A Parelli Savvy Journey

A Steep Climb

2011-05-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

Today was one of the most interesting days I think my horse and I have had together...ever.The last several weeks since I had my instructor out have been fun. I've played online, I've ridden 5 times and had some great undemanding time with my horse. She's meeting me at the gate and when we finish our sessions she is staying with me.

Every few weeks my instructor is out to see our progress. I just love these days because they always remind me that I can always aim higher and find ways to get my savvy to a whole new level. Get my good better. I'm not sure if I have any "better" that I'm working towards "best" with just yet.

I think since I've not yet completed the entire Levels program that I am not always sure what I should be doing, when I should be doing it, and for how long I should do it for. Some days it's tough! I get to the barn with one idea, see the horse that I have and everything might change based on what side of the stall she woke up on. Some days my own baggage weighs me down.

TODAY however, my horse met me at the gate, we saddled pleasantly and I drove her in zone 3 to the arena to get started and to meet my instructor. The last time she saw my horse, Amara was flying around on the line unable to stand still and accept the friendly game. I was so excited to show her how much we had progressed with this! So much so that we quickly moved through it and were on to the next thing. I couldn't believe how sluggish my normally forward horse was today. Once we popped the cork off the sluggish bottle....wow did she ever come out to play!

I saw expressions on my horse's face that I know I've never seen before. Bright and alert to her surroundings (but not panicky or adrenalin-ized), I saw exuberance, I saw her apply herself, and asked questions coming by the mouthful! I also saw her lick so much I thought her lips would fall off!

What was so wonderful about this was to see how my horse literally woke up (in a good way) to the handling my instructor was demonstrating for me. Thanks to today, I have a very solid picture of the different faces my horse is making when trying to tell me she's either "okay", "not okay", "panicking", "content" and/or "accepting" of what we are doing.

Today I learned how to really make it game out of it all. I am astounded to see myself write this (did i somehow miss this was my job? I thought I had been doing this all along) but one thing that my instructor wanted me to hear loud and clear is to set things up so that she is asking questions about what I want. I had gotten her to be obedient but she wasn't really asking me if she was right or not. She was just following my instructions. It was sooo cool to see Amara asking so many questions. Questions I can simply reply "yes" or "no" to when I am teaching. Wow...how easy is that?!

Today we sent her to a target on the ground and she learned to put her feet on it. I've done this with other horses but I hadn't been able to really do this with her. To get her curious to want to touch things with her nose and her feet. Usually she avoids things and even when we drive to something she'll stand there and look at it without asking me questions. Today we put a chair cushion on the ground and through the course of a conversation she learned to put both feet on it and stand. Sounds simple enough, but when you have a horse who tends to be flighty getting them to stop flying around and think about what they're doing can be a challenge.

Turns out she needs a lot of physical release before she is mentally/emotionally ready to ride. My sessions might look like 1-2 hours of prep for 15 minutes of ride time right now. WOW.

I think my favorite part of the day is that we found 2 itchy spots on her!! This is the first time I've been able to scratch my horse the way she likes to be scratched and see her lips quiver and have her stretch toward me for more. I may have gained some ground with friendly today too. Perhaps it's just because I've been working so hard on getting a bond with her that it means so much to know I can scratch her and have her like it.

I wonder if she'll come and greet me tomorrow? :)

It's all about the "ahhhh!"

2011-05-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

Friday marked my fifth consecutive day with Amara and a new pattern I'm hoping to establish that helps my horse want to be with me! Amara lives with a herd of 4 other horses and she's probably 4th and sometimes 5th on the totem pole depending on the day. Lately I show up and she's leaving the herd to come and greet me! She will follow me too and I can also now lead her gently with my fingertips. :)

We mosey together to the grooming area which is probably a 20x30 fenced area. I open the gate, she goes through, disengages, turns and waits for me then we go together over to where I keep my grooming supplies. I usually have a little something sweet in a bucket that she eats and when finished, she politely halters herself and then proceeds to stand ground tied on the mat for grooming and saddling. I've noticed that during saddling and grooming she's really relaxing! Her leg is cocked and she's just patient and soft with her body language.

Our last five sessions online have really convinced me that the Horsenality information is bang on! I'm so glad that I can really begin to see what she is trying to tell me and then adjust myself to give her what she needs. The big blowups that we had online are not happening now at all. When she's loose from me (If I fumble or drop the rope etc.) then I can draw her back without much difficulty.

More and more she's in a learning frame of mind and the results are beginning to come quicker. we are riding in the round pen (for my own comfort) and today I checked off all the things on the self-assessment she can now do quietly and without tension. She is almost a solid Level 1 with her skills. We still need work on a few things but more and more I'm finding in myself that it's not about the task. I struggled a lot with patience before getting into this program. When I would hear Linda P. says she hardly ever gets frustrated with horses, in the past I would scratch me head over this. Now I GET IT! The more you give your horse what they need, the quicker the results come, the more you can start to do which all = less frustration for both you and your horse.

To me...it's all about the "ahhhhhh" which is my word for relaxation. My RBE (LBE cusp) mare is starting to do things like try and eat grass during our passenger lesson at the walk. I was a bit surprised by this and wondered if I was doing something wrong. I watched the old L2 (2005 version) yesterday and heard Linda discussing that for the extroverts it's a good sign when they want to try and eat grass with you on them as it means they are truly relaxed. Wahooo!

This week alone by making the friendly game the most important game on my list I watched my mare go from confused (and sometimes freaking out) to calm and understanding moving towards acceptance of extreme friendly game in certain zones.

I just can't wait to go and play with her again!!

To The Drawing Board

2011-05-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

My PNH instructor came out to meet Amara today for the first time. I recall that Pat says some horses have a decrease in their overall performance by as much as 20% when under pressure. I'm tempted to say that I think mine goes down by about 35% when in the presence of PNH instructors who know more than me. LOL.

After giving my instructor Amara's history and then a quick rundown on our games I realized I hadn't made nearly the progress with her that I was under the impression I had. It was quickly brought to my attention that my friendly game lacked the rhythm necessary to distinguish it from driving. Oops!

My instructor took Amara to demonstrate and much to my dismay my horse EXPLODED all over the place when some bounce and rhythm was added to the friendly game. Oy. This turned into a 10 minute "freakout" session as she called it with her backed up to a fence while Amara ran back and forth trying. My instructor stayed steady with her game and when Amara would stop and face her and keep her feet still she would quit playing immediately. This would last about 10-15 seconds and then it was back off to the races. After about 5 minutes she would pause longer and longer at the fence before turning and leaving again. After 7 minutes she was waiting at the fence for Linda to send her the other way.

When the game was over I had an in-depth conversation with my instructor. The bottom line...my horse has A LOT of baggage. Insurmountable baggage? No...but baggage enough that a student of my skill level 2++ moving towards 3 may not have the skill to help her get past it. That was not what I was expecting to hear.

So...it's time to hit the drawing board. I'm considering many options (extern program for her, weekly lessons etc) and hoping to select the one best suited to help my horse grow and learn quickly. thoughts?

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

2011-05-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

My last post was nearly over two months ago. So much has happened since then with Amara that I'm not sure where to begin...in fact this may just turn into a bunch of babbling. It's taken me nearly four weeks to decide to post this but somehow I just feel better sharing my experiences, failures and successes with other Parelli folk - somehow we're all in this together!

I just went back and re-read my initial posts about Amara...it was a delight to see how much I obviously enjoyed her right from the start...perhaps we were meant to be together. Shortly after that post I watched my great pal and one of my mentors have an interesting ride on my horse. That ride would first be looked at as "how interesting!" and would quickly shift into a pattern of behavior Amara displayed when she felt (what I realize now) somehow blocked.

I recently purchased the Parelli Humanlity/Horsenality Match Report (what a fabulous purchase and treat that was!! More on this below). There was hours of material to sift through, and I'll never forget coming to one section that said you may never necessarily know why something happened but what is important is to know how to read the situation and decide what to do about it. To be flexible enough in your mind and body to be what the horse needs rat the moment that they need it. Boy that stayed with me for a while!

I'd spent the last 45 days wondering how my quiet, unassuming, friendly, extroverted horse who seemed confidant most of the time could suddenly start rearing under saddle. Yes, you read correctly, I wrote rearing.

When I purchased her she going well under saddle, had been under saddle for over a year but without "concentrated" riding other than the last 90 days. She was being ridden with contact and in a dressage frame that to describe it I would say is appropriate for Training Level. What this means is that she wasn't being asked for much other than to go forward, turn right and left, bend somewhat in her body and follow the feel. She appeared to be pretty well started and confidant. What I didn't know (and neither did anyone else watching her) was that deep down she had begun backing off under saddle. The more she was asked to go forward "into the contact" the more she backed off. One afternoon she executed a very slow left brained buck which when she was then asked go immediately pick up her head and go forward then turned into a right brained rear to escape.

WOW. What looked like an "all of the sudden" moment was actually the culmination of events that now placed us at the point that even the slightest request to go forward meant that she would rear to get away from the rider.

I'd spent the first 6 weeks playing the 7 games with her before each ride and learned that she was more right brained than I originally suspected. I also learned that she could be very challenging to read. I learned over the course of last four weeks how deep that fear really went.

She is much farther down the road to accepting the human when motion is involved, has accepted the saddle, and the rider when they stay in a "passenger" fashion, but had reached a place where she didn't accept the human as a leader under saddle.

I also learned how limited her exposure to simple things under saddle like disengaging the hind quarters, turning, stopping (she really had no stop, all of it was forward). At some point my wonderful horse had decided she was deathly afraid and although I could read her better and better on the ground each day, I realized that I was NOT really listening to her feedback under saddle. By the time she reared the first time she had already melted down internally and then exploded to get away from the rider.

So you're probably wondering who I had riding her and why...one of my dearest friends who is an accomplished rider of many disciplines, a complete advocate for horses and one of the most talented and "natural" people I know around horses. If Parelli is a brand name that is something we practice/study and actually have goals centered around, then she doesn't practice Parelli (although she has some of the tools). She has a healthy appreciation for those of us who do (that is so nice!!) and for seeing how much Parelli can do for a horse. When I say she is "natural" what I mean is that she does many things that us natural folk do just by instinct alone.

So how then was this wonderful person, one of the only people I would ever trust my horses with after being in this program, a part of the meltdown my horse was having? I'm not sure we'll ever really know to be honest. What I am coming to know is that this behavior was developing long before I purchased Amara. It was developing in subtle ways like head shaking (left to right) that I recall noticing on her purchase video but overlooked as feedback (BIG mistake!). When she came to me and I began to do Parelli with her and open that door to tell her I cared about her opinion, she REALLY told me what she thought of people riding her - NOT MUCH.

When the rearing began to be part of every ride regardless of my online session with her and how much of a "thinking" or left brained state she was in I began to become afraid. My mind goes back to reading an article in a Savvy Times issue on Unconscious Incompetence by Terri Sprague. Terri wrote..."the challenge was not so much what was happening with me and my horse, but what's going on in my mind. My thoughts kept getting in my way. Instead of feeling for my horse when she presented confusing behavior, I got wrapped up in blaming myself for her past and doubting my future."

I didn't blame myself for Amara's past since I hadn't hard her very long (2 weeks at this point) but I was certainly doubting her future. When I purchased her my thought was always that I would do Parelli with her on the ground, and perhaps explore the freestyle riding and definitely liberty. After all, Parelli is great for any horse and handler team. I just never realized that a behavior Amara exhibited would suddenly open the Parelli door for my in a way that I'd never really done before.

I hit the Parelli website and searched for rearing. I actually came into a section of the website that I'd never seen before. New videos of Pat discussing specific horse problems...tada! There was a video for rearing. I think I've watched that video about 10 times by now at least. I've been a Parelli student for 5 years but although I have tons of confidence on the ground, my confidence isn't as strong in the saddle. This was not a problem I thought I could solve on my own.

It hit me however when I watched that video that I am not alone! Somehow, somewhere in the back of my mind and heart, the knowledge, patience, timing, skills, understanding, and psychology of horses I've learned through Parelli has been with me every day, every time I interact with any horse.

I bounced around the Parelli site for hours, reading blog posts from Linda and other Parelli Central members and came to one that discussed Pat & Linda's latest event in Europe. It talked about their opening ceremony and that Pat & Linda came out into the arena accompanied to Katty Perry's "Firework." I like the song, I've listened to it many times, but I'm not sure I ever really heard it until later that morning driving to a friend's stable to work with their horse.

"...Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightening bolt, your heart will glow

And when it's time you know

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine,

Just own the night like the Fourth of July..."

For a long time I had yearned to really try and follow Parelli as a method of developing my horse, but for some reason I held back. Driving down the freeway that day listening to that song I realized I was staring at this exact situation. The doors I had originally thought I would walk through were not open to me right now.

I decided right then to give myself and my horse over to Parelli completely. When I heard the next part of the song it really sealed the deal:

"Boom, boom, boom,

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time you let it through-ooh-ooh..."

It was true! Parelli had always been inside of me...wanting to come through. It was the strangest sensation but all in one moment I felt like I had Pat and Linda in the car saying to me it was time to really let what I had learned from Parelli be the light that would shine through. I was crying so hard by the end of the song I nearly had to pull over off the freeway!

That was the moment I decided, really decided that the best way to help Amara and myself was to give both of us over entirely to the Parelli program. To go beyond using what I'd learned to fix issues I had with horses along the way and to live it. From that moment on, my confidence SOARED. The self doubt disappeared and even though I'm taking it day by day, suddenly the pressure of having to "fix" something disappeared and what was left in its place was an opportunity to take my horsemanship to the next level. I'd always had it but somehow I had just never really let it through.

That day I drove home and completed the Horsenality/Humanality Match Report on myself and Amara. It was amazing how answering some questions about myself and my horse could unlock so much personalized information! I felt very empowered.

At the end of the post is a snapshot of Amara's horsenality profile (as of April 23rd) as shown to me in the Horsenality report based on the questions that I answered. WOW. Thankfully, what also came with it was a TON of information including what type she is primarily (RBE/LBE cusp). If you haven't yet purchased this report for yourself and your horse, I HIGHLY URGE YOU to do so. It's like having Pat & Linda sit with you and decode you and your horse together. You get answers to questions like, how you fit? What are the great things you'll bring out in your horse? What are the pitfalls to watch out for? Check it out here and choose from the Printed or the Digital report. I purchased the digital for $99 and had mine within minutes. OUTSTANDING!

So as my friend and I are driving in the car the other day she turns and says to me "today is the first day of the rest of your life..." I have to remember to tell her just how right she was!

hmmm...how interesting!

2011-03-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's been just over 2 weeks since I posted the first time about my new main squeeze Amara. She is a delight to have in the barn and has settled into the herd just beautifully. Yesterday she went out into the large pasture with her 4 stable mates - she is definitely the bottom of the totem pole for now. She can be easily driven off but she doesn't go far before returning and settling just on the edge of another horse's space "bubble." Everyone munched grass happily and we all shook our heads...when it's meant to be, it just is!

I've been playing with her about 5 times per week and our sessions have been varying in length from 30 minutes to 2 hours with "downtime" sprinkled in. What a wonderfully smart, perceptive and sensitive mare! Thankfully we I am able to expose her to a lot of areas on the property (4 acres total) and we cover much of it each day. Sometimes we play in the pasture, the corral, the stall or just hang out together - no matter what it's always interesting. I leave with at least a couple moments each time where I find myself saying "hmmm...how interesting!!"

More to come soon!

A New Adventure

2011-02-21T19:57:00.001-08:00

Last Wednesday I took another leap and purchased my next partner. Her name is Amara SF and she is a 2006 Trakehner Mare.

My overall goal is to develop a life-long partnership with her and to explore continued horsemanship studies with Dressage as our specialty. Amara has not been previously exposed to natural horsemanship and is somewhat a blank slate. Unlike a few horses I've worked with, she doesn't really have many negative habits.

It has been fun getting to know her and putting her Horsenality chart together. She has the majority of her dots (4) in the Left Brained Extrovert quadrant, but also has a sprinking of dots of in the other 3 quadrants as well - 2 in LBI; 2 in RBI; and 1 in RBE.

My first couple play sessions with Amara were very light...some friendly game, yielding the forehand and hind quarters, rubbing everywhere and simply introducing myself. She practically folded herself in half to look at me when I would just stand and stroke her hind legs. I could practically see her thinking "this human is strange!!"

Today was our 3rd play session since last Wednesday (it rained all weekend). Nothing like 2 days of a cooped up horse after rain and cooler temperatures to really show you what's under the hood! Today Amara was 100% extroverted, sometimes confidant and exuberant, and other times fractious, high headed and very, very forward.

It's been a while since I've played with an extrovert. My paint gelding was a solid left brained introvert who when nervous/scared would go right brain introvert FAST. Those of you who work with RBI's know that with that horsenality it's retreat, retreat, retreat! We slow down and wait for the horse, doing otherwise can blow things sky high. This session was a great lesson for me because although I was studying at L3 online with my last partner, I've had to go back to a teaching ad controlling (vs. refining) mode with Amara. Sometimes when I teach I have a tendency to slow things down....I can slow them down too much. Today, I quickly realized that my horse needed me to speed up and get control of the situation when she was right-brained and then quickly change strategy gears when she was left-brained.

Although she changed quadrants several times during our session, I find later looking back that I was right there with her! I think one of the greatest things Parelli has given me is the increased ability to read the horse and a strategy to go with it. As she would change, I would change my strategy to match her and give her what she needed; to be the best leader I could be at that moment. We were definitely living in the moment today!!

I didn't do much teaching today, as I was dealing with sometimes fractious but always forward, it wasn't without its strides. By the end of our session 30 minutes later we'd done lots of partial disengagement, some full disengagement (hide your hiney!) and while she was still moving her feet, she was offering to walk calmly in a circle giving my rhythm, relaxation and contact.

Today I played to safety and comfort with a final result of Amara showing calm, soft and blinking eyes, able to stand still, with soft ears and head low to the ground. It was an all-around great play day!

What It Means to Have That String

2010-02-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

I had a day last week that was so confusing that I ended up in tears - well let's be honest, it was a full scale meltdown. I love my horse but sometimes he confuses and frustrates me! I'm sure many of you will understand how that feels, especially if you're not new to horsemanship. I didn't say horse ownership since some work with but perhaps don't own horses.

I would say that in the last 3 months I've probably easily spent 180 hours with Jayden working on our relationship and building our skills together. I've seen MANY things improve in fact so many that I don't think I could list them here. I'm talking about improving skills in the area of lateral thinking and confidance that most people may not even consider or have land on their radar. Some are so minutia that no one would ever notice them while others are very visible.

This day however it seemed like not only was my confidant solid Level 2 (moving to Level 3) horse not there...the horse I had was the one I started with 3 months ago! WOW. That was an eye opener of sorts. It seemed like no matter what I did I was losing control of my emotions and perspective and it was going to hell in a handbasket pretty fast.

One thing Parelli has defnately taught me was how to be particular without being critical. I remember the first time Linda Green was out however and said this needed to be part of my aim in my sessions. I think I responded with "huh?" What it all boiled down to was not to get greedy.

Latelly I had been uping the ante on Jayden; really asking the most of him and myself that I ever had on the ground. I received a 45 foot line just after Christmas and kept looking at it and thinking when will I be good eough for that?

I think I was pushing so hard for perfection on the 22 foot line that he came out that day, thought I was being greedy - to which he resonately said "talk to the hoof!" - that's the polite way of putting it anyhow. At first I was so frustrated that I couldn't even hear what he was saying to me. I perceived him as emotional, overreactive and complety out of control on the ground. No matter what I did I could not bring the change through to my satisfaction.

Thankfully my good friend was present during my meltdown and pointed me to an article in this month's Savvy Times that really helped me get some perspective. It's written by Teri Sprague and it's called The Joy of Conscious Incompetence - what an eye opener! Her article mentions the Steps of Change: Denial, Blame, Anger, Chaos.

On this day I whizzed past blame and anger and went straight to chaos! As I sat melting down in my wash rack all I could think of was the hours spent with my horse and what I had possibly done to ruin the respect and rapport I had worked so hard for. I overanalyzed it until my brain hurt.

Terri's article was something that really opened my eyes. I swear she wrote that article just for me! She talked about a session she had with her mare and Linda Parelli that started her out on a steep learning curve journey. Terri wrote..."the challenge was not so much what was happening with me and my horse, but what going on in my mind. My thoughts kept getting in my way. Instead of feeling for my horse when she presented confusing behavior, I got wrapped up in blaming myself for her past and doubting my future."

The learning curve is represented on the graphic chart that Terri believes shows the Horseman's Journey. A journey that rather than being puntuated by peaks and valley (which is what it FEELS like) is really punctuated by a slighly upward line and steep climbs that eventually level off.

It TOTALLY blew me away. At the times when we feel the lowest of the low, we are on the steep climb to the top and making the most progress.

After calming down and letting go of some of the pent up frustration I had, I went to my overflowing mailbox and brought in a ton of mail. After sifting through the pile a package was revealed and my heart started to pound. I opened it to find my Level 1 Red Savvy String and Certificate from Pat. Official recognition of the hard work, love and patience that I had put into my journey with my horse.

In that moment, my eyes moved to the collage that I'm putting together of many of my horse moments that are precious to me. Amongst them is the Level 2 Online Certificate Pat emailed me after passing Level 2 Online in January of this year. I remembered then how far I've really come and heard my friend Beth's supportive words from earlier that day... "you inspire me" in the back of my mind.

What it means to have that string is that I have learned, loved, climbed, grown, had success, experienced defeat and failure and that I am firmly in a place of Conscious Incompetence - always seeking that which I know I do not know. I will never give up.

"Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again."

Sideways from 12 feet!

2010-02-11T15:48:00.001-08:00

This week has been crazy and to say the least I haven't been able to spend time with Jayden as I had planned. I've turned him out, fed him lunchto keep him busy and had to satisfy myself with simply a passing nod and pet to him as I went about my outside chores. Yesterday he was somewhat grumpy with me when I approached the stall and I admit, I deserve it. I haven't been able to participate in our horsemanship journey this week the way I would like to.

Just before going outside to see Jayden I had a rather emotional phone call to a company who is designing a logo for me. I'm an affiliate for them and I send them lots of business. Finally today I called in complete frustration as I realized they had AGAIN ignored my instructions to them on the current project. I took a deep breath before going outside and I realized that moving through the groundwork exercises and games with Jayden was going to feel really good. I work really hard to keep it fresh and interesting; to have a consistent pattern in what I do just a variance in how I do it.

Maybe it was how I looked at him or the energy from my belly button but Jayden's expression was totally different when he saw me. He seemed to be melting towards me in a "hey, I'm ready to play today!" kind of way. His ears were forward, his eyes bright. Our friendly game in the stall consisted of me taking off his blanket and hood and then currying every inch of him. He LOVES it!

He shoved his head in the halter and off we went toward the arena. We backed in, then turned sideways (me in zone 3) and sideways we went. I then turned him again and he backed up in a continuous rhythm. Linda wanted us to get this game really good and I struggled a bit with my tools the last time I tried. We were also very sticky and couldn't go very fast. Today Jayden through in A LOT of effort and it came together nicely. After sideways to back to sideways a few more times I ended up in front of zone 1 about 12 feet away. I had just started thinking "I wonder if he'll go sideways (with no help from me) when I'm up here and not holding the rope" when I moved sideways and motioned with the carrot stick for him to move and SIDEWAYS HE WENT for about 20 feet!

I felt like jumping up and down. Although it's a small movement, it's respect and rapport from a distance and boy did that feel great. :)

Natural Horsemanship = Balanced Horse

2010-01-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

On January 5th I received notification from Parelli that I passed my Level 2 online!! I'm awaiting my red savvy string and certificate from Parelli for my official Level 1 pass (I skipped straight over this) and then for my certificate for my Level 2 pass online! I passed two levels at once online but until I pass my L2 freestyle I won't receive my blue savvy string. This was a HUGE moment for me!!!

Natural horsemanship has transformed my previously grumpy, sometimes frozen and slightly unconfidant horse into a horse that is equal on both his right and left sides, can be clipped without a twitch, will put his feed on ANYTHING, will trot out when I ask and will follow and stick to me where ever I go....with or without the halter. Last week he came to me while running with two other horses with just a small indicator of body language. He just put the brakes on did a sharp 90 degree turn and zoomed over to me. I almost cried. If you've never had your horse come running to you, it's a feeling you can get addicted to fast.

It's raining here in Glendale and it looks like it might drop 3-5 inches on us before it's all done this week. Probably no riding for me :( I am awaiting my new Parelli Finesse reins, Level 4 materials and 45 foot line. We're working most things at 22 feet and ready to start heading father down the line. I can't wait for it to stop raining and we've got 4 days of storms to go!

Busy Arenas Help Horses Relax

2010-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today was a blast!

Since we stopped boarding horses, I mostly ride alone in my arena. Today however was a blast from the past.

Beth, Marnie and Stacy were all riding while I was doing my warm-up and audition footage. I'd forgotten what fun a busy arena can be and it's great for the horses. Not only do they become accustomed to traffic and other horses moving in and out of their space, they learn to focus on their human and not necessarily what everyone else is doing.

In my video you can see Stacy practicing the Follow the Rail exercise in a halter and lead rope. Watch for her to ride by flipping the rope over Abby's head in the background. This simple exercise alone can help your fluidity and the power of your focus on riding with an independant seat.

Marnie was giving Beth a high-level Dressage demonstration and doing some incredible movements; basically dancing with Spice! Beth was watching but also perfecting her trot and canter with Kolby and I think I was on my own planet!

Today marked my 5th session with Jayden this week and I think I spent about 10 hours total playing with him. We filmed my audition video today, you can see it here. What I loved about this video was watching the level of relaxation my horse has. When I first started out playing with him 3 months ago he was nervous with me in zone 4 (his hip) and zone 5 (behind the tail). Watch me as I move around him swatting the ground with the carrot stick and string. He is relaxed, I can lift his tail and his posture is one of confidance and maybe even a bit bored! Just 3 short months ago I couldn't do this exercise without him flying sideways. He is no longer bothered by things swinging in his hind zones and doesn't kick when tied and frightened at all.

Working this program has definately hightened my communication skills and our joint understanding of him. I can read him so much better, know when to retreat from something (whether an idea, a threshhold or simply pressure) and when to push farther. His confidance as a learner has skyrocketed!

Audition Warm-Up...Lessons Learned

2009-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Michael helped me film the first practice video for my Level 1/2 audition!

Today was the first time I filmed myself with Jayden on the ground. I've seen video of us riding but seeing myself on the ground was REAL eye opener. Suddenly I was able to see most of what Linda has been working with me and talking to me about. I always felt confidant about my body language but I could see my horse wondering about me a bit and THAT was a total eye opener.

It was great fun and we learned about where the camera needs to be to provide the best view. I was a bit nervous and left out a few things I wanted to show so we are planning to film it again tomorrow.

On a positive note, Jayden backed up from 22 feet away with a Phase 1 ask. Incredible!

Groundwork Improves Impulsion!

2009-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today's lesson with Linda was 3 hours long. It flew by as we played with ground work, Jayden's confidence in my body language, my skills as a leader and then transitioned to riding. Every time I think I'm getting "good" at being a leader Linda show me ways to improve that I hadn't even thought of. Ways to be lighter and more effective with even less pressure. It's amazing! Jayden and I learned a lot of new things and his impulsion is improving every day!

When To Step Back

2009-12-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

This last six months has been an interesting period for me. I saw many advances in my horsemansip and I had many failures as well. I think you learn more from the failures almost than you do from success. Well...usually.

Two months ago I had my first lesson with a Parelli professional. It was amazing. Life-altering in fact. I've been studying natural horsemanship via Parelli Natural Horsemanship for the last few years and I'd gotten pretty good with horses on the ground. I can't remember the last time a horse scared me or made me nervous on the ground. All my confidance has come from moving through their Levels Pathway.

Having a lesson with one of their professionals was inspiring in a way I can't even begin to describe. I thought I had taught my horse to handle pressure....NOT in their book! If you want your horse to be a sconfidant as possible, NOT be a robot but still work for you, this is definately a program to look at!

Squeeze Game...It's Everywhere!

2009-07-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today's ride saw a few breakthrough "aha" moments. Yesterday I blogged about my cues needing to be lighter and lighter for my horse to really be happy. After rolling around Pat & Linda's helpful hints on motivating introverts and how they can be offended by how loudly we ask for something, it dawned on me that perhaps some of the behaviours I see in my horse under saddle are because I'm asking too loudly for what I want.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not up on top of my horse yelling, at least I don't think I am - but it's what he thinks of what I'm doing that really matters.

Many things that we expect horses to do (calmly) involve squeezes of a sort: walk through gates, load in the trailer, walk underneath an overhang, oh yes...and go quietly while I sit on you with my legs wrapped around you too. Yep, this one is a BIG squeeze game. I've known a few horses in my time that the more leg you gave them, the faster they would seem to squirt forward. I didn't have a label for it back then (this was 15 years ago and wayyyy before I know who Pat Parelli was) but you just knew they were uncomfortable with it and more sensitive was probably how I would describe it. Stick with me here for a moment....

While riding today I was walking around on my horse while talking to my instructor about my theory of how loudly I'm asking Jayden to canter off and how that might be why he seems to want to lift up his head and overbend his head and neck to the right (when going to the right) which bows out his outside shoulder. In summary, I think he's giving me feedback on HOW I'm asking. So perhaps what should be a Phase 1 request is actually is being interpreted as a Phase 2 or 3 and the result is that his feet slow down rather than going forward.

We thought on this for a moment and then decided to experiment with it. I focused on sitting up a bit straighter but relaxing all the pressure in my whole leg, well both legs. I use my voice a lot with this horse and my tone plays a huge part in his relaxation levels. In preparation for his transition I asked hin with my voice to canter, barely asked with my leg while playing very gently with the rein - the result was a much better transition. There were less steps needed to get collection.

While cantering we practice circles if he becomes anxious or quick underneath which pulls his brain back into gear and allows us to compose ourselves. Today I noticed that when he would pick up speed rather than coming more round, through his back and collected, if I relaxed my leg to drape around him we might not need to do the smaller circle to achieve balance and collection.
When I drapped my leg, I noticed that he eased up, didn't grind the bit AT ALL and suddenly we had collection - mental, physical and emotional collection.

My theory for this horse proved correct...although he has gotten better with his issues with squeeze game, it's the mastery of my own body and fluidity that will help him inch that dot for claustrophobia more to the mild side.

Success!

Finding that Perfect Harmony (in your horse and your tack)

2009-06-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that all of us horse people seem to recycle our tack, clothes and even horses amongst each other? I was thinking today how small a world it really is and how many things I've acquired from people that no longer had need of the item.

Last week I hauled Jayden over to trail ride with my friend Beth at her barn in North Phoenix. That trip I rode in a friend's barrel saddle (I know zilch about those saddles) and happily gave my synthetic dura-leather western training saddle to Beth to ride and try. She recently sold her show saddle and was looking for something comfortable to ride that was also affordable - my training saddle is both (well, at least I think it is).

That training saddle marked my first western saddle purchase in 2007. I had $1,000 to spend and it had to provide for both a training and show saddle with some silver. Yikes! I think about that now and I don't know how I managed to get both saddles for that amount of money, but somehow I did.

Well, 3 years later that same synthetic dura-leather saddle is in fantastic condition and was with me every step of the way as I helped me learn to ride Western after 15 solid years or riding hunt seat in an english saddle. I remember that I liked that I could feel the motion or the horse underneath me (thanks to the close contact skirts) - much the way I could in an english saddle. If I'm lucky, Beth will decide to keep the saddle and I now have the task of finding a new partner to ride in.

So here's where I need your help (and opinions) but sick with me because this might be a tad long winded.

At the Pinto World show last year I was lucky enough to come across a Blue Ribbon show saddle owned by a nice guy who didn't need the money for it. That saddle was purhased for me as a gift for my birthday (thank you Mom & Dad!). I'm not at all embarassed to say my parents chipped in together and purchased this saddle. Each time I ride in it, I'll remember them and how they've always supported my horse activities either pitching in to help me afford things, or standing by the rail taking pictures and providing support.

I would like to find a saddle that rides similarly and makes the transition from training to showing very easy for me and not such a big jump. I have had friends recommend both the Royal King and Royal Silver saddles with positive comments on each. I've also heard some comments on the Royal Kings that they are wider in through the seat and can be difficult for people with short inseams (that's me) to ride in and that the Silver Royal is narrower.

Do any of you ride either of these saddles? If so, what can you tell me about them? What do you like/not like? What makes one any better than the other?

Both saddles are relatively affordable to buy and I'm looking to purchase in the next month. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

I am test riding a Royal Silver tomorrow and hoping that I like it and that it fits Jayden well too. Harmony within your tack creates harmony with your horse and there's no substitute for great tack.

We're prepping for the Prescott show in September, and getting down to the minutia in our corrections. I'm finding that my aids have to be even lighter than ever - Jayden is usually a left brain introvert but under saddle when aids become too strong he can turn into an extrovert pretty quickly and can get rattled. I've seen such HUGE changes in him within the last 4 weeks that I'm hopeful we will be well prepared for whatever we encounter. I'm also excited as heck to put on that new Western Show outfit I purchased form Show Me Again and go down the rail in it. There's nothing like a great outfit to help you look and feel the part.

Until next time, keep it natural!

Happiness Comes In Many Forms

2009-05-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!

It seems like once you turn 30 the days (and years) just fly right on by. Once again time has gotten away from me and it's been a month since the last show and since I posted about my journey with Jayden my 5 year old paint gelding.

Although he had the opportunity to attend the May show in Tucson, many changes had taken place in April right before the Spring Fling horse show and I decided against going....I felt I needed a breather. In April I made the very difficult decision to move away from the trainer I had been working with. Although I enjoyed my time with her immensly and learned many good things from her, I felt that I need a shift (and so did Jayden) if we were going to start tackling some of the emotional signs I had begun to see in my horse.

Although Jayden was still doing his work (and to the traditional horseman you may not notice that anything had changed) I noticed that his feedback when asked to do things had begun to turn negative. I also noticed that he was much more emotional and reactive than he should be.

The April show was our first ever together as a team where we showed without the assistance of a "trainer." I watched him carefully for reactions to his environment and we showed only what I felt he was mentally, emotionally and physically read to handle. The result was success with the classes we did show.

In the last 8 weeks I've noticed some BIG changes emotionally and mentally in my horse. His relaxation has improved, he is offering to do more and more, the negative feedback is nearly gone and on the whole he is simply happier.

Part of the great thing I have learned is that it's important to NEVER stop learning. After a careful re-examination of my goals as a horsewoman and competitor, I have shifted my own mentality which I think has been key to some of our breakthroughs.

I have also been working with someone who has reminded me of some very important key points, brought out the best in me, the best in my horse and suddenly I am so excited about being around my horse that I catch myself going outside to the barn as many as 5 times per day (it's on my property) just to sit and be with the horses. Perhaps to some it would sound corny, but I am already reaping the benefits. My horse is healthy and happy and runs in from the pasture to see me!

What am I doing differently? I am incorporating A LOT of trail riding for both physical and mental fitness. Sometimes we haul out and sometimes just ride out to see the neighborhood sites. We see everythign now from cars and heavy traffic to rocks, bushes, paths up the mountain and natural washes.

Since adding regular trail riding to our program, I am also seeing Jayden's Horsenality Chart results changing. Whereas we would need preparation prior to hauling out and trail riding (to bring some of those dots to the mild side), he is now eager to get in the trailer, backs out calmly and with confidance, ground ties for saddleing and walks down the trail like a champ - curious but focused.

Although my Parelli journey is probably not "traditional" in the natural sense of the word (I came to Parelli after riding what is probably a Level 3-4 equivalent - hunter/jumper, dressage in competition), it's been a valuable and wonderful experience for me. Part of what also has me so excited are the new Savvy Club formats. I can't decide which one I want to be part of?!

Our new goal....we will debut again on the Paint Circuit in September after 5 months on our new program. I am so excited to see how we will do with newfound relaxation, confidance and better timing.

Aee you on a journey with your horse? If so, I'd love to hear your story. Drop me an email to krista.garren@gmail.com

Mental + Emotional + Physical = Success!

2009-04-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I arrived at Westworld with Jayden to compete at the Spring Fling horse show. I was excited to be there and test out some of what I'd been working on at home with him. Latelly we had really been addressing his physical fitness and I could feel the difference in his collection when I would ride him.

Friday was an amazing day! I felt our communication was superb...everything I asked he was right there for me. When I'd ask for more drive and push with his hind end (for the BIG trot) he would engage and up his RPM's (as I call it) without increasing his speed. He was so good in fact we quit after only 20 minutes under saddle - that's the reward as I don't believe in drilling something so much that the horse gets frustrated and then you can't quit on a good note. Knowing when to quit is half the battle.

Saturday dawned dark and rainy. Although we were showing undercover, it was cold and windy/rainy and downright unpleasant. Becuase we were all compressed into one arena for warm-up and showing, I had a hard time finding a place to do some on-line pattern work with him. Our favorite warm-up at the shows is the Falling Leaf. Usually when he starts he's licking his lips and his tongue comes way out of his mouth - by the time we are done he's relaxed, confidant and doesn't want to move his feet much.

That day however I was only able to play with him for about 20 minutes and although his feet were moving slower (than when we started), his brain was still quite active - he struck me then as more of a Left Extrovert than the Introvert he is at home.

I made a mental note of that and decided he was acting like a partner and it was time to get on and warm him up. The warm up went well...if I felt him brace or tense AT ALL up I just went right back to what I know relaxes him mentally and the physical brace would disappear.

Just before our turn to do the pattern I mentally ran through each thing I would ask of him and how I was going to do it. I call it riding the pattern in my head. It helps me focus so that when I actually do it, it's like I've already done it. Jayden was WONDERFUL! His transitions were great, he stayed with me mentally, emotionally and physcially right through the pattern. The end result was a 6th place placing out of 14 horses. I was so proud of him!

In case you haven't already seen it, I just recently watched the April Savvy Club DVD where Linda shows an extrovert how to get the most from her introverted horse. On Sunday when I warmed him up with Falling Leaf pattern I changed my energy to match some of what I saw on the DVD and suddenly I had Jayden offering to do more than he usually does. THAT WAS GREAT!

Year End Success!

2009-03-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Abbey and I finished up the 2008 year as Overall Green Rider Champions on the Arizona Paint Horse Circuit! Although the year ended nearly three months ago, we don't have our awards ceremony until nearly April. It's a long time to wait to pick up awards and I was really looking forward to it.

1st - Green Handler Showmanship
1st - Green Rider Trail
1st - Green Rider Horsemanship
1st - Green Rider Hunt Seat Eq

Thanks to Abbey and Stacy Padhye...my good friend who so graciously loaned me one of the best horses I'll ever get the pleasure to handle who has won a spot in my heart for all time :)

Fun With Horses & Dogs!

2009-03-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

If you're a Parelli follower than you probably already know that Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan and celebrated Horse Whisperer Pat Parelli are teaming up to help rebuild troubled relationships between dogs and horses.

Cesar and Pat will be appearing together for the first time on an upcoming episode of Cesar's Dog Whisperer which will air on the NatGeo channel Friday, April 3rd at 8pm ET. This episode is intended to help horses with "dog problems" and dogs with "horse problems." Cesar and Pat ride in to help a shepherd mix Chloe and Tibetan spaniel mix Hobo (who chase after the working horses), and 22-year old mare Cupcake (who is frightening the riders). Make sure you tune in to see this exciting team up of horse and dog expertise!

If you want to Let National Geographic Channelknow that you want to see more of Pat and Cesar together WRITE an e-mail to comments@natgeochannel.com and say "PRETTY PLEASE CAN WE HAVE MORE PAT!?".

Speaking of dog and horse relationships, I recently happened to have my camera with me in the arena and took video of Riley (my friend Jessica's dog), who is attempting to lead her two year old paint gelding Tater Tot to the gate of the arena. Both Riley and Tater have been spending a lot of time together lately and have become friends. If you look you'll also see Draco, my German Shepard/Husky mix running around with Riley. Click the Play button below to see Riley and Tater in action. You'll have to forgive my initial comments as I was yelling at my camera (and called it stupid) as I hurried to get the footage. I wanted to edit this out but thought it was more important to share it with you...hopefully it brightens your day!

For more information on dogs, horses and their relationships, please see the following links:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dog-whisperer/3735/Overview - Read all about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat and Cesar, see pictures, videos and an overview.

http://enews.parelli.com/ - March 27th edition of the Parelli enews celebrates Horseman Ray Hunt and talks about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat Parelli.

Winter Wonderland...well not really!

2009-03-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

My post title this week is a joke because while there are people in this country just freezing their behinds off we had the most wonderful weather (70's) over the weekend for our horse show.

That's me and Jayden on the left getting ready for showmanship. I have to thank my mom for some of the wonderful photos from this weekend and she hasn't even gotten her new camera yet! She did however use mine for the weekend which I'm thrilled to say I just purchased on Thursday in time to use it for photos and miscellaneous video. I did get to see myself riding Jayden for the first time thanks to this wonderful little device. :)

This weekend was such a learning experience and full of surprises (good ones!) too. For starters, this was my first away show with Jayden - we arrived on Friday to the grounds and stayed until Sunday evening. The away shows work a bit different than the day shows because the horses have more time to settle in, only 3 classes (usually per day) rather than the standard 8-10 for a day show.

I moved up a level from Green Rider since showing last year and I'm now in the Novice Amateur category. This is a larger group (about twice as big) as the Green so I was a bit nervous about how I would do.

We kicked off our weekend with a bit of sleeping in (lol) since I didn't show Trail and I arrived Saturday morning at the show grounds around 8:15. The order of classes is all mixed around from last year so nothing really felt like it flowed the way I was used to all day. Jayden did really well though and handled it like a champ. We took 5th place in our Western Horsemanship under one judge (horesmanship is judged on the rider) which was a surprise because there were 18 people in the class and it was his first time ever executing a pattern under pressure.

He is so comfortable to ride that for the Western Pleasure class (judged on the horse's gaits and tempermant) I was able to mostly sit up there and just show it off; that's such a GREAT feeling! We pulled a 2nd place out of our hat in the pleasure under the same judge that gave us the 5th place.

Sunday starts with Showmanship which is my favorite class. Showmanship gives you a chance to really shine one-on-one for the judge. Typically you execute a combination of maneuvers such as walking, trotting, stopping, backing, backing around objects and pivoting (90, 180, 270, 360, 540, 720 degrees) and then stop in front of the judge and set up for inspection. All 4 of your horses legs must be square and even. The judge will walk around the horse and you must move back and forth at your horse's head at the appropriate time to "present" your horse. The skill comes in as the movements must all be succinct, they must flow and must not be awkward. You must also execute each one with the smallest degree of error possible. Have I mentioned this is my favorite class yet?!

If you'd like to see a video example of a showmanship pattern click the Play button below. This is Jayden and I in action at the Copper Country POR show in January 2009.

Cool huh?

Later in the day on Sunday we ride English which is just as fun (well ALMOST) since we have to dress up in outfits that no one over the age of 16 should be required to wear....seriously! We have to wear skin tight pants that require an undergarment because they show every little flaw that all women of any age over 30 probably have. Don't get me started on this one, I'd love to rebell and wear something else!

I'm getting off track..sorry. We snagged a 5th & 6th in the English equitation pattern (judged on the rider) and then a 2nd & 3rd in the Hunter Under Saddle (judged on the horse). We finished up around 5:30 and I was exhausted; Jayden was practically asleep by the side of the arena. By the time we pulled into home it was after 7pm and I was relieved to see the home fires burning. April is now on my mind...lots of practicing to do and I know just where I'm going to start...Parelli Patterns!

If you would like to see some photos from the show of our whole gange, you can visit http://community.webshots.com/user/kkmr2

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, it's off to show I go!

2009-03-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

We're getting packed and ready to leave for our Winter Horse Show today and as I write this there is excitement in the air. I spent some time last night with a barn buddy and I can't count the number of times she said "I'm so excited to go!"

They've completely changed the schedule of classes, order in which we ride them in and the flow of the show so this weekend should be VERY interesting.

This also marks my first *official* paint show with Jayden. We praciced last weekend at the Blue Ribbon Horse show (that's another story for later) and he did quite well winning under both judges in the 1st Year Green 5 & Under Western Pleasure class.

Gotta run, stay tuned for updates about the show, funny photos and some interesting video!

Learning Patience

2009-02-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Whew! Where has the time gone?! I looked up and realized it was almost 5 weeks since my last post - naughty me :)

Jayden and I are getting prepared to start showing together full-time. In preparation for that I've been hauling him to some schooling shows. I'm a firm believer in mental and emotional fitness in my horses because without it, it doesn't make a bit of difference how physically capable they are of doing something.

Last Sunday we hit a local show that is for beginners and a great place to school inexperienced horses. Needless to say, the horse I thought I would be taking never even showed up. Sure he loaded in the trailer, sure he warmed up great with the "falling leaf" Parelli pattern but then we did something we haven't had to do yet - WAIT.

If you've ever heard the expression "hurry up and wait" it's the most perfect definition for what we ended up doing. The show experienced some issues and what should have been a 15 minute wait, turned into over an hour. The longer my horse had to wait, the more unprepared he became. I watched my normally left brained introvert gelding turn into a borderline right brain extrovert. Was he acting "crazy?" No. But suddenly he couldn't stand still and he had to move his feet.

I decided to put this to good use and practiced backing, pivoting and maneauvering him around to try and re-engage his brain. As long as we were moving everything was fine. The second we stopped and stood still for a mock inspection it all fell apart again. I knew right then that we were in trouble so to speak.

We did make it through the class and he did perform well since only a short time during the pattern did he actually have to stand still. He tried hard, but he still moved during inspection. Lesson learned. This horse needs pretty involved mental and emotional warm up time when he's feeling unconfidant. Translation....for a day show there is A LOT more preparation involved than when we go to an away show where we have stable accomodations.

Later in the day I had him tied to the trailer while taking a short lunch break. Jayden stood still for all of 1 minute before pawing, striking the air and then turning to and fro trying to see the other horses in the arena. I decided to just observe him (that's probably not what I should have done) but I wanted to see just how upset he would get. For about 15 minutes he was constantly moving - I could see the emotional tension building in him. Finally after I couldn't stand to see him so far over a threshold, I untied him and put him back to work so to speak, moving his feat and re-engaging his brain. This worked well while I was on the ground but the calm we finally experienced on the ground did not translate to the saddle.

I won't bore you with the details and a blow by blow - but I do want to say that I've chaned my game plan again. We are working on retreating away from his buddies to the trailer (even when its at home) and when that's going well, tying to the trailer and learning to stand still. It's only been three days (the first day there was a BIG hole next to the trailer) but these last two he was much better.

All in all - we are both learning patience - with ourselves and with each other.

2009 off with a BANG!

2008-12-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEY YEAR!

My head is still spinning that 2008 is over, BUT I know I was ready for 2009. Usually I have difficulty dfor the first month or so of the new year and will continue to write the old year on checks and any lists that I keep.

Well move over 2008 because surprisingly, I haven't done it once! Now before you chuckle, I realize that it's only the second day of 2009, but what the heck, I can be optimistic right?

So in the midst of all of our end of the year madness, I just realized that I never posted for December. It seems I am falling down on the job.

Latelly I feel as though my heart and mind want to go in about a hundred different directions as I sift thrugh all I want to accomplish in 2009. In addition to managing two businesses, I also have to manage myself and my horse activities in a way that leaves me feeling satisfied. Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that suddenly things started to slip? I looked up at the beginning of this week and realized that I haven't ridden or really worked with Jayden in about 3 weeks. That feels like forever to me!

Horsemanship (just like anything) is an every day thing. Even if you're not at the barn....if you're a horse lover you're probably thinking about being there, what you'll do when you're there, how to make the most of the time with your horse (and you know the rest). For me it gets worse when I'm competing because I am always nervous that perhaps I haven't done enough to prepare mentally, emotionally and physically and that I'll push my horse past thresholds. Even though my whole goal is NOT to push past anything but to get him so comfortable that he wants to go show with me.

So even though I was so busy in December that I couldn't really squeeze physical time in with Jayden, my mind was nearly always with him (horses are an obsession! if you don't believe me, buy one and you'll be hooked :).

I'm going to jump ahead but stick with me....

I'm just returned yesterday (New Year's day) from Tucson and the Copper Country Paint-o-Rama. I showed in 2006 there and the weather was awful so I was a bit hesitant about going this year.

I had a blast!!!

I spent some quality time with my friends (thanks Stacy for just giving me a shove!) and laughed and spent time with my horse. What could be better than 24 uninterrupted hours at the barn?!

The result?

All my reservations were moot: the ones where I imagined that it would be cold (it was 70 degrees), the one where I imagined my horse wasn't ready and then the biggie....that I wasn't up to the challenge of being a good leader for him.

I've made no secret of the fact that Showmanship is easily my favorite activity in the show ring. I guess it's because I can really display the results of the ground work and relationship building I have done with my horse.

Watch the video below if you would like to see our performance in the Novice Amatuer Showmanship class on New Year's day.

My biggest mistake in 2008 was doubting the time I had spent with my horse; that somehow because I had been inconsistent these last few weeks, that I hadn't been effective when I was with him.

I think the point to all of this is that everything we do today with our horses is for tomorrow. I've heard Linda say this over and over but it finally sank in these past few days.

Happy horsing around!

Showmanship...can you drive AND be a porcupine?

2008-11-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

That's me there on the right with Abbey, my 2008 super horse show partner. See that HUGE cheesy grin on my face?

Abbey and I finished the weekend as High Point Green Rider/Handler and overall Green High Point for the year with the Arizona Paint Horse Club!

I'm smiling because we just finished a great showmanship pattern at the Harvest of Color Paint Show in Buckeye Arizona this past weekend. Next to Trail, Showmanship is my FAVORITE class. Abbey is a showmanship queen - this horse can litterally dig a hole in the ground pivoting on her back right foot (when we pivote to the right) or on her left foot when we complete a pull turn and pivot to the left.

It was always fun to go into a class and show the judge how clean we can complete the maneuvers. I showed this horse at the Pinto World Show this year and if my nerves hadn't gotten to me (oh and that starting cone had been on my opposite side) I think we would have placed Top 10, if not snagged a championship.

I've been watching some of the other girls in the barn work showmanship with their horses recently and seeing how frustrated they can get when trying to teach their horses to pivot. At any given time we are asked to do 90, 180, 270, 360 or 720 degree pivots during a pattern either from a standstill or just after we've walked, trotted and come to a halt.

I realized some of the girls can DO showmanship with a finished horse - that is, one who already knows what to do - but not all of them can TEACH the various parts of it to their horse.

When you break it down, a pivot is really nothing more than the horse moving away from the pressure of you walking into his (or her) space while keeping a hind foot planted - in other words, driving game.

Your horse walking and trotting in sync with you when you walk and trot is really the "stick to me" game combined with the Porcupine game - follow the feel. Although a pivot can make or break your routine as far as the judges are concerned what's really thrilling is what comes before and after the pivot.

Great showman make it look effortless and easy...you can't even see that they are signaling or cuing their horse in any way. In fact, if you look again at the picture, you'll see that my hand is actually quite far down the lead. I almost never have to engage the chain for any reason - my horses know they need to follow my lead when I'm walking, jogging or backing; in other words they stick to me!

When I work with my gelding Jayden (who was TOTALLY wet behind the ears with this stuff when I got him), our showmanship time together is not a drilling session! It's a mix of fun Parelli games to help deepen our relationship, build his trust in me as a leader and to to have fun. I did enlist some assistance from my good friend and showmanship queen Stacy when I got stuck trying to get him to plant that right hind foot but for the most part, it's just me and my horse :)

Bottom line...anyone who does Parelli can easily teach their horse Showmanship. When Pat says there is litterally nothing you can do with a horse that isn't games 1-3 - he's TOTALLY RIGHT!

Next Up: I'm starting Trail (in hand) with Jayden to teach him to follow the feel and meaneuver through objects.

A "Boo"tiful Halloween!!

2008-10-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm off to the Harvest of Color horse show in Buckeye which runs October 31st -November 2nd!! The trailer is loaded, the preparations done and now all of my savvy will be tested this weekend.

It's the last show of the 2008 season (for me) and the last show for me and my 2008 show partner Abbey - so graciously on loan to me from my good friend Stacy. Abbey is one of those amazing horses that everyone wishes for...patient, kind, forgiving and willing. Thank You Abbey for an outstanding 2008 season; I have learned so much from you!

Last month I talked about finding success for my four year old gelding in the show ring (his first time out) via the big green ball. What an AMAZING tool that has become for me to help my horses overcome fear and build confidance and I have to admit, there is something soothing about bouncing a ball that takes me back to my childhood. I am always happily reminded that my horses are confidant and do look to me for love, language and leadership in equal doses at the show. Thanks to what I've learned from Parelli, I am able to keep the relationship with my horses FIRST and have a great time showing and doing what I love to do...ride!

But on to what I really meant to talk to you about.....

Did you catch my last Post on the abandoned horses? If not, you can read it here. You'll want to read the story of the rescued paint horses before reading on....

As we excited the clinic from the Body Condition & Nutrition talk last night with Josie (the 22 year old rescued paint mare), it was dark and we began to wonder whether she would want to load in the trailer to go home. Since learning so many great things from the Parelli program, I no longer am fearful of how or how long it will take to get something done...I always take the time it takes and it takes less time. The program has given me enormous confidance that I can communicate effectively with any horse and help them to trust me.

I was thinking all of these things and imagining how I would inspire her trust and confidance as we approached the trailer. My friend opened the door to the trailer and turned on the light. Josie pricked up her ears and once she saw the light turn on, she stepped up the pace and jumped into the trailer herself as if to say "I got it from here!"

Despite being thin, lame from thrush and shaggy looking - she is a confidant horse with clear, bright eyes and a willing spirit. Horses like these absolutely amaze me! They have been mistreated, neglected and left alone and still they look to us for leadership and display confidance and a willingness that I personally could not display (were I a horse) in that same situation.

The first time I saw Josie there was something about her that made my heart catch in my throat. Has that ever happened to you? You felt a connection you couldn't explain? Since that time, my mom has worked at some of the local horse show hot spots collecting donations to care for and feed these animals.

How Can YOU Help?

2008-10-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

I attended a Body Condition and Nutrition talk last night at The Chaparral Veterinary Medical Center in Cave Creek Arizona with a good friend of mine who lives katty-korner to me. Chaparral has recently moved into their new multi-million dollar facility and the talk was held there. Typically these talks are held at Mike's Hay Barn, but last night we were to see up close and personal the effects the economy is having on horses all over.

My friend Marnie recently rescued three starving and emaciated horses from some folks whose home was being forclosed on who live behind her. She remembers the horses arriving to the neighbor about six months previous - they were in good health and were a good weight and body condition. After peeking over the fence last weekend, she found them nearly starved to death - no food, no water! Marnie is our neighborhood saint; a nurse herself, she loves all animals and can always be counted on to step in when needed.

Chaparral had come out to attend to the animals last week when she brought them home. The rescues were a 22 year old paint mare and a 10 year old paint mare with a 30-day old filly at her side. The prognosis was grim...they would be lucky to survive another 24-hours in the condition they were in. The vet scored the 22 year old mare (who has now been named "Josie") with a Body Condition of 2 and the 10 year old mare (who has been named "Joanie") with a Body Condition of 1.

What's a normal Body Condition score? Try 5-7....depending on the breed.

Marnie graciously loaned Josie to Chaparral for their Nutrition talk and they did a work-up on the mare yesterday. The *NEW* prognosis....12-18 month recovery time to bring her back to good health. This was a mare that 6 months ago was purchased for a child to ride and was in great health.

As we toured the hospital and saw Josie, there were gasps of outrage from the 35 people who had attended the talk. There was an outpouring of offerings.... to help, donate food, to find Josie a home.

Because most horsey people love their animals like family, I think it continues to shock all of us at the treatment these animals are made to suffer: both mental and physical. It's far easier to take these beautiful creatures and turn their world into a nightmare than people think. With the economy in its present state, horses are being abandoned in the desert (here in Arizona) as well as all over the country. ALL horse owners, whether believers of natural horsemanship or not need to come together to become advocates for horses without hope - for those who have been left behind.

Donate to your local shelter, watch in your neighborhood for horses that appear to be thin, suffering from a lack of care, or left behind (in the case of foreclosure or abandonement). Get to know your neighbors! If we all keep in touch it may be possible to prevent situations like these as homes can be found for these loving animals.

Success With The Big Green Ball!

2008-09-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

After returning home from the 2-day Parelli event I was all fired up to help Jayden, my four year old left brain introvert (with a couple right brain tendancies) learn to deal with stimulus in Zones 4 & 5. Jayden is my new Parelli partner but he is also my new all-around show partner on the Paint circuit. Having come from a non-natural backgroud and now a Parelli convert, it is so important to me that he feel comfortable with everything I will ask of him: standing still to saddle, clipping, loading, shoeing, going new places etc. I definately want showing and traveling to be fun and I always try to put the relationship first.

We had a big show coming up (his first) and he tends to want to scoot forward if something comes up behind zone 5 or from either side of zone 4 that he hasn't already had a good look at. Because th warm-up arenas can be PACKED with horses coming and going, this can be a problem and un-nerving for a "green" horse (one that hasn't had a whole lot of experience). To help him, I decided that I would do a 7-day course of playing with the big green Parelli ball (focusing on all zones) really with the intent to help him overcome his fear of anything coming up behind him in zones 4 & 5.

Each day I worked would start boucing the ball while walking away from him...always ecstatic to see that although at first weary, he would quickly become curious and begin to want to follow me and the bouncing ball. Once he realized he could touch it and roll it for himself he couldn't get enough of it! He would try to bite it and push down on it.

I decided to let out the 22 foot line and play driving game, and to see if he would walk into the ball on purpose on his way to whereever we were going. It was great to see his confidance soar and his curiosity peak as to what he could do with the ball and YES, he did choose to seek out the ball on our way.

After he got comfortable with touching it with his nose, I started boucning it around all zones on his body. I made sure to let out the line if he got nervous and retreat to build his confidance. Not too long after, I could bounce it directly behind zone 5 as hard as I could and he didn't budge. Not only that, but I could simulate saddling (swinging the saddle side to side) with the ball and resting it on his back. Once that was no longer an issue, we moved to me actually bouncing the ball off him, he LOVES IT!

The end result...he was not nearly as sensitive with zones 4 and 5 this weekend as he used to be. His relaxation in the arena was apparent and he did wonderful!

Out of all the things that make me smile at the shows, I saw two people with Parelli equipment patiently working with their horses in the warm-up arena's this weekend! It's wonderful to see that the message of being natural is finally making it's way into the show ring.

Thanks to Pat & Linda for teaching us how to be at one with our horses!

Until next time...happy trails!

Parelli World Tour Comes to Prescott, AZ!

2008-07-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

WOW! AMAZING! LIFE CHANGING! AWE INSPIRING! All words I'd use to describe what I was doing on my birthday last Saturday, July 19th. I just returned home from the Parelli USA World Tour event in Prescott, Arizona!

That's me..the one on the far left smiling for all I'm worth! Sitting next to me is (my idol) Linda Parelli, and my good friends Tyler and Macy (whom I ride with).

For anyone not familiar with Parelli, Pat & Linda Parelli are working to change the lives of horses and owners all over the globe by teaching people how to be more natural with their horses. I know you're probably getting an image of granola bars and sing-alongs...but to put it into perspective..."It's way more than riding!"

Our journey began Saturday morning, Michael and I headed for Prescott which is about 80 miles Northwest of our home. I have been studying Parelli for 3 years and seen tons of hours of footage of Pat & Linda so I was looking forward to seeing them in action. Boy did we get WAAAAY more than we bargained for. After a heart pounding performance of the Savvy Team, they took a break and we headed down to the Pavillion to shop. Linda was out and greeting people but in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would have a chance to meet her.

She must have seen how much I was shaking because my teeth were rattling around inside my head and as we approached her, she got up out of her chair and HUGGED ME. She was wonderful...warm, friendly and welcoming and also...calming. Go figure, no wonder her horses love her so much.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better the performances continued, I was inspired beyond belief and because our group consisted of more than 5 people, Pat invited us personally down to meet him and take pictures. Spot me again...the one with the huge cheesy grin? That's Michael in the back on the right in the yellow shirt. He's not even really into horses and he had a great time too :)

What I learned I cannot explain, and what I felt I could never describe, except to say...if you haven't discovered Parelli yet, you have doors just waiting to be opened in your horsemanship journey! Thank you Linda (Tyler's Grandma, pictured above far right) for the pictures with Pat...without your camera these memories wouldn't exist in print!

So here we are again with Pat, day two of the event....can you tell I'm flustered? Just before going up to see him again, Tyler began laughing hysterically at a joke I told her...(she's the one on the right of Pat) and boy...none of us could keep a straight face for this photo.

I returned on Sunday night after two exhilerating days of fun and learning just chomping at the bit (tee hee) to play with my horse. We blew up our big green Parelli ball and the next day I set out to help Jayden (my horse -->) become more confident with things rolling and moving around him. One session and 30 minutes later, I could bounce the ball OFF him and he was confident and curious.

The next day he began to try and play with the ball during our freestyle riding session. He kicked it and when it rolled away from him quickly he trotted after it. This afternoon I went out to check all the horses living here at my ranch and he RAN to the sall door to see me. This was amazing! It's also a first :) Even though Jayden is what I'd call friendly, he's never RUN to see me before. Hmmm....

So thanks to everyone who joined me on this wonderful 33rd birthday weekend of mine....Tyler, Macy, Linda, Michael...you guys are the best!

If you're interested in really developing a relationship with your horse and finding out how Parelli can apply to any part of your horsemanship journey, click here to jump to their website.

Until next time....keep it natural :)