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.