A short, unrelated note tonight, as a blog of today's events would, I'm confident, bore you to tears.
Recently, a lively discussion has come up on the Parelli Forum about the subject of tying horses. There seems to be a bit of rift--most Parelli students have been taught the benefits of tying. Pat encourages everyone to teach their horses to tie for up to 6 hours at a time. Reasoning being it's a builder of patience, emotional fitness, a high level porcupine game, and sometimes is a convenience, too. But, on the other side, someone actually went so far as to suggest I was condoning animal cruelty for stating that I've tied Prin and Crest for 4+ hours at a time.
So, for tonight's blog, I thought I'd just share with you what I wrote in response to the person who said I was being cruel. I don't take it to heart, by any means. I know that my horses are happy. This is meant to be purely informational.
A Note on Tying:
Pat's definition of respect is "the appropriate application of pressure, and the appropriate response to the application of that pressure"... it seems to me that teaching a horse naturally to stand tied for an indefinite amount of time is just that. I'm not going to FORCE my horse to stand there for hours right off the bat (That IS unfair, and goes against all things Parelli, not to mention sets the situation up for complete failure)...I am, however, going to help my horse learn and understand how to respond appropriately to both the porcupine game and extreme friendly game, and slowly and gradually increase both the amounts of time he/she can stand, as well as the level of commotion he/she can tolerate while being tied. There's a process, just like with everything else we teach our partners to do. To me, that indicates high levels of communication in both porcupine and friendly game. That's all it breaks down to.
There is no malice, no cruel intent in asking my horse to stand still on my terms. As long as my horse knows his/her responsibilities in the partnership (mine do), and I understand mine (I do), and the situation has been set up for success, then it's not unfair or wrong.
My horses stand tied willingly because they never learned tying to be something UNCOMFORTABLE. They get fed off and on to keep them busy, almost ALWAYS have access a bucket of water. And it's not like I just up and leave, either...most of the tying situations they've been in have been at clinics in which I was assisting and/or hosting, or some other situation in which I could not physically be there with them all the time, but was close enough that I could keep an eye on them They're usually tied near, or, in some circumstances, even IN the arena that the event is being presented.
I hope that provided some insight on what I think is an interesting topic. Questions, requests for clarification and/or specification, and feedback are, as always, very welcome. Let me know your thoughts!
Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos
Showing posts with label friendly game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friendly game. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Green String and Some "Thank You's"
I am proud to announce, that after 6 years of playing and enjoying the journey, Prin and I received confirmation that we had passed our Liberty audition, the final leg of our level 3 journey. I received this fantastic news in person this Saturday at the Kansas City celebration, after Kristi Smith viewed our audition. We passed with a very solid L3+ (everything was L3+ or above--had things in L3++, L4 and one in L4+, too, YAY!)
Fortunately, I had a wonderful group of friends there to share this with. Starting with Kristi, at least a dozen people got a very happy and excited Fran flung at them. I cried for about 10 minutes, and went through the initiation process from Farrah in receiving my green string, which included having to unlock an EXTREMELY stubborn trailer door, being "knighted" with the string, and then being taught to follow a feel rather rudely by it (in the photo we took, I look like the LBI cartoon, and Farrah looks sadistic--she enjoyed strangling me I think!), and then trying to find enough greenery in a very sad, run down Kansas City parking lot to take a nice photo of the two of us together. All of those coming soon, as soon as I can get them from Farrah.
I'm in the process of making a video of Prin and me throughout the years to commemorate the accomplishment, which I hope to have done in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I've got some thank yous to say to the people that have helped me on this journey:
Firstly, to Kristi Smith. Thank you so much for taking my audition as your last, and giving me honest, useful and positive feedback on it. Thanks for being there for both me and for Prin at the center, for the many times I couldn't find my positive attitude, and when I needed a good smack into reality. Thanks for helping guide and shape my LBEness into something positive, and for being a dose of similarity when I was overwhelmed by my LBI trailer-mates ;) I can't say enough for what your presence in my life means.
Next to Farrah Green. Where can I start there? Big sister, best friend, mentor, idol, wonderful companion, teacher, shoulder to cry on, supporter, voice of sanity and reason...any other role I'm missing that she plays in my life? Farrah is pretty much the reason I am where I am in my journey. She opened my eyes to a level of detail, subtlety and particular that i didn't even realize existed, and helped me find it in my relationships with horses and humans. She's offered me opportunities that I never would have had, had she not been there. She's stuck with me through thick and thin, good and bad, and one particular REALLY REALLY UGLY. She's pushed me (sometimes not so willingly) into doing things I'd never have done otherwise. Just ask our company the first time we ate sushi together ;) I never would have believed in myself or my horses enough to film my auditions or pass my level 2, but Farrah did, and so I learned to as well. She's encouraged my teaching and my learning, and gotten me to a level of confidence in both myself and in leaders (and as a LEARNER!) that I didn't know existed. I could keep gushing, but I'm on the point of sounding like a sap as it is. Words can't really describe what Farrah means to me in my life, and I'm so thankful that Julia Wooldridge was stubborn enough to drag me to that first clinic in April 2008. My life and journey would have have been very different had she not.
Next to Linda Parelli. I can honestly say I've never met someone who supports me as much as Linda does. Whether it's out of a maternal state of mind, or just someone who recognized a devoted above-and-beyond student, Linda has helped me through some of the toughest times of my life, both with and without horses. Linda truly "gets" me in a way that no one else does. Often when no one else can answer my questions or get into my head, Linda will break down the barrier with a list of brilliant questions and a mind full of advice. I can ALWAYS count on honest, productive feedback, a heart full of fantastic support and a hand to guide me when I fall off course. She's largely responsible for the learner I am today, and because of that, I give her a large portion of the credit for my accomplishing level 3.
Michelle Manshardt--My fellow tiny person in the Farrah camp! Michelle might not realize it, but her sense of humor and total ability to become 6 characters at once in a fantastic improv. show has gotten me to laugh when I needed it most. She's made seeing the humor in everything and every situation so much easier. Michelle is also truly a master at redirecting strong negative energy into something really productive, something that I've needed quite often. Overall, just a wonderful friend, someone I can always count on to have an interesting discussion and lots of fantastic information up her sleeve when I need it. Thanks for making our threesome a funsome :)
Next--the Savvy Sisters--you know who you are. This journey without friends is nothing. We've known each-other forever (Anna, Emily, this is year 8, can you believe it?!), we've laughed, cried, fought, made chocolate chip cookies (BOBS!),and grown up together. And through it all, we're still friends--how the hell? We were definitely brought together because of this wonderful program, but we stuck together through love and friendship. I appreciate everything you all have done for me, being there when I needed support, good or bad, always willing to hear me, answer the phone late at night or early in the morning, always there for me and my crazy escapades all over Parelli events (through swamps, flying lead changes in the warm-up arena that led to very suspicious boyfriends, signatures on foreheads, sleeping on newly purchased theraflex pads, and trying to pose seductively for photos while cracking up laughing, chucking bark out of trees at Linda and Remmer riding), and for all the other various great times--Starbucks with Sarah("Ma'am...do you know where you are?"), Floating on inflatable alligators with Virge ("Yes...I do need to know that this thing is unsafe for children under 8...IN CHINESE!"), on the way to Karen Rohlf's clinic with Jessica and Katie ("Pronouns are for amateurs...Fran, Anne, Katie, and Jessica are NOT amateurs, Fran, Anne, Katie, and Jessica are PROFESSIONALS!"), Late-night conversations with Carissa ("Fran is totally 1/2 pornographic water buffalo."), Bobs with Anna ("We must name them...they shall be called Bob!")...and the list goes on and on, please feel free to add memories if you care to--the bottom line is, I love you girls, I'd never have made it here without ya!
To my parents--yes, we butt heads, fight, disagree about just about everything involved with my horsemanship journey, but in the end, I know and appreciate the undying support that is there. They have helped this journey of mine in any way that they can, and I appreciate it sometimes more than I remember to tell them. My mom's tears of happiness and pride when I told her about passing level 3 was all I needed as a reminder.
To my local group--Students and friends alike:
Richard for pointing me TO Parelli and giving this little girl the opportunity to ride all those years ago. Supporting, promoting, and allowing me to hijack his property for my own uses in more recent years. Thanks for hauling my butt everywhere I need to go, taking thousands of fantastic photos and always allowing me "just one more horse" ;)
Sherri for being a total guinea pig--bet you didn't know that, did you? :) Poor poor person has suffered most of my worst possible teaching and horsemanship moments. I may never forgive myself for almost getting killed on your property, allowing my silly LBE to eat your window, or putting your horse sore for 4 weeks. And yet here she stays--supportive and tolerant (when she can be, anyway, bless her)
All my students for allowing me to grow and become more well rounded as a horsewoman and teacher. Thank you for trusting me and putting your journeys in my hands, and allowing me to learn from you. I promise to keep improving upon everything I do, and to always put the relationship first :)
Finally--to you guys--my readers, friends, etc. It's been so much fun to go to tour stops and celebrations and be greeted with "Wait, are you Fran with Princess? And Crest? I follow your blog! I love it!" It makes me feel really good that people are interested and excited in sharing my journey with me. I really appreciate your feedback and support throughout.
Thank you! And now that I'm thoroughly emotionally drained, i think I'll go finish de-tangling Hart's mane. Savvy on :)
Fortunately, I had a wonderful group of friends there to share this with. Starting with Kristi, at least a dozen people got a very happy and excited Fran flung at them. I cried for about 10 minutes, and went through the initiation process from Farrah in receiving my green string, which included having to unlock an EXTREMELY stubborn trailer door, being "knighted" with the string, and then being taught to follow a feel rather rudely by it (in the photo we took, I look like the LBI cartoon, and Farrah looks sadistic--she enjoyed strangling me I think!), and then trying to find enough greenery in a very sad, run down Kansas City parking lot to take a nice photo of the two of us together. All of those coming soon, as soon as I can get them from Farrah.
I'm in the process of making a video of Prin and me throughout the years to commemorate the accomplishment, which I hope to have done in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I've got some thank yous to say to the people that have helped me on this journey:
Firstly, to Kristi Smith. Thank you so much for taking my audition as your last, and giving me honest, useful and positive feedback on it. Thanks for being there for both me and for Prin at the center, for the many times I couldn't find my positive attitude, and when I needed a good smack into reality. Thanks for helping guide and shape my LBEness into something positive, and for being a dose of similarity when I was overwhelmed by my LBI trailer-mates ;) I can't say enough for what your presence in my life means.
Next to Farrah Green. Where can I start there? Big sister, best friend, mentor, idol, wonderful companion, teacher, shoulder to cry on, supporter, voice of sanity and reason...any other role I'm missing that she plays in my life? Farrah is pretty much the reason I am where I am in my journey. She opened my eyes to a level of detail, subtlety and particular that i didn't even realize existed, and helped me find it in my relationships with horses and humans. She's offered me opportunities that I never would have had, had she not been there. She's stuck with me through thick and thin, good and bad, and one particular REALLY REALLY UGLY. She's pushed me (sometimes not so willingly) into doing things I'd never have done otherwise. Just ask our company the first time we ate sushi together ;) I never would have believed in myself or my horses enough to film my auditions or pass my level 2, but Farrah did, and so I learned to as well. She's encouraged my teaching and my learning, and gotten me to a level of confidence in both myself and in leaders (and as a LEARNER!) that I didn't know existed. I could keep gushing, but I'm on the point of sounding like a sap as it is. Words can't really describe what Farrah means to me in my life, and I'm so thankful that Julia Wooldridge was stubborn enough to drag me to that first clinic in April 2008. My life and journey would have have been very different had she not.
Next to Linda Parelli. I can honestly say I've never met someone who supports me as much as Linda does. Whether it's out of a maternal state of mind, or just someone who recognized a devoted above-and-beyond student, Linda has helped me through some of the toughest times of my life, both with and without horses. Linda truly "gets" me in a way that no one else does. Often when no one else can answer my questions or get into my head, Linda will break down the barrier with a list of brilliant questions and a mind full of advice. I can ALWAYS count on honest, productive feedback, a heart full of fantastic support and a hand to guide me when I fall off course. She's largely responsible for the learner I am today, and because of that, I give her a large portion of the credit for my accomplishing level 3.
Michelle Manshardt--My fellow tiny person in the Farrah camp! Michelle might not realize it, but her sense of humor and total ability to become 6 characters at once in a fantastic improv. show has gotten me to laugh when I needed it most. She's made seeing the humor in everything and every situation so much easier. Michelle is also truly a master at redirecting strong negative energy into something really productive, something that I've needed quite often. Overall, just a wonderful friend, someone I can always count on to have an interesting discussion and lots of fantastic information up her sleeve when I need it. Thanks for making our threesome a funsome :)
Next--the Savvy Sisters--you know who you are. This journey without friends is nothing. We've known each-other forever (Anna, Emily, this is year 8, can you believe it?!), we've laughed, cried, fought, made chocolate chip cookies (BOBS!),and grown up together. And through it all, we're still friends--how the hell? We were definitely brought together because of this wonderful program, but we stuck together through love and friendship. I appreciate everything you all have done for me, being there when I needed support, good or bad, always willing to hear me, answer the phone late at night or early in the morning, always there for me and my crazy escapades all over Parelli events (through swamps, flying lead changes in the warm-up arena that led to very suspicious boyfriends, signatures on foreheads, sleeping on newly purchased theraflex pads, and trying to pose seductively for photos while cracking up laughing, chucking bark out of trees at Linda and Remmer riding), and for all the other various great times--Starbucks with Sarah("Ma'am...do you know where you are?"), Floating on inflatable alligators with Virge ("Yes...I do need to know that this thing is unsafe for children under 8...IN CHINESE!"), on the way to Karen Rohlf's clinic with Jessica and Katie ("Pronouns are for amateurs...Fran, Anne, Katie, and Jessica are NOT amateurs, Fran, Anne, Katie, and Jessica are PROFESSIONALS!"), Late-night conversations with Carissa ("Fran is totally 1/2 pornographic water buffalo."), Bobs with Anna ("We must name them...they shall be called Bob!")...and the list goes on and on, please feel free to add memories if you care to--the bottom line is, I love you girls, I'd never have made it here without ya!
To my parents--yes, we butt heads, fight, disagree about just about everything involved with my horsemanship journey, but in the end, I know and appreciate the undying support that is there. They have helped this journey of mine in any way that they can, and I appreciate it sometimes more than I remember to tell them. My mom's tears of happiness and pride when I told her about passing level 3 was all I needed as a reminder.
To my local group--Students and friends alike:
Richard for pointing me TO Parelli and giving this little girl the opportunity to ride all those years ago. Supporting, promoting, and allowing me to hijack his property for my own uses in more recent years. Thanks for hauling my butt everywhere I need to go, taking thousands of fantastic photos and always allowing me "just one more horse" ;)
Sherri for being a total guinea pig--bet you didn't know that, did you? :) Poor poor person has suffered most of my worst possible teaching and horsemanship moments. I may never forgive myself for almost getting killed on your property, allowing my silly LBE to eat your window, or putting your horse sore for 4 weeks. And yet here she stays--supportive and tolerant (when she can be, anyway, bless her)
All my students for allowing me to grow and become more well rounded as a horsewoman and teacher. Thank you for trusting me and putting your journeys in my hands, and allowing me to learn from you. I promise to keep improving upon everything I do, and to always put the relationship first :)
Finally--to you guys--my readers, friends, etc. It's been so much fun to go to tour stops and celebrations and be greeted with "Wait, are you Fran with Princess? And Crest? I follow your blog! I love it!" It makes me feel really good that people are interested and excited in sharing my journey with me. I really appreciate your feedback and support throughout.
Thank you! And now that I'm thoroughly emotionally drained, i think I'll go finish de-tangling Hart's mane. Savvy on :)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
You want to______? LET ME HELP YOU!
Oh yeah...and breath while you do it!
I had an adventuresome session with a VERY RBE Scoot this morning, and I thought my readers might like to hear about my handling my least "savvy" horsenality.
The RBE has always been kind of a rough area for me. I come from owning one EXTREMELY LB mare, and then a gelding who was RBE for about 6 months and then turned mostly LBE (He still has his RBE moments, but they're mild). Handling extreme fear in a horse is not something I'm particularly good at. I know what to do only from hearing Pat and Linda and other people's experiences, and I probably handle it fairly well in retrospect, being a L3 student, but compared to my imagination and creativity for the LB side, RB isn't fantastic.
Today, my plan with Scoot was to build his confidence a bit. I've played with him about 4 times previous to this session, teaching him the principle games and getting some purpose, and have basically found that he's that he's a very smart, sensitive horse, who is easily offended and bothered by too much of anything. My phases have to be perfect, etc. I anticipated him to be a bit like Crest to start out with, but little did I realize, he's almost IDENTICAL.
One of my greatest...erm...(I don't want to say "regrets", Linda's been training that word out of my vocabulary) Okay, one of the things I feel the worst about (and have since learned from) is the arrogance I went into starting Crest with. I was a cocky, arrogant 14 year old who thought she could handle way more than she could, and I've learned through the amount of times that horse has hurt me in one way or another, that I need to rely on the knowledge and information that others willingly have shared, and not think I know everything in the process. So anyway, to my story.
I started out today, feeling like Scoot was just being a bit TOO offended. I mean, there's a good reason when my phases aren't right, but after 4 sessions of earning his trust (Which I do have, he trots to me when he sees me coming)acting like a baby when I THINK about throwing the savvy string over his back in a friendly way, is a bit much.
Those of you who follow the program religiously know that Pat and Linda say to interrupt the pattern when a horse goes RB. Well, let me put it this way. Scoot was LEAPING around on the end of the line...not just prancing a little, he was LEAPING, and I wasn't even trying to get the savvy string on him. I wanted to see him stand still before I even tried that. Well the little Australian voice in the back of my head (yes, I do have Linda in there!) was shouting "INTERRUPT THE PATTERN!!" and I tried...as hard as I could...multiple times...and then, all of a sudden, That little voice started to talk again "Fran...if you can't shut it down, then what? Make it your idea!" and I FLEW into action...My energy came up, my intention came up, and my attitude shifted to exactly what my blog title is..."You want to go CRAZY?! LET ME HELP YOU!!!"
Now I was in an area where I have several obstacles...a log, several fence lines, a round corral, a jump, a pedestal, and water tubs and buckets. Well, we went FLYING. I sent Scoot over the jumps, into the fence, through the water trough, between things, over the pedestal, into the round pen. We circled, squeezed, sidewaysed (is that a WORD?!) crazy fast. We changed directions more times than I think Scoot could comprehend. We were basically insane. About 3/4 way through this entire episode, I started to realize how TIRED I was getting, I was really winded. And then another voice came into my head, and she'll be flattered to know it. Farrah Green started saying to me "Breath, Fran...Breath while you do it!" and I couldn't help but laugh. Go figure. I'm running around like a lunatic with my breath held. As soon as I started to breath, so did Scoot, and then all of a sudden, he just stopped and LOOKED at me. He started licking his lips like mad, and I realized something.
I handled a pretty extreme RBE fit CORRECTLY! I scored BIGTIME points with myself, and I'm REALLY proud! All that, and following the little voices of my mentors in my head, which are slowly but surely becoming my own voice.
The rest of my session was uninteresting in comparision. We did some things, yes, but that was what i wanted to share. Hope someone found that interesting, and please tell me what you thought!
I had an adventuresome session with a VERY RBE Scoot this morning, and I thought my readers might like to hear about my handling my least "savvy" horsenality.
The RBE has always been kind of a rough area for me. I come from owning one EXTREMELY LB mare, and then a gelding who was RBE for about 6 months and then turned mostly LBE (He still has his RBE moments, but they're mild). Handling extreme fear in a horse is not something I'm particularly good at. I know what to do only from hearing Pat and Linda and other people's experiences, and I probably handle it fairly well in retrospect, being a L3 student, but compared to my imagination and creativity for the LB side, RB isn't fantastic.
Today, my plan with Scoot was to build his confidence a bit. I've played with him about 4 times previous to this session, teaching him the principle games and getting some purpose, and have basically found that he's that he's a very smart, sensitive horse, who is easily offended and bothered by too much of anything. My phases have to be perfect, etc. I anticipated him to be a bit like Crest to start out with, but little did I realize, he's almost IDENTICAL.
One of my greatest...erm...(I don't want to say "regrets", Linda's been training that word out of my vocabulary) Okay, one of the things I feel the worst about (and have since learned from) is the arrogance I went into starting Crest with. I was a cocky, arrogant 14 year old who thought she could handle way more than she could, and I've learned through the amount of times that horse has hurt me in one way or another, that I need to rely on the knowledge and information that others willingly have shared, and not think I know everything in the process. So anyway, to my story.
I started out today, feeling like Scoot was just being a bit TOO offended. I mean, there's a good reason when my phases aren't right, but after 4 sessions of earning his trust (Which I do have, he trots to me when he sees me coming)acting like a baby when I THINK about throwing the savvy string over his back in a friendly way, is a bit much.
Those of you who follow the program religiously know that Pat and Linda say to interrupt the pattern when a horse goes RB. Well, let me put it this way. Scoot was LEAPING around on the end of the line...not just prancing a little, he was LEAPING, and I wasn't even trying to get the savvy string on him. I wanted to see him stand still before I even tried that. Well the little Australian voice in the back of my head (yes, I do have Linda in there!) was shouting "INTERRUPT THE PATTERN!!" and I tried...as hard as I could...multiple times...and then, all of a sudden, That little voice started to talk again "Fran...if you can't shut it down, then what? Make it your idea!" and I FLEW into action...My energy came up, my intention came up, and my attitude shifted to exactly what my blog title is..."You want to go CRAZY?! LET ME HELP YOU!!!"
Now I was in an area where I have several obstacles...a log, several fence lines, a round corral, a jump, a pedestal, and water tubs and buckets. Well, we went FLYING. I sent Scoot over the jumps, into the fence, through the water trough, between things, over the pedestal, into the round pen. We circled, squeezed, sidewaysed (is that a WORD?!) crazy fast. We changed directions more times than I think Scoot could comprehend. We were basically insane. About 3/4 way through this entire episode, I started to realize how TIRED I was getting, I was really winded. And then another voice came into my head, and she'll be flattered to know it. Farrah Green started saying to me "Breath, Fran...Breath while you do it!" and I couldn't help but laugh. Go figure. I'm running around like a lunatic with my breath held. As soon as I started to breath, so did Scoot, and then all of a sudden, he just stopped and LOOKED at me. He started licking his lips like mad, and I realized something.
I handled a pretty extreme RBE fit CORRECTLY! I scored BIGTIME points with myself, and I'm REALLY proud! All that, and following the little voices of my mentors in my head, which are slowly but surely becoming my own voice.
The rest of my session was uninteresting in comparision. We did some things, yes, but that was what i wanted to share. Hope someone found that interesting, and please tell me what you thought!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Knightly News Update
Haha, like my play on words?
It's been a busy one around here today. I played with all 3 of my horses for over an hour a piece. A short wrap-up, Cricket's using herself better and better, Crest is hyper and needs work on transitions, and Prin's circling game just keeps getting better and better. We also staked out the arena, which, by the way, will be huge since we decided on the new area, more like 210' x 150' WOW!! Talk about room to do anything and everything, Prin and I even practiced some lead changes in there to make sure there was space!
But most excitingly, I played with little Knighters today! He needed his feet trimmed really badly, so that's what I did first. That was SO easy, it was almost gross. Got all 4 done in almost record time, I think probably only 10-15 minutes or so, and then we played around.
Now those of you who have followed Knight closely since I got him (His groupies or fan club as he calls you-haha)know that recently he's been pulling a lot of "You can't catch me!" games. It's been really frustrating to me until today, and then I realized that he didn't want to be with me for the same reason that Prin didn't on the circle. After finishing his feet, I walked him over to the fluffiest patch of clover I could find, and I sat down and let him graze for about 20 minutes or so.
After grazing for a bit, we hopped up and did some ground work on the 12' line. Some circling, and jumping on an in and out pattern. Knight is SUCH an athletic little horse. The one thing that I made SURE to change, however, is that when he asked to come in, or just even asked me a question on the line, I'd let him come in, and we'd go crazy with the friendly game, and this is where I started to see subtle little changes. Knight was way less overreactive about things when I asked for them, and also was much lighter on his head than usual, and also was much more WILLING to yeild his hindquarters and come in and say hi. While it wasn't a HUGE drastic change (when is it ever, really?) I did read those subtle little things that kind of tell me that Knight will be MUCH EASIER to get hold of next time.
It's amazing to me just how much this friendly game has affected everything. But I'm certainly not surprised, I mean, go figure right? I'm too demanding and not rewarding enough, pretty typical of Fran. This is a big change in my self development here!
Savvy out!
It's been a busy one around here today. I played with all 3 of my horses for over an hour a piece. A short wrap-up, Cricket's using herself better and better, Crest is hyper and needs work on transitions, and Prin's circling game just keeps getting better and better. We also staked out the arena, which, by the way, will be huge since we decided on the new area, more like 210' x 150' WOW!! Talk about room to do anything and everything, Prin and I even practiced some lead changes in there to make sure there was space!
But most excitingly, I played with little Knighters today! He needed his feet trimmed really badly, so that's what I did first. That was SO easy, it was almost gross. Got all 4 done in almost record time, I think probably only 10-15 minutes or so, and then we played around.
Now those of you who have followed Knight closely since I got him (His groupies or fan club as he calls you-haha)know that recently he's been pulling a lot of "You can't catch me!" games. It's been really frustrating to me until today, and then I realized that he didn't want to be with me for the same reason that Prin didn't on the circle. After finishing his feet, I walked him over to the fluffiest patch of clover I could find, and I sat down and let him graze for about 20 minutes or so.
After grazing for a bit, we hopped up and did some ground work on the 12' line. Some circling, and jumping on an in and out pattern. Knight is SUCH an athletic little horse. The one thing that I made SURE to change, however, is that when he asked to come in, or just even asked me a question on the line, I'd let him come in, and we'd go crazy with the friendly game, and this is where I started to see subtle little changes. Knight was way less overreactive about things when I asked for them, and also was much lighter on his head than usual, and also was much more WILLING to yeild his hindquarters and come in and say hi. While it wasn't a HUGE drastic change (when is it ever, really?) I did read those subtle little things that kind of tell me that Knight will be MUCH EASIER to get hold of next time.
It's amazing to me just how much this friendly game has affected everything. But I'm certainly not surprised, I mean, go figure right? I'm too demanding and not rewarding enough, pretty typical of Fran. This is a big change in my self development here!
Savvy out!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Even True Unity Begins With the Friendly Game
Had a very interesting session with Princess tonight, in the best possible way, hence the title of my entry.
First off, Richard and I paced off grounds for our arena. We actually ended up MOVING it beyond the north paddock, so it'll be easily twice the size it would have been (We're looking at 150' x 175' now!) and a lot flatter and easier to deal with. From the way it sounds, Richard's ready to start on it any time, so YAY! Anyway, what all this has to do with Prin is that I used her to stride out the sides and make sure it was going to be big enough. It'll be just fine for ring work, methinks, 10 canter strides down the short side, 16 down the long, and that's with her pretty opened up (in other words, someone didn't want to STOP!)
So, onward and to the real point of this blog. After figuring out just where the arena was going, Prin and I headed off to the north paddock to play on the 45' line. I haven't played with her in two days other than to trim her skis off yesterday (good lord her feet were long)and so I was curious to see where things had gone since our last session. Well, "good" would be an understatement. "Great" might even be selling it a bit short. First I asked her to do some small, probably 15' circles or so, just to get warmed up. She was totally light and responsive, no leaning on the halter at all, and she seemed just really tuned in. So I brought her in, gave her a scratch, and gave her a cookie, and asked her to yoyo back out.
We had a REALLY funny moment at this point. Prin was dragging her feet with this very obvious "Nahhh...I'll pass on the backing..." attitude, so I gave her about 5 seconds of phase 1, and then just POPPED her with a 4. I have NEVER seen my horse be so hysterically expressive before. She jerked her head up, put two eyes on me, ears sprang forward, zoomed backwards like 4 steps, and she actually SHOOK HER HEAD...as if to say "Whoa..thanks, I needed that!" I laughed out loud, then brought her in again. I love it when she expresses herself. It just makes me smile. And for the record, her next two yoyos were unbelievable!
So we played around on the 45' line for a bit, and I honestly had an entirely different horse. We were almost all the way out to the end, just playin' around, doing directional changes and transitions, etc, and she was light and responsive on the head, no leaning, and slack all the way around. I really love the enthusiasm and motivation she's getting, and that's what leads me into the meaning behind my title for tonight.
So, I unsnapped my line off her halter, thinking "Now here's a test. We're in a 4 acre paddock, with no reason what so ever for her to stay with me. She never has in the past, why should she now?" Well, the next 10 minutes of liberty inspired my title line. Princess was just absolutely GLUED to me. we did stick to me and close range circling and and sideways to and from, at a walk and trot. She did 30' yo-yos at a trot and backed by her tail. A week ago, that would have NEVER happened! I found myself thinking about how so many things are rooted in that simple game that is found on page one of level 1. How it is number one for a reason, and how just a little friendly game can go a long way in a relationship. Even true unity begins with the friendly game. Pictures to come tomorrow.
First off, Richard and I paced off grounds for our arena. We actually ended up MOVING it beyond the north paddock, so it'll be easily twice the size it would have been (We're looking at 150' x 175' now!) and a lot flatter and easier to deal with. From the way it sounds, Richard's ready to start on it any time, so YAY! Anyway, what all this has to do with Prin is that I used her to stride out the sides and make sure it was going to be big enough. It'll be just fine for ring work, methinks, 10 canter strides down the short side, 16 down the long, and that's with her pretty opened up (in other words, someone didn't want to STOP!)
So, onward and to the real point of this blog. After figuring out just where the arena was going, Prin and I headed off to the north paddock to play on the 45' line. I haven't played with her in two days other than to trim her skis off yesterday (good lord her feet were long)and so I was curious to see where things had gone since our last session. Well, "good" would be an understatement. "Great" might even be selling it a bit short. First I asked her to do some small, probably 15' circles or so, just to get warmed up. She was totally light and responsive, no leaning on the halter at all, and she seemed just really tuned in. So I brought her in, gave her a scratch, and gave her a cookie, and asked her to yoyo back out.
We had a REALLY funny moment at this point. Prin was dragging her feet with this very obvious "Nahhh...I'll pass on the backing..." attitude, so I gave her about 5 seconds of phase 1, and then just POPPED her with a 4. I have NEVER seen my horse be so hysterically expressive before. She jerked her head up, put two eyes on me, ears sprang forward, zoomed backwards like 4 steps, and she actually SHOOK HER HEAD...as if to say "Whoa..thanks, I needed that!" I laughed out loud, then brought her in again. I love it when she expresses herself. It just makes me smile. And for the record, her next two yoyos were unbelievable!
So we played around on the 45' line for a bit, and I honestly had an entirely different horse. We were almost all the way out to the end, just playin' around, doing directional changes and transitions, etc, and she was light and responsive on the head, no leaning, and slack all the way around. I really love the enthusiasm and motivation she's getting, and that's what leads me into the meaning behind my title for tonight.
So, I unsnapped my line off her halter, thinking "Now here's a test. We're in a 4 acre paddock, with no reason what so ever for her to stay with me. She never has in the past, why should she now?" Well, the next 10 minutes of liberty inspired my title line. Princess was just absolutely GLUED to me. we did stick to me and close range circling and and sideways to and from, at a walk and trot. She did 30' yo-yos at a trot and backed by her tail. A week ago, that would have NEVER happened! I found myself thinking about how so many things are rooted in that simple game that is found on page one of level 1. How it is number one for a reason, and how just a little friendly game can go a long way in a relationship. Even true unity begins with the friendly game. Pictures to come tomorrow.
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