually liked me for 2 days, and I'm scared of him not liking me! I didn't even realize how much I missed being liked (by horses) until I got him! I mean, Dancer won't let me catch her, and while I won't give up on her it's still extremely disheartening! RBIs seek comfort, remember? So, sorry if I'm rambling. . . Just kind of upset with myself that I don't know how to get the horses to want to be with me. . .

The Journey RE-started

Have you ever heard the saying "There's a light at the end of the tunnel?"

Well, imagine that the tunnel I'm talking about is really long.

[caption id="attachment_278" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Ooh, aren't they cute together!!"][/caption]

And I was trying to go through it. Well, my primary source of inspiration was that light at the end (and some friends, of course). That light was my hope. It kept me going: the notion that somewhere, somehow I was going to find "the one".

Well, I'm proud to say that I have now reached that light. And it has a name: Moose. . . . Yes, today is the day! Moose has arrived! And silly Dancer is in heat and won't let anyone near him. Hehe, she's being a cranky little mare. But I know she's happy, it's just that she's too arrogant to admit it.

And on the topic of Dancer, I have more good news!! Thanks to Heidi's advice about being too focused/intense, I have currently been able to catch her!! I tried circling in on her with the intention of brushing her. She let me stand near her in 5-8 minutes!! That's a great time considering that previously it would've taken me about a half hour, and then she would've just walked away right away anyways!! So, hopefully after a long regression, we're finally starting to get things rolling again. And I'm going to pray that I didn't just jinx myself ;). Hehe.

One more thing: I had another session at Exceptional Equestrians yesterday. It went well, and my mom and I both walked about 4 miles. Though, one walker fell down due to untied shoelaces -it was actually quite humorous once we realized what Madasa had done (Madasa untied this lady's shoelaces, and then the lady tripped)- and we had to do an emergency dismount for a child on a horse (no one got hurt)! The child, Henry,  was riding Madasa and she had a little spook. And due to Henry laying down on her, I couldn't get him off of Madasa. But luckily Donna the director plucked Henry from him and needless to say Madasa had a 'time-out' after that.

So, I've had an exciting week so far!! My Parelli journey has 'officially' RE-begun. And tomorrow we have more Horsin' Around to do. Plus on Sunday, we're going to look at a horse for my mom! So, a pretty horsey week!! YAY!!

An AMAZING show!!

So, I went to Ots yesterday, along with my mom, a friend, and Heidi. Oh, boy was that amazing!! They started out with some clinics, the order of which can be found here. The clinics were interesting. I liked the Choosing a Dressage horse one, because I tend to disregard confirmation and focus on horsenalities (which is alright to a point). But overall, I liked Wayne's the best.

But the real fun started with the show! Oh, that was incredible!! I mean, apart from the fact that the poor horses were extremely right brain (and I sure don't blame them: they had to walk into a dark cave full of predators, and as soon as they get in music turns on full blast, so they were terrified!) the show was really amazing!! I mean, I learned that horses can kick beach balls (and pop them, lol); driving horses can pull people on skis; and guys can ride horses shirtless (and the guy was cute, too)! It was really exciting!

Here are a couple videos and a bunch of pics!! In the first video, Endel Ots is doing his Freestyle routine on a super talented horse (I think he was named Bentley). And in the second video, the riders were performing a really cool maneuver with Yvonne in the middle! Check out the pictures below, too!!

Basically, we had a blast!! There might be another show next year, so I'll keep you guys informed if we hear of any dates. Apparently, Yvonne and her crew are in demand!! :)

Equestrians are MOST Exceptional!!!!

I had a really great oppurtunity today: I volunteered at Exceptional Equestrians!! Exc. Eques. is a non-profit organization that focuses on hippotherapy and therapeutic riding for disabled children. Well, I first heard about this place a while ago and my mom and I decided to go volunteer today. It was quite interesting.

As soon as we walked into the arena, we see this little girl sitting on a big, black horse. She's smiling away, and she turns to us and waves, ecstatic to have us here without even knowing who we are. Then, another kid just does the same thing. It was really cute! So, we helped hold the kids in place for one session. My mom and I were side-walkers for a boy named Henry. Afterward, we got more information and such since today was our first time at Exc. Equestrians.

Oh, and a reason you should get involved: Leaders/side-walkers usually walk about 2 miles in an hour session. So, we can have fun, help kids, be around horses, and lose weight at the same time!! Now, isn't that exciting!! Lol. So, if anyone is interested in volunteering or wants more info, let me know and I'll hook you up!

And one more thing, the lady (Donna) who is in charge of Exc. Eques. is looking for a home for one of her horses. The horse is a Shetland/ Paso Fino mix named Amigo. He's pretty small, so size-wise is more like a  Shetland. He's sorrel and sounds like a RBE (extremely herd bound, likes to go, hyper, fearful, unconfident). He's 12 years old. She got him from a lady who had supposedly shown him. Though, I think if he was to be a riding horse, he'd have to get a refresher. The lady let him sit for a while, before she decided to sell him. Anyways, Donna has owned him for a year and is really looking for a nice home for him. She's selling him for free, because he's too hyper and herd bound for her needs. Donna has never ridden him before, because he's hyper on the ground, so she doesn't dare think what he'd be like undersaddle. So, she is selling him as a companion horse. I think he'd make a good Parelli project, but remember he's small!! Basically, if anyone is looking for a free companion horse or knows of someone who needs one, let me know and I'll give you Donna's phone number.

Mr. Moose

We got a call from Moose's owner yesterday. They said not to worry, they haven't forgotten about us or anything! But they said to expect him in about another week or two. But we're going to see if we can get him sooner, so we're thinking of arranging shipping to get him. Unfortunately, we don't have a truck that can pull a trailer and we'd need a trailer (no offense Lisa M, but I would rather go all the way to get him and then be SURE that he'd fit in the trailer ). So, if anyone knows someone that would be willing to loan us a tall trailer, or hauls horses for a reasonable price (it is 500 miles round trip, btw), then please comment!

Horsey Hide n' Seek

Dancer let herself be caught today! YAY!! Score one for Erica! I was in the pasture with Dancer's halter and I decided to go sit on a barrel. I had to think for a minute on how I was going to try to catch her today. And thanks to a sudden burst of intuition, I came up with the idea of playing hide and seek!! So, I got off the barrel and hid behind it. Then, I sprinted around to hide behind another barrel and the silo and a tree and another tree and . . .you get the idea.

So, Dancer picked her head up and looked at me two times total. But I couldn't get her curious enough to actually come see what I was doing. And eventually, I got tired of running and Dancer stopped caring about the wierd person running around the pasture. So, I changed my strategy a little bit. This time, I played a little catching game with her: I walked up to her and drove energy towards her HQ until she looked at me. Once she gave me two eyes I sprinted back to hide behind a barrel. Next time, instead of running back behind the barrel, I turned around and walked back. After that, I gave her a treat and then walked back. Next time, she let me walk all the way up to her to give her the treat. Since she was being really accepting, I tried putting the lead rope around her neck to see if she'd let me. She did, so I walked with her a little ways and then put the halter on!! I was so excited that she actually let me!!

Well, I can't say much else was exciting, because after I got the halter on, I just let her graze for an hour before the farrier showed up. But it was quite an accomplishment to have her want to be with me again!!

You can't catch me!!

Oh, Dancer. I thought we were done with catching problems!!! Why does she have to be so smart? Lol, no wonder I like RB horses better, they're actually LOOKING for a leader!! I think I'm really going to have to think of something or analyze myself, because I must be doing something extremely wrong!! Maybe I'm reading her wrong or something, or acting differently. I think I act different when on line, because I realize that she can't escape from me. But I'm pretty sure there's more problems than just that!! Well, I'll have to fix that! She used to run to me, after all!!

But anyways on a better note, since I couldn't catch Dancer I decided to run around the pasture a little bit to ger her used to humans moving at fast speeds. I remember reading somewhere that you should run up to your horse and skp around and stuff, so I decided to try it. I took the carrot stick, and flailed it around (no where near Dancer, she was quite a ways towards one of the fences) and started skipping. Well, as soon as I reached her first threshold, she flipped out and ran WAY over to the other side of the pasture. So, I tried it again, keeping the same phase of intensity, but increasing the distance away from her. That was alright for a little while, but then she took off again. This time, I decided to try skipping and moving the CS only, not the Savvy string. Again, she totally freaked. But MAN, is she funny when she's scared, though!! It just made me laugh, I was barely skipping and it's just like ha, Dancer's afraid of people skipping!!

UPDATED: Attention Friesian lovers!!

On September 13th, there is going to be a show/clinic at Ots Sunrise Farms (a Friesian and Akhal-teke farm located here). The clinics start at 2pm and go until 6. The show "Night of the Horse" is at 7pm, and will include performers from Arabian Nights, Equitana USA, Equine Affair, Medieval Times, and the Midwest Horse Fair. I'm not sure at what time this event ends. There will be four clinicians there: Yvonne and Kim Barteau, Endel Ots, and Wayne Boyers. Yvonne is talking about 'defining horse personalities' at 2, Wayne is doing a 'liberty training (and the relationship with your horse') demo at 2:45, Kim's subject is 'starting young horses' at 3:30 in the round pen, and Endel has 'choosing a dressage horse' at 4:45. Also, I heard there is going to be a freestyle demo at 5, but that's not advertised on the flyer I have, so I'm not positive on that. Just so you know, these times are not set in stone: they might fluctuate depending on how long each clinician talks for.

This event is NOT free to the public (sorry, it was supposed to be free, but due to the high-end clinicians coming they decided to charge money). Tickets cost $45 for the clinics and the show, or $25 for the show only, or clinics only (kids under 10 are free, limit 1 per adult). The tickets can be bought at Tammy's Tack and Feed in Suamico or Horsey Habit in Manitowoc. So, if you're interested in seeing some Friesians, this is the place to be!!! But I must mention that these trainers are not natural, BTW. Still, it will be very exciting to see!!

Lastly, if anyone has read Yvonne Barteau's book Ride the Right Horse it has a different way of classifying horsenalities (though I like Parelli's way better, it's still interesting to get others' views). The book gives a bit of information about Yvonne, too. And also, it talks a little bit about Arabian Nights, since Mrs. Barteau used to work there. And Horsin' Around members, I will be bringing flyers to Heidi's bonfire if anyone wants one.

The Moose stops here!!

Yes, he does. I couldn't say when: it might be a week, it might be in a month! But Moose is a horse! And he's mine . . . :)

Basically, my mom and I went to look at a horse yesterday.

[caption id="attachment_201" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Isn't he huge!?!?!"][/caption]

It was a 4 and a 1/2 hour drive!! So, the ride was a little long, but well worth it! The horse's name is Moose (he looks like one, lol) and he's a 17hh Thoroughbred who has never raced! Well, I played with him for a while and it was really difficult to figure out what his horsenanlity was! There was a ton of flies swarming him so he was constantly nipping at them, and he kept licking his lips because he was slobbering. So, it was kind of hard! I think he is a LBE, but he had more whoa than go so I guess we'll see.

Well as for the 7 games, he was a quick learner. Friendly had no problems, nor did Porcupine or driving. He had problems with the circling game, so he didn't understand sideways or squeeze either. Apparently, this was the first time he'd ever been in their round pen before, so he was pretty confused. Also, he had only been ridden once (the day before we saw him) in about a year, so I'm sure it was strange to be out of his normal routine, too.

[caption id="attachment_203" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="I think I look the right size for him, don't you?"][/caption]

Well, after I played with him, I rode him around in the ring a little bit. His trot is so SMOOTH! It's almost like you're walking, not trotting. Boy is that different than riding my lesson horse, holy cow! But height-wise, OMG he was HUGE!!!! While riding I actually felt SMALL (and I'm 5'8")! I could barely put my arm over his back while on the ground, and he comes up to about my nose!! It was amazing, lol! And I bet you couldn't guess how much we paid for him! HINT HINT: think 4 digits!

Well, the ad I saw him in said that he's never spooked before, so we took him on a little trail ride. Well, I have to say he did pretty well. Most of the horses I know go RB every time they're ridden outside the pasture, and he wasn't bad at all! His ears were flickering quite a bit, but he had a low head set and I couldn't feel any tension in him. Also, we ran into a stream going by and I wasn't sure what he did about water. HA! He walked right

[caption id="attachment_205" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Friendly game. If you look at his head only, you can see why he's called Moose!"][/caption]

through it like it wasn't there! Actually, he wanted to stay and play like another little mud puppy I know (Dancer, lol)! Anyways, while riding I noticed an interesting thing about him. Sometimes, when I'd ask him to move over, he'd move his head over fine, but his legs still kept walking in the same direction. So, I'll have to fix that, because I kept running into branches, lol.

But I felt so bad for him, since the flies were so awful and they didn't have bug spray! I saw a fly there that was about 4x as big as a horsefly, no joke! They said that the only time they've ever seen him buck (there was no rider aboard) was when one of those flies landed on him. I can see why, jeez!

News Alert!!!!

Okay, I have 3 new things. Super excited right now, but I might as well go in order!

First order of business: Okay, so I found a horse online the other day, I think she was a Quarter Horse. Well, this horse had never been around other horses before. And I was thinking that the foundation of Parelli is to communicate with horses like their mothers. Well, what if she had been orphaned and was never taught the horse language (because this horse grew up around cattle, it says she's never been around horses before)? Would she still instinctively know the 'horse language?' Because I thought it was something that has to be taught to them from their mothers. . . I mean, what if she was orphaned and raised by people, would Parelli still work with her? What do you think?

Second thing: Went to see a horse today (details in next post, ahhh!!!), and the people who owned him also had Friesians. They have about 8 or 9 Friesians that they're trying to sell and the cheapest one is $8,900 and the most expensive is $14,000 (prices are negotiable, they need to sell ASAP: they're moving to TN). If you know of anyone that does Parelli and wants a Friesian, then please contact godfollower on the Parelli Savvy Club. They want Parelli homes ONLY for all of the Friesians but two! So, please, spread the word!!

Soaring Sideways!

I'm really starting to wonder what's up with Dancer! She's RBE every time I play with her lately! I wonder if I'm accidentally making her RB, or what? Hmm, I'll have to think about that one.

Well. . . on a good note, we played with the Sideways game today!! That was my main focus, since Dancer could use some help with it. I had looked through my notes from the Madison tour stop the other day, and when Pat got the horse to go sideways, he said to walk and waggle your stick. So, I lined Dancer up and started walking and waggling (MISTAKE: next time, I'm using the carrot stick to waggle, because using the rope doesn't work well). She ran around quite a bit and it took a ways before she tried to move her forehand over. Eventually, she did and I gave her a minute or two to think about it. So, I did that a few times. One of the times, I ran out of fence and had to turn around and walk back the other way! Well, I ended the session on her moving sideways after I had walked only a little ways which was quite the accomplishment for her! So, I'm happy that I can help her with her sideways!!

A Horseman's Secret

I found a nice story on the Parelli forum:

Once there was a young cowboy working with horses and running into problems.
An old horseman came by and saw him struggling.
He asked the young man:
"Would you like to know the secrets of being a good horseman?"
"I would love to" the young man said.
The horseman held out a closed hand and said:
"If you can open this fist you will know the secret."
So...the young man pulled and pushed...and poked and struggled, then finally he gave up.
"I give up, I cant open it. What is the secret to open your fist?"
"You could have just asked me to" the horseman responded!

So, a nice message there. For another story, I played with Dancer yesterday and she was really RBE in the beginning. So, we flew sideways and backwards and I matched her energy the whole time! I also set up a little course for her to keep her interested in me.

And I found out that I don't know how to be the alpha with Dancer very well. Whenever I play with her, it always feels like we're both fighting for that #1 spot. So, Dancer never really has a ton of respect for me, because I don't know how to earn it yet!

But at least I'm not doing that badly! Dancer decided to roll while on line! There was a bunch of mud in her pasture, and since she was sweaty she took a couple of rolls. So, I can't be that bad or else she wouldn't feel safe enough to roll! Well, it was quite cute!

And the next prospect is . . .

My mom and I made a 2 hour trip out to go see a Thoroughbred named Stella yesterday. She's about 15.2 and was SOOO calm 4 a Thoroughbred. That made me happy, lol. Anyways, the ride there was uneventful. Once we got out of the car, her owner Maggie said hi. And then, I saw her. Oh, boy! The poor pony, Stella was sooo thin!! I mean, it wasn't like neglected thin, but she was too thin! My mom guessed that she could use about 150 pounds. But then again, we're used to seeing fat horses, so that might have been WAY off!

Well, I took out my 12' and played with her for a while. She was sleepy at the beginning. Once I woke her up, she was acting kind of RBI. So, I went slow and made sure that she understood things (she had done some Parelli before). Then, she flipped to LBI and really started thinking. Well, Friendly game is great; Porcupine needed some more work, she usually got around phase 2/3; Driving HQ phase 2, FQ phase 3; Yo-yo phase 2/3; Circling was in need of improvement; Sideways was good, but her HQ lagged behind; Squeeze was alright, but she didn't really understand it.

After she was deemed ridable, Maggie got on and showed us Ms. Stella. They looked quite impressive together, I must admit. But Stella didn't want to go, that's for sure! Actually, it was interesting, because it was hard to make her go, but once she was going she didn't want to stop! So, I'm not sure what I'd rate her on the Impulsion scale: she'd need straight lines and circles!

After Maggie was done showing her off, it was my turn to give her a try! I got on and realized really quickly that Stella moved predominantly from leg cues. Now, I tend to use my hands more than my legs so that was an interesting experience for me. And she was a bit testy, like going in a different direction (duh, tit for tat. . . blanked on that one) and such. She was interesting, though because sometimes she was RBI about it. Like there was a corner that she avoided, and I'm pretty sure she was scared of it, for whatever reason. Though, I'm happy that I got to change her impulsion a little bit. I was having trouble getting her to trot so I did some straight lines. She trotted much easier, then!

So, I've been thinking and I've decided that Stella might work for me. She has a lot going for her, that's for sure (knows Parelli, a CALM Thoroughbred, tall, etc), but she also has some major faults. She's never been on trails before! And I'm looking for a trail horse, but I'm prepared to take the time it takes to get her to do well on trails, so I think I can handle that. The two/three things that really have my parents worried are that she's thin (and a hard keeper), and that she cribs. The cribbing wouldn't that bad, she'd be outside 24/7 anyway. The only thing is that her front teeth are really worn down from it. The thin part would be bad, though, because in my parents' opinions thin means health issues (and money spent). Did I mention that Stella had a cold, too? So, she'd definitely have to pass a vet check before any concrete plans are going to happen.

Well, I guess we'll just have to see. At the moment, I don't really think I'm going to get her, because we just didn't have that chemistry. . . Ahh, well another learning experience. I'll update if I change my mind.

Sweet Success

I played with Dancer last night. She actually ran to me, too. I was shocked, because I thought she'd hate me (our session 2 days ago didn't go very well)! So that's exciting.

Let's see, we started out doing some jumping. I actually got her to jump over a barrel twice! Though, she went a little RBE, but that was over quick. I arranged the barrels in a 'L' pattern and we played with that a little bit. And I realized how sensitive Dancer is to the Yo-yo game. She was consistently backing off of Phase 1 which is pretty good for her!

Then, I decided to try some trailer loading, since Dancer needs a tiny bit more help with that. She did really good!! After a while, I got it so that she was actually confident to load all the way in and come out. So, that was really good! Plus, she was offering to go in when I hadn't asked. Eventually, I had to ask her to circle, because she wouldn't let me close the trailer up!! Lol.

After that I took her outside to eat some grass. She had a RBE episode. Since I only had a 12' rope on her, I had her run back and forth in a half-circle while I had my back to a fence. I tried to back her up a little after and she reared up. Interesting, because I thought when horses go RBE, you're supposed to back them up to something (or put their nose/foot on something)?

Next, I took her back in the pasture and tried some porcupine on FQ and Sideways. She still doesn't really understand Sideways: she'll move her HQ, but she doesn't move her FQ yet. But she'll get there! Also, I got her to pivot on her FQ turn. I took her halter off at that, because her FQ are like a chair that weighs 2 tons!

To be, or not to be RBE. . .

I guess that's the question. Do I or do I not want a RBE? Hmmm. Tough choice. Their pros and cons are numerous, that's for sure. Hmmph. . .

Once upon a time at Ot's Sunrise Farms *drool* there was but a slight chill in the air as two women stepped out of their car. The younger lady had thin blonde hair, twirling at every breeze. Her ordinary blue eyes assessed the grand stable before her. As recognition settled in, she spoke loudly "Yep, we're here alright!" The other woman, her mother, nodded.

Yep, so my mom and I were at Ot's. Looking at a horse. Tada! So . . . details: The horse is named Vittorion.

[caption id="attachment_163" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Looks mostly Morgan to me. What a great confirmation shot, though!"][/caption]

He's an Akhal-Teke/ Morgan cross. And he was pretty RBE. So, now we'll get into the story.

Alrighty, so the lady gets Vittorion and asks where I want him: in the arena or roundpen. I decide roundpen. All the better for groundwork, right? So, the lady opens the door and leads Vittorion in. And takes his halter off. And he starts running. Obviously, she thought I wanted to lunge him.

So, I get my 22' rope and halter and go stand in the middle of the pen. Boy, was I in an interesting situation: I mean, how do I catch a galloping RBE horse with no halter? I asked his owner what she usually did to catch him. She's like "Oh, he'll usually come to me sometimes, but I haven't lunged him in a while," which got me thinking "Oh, boy!" I thought for a couple minutes and then just decided that I'd try and act as non-threatening as possible. So, I just kind of walked around and tried to give him as much space as possible. After a couple of minutes, he decided to come to me. I petted him with the halter all over, but he wasn't paying me any attention now, because he could see his buddies. I tried to get the halter on, but he wanted to run again, so I said "let me help you!" Then, I went back to being non-threatening and after walking around a little bit, I went over to the other side of the pen and turned my back to him. He came up to me again. This time he let me put the halter on. :)

Now, I'm going to allow myself a little room to ramble. The reason being that this horse was AMAZING!! Granted, I haven't seen many RBEs, but this one was incredible!!! SOOOOO sensitive! I played with him for only an hour, and it was like he already knew Parelli (and I know for a fact he didn't)!! I wish I could've gotten a video, he was SOOO incredible. Okay, achievements: Friendly went good, but in the beginning he was distracted so that didn't really count; Porcupine HQ phase 1, FQ phase 2ish; Driving he totally aced, HQ phase .5 (lol), FQ phase 2ish; Yo-yo was incredible, I got him backing off Phase 1 simply because of my body language; Circling I didn't have time for; Sideways I skipped; Squeeze game wasn't the best. Also, another big thing (in my mind at least) is that Vittorion didn't need the carrot stick. His phase 4 was (usually) barely touching him. It was incredible. I mean, when I got home, I was giggling, I was so happy!

But I was trying to think if I could see myself riding that horse (after we'd prepared properly, of course), and the answer I've come to is I really don't know. I think I'll go see him again

and have the lady ride him first. Then, we'll see how I feel about it.

See, what I'm really unhappy about is that Vittorion's temperament is a 6.

I don't think I want a horse that spirited, (though it's certainly something I'll eventually need to be able to handle) yet I have no interest in buying a peanut-pusher either. Oohhh, but Vittorion was so amazing! Ahh, I hate decisions. Lol.

Lastly, I have to mention that the barn Vittorion was stalled

in (omg) was ALL studs. So, as I'm walking back to the barn all the studs nicker to Vittorion and about half of them get aggressive. Interesting. Anyways, we got a GORGEOUS picture of a Friesian stud.

"Quick, shut the gate!!"

Luckily, not!! I just felt like naming this post after one of Pat's trailer loading don'ts. My neighbors borrowed a trailer for the week and so decided to try loading their horses. So, Ruby, Charlie, and Sheba had an interesting day today. By the way, I've never talked about Sheba before, because I don't play with her much. She's a bay 25 year old LBI Quarter Horse who hasn't been in a trailer in 8 years. Well, Ruby had never seen a trailer before. My friend Miranda had Ruby, I had Sheba and Miranda's mom Bev had Charlie. Charlie was the most willing to load, so we loaded him up first. Ruby got hyped up! She wasn't even near the trailer, and she started doing a passage. I'll admit, she looked amazing (her tail was up the highest I've ever seen it, too), but I felt bad for Miranda. She was trying to restrain her and Ruby got away. But she ran right to Sheba, so no big deal.

Well, when Ruby went in the trailer, Bev tried bribing her. Ruby went in part way for the food, yet she was extremely unconfident. Talk about RBE!! And due to contrast in methods (Bev and Miranda are anti-Parelli), I'm no longer allowed to use Phase 4 with their horses. So, all I can do is stand by and watch. Anyways, we got Ruby to go in halfway, but she won't move her hind feet yet. She's thought about it, though. So, that's great for Ruby's first time!

I also tried loading Sheba in. She was sweating up a storm! The most I got her to go in was about halfway. Sheba was really unconfident, too. She kept trying to hide behind the side of the trailer. Also, she kept pulling back on the rope. But boy was Sheba thinking! I think she dug a hole halfway to China. So, it was quite easy to pick up Sheba's thinking pattern: pawing. Well, she tried a lot one time, so I decided that that was a good note to quit on. I took her away and she wouldn't eat any grass. I think she was too RBE to care, if that's possible. I'm happy with how I handled her RBEness. She wanted to walk fast, so instead of holding her back, I had her hindquarters in a few circles, and then forehand and then had her squeeze between a post and she calmed down. It was difficult on such a short rope, but I managed! :)

Expect a lot, Accept a little, Reward the slightest try

I have great news about Dancer's catching problems!! I was halfway across the pasture from Dancer today, with her halter in hand and Dancer trotted to me!! It was an amazing moment, because she looked so cute! Her ears were perked forward and she really looked happy to see me. It really made me think I'm on the right track with her, and that's such a relief!

Also, I was thinking about Dancer. She has proved to be a challenging little pony, lol. But I was thinking about how she has so much to teach me, because she's the kind of teacher who is looking for perfection from the beginning. Hence the title, because it seems like that's what she does!

Also, I'm happy about our progress together. I can see that I've still got a ways to go with her, but it's already come so far from what it was in the beginning when I was clueless. I still haven't got her respect 100% yet. I think it's going to take a LONG time for that (not that I'm not going to take that time, of course I am!!), but I know I've at least gained a few brownie points since then. Currently, Dancer respects me enough to keep her ears up when I'm with her, and watch my personal space, so that's definitely progress. If I had to guess, I'd say she respects me at near 65-70%.

I thought it was really inspiring when Heidi came to play with Dancer some months ago. What Heidi established with Dancer in a matter of minutes is something that I wish to be able to do. Plus, Heidi had Dancer's full respect! Basically, that showed me what I wanted Dancer's relationship to be with me.

Lesson learned

Okay, so when I get up in the morning (and when I go to bed at night) I always listen to my radio. That's just how I am. Well, over the past few months my radio has been working less and less consistently. In the mornings and nights, it usually always works. But in the middle of the day, if I try to turn it on it won't work.

I've had this radio for about 4 years now, so I was just thinking it's old. Lately, it's been getting quite erratic and it's really annoying. I'll go in to clean my room and I want to listen to music. I can tell you that's very difficult if the thing is not going to turn on!!!

Well, I woke up this morning, and my mom happened to mention to my brother that the lights had to be on in order for the radio to work. I was astounded!! I had been thinking I was going to replace it now for about a month or two, and suddenly it makes perfect sense. It works in the morning and night, because it's usually dark and so we turn the lights on. So, my mom had just caught onto the pattern that I had completely missed!! And sure enough, I checked the wiring and the radio is plugged into the circuit that turns on with the lights. "How interesting!!"

But I guess I can relate this to horses in that we tend to see the behavior and not the reason behind it. For instance, most people who have a horse that rears will say "My horse rears. How can I make him stop?" instead of asking "Why does my horse rear?". Maybe that horse is in pain, maybe he's not confident, there's thousands of reasons! So, in order to fix the symptom, you have to get rid of the cause!

The Day I got my dream horse!!

Yeah, you would never believe it. Woke up this morning and bam, we get a phone call. Three horses were running around town and one of them was a Friesian!! And if no one claims her she's mine!! Yes!!!

Oh, how sweet dreams are! If only, if only. . .

The Actual Story:

Ok, well I was SUPER tired. I got back from Noah's Ark last night at about 11:30. Slept like a rock, no problems there. So, it's about 11am, and I'm still 'sleeping'. My mom gets this phone call, and I have no idea what it's about. I only caught " A Friesian!!" and "I'll be right there!" So, I get up and my mom tells me that there's 3 horses loose about around the block and one's a Friesian. Oh, boy were we excited!! I grab some halters and lead ropes and my mom, Jake (my little brother), and I pile into the car.

So, we stop at this house and see 3 strange horses inside the pasture. I was wondering how in the world they got in there, but whatever. Then, Jeanie (the lady who called us about the horses) arrives. She tells me that she let the horses inside, because she didn't want them wandering the streets. I take a closer look at the horses. One is definitely a Friesian, she was gorgeous!

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Friesian being cute"][/caption]

One was a gray Arabian cross, and another looked like part Thoroughbred. The Arab and Friesian had halters on, so we thought that they must've belonged to someone. The Friesian's feet were really bad though, so I was thinking maybe we would end up keeping her! We put different halters on them, and then started leading them towards our house (we had an extra pasture we could put them in). I took the Friesian, mom took the Thoroughbred, and Jeanie took the Arab. We were already discussing who was going to take the Friesian, lol!

Well, we had just turned onto my road when a car drives by and then stops. Two people get out, and they tell us that these are their neighbors horses. So, we start walking them back the way we had just taken them. Some other boys come up and start leading the horses back to their homes. We drove home to get a quick drink and then headed to the horses' home.

[caption id="attachment_105" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Lippy!"][/caption]

The Arab was walking really fast, so it got home first and started freaking out, since her buddies weren't there. She actually kicked my mom, but SO LUCKILY the kick hit her phone instead of her. Well, her buddies arrived momentarily and she obviously calmed down.

The owners were away on vacation and they came home about 10 minutes later. I got a lot of information and learned more about the horses. For one thing, we were wrong! The Thoroughbred was actually a rare breed called Ahkal-teke. I forget her name, though. And the Arab cross was actually a purebred Lipizzaner named Lippy (unfortunately fitting, lol). Basically, we had just walked about $50,000 dollars down the street. Wow, was that one a shocker!!

And also, I found a nice exercise to do with Arruba that the lady who owned them suggested. I don't really feel like explaining, but basically it's supposed to help with the circling game. Lastly, I got another shocker that this lady was part owner of Ots Sunrise Farms.

Oh, and here's 2 more pictures. :)

[caption id="attachment_106" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Here's the Akhal-teke! I can't remember her name, argh!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_107" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Indiana eating. My is she drafty!"][/caption]

Problem solved!!

I don't think I mentioned it on the posts (it's in Dancer's information, though), but I was having problems catching Dancer recently. Well, I'm excited to say that after spending some undemanding time with her - lots of scratches and brushing her - she's letting herself be caught!! I went outside to pet her today, and I took the halter. She walked away, I threw it at her once, but she barely went anywhere. Then, I went up to her and petted her and walked inside her stall. She followed, and I kept petting her. I decided try a game I found online called Matching and Mirroring where you position yourself in Zone 3

and basically do what your horse does. Dancer assumed I was going to try and catch her since I had the halter, so I decided to try this game for fun! She walked around in circles a bit, but it was still really interesting. Anyways, when I decided I was done I opened up the gate, Dancer acted like she wanted to go out. So, I'm like hmm, "how interesting!!" I got the halter and offered it to her and she let me put it on easy as pie!!! So, I let her go outside the pasture and wander around a bit. I tried to be really provocative without making her work. I let her go over tarps, rubbed her with swings, sniff things, eat a little grass. Jeez, she is difficult to entertain!! It's like practically nothing bothers her! Even the tarp I was expecting something from her, but she just sniffed it and walked over it like, 'that's it??' But after I entertained her a bit, I took her back to the pasture (yada, yada) and so I'm hoping that she'll let me catch her next time, too. I mean, what other excuses can she come up with? Lol.

TWH show!

I just got back from a TWH show. My mom was practically foaming at the mouth, lol. The horses were just gorgeous!! Anyways, we took a bunch of pictures, so have a look!!

[caption id="attachment_71" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Very pretty black walker!!"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_73" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Winner!!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_75" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Cute champagne yearling parking out"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_77" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The yearling again"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_78" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Western Walker"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_80" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Another western walker parking out"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Horse head"][/caption]

SMART smart smart . . .

I had another session with Arruba yesterday. I'm very excited. Things went really well this time!! At the beginning she was a tad RB, but I backed her up a bit and she got loads better! She never got away from me either!!! Actually, I just prevented it in the first place. I never did circling game, I only worked on games 1-4. Also, I realized that in order for her to run away, she had to take her head way over to the other side and then start going. So, I never allowed her to turn her head where she needed it to be!!!

And I never realized just how smart that horse is!!! Holy cow!! Friendly game she aced, it's kind of funny actually, because I can slap the ground with the rope while she just stands harder than I can with Dancer! I also worked on porcupine game a lot. She usually gets around phase 2/3 still, but she's getting better!! Driving game was nice on the hindquarters, I actually had to up the pressure on phase 4, because I realized that my pressure was more like phase 3. Once I did that, she learned very quickly what I wanted. Her yo-yo game is fantastic (in my opinion) from just 2 sessions. Like the title says, she learns amazingly quick! It'll be interesting to keep her entertained.

Undermined by a YEARLING!!!

I decided to play with Ruby for a little while yesterday. "Oh boy," was that interesting!! Ruby was in the pasture with the other horses at the same time I played with her (for lack of a round pen, man I need one of those!!!). She aces Level 1 friendly game, so that's not a big deal. Porcupine with the hindquarters was pretty good for the first session, but the forehand was kind of difficult. I didn't do the driving game, because the porcupine game needs work first. Mainly I focused on the yo-yo game, because Ruby likes to run people over. I had to go to phase 4 a couple of times and she just stood there (tells you something, huh?!? lol) even as I created a ton of commotion. I considered switching to a different strategy for phase 4, but she started to get it. So, she backs up pretty nice now.

But now, here's my dilemma. Ruby kept wanting to walk away, so I decided I'd send her out on a circle. It took phase 4, and she started trotting around. She didn't circle around me, though. Either she would take a couple steps and stop, which is alright (just resend!) or she'll decide to start trotting away (the normal one). So eventually, she reaches the end of the rope (22'), and I start walking after her. I can't yo-yo, because the rope is taut; I didn't work on driving game (oops); and I can't bend her neck towards me, because the rope will either be between her 2 front legs or on the other side of her neck. So, she got away from me twice (and got the other horses all worked up, it took me at least 5 minutes to catch her once), because those things happened.

I realize now that I set us up for disaster by not preparing properly (WAY smaller pen, better games 1-4), so I think I'll chalk up this session to a learning experience. Though, I still anticipate trouble with the circling game, because she gets the rope caught between her legs a lot which really reduces how much I can control her. I also don't really know how to get her to actually circle and not run away. All in all, I suppose Ruby has a lot to teach me.

About me

Well, my name is Erica. I live around horses, though they're mostly peanut-pushers and such. Umm, I do Parelli, but seeing as I haven't even passed Level 1 yet, I shouldn't really say that (lol). I just sold my first horse about a month (or 2) ago, and his name is Junior. He was a LBI (left brained introvert - go to www.parelli.com and click on Horsenality for an explanation). I didn't think it would be a big deal selling Junior. I still don't really. But I am starting to miss him a tiny bit, because I'm getting sick of being horseless. The reason I sold him, is because of rider error after rider error after rider error which eventually turned into fear.

Basically,

he could've worked perfectly for me, but because my mom and I kept making mistakes our relationship suffered. But since this post is about me, I won't go into too many details about him at the moment. Here's a quick pic.

Cute picture of Junior

Hmm, I checked my horsenality and I would say that I am a RBI/LBI. I have a passion for horses, and I love to read. I am quite partial to the fantasy genre, though I have read almost all of the horse books in our library, not kidding!! I also have a thing for psychology, so horses and psychology fit very well together. Another interest of mine is writing fiction stories. I have yet to complete one, but hopefully someday! Well, I'll keep you posted!!