a little something for the weekend

i won a Parelli Training DVD set with this video submission!

this is the DVD set i picked!!  it's right where billy and i are regarding the saddle anyway ;)

colt starting with pat parelli is the other DVD set i'm interested in.

a great blog about colt starting vs. colt breaking.

here is a great blog outlining the starting of a young horse.

learn it...

understanding

natural horsemanship = communication, understanding and psychology

cause your idea to become their idea, but understand their idea first.

this is key when playing with billy blaze.  if i take the time to listen to him and understand why he doesn't do what i'm asking all the answers are right there in front of me!

when i have been effective in my play session it means that i have been understood.  and that i have taken the time to understand billy.

it's important to plan your play sessions around the success of your horse.  if i head out there too goal oriented, that equals me becoming a direct line thinker which in turn turns me into a predator.  once i become that predator billy quits wanting to be with me and wanting to do what i'm asking.

if i take the time to understand what he is thinking that ensures that i don't get into any arguments with him.  once i give into that argumentative side we go backwards in our journey and not forwards.

understanding leads to leadership which leads to safety for the horse.  when the horse feels safe then you have earned it's respect.

mark rashid

communication

natural horsemanship = communication, understanding and psychology

communication: n.

1. the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs.


2. communication is 2 or more individuals sharing and understanding an idea.

*sharing AND understanding an idea...

this means that we offer our idea to our horse and then LISTEN to what they think about that idea.  sometimes we will need to offer our idea a few times before the horse will understand.  we must not rush or force the issue.

as the human we must trust that our horse will respond.  this is a HUGE thing for me.  i offer my idea to billy blaze and sometimes he needs a little time to think about what i'm asking.  if i get in a hurry and push him, that will disengage his brain and he will be reacting to what i'm asking instead of thinking it through.  when i give him the time to think it through he retains the information better.

"in order to obtain horsemanship through communication, we must learn not to assume" pat parelli

when we assume that our horse will do something because, "he did it yesterday!" we set ourselves up for failure.  they don't always feel good about what they did yesterday.  if you set your horse up to succeed using positive reinforcement you have a better chance of causing the good behavior to become the pattern.

positive reinforcement happens AT the fact.(releasing the pressure)  reward is something that happens AFTER the fact.(treats, cookies, grain,etc.)  when we use positive reinforcement that equals doing less sooner rather than more later.

on our quest for the perfect communication with our partner we must always remember to be flexible.  what worked yesterday may not work today.  we must bend like a tree in the wind so we don't break.

pat parelli

horse and soul

"knowledge ends where violence begins."  Pat Parelli

your horse is difficult to load in a trailer?  hurry up, drag them in anyway possible, then SLAM the door.

your horse spooks easily?  then RUN it past everything that scares it.  don't give them time to think.  thinking = the horse winning

don't allow your horse to show you how it feels about things, instead train them mindlessly until they no longer act like a living breathing animal.  they are robots.

Parelli is all about listening to your horse.  allowing your horse to use it's brain and think things through.  giving them the time they need to make good choices.  setting them up for success.

Parelli is about doing things with the horse and for the horse.  not TO the horse.

horse people and trainers spend lifetimes micromanaging their horses.  correcting their horses BEFORE they even make a mistake.  micromanagement = the horse not using their brain.

Pat often says to play with the horse online as though it's at liberty and to play at liberty as though your horse is online.  i think i finally understand what he means by that...  to keep your play the same whether you have a rope connected to the halter or not.  that keeps the body language the same and allows the horse to read you and do what you are asking.

you may use the rope as a safety net.  by not holding it you give your horse the option to make your game his idea.  how interesting!!  this allows the horse to leave the game if he doesn't want to play.  and if this happens it give you a chance to think about what just happened.

it's time to end the violence that we do to horses.  violence does not have to mean physical abuse, neglect, etc.  violence can simply be taking away the horse's right to THINK.

 

isenbart

horse and soul

the horse and soul tour was so inspiring.  i sat there completely riveted trying to soak up every little tidbit.  i'm not sure when i'll have the chance to do that again!  i was so intent/intense that i ended up with a head ache both days.  LOL!  it's hard work memorizing everything that's happening out there!

one of the things that i really studied is how everyone used their energy, not their tools, during the demonstrations.  those horses were so connected, two eyes, two ears, truly connected to their person no matter what was going on around them.

watching them bring their energy up and then lowering it to go into neutral was truly inspiring.  this is what i would like to work on this summer, by myself and also at the David Lichman clinic.  i want to truly understand how my energy effects my horse.

the savvy team showed me how truly effective it is!  there is something about seeing it in person versus on the DVD's.  i could FEEL it myself, even sitting in the stands.  amazing.

 

something for the weekend

this is a wonderful blog post about Horsenality™.

you can watch this video to better understand Horsenality™.

here is a blog post about lunging vs. the circling game.

love this!

wonderful author.

this is a beautiful book.  one of my favorite horse books.

before i got billy blaze this video was a HUGE inspiration to me!  i still go back and watch it often, to stay inspired :)

your horse is your mirror part 2

to show a reflection of...

when i am confident and playful billy is my mirror, confident and playful.  our sessions blast us forward in our horsemanship when we are playing at confident and playful.  there is no better feeling than having your horse so connected that no matter what you do or where you go your horse is there, beside you, matching your energy, your foot falls, your thoughts.  it's totally invigorating.  and when we are playing this way i can see that billy appreciates the fact that i have my act together.

sometimes if billy starts to go RBE, worried and unconfident, i will match his energy and get all crazy myself.  the look on his face is priceless as he swings around and comes in, lowers his head, licks and chews and wonders what my problem is.  I'M mirroring HIM and this helps him to calm down!!!  horse psychology is fascinating...

every time i play i think about what i want my reflection to look like today.

proverbs

your horse is your mirror

mirror: v.

to show a reflection of.

your horse is your mirror.  this is something to think about.  IF your horse is your mirror, then what do you want your horse to look like?  act like?

if we manage our emotions then our horse can manage his.

"your horse is only as brave as you are."  ~ pat parelli

"my horse was fine until i showed up." ~ linda parelli

i find it interesting that when i have a lesson i tend to get nervous.  i'm nervous that things are not going to go smoothly so i can get help with the things that are popping up in our daily play sessions.

what tends to happen is when i am nervous, my mirror, my horse, gets nervous and old problems pop up.  then we spend our whole session playing with THOSE issues, never getting to the things that i WANT to address.  this is very stressful to me because my ego comes up and i worry about how inept i look to the instructor, how inept i am actually being and how that is also affecting my horse, my mirror.

me not being in control of my emotions sets us back during our lessons.  i know that if i took a few minutes to just get things under control, we would both benefit, but i get all flustered, so billy gets all flustered and acts differently than he does when it's just us and the camera man.  different than when it's us and people visiting and watching a session.  having that instructor around sends me into a whirlwind of emotions!

i am a right brained extroverted person so i can get pretty crazy when i'm nervous or upset.  when billy is right brained and extroverted he can get pretty crazy as well!  talk about an effective mirror!  sometimes i don't love the reflection however...

english saying

something for the weekend

i read this blog over at parelli central blog and LOVED it!!  it speaks volumes...

this video made it onto parelli tube!  yay billy and the parelli ball!

this talks about the game of contact and how to get your horse happier with the bit and having contact.

okay.  after reading this, there REALLY are no excuses.

having a cinch that fits your horse is important.

what a GREAT article on using the patterns to help our horses become calm, motivated, responsive and confident!

patience

patience: n.

1. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.


2. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner.


3. quiet, steady perseverance; even tempered care; diligence; to work with patience.

sometimes when billy is learning he gets unconfident.  he needs TIME to figure things out and work through them in his own mind.  the key to unlocking his mind is WAITING.  it's really that simple.  i show him the pattern, read his body language, note if he is starting to feel unconfident and if he is, then i just wait.  we stand and he thinks and thinks and thinks.  i mirror him and wait and think too.

when he sighs, blows out, has rollers in his nose or licks and chews then i know that he is ready to move on.  these are all signs that he is ready to be my partner and try again!

if i choose to hurry up and push him through something and don't wait for the lick and chew and the thinking to occur, i pay for it.  most likely he will become afraid and switch right over into the right side of his brain, survival.  he will think about getting out of there, or freeze up.  OR he will become very dominant, using the left side of his brain and his ears go back, he tries to push me with his shoulders and moves right into NOT thinking and moving his feet not to get away but to run me over, or stubbornly NOT moving his feet.  any or all of these things can occur and they can occur in swift order.  it's when people put their horses into these situations that you hear the old adage, "he 'suddenly' blew up and bucked me off!"  or "she 'suddenly' spooked and ran away!"  there is a series of events that happen BEFORE your horse "suddenly" bucks you off or runs away with you.

learning to "read" your horse in every situation can save you the pain of falling off, being run over or stepped on.  it's when we understand our horse and allow them to BE a horse that the partnership begins.

learning to have patience while my horse is learning, has catapulted us beyond anything i ever thought possible.  this has lead us down a path of understanding and quiet diligence.

thank you parelli for teaching me

patience: quiet, steady perseverance; even tempered care; diligence

 

pat parelli

lightness part 3

lightness: n.

6. Delicacy or subtlety in craft, performance, or effect.

billy has taught me just how much a horse understands and how often we spend our time YELLING at our horses.  "a horse can feel a fly land on them" is a common analogy told by horse people.  then we go out and YELL at our horses to get something accomplished.

billy has taught me that the louder i yell the louder he has to get, to be heard.  if i whisper, he is more than happy to try what i'm asking.

when i am communicating with him, sometimes, i have a lot of movement going on in my body and in my ropes and stick and string.  billy will just stand there and LOOK at me as if to say, "just TELL me what you want woman!"  then i laugh, get quieter and more subtle and off he goes to jump the barrel or stand on the pedestal.  ahhhhh... gotta love;

lightness: Delicacy or subtlety in craft, performance, or effect.