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.