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