Summer Plans

So, since I haven't yet alluded to my summer plans, now's as good a time as ever.

*Drum roll please*

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I'm going to be a working student for Farrah Green, a 3* Parelli Professional!!!! I've had this officially arranged since February, and will be there sometime this summer. Don't have a clue as to how long, but I'm hoping to have a more specific time set up in 3 weeks, because that's when we're going to be leaving to head to SD to tour the facility and find out more about the place. So, pretty sweet!

Dave Ellis Day 2

• Help your horse think through trouble


• "Every ying has a yang."


• Horses are horses. It's their job to perceive danger and run.


• Don't knock your horse down to your level, instead improve yourself. Dave gave a very inspiring speech about this. He said that horses will wait a lifetime for you if you keep trying to improve yourself for them. Dave said that if he tries things at too high of a level for his horses even he has days where he puts his mules up and they have that look in their eye like "maybe tomorrow he'll get it."


• Whenever your energy is down, your horse should not go anywhere no matter what you do. That is not probably not going to happen in Level 3, even, but that should be your end result. Dave furthered that by saying that when you play Friendly, make sure your energy is down or you're desensitizing them to the point of danger. Like he said earlier, it's a horse's job to perceive danger and run, and if you desensitize him to your energy being up that is the equivalent of desensitizing him to a mountain lion. He mentioned too that when you watch Pat play extreme Friendly Game with a horse, he always looks at the ground, because he wants the energy to go nowhere.


• When you say "Don't trot too fast!" and so slow your horse down, that's bringing your horse down to your level.


• Your horse perceives comfort will be found in what he does, so use comfort-discomfort to motivate him


• "What pushes my horse's buttons? What really makes him tick?"


• Dave quotes someone when he said this, sorry I can't remember who: "None of us dig in deep enough to find the real horse. Most of us don't have the confidence/maturity to accept the real horse." So, what we end up doing is making the horse we have into our dream horse. On the same note, "Look down that line and if what you see looking down that line doesn't make you feel wonderful, get rid of it."


• What my horse is like while I'm learning is completely different than after you've learned.


• "At any time we should be able to walk up to our horse and ask them to do something."


• The horse who gets in the last word is in charge, so the last word should always be yours


• Match the opposition. Opposition = how much effort she is putting in to being resistant.


• Your horse should quit going to the degree that you quit riding.


• "The best way to fix anything is to be aware." -Linda Parelli


• When your horse moves without you asking, play tit for tat. For example, if your horse walks 2 steps forward without you asking them to, have them back up 4 steps.


• Dave had one clinic participant bring her horse out and play Circling Game. He wanted her to pick a foot on the outside of the circle and move her hand to the rhythm of that foot. To speed her horse up, she picked the outside back foot and just asked it to speed up the tempo a little. To slow down. she picked the outside front foot and just asked it to shorten its stride. All of this was done with just her energy, or ki. The results were incredible to see, because the transitions seemed effortless. Dave furthered this by having her push an outside foot off the circle one step only (but again only using her energy) and having her horse still keep the same rhythm. Dave wanted everyone to think about only moving that one foot, because if you try to move the whole horse that's about 1,200 lbs (give or take), but the hoof only weighs 5 lbs.


• "Don't allow the horse to be wrong for so long they think they're right."


• If your horse doesn't put his/her foot where you want, you don't have his/her respect.


• Ill respect = not disrespect, but clearly didn't do what you want


• "I don't make anything happen, I just don't go away."


• If a point is too small, make a vicinity to put his foot in so it's easier


• Pick a focus and go. If your horse is resistant, then he's saying "hey, we made a deal here that you won't ask much and I'll do just enough to get along."


• Have an attitude of "Can you help me get to that?" or "We need to be over there."


• I can't remember who Dave quoted for this one either: "Don't leave without your horse and don't let your horse leave you."


• When you're moving his foot to a specific place, have an attitude of "I see where I wish this foot would go" not "move your foot."


• If you talk to the HQ, the front feet should do nothing different.


• The reason for focusing on the outside legs is because if you focus on the inside your horse will probably disengage.


• When you keep in time with their feet, you don't necessarily have to be in every single foot fall. For example, if you're trying to keep in time with the feet with a Paso Fino, you might pick every 4 strides or something like that.


• Horses don't like to be out of sync.


• Neutral in the Circling Game is not dead. When you put your car in neutral, is it dead?


• The rhythm you have in your body determines what gait you want. It's our responsibility to put the energy in our body.


• Horses are approximately 100x more sensitive than humans


• In Freestyle, the hand holding the reins should be the direction you're going.


• Freestyle to Finesse shouldn't change your horse's gait at all


• Trotting is the easiest gait for the horse, but the hardest for the human


• If you want to get a good stop, then get a world-class back-up. Get your horse thinking back up not stop. You know you've done it enough when your horse steps back to regain his balance.


• Feel of, for, and with your horse


• Do Step #1 in 9 step back-up. Does your horse do anything? Then do step #2. Feel of him. Then step #3, feel for him. Then #4-7. Step #8 and 9, feel with him. Steps #1-3 are preparatory commands.


• If you're riding your horse through 2 barrels and he purposely knocks one of the barrels over, bump him with the rein on the opposite side of the barrel he knocked over. The reason you bump him it so that he gets a consequence for what he did. The reason you bump on the other side is because if you were a fence post and your horse turned his head to knock the barrel over, he'd run into the rein on the opposite side.


• Linda once said that a level 3 grad should be able to do any transition within a 2 step maximum. So, since this clinic was level 2/3 Dave said to aim for 3-4 steps.


• If you're riding the trot and you bring your energy down to a walk (and your horse doesn't listen right away), sometimes our inner ear gets in the way and causes us to think we're going to fall off because we're bouncing. To counteract this, put your hand on the horn/pommel so you stay secure in your seat.


• When you ride, the more your leading hand is bent, the more tight you've been.


• When you have a backing up energy in your body and your horse doesn't listen, bump 1 rein if you're riding Finesse, or comb the reins underhanded if you're riding Freestyle.


• When your horse changes the game on you, say "let me show you how well I can play this game". (For example, I tried to teach Moose to back by the tail yesterday and after I did it a few times, he started moving his HQ out of the way to get out of doing it. So, instead of saying "don't move your hiney," I just moved it more than he wanted it to move. So, the answer was to just back up when I asked). Another option is to play the game with different criteria, make up rules that he didn't know existed. Just remember that this is not a dictatorship, it's a partnership, so your partner has the right to express him/herself. You don't have the authority to say "no, we're not doing that right now! We're doing this, so quit it!"


• Another thing to try is to quit the game sooner than she/he thought you'd quit. In this case, a girl had a question about her mule, because her mule would do really good for her, but then she always had a point where she would become resistant because she wanted her leadership back. Dave said it was simple, just quit before she gets crabby. And he did a simulation to prove it. Dave held onto one end of the 12' line and a different girl held onto the end of it. Dave said that when he said 'now' he wanted the girl to pull as hard as she could on the end of the rope. He said now, and right as she pulled Dave let go of the rope and walked away, saying "oh, look at the sand" or something like that. He did it with such nonchalance, too, like he couldn't have cared less that the girl just fell over. It was pretty funny (and completely unexpected), but also a very good lesson: It takes 2 to argue.


• And lastly, undemanding time establishes the relationship. It doesn't necessarily improve it.

Dave Ellis Day 1

As I mentioned in my little teaser post about the session I had with Moose Saturday night, I audited Dave Ellis on Saturday and Sunday. Honest to god, I've got to say that was probably the best decision I've made all summer. :) He was such a good instructor, I highly recommend that you go see him if you have the chance.

Anyways, I wanted to post my notes about the clinic. If you have any questions, just leave a comment: when typing them, I assumed that the people reading do Parelli, so some things might confuse anyone who reads who isn't a Parelli person.

• Assertive= "It's going to happen eventually."


• Passive= "I don't know why you're not backing up."


• Aggressive= "I said move!"


• If the horse does something you don't want, do anything to lessen his comfort and then wait. If you always make the right thing easy and wrong thing difficult, your horse will begin to 'hunt for the comfort.'


• Dave stressed this philosophy of "Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult" because it's hard for us humans. It causes us to take the time it takes, and we naturally look for shortcuts.


• Dave had a good point about riding a horse that always drops his shoulder when turning. He said that our horses will train us to use higher phases on them when riding, because we say "well if I just put my leg on him, then he turns well," but the point is not to have to use your leg, so your horse is winning the game. Using the same example, but going back to using comfort and discomfort to motivate them, Dave asked "Would you take 2 days to stop a horse from dropping his shoulder?" *


• Pat is so good with horses because he's the king of lateral thinkers.


• The Circling Game is where your horse shows you how much he respects you, so if you have a broken Circling Game you have broke another game that you have to fix before your Circling will get better.


• You get respect by moving your horse's feet


• The more your horse respects you, the less opposition reflex he'll have


• Make sure your body language is clear and your energy is projecting out to where you want it.


• Friendly Game should not cause a change in your horse. For example, if you stand in your stirrups while trotting (not posting), your horse should not change rhythm, because that is Friendly.


• Step #7 in a 9 Step Back-up does not mean back-up. It means get ready to back-up.


• "Can your horse carry the feel and not make a change?"


• Have something in mind when you change your horse's shape, because then he has a reason to do it. Dave said that when you get out of the teaching and controlling phases, you should have a reason for your horse to do what you want instead of doing it just because you asked for it. For example, if you want your horse to canter, have the attitude of "We need to canter, because we need to get over there really fast."


• Dave had the clinic participants do Extreme Yo-Yo and Extreme Porcupine game on line. To do Extreme Yo-yo, back your horse up until the rope is tight. Hold the rope in both hands. Put one hand on your hip to anchor you, and then just rock your weight back (not leaning back, though and not jerking your horse). You shouldn't have to use your biceps to pull him back, use your whole body. Then, he had them do Extreme Porcupine Game which was basically pulling your horses head down to the ground instead of using phases of pressure. It wasn't a jerk, it was just one big pull.  These exercises cause your horse to respond to more pressure than he thinks he's going to get. For example, if you tie your horse up and he pulls back that's a lot of pressure on the halter all of a sudden, so a practical use of these exercises is to prepare your horse for tying. By the way, you should practice this until your horse is so good at it that he won't let you pull him.


• Another thing Dave had the participants do was see if you can lead your horse different directions with your hands on his nose, but your fingers have to be straight or you're cheating. This was just to see how good your horse is at following a feel. He also had them lead by the tip of the ear. If your horse didn't go, then just support with Driving. He also had them stand in Zone 1 and try to move the horse's nose without touching it by just putting a feel on the lead rope and then supporting with Driving.


• "If we use Driving Game to support Porcupine, when why do we drive?" The answer is to drive when Porcupine doesn't work.


• The four phases of teaching are teach, control, refinforce, refine


• Friendly= Rhythmic motion


• Porcupine= Steady pressure


• Driving= Rhythmic pressure


• You're playing Porcupine Game whenever you have a focus with intent, so that means that when you started out in Level 1 and you played the Driving Game with the HQ, your Phase 1 was to look at the HQ which was actually a Porcupine Game, and then Phases 2,3 and 4 were Driving to support the Porcupine.


• Nose, neck, maybe front feet


• At the teach it and control it phases, take what the horse offers you, but not at reinforce and refine.


• "Once you can do something, do something else."


• "Wait for orders from headquarters." Dave gave a really good analogy about your horse's relationship being equivalent to you owning 51% of the stocks in a company, and your horse owns the other 49%. So, you're the majority voter, but that doesn't mean your horse has no say in the company.


• If you want the belly of the rope on the ground, then your horse should be able to keep it there. But if you want your horse to keep the belly off the ground, he should be able to carry that feel too.


• "Your horse does not want to see Phase 4 twice." It was clear by Dave's tone of voice in this sentence that "does not" means "should not".


• Respect lessens with longer distances away from you


• Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult. If your horse wants to trot when you want a walk, say "great, I love that you want to trot" and then just pick up a circle and keep making it smaller until he changes gait


• "Turn their dream into a nightmare."


• To go sideways while riding, use a direct rein, then indirect rein, and repeat until you achieve your goal.


• If your horse is not mentally 'with you,' you probably haven't done enough with his feet.


• Horses don't like to lean on 1 rein. Because of this, never have your hands at exactly the same level


• When backing-up while riding, lift up the hand that is the next direction you want to go. For example, I'm backing up and I hold my right hand higher than my left. So, when I stop backing I should be going to the right.


• When you do a direct rein, keep a straight elbow


• Practice peripheral vision


• "We need to go over here. . . And here's a reason for you to be going."


• Until level 5, whenever you ride with contact your hands should be level with the ground. This helps sit you back on your balance point.


• Movement with steady pressure is still steady pressure if it's in time with your horse's feet.


• In a correct indirect rein, the HQ do more than the FQ.


• If you're riding your horse with other horses, and your horse keeps putting his ears back at the other horses, first you should rub him to make sure he doesn't feel threatened by them. But then, you have to say "fight on your own time" and keep his/her attention on you. Dave had the rider of a horse who kept putting his ears back hit her horse with her savvy string on the shoulder every time the horse put his ears back. Your attitude should be "I beg your pardon." Dave's theory for why horses start being dominant with others is that when you start winning the 7 games, then the horse takes the #2 position, so some horses start looking for a #3.


• "The line between make and cause is in your heart."


• Don't make anything happen, just start taking away your horse's comfort so he can make the decision.


• "Who's gonna blink first?"

*My personal answer to this was no, but I thought that was a very good question and so included it in the notes. Would you outpersist a horse on something as simple as that? I just thought it was very revealing, because I want to say I would take that time, but I don't think I would. Would you? Just something to think about.

Greetings and Answers

Sorry for not blogging a lot. I'm still outside with the horses about 45 minutes + daily, but there's not much to blog about. So, until things start moving again, updates will still be far and few between. Of course, it would be nice if we actually had decent weather, lol.

Also, I'd like to say Happy Holidays! I am late, yes, but better late than never! Hope everyone had a great end to 2008, and is looking foward to the future.

And I received these answers a while ago, but I kept neglecting to post them.

So, the questions I have for you are: can itching be a form of releasing adrenaline,

Yes. . .and it can be a form of displaced behavior (an expression of emotion).

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?

Yes. :)  Buy a Parelli halter b/c it is softer and therefore more comfortable when he's with you (not putting tension on it) than the stiff one you have--and it gives more of a release (back to being comfortable) when he quits putting pressure on it.  And, yes, he's testing your leadership. Put another way, he's just being an excellent horse! It's up to you to help him learn to be a partner. And you're going a good job so far. :)

Don't be afraid to go ahead and play with him more once he's on-line. Do as you did here, releasing right when he responds and give that first try. But as you progress the "first try" will be farther down the line, so to speak, so that you're not just boring him with asking for the same thing over and over. Go ahead and play all 7 games.

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)?

He sounds RBI/LBI on-line--both, back and forth. The release of adrenaline shows he's been RBI and has changed to left-brained (meaning, he can relax). He releases adrenaline when he feels safe and feels right rather than wrong (comfort). It's a sign you're on the right track. Just wait for him to lick and chew, or at least sigh, blink, etc. Then, go on and do more.

He's "storing" adrenaline (holding tension) b/c being in the hands of a human makes him uncomfortable. Why? because he's a prey animal and you're not, and probably b/c of past experiences. Some horses are made to be introverted. From your description, he may have been. . .and will blossom as you progress with him, giving him fun, challenging things to do as well as opportunities to express his curiosity. You want him to be more extroverted, so do things which help him engage with the world: think, play, explore.

Good luck and let me know how it goes, Erica.

Nita Jo

I am very happy with her response. I didn't know itching was a form of displaced behavior, and that explains a lot, because Dancer itched a lot when she was emotional. BFO!! And I didn't know that horses release adrenaline specifically when they feel safe and comfortable.

Though, I'm getting better at recognizing when Moose goes RBI. He doesn't do it so much on line anymore, which is great! He still has his moments, especially when moving the FH, but with passive persistence all is well.

On other topics, I'm looking forward to the auditions coming out. Only a few more days and the wait is over!! It's very exciting!