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I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. I played with Benji a few times last week but was away Friday-Sunday evening so he had a little holiday. My L&HB finally came and it is amazing. I have learnt so much already and I haven't even watched all the DVDs. Learning more about horse's learning, confident and unconfident and particularly studying RBi was mind blowing. I realise now that both Lily and Benji have the power to get introverted quite easily so bearing that in mind I played with Benji today and got some good results.
I wanted to make sure we had some good foundations that he was confident in to go back to if he was feeling unsure about new things. So we went back to games 1,2 and 3. Sometimes he can get a bit worried if I am in zone 1 and reach out to touch him with the carrotstick so we worked on that. Porcupine game was great as always except his hind yield so we worked on that too. Then I knew I really had to up my savvy with driving the FQ because he is still being a little horror in that aspect. I tried and tried and tried and sometimes he was okay, sometimes terrible. Then one time he got a little worried, shot forwards... I made him back up to where he was before and he went inside so I thought "wait! Stop, don't ask him right now." and 40 seconds later he was back in the field so I gently asked him for a FQ yield and he did the best one yet! I was so pleased that we stopped there and I opened the gate to his field, backed him through at phase 1 and turned him out. Wahoo! :) |
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The wind was absolutely mad yesterday so yet another day went by where I hadn't played with Benji. Today as soon as I got out the car he was up by the gate. I caught him without a problem and we had a great session - I felt really connected with him and that he was really tuned in to me. We tried more FQ yields which went better than last time so then I pushed it a little and asked for sideways and I got two sideways steps! Wahoo!
We also did leading by the pinkie which was fun and he's graduated to a 22ft line so we were yo-yoing and he's really getting responsive to phase 1!
When Lily comes home I'll have to concentrate on her for a while to make sure she's on the right tracks so my mum and Ty are going to be having lessons from myself to be able to play with Benji a bit whilst Lily's the focus. I gave my mum a lesson today minus Benji and using simulations and it was funny, hehe.
I've managed to get a second-hand bareback pad for a very reasonable price which is awesome. I can't wait to have a sit and a mosey around with it, it should really help me develop my seat. A lot of SC members ride in a BB and find a saddle too uncomfortable now which is hard to imagine but I haven't ever sat on a BBpad before so we shall see!
"You cannot teach a horse with shouts and expect him to obey a whisper" |
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I haven't been able to play with Benji yesterday and today due to weather and other commitments. Hopefully tomorrow if the weather is better I'll manage to get some play in! Parelli withdrawal is an ugly thing. Urgh.
Where's my L&HB and Parelli clothes?! Grr. |
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| Today I went up in the early evening which I rarely do and Diane had opened to gate onto the other acre field which has nice grass because there was barely any grass on their current patch. I got up, reassessed the situation and thought "well, even if I can catch him in an acre and a bit that is a huge thing." so I moseyed up to him, kept cool and half played the catching game. BUT, even before I even thought of walking the 15metres between us and start driving him... He looked up, pricked his ears and trotted upto me. Wowie!
So I turned him back out immediately, it was a beautiful day and I just wanted to chill and he stood next to Ty and I whilst I was lying on the ground and grazed near us for the whole 20 minutes. Then I got up, caught him and turned him out twice to show him I wasn't wanting to make him leave the lush grass alone and moved the fence and gave them a bit more grass. He was very good.
I just love love love being around horses and feeling a connection! :)
"There are two types of horse owners; those who love their horses and those who love themselves whilst on their horses."
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Unfortunately we didn't have a playsession today because I needed to move the electric fence to give them more grass then it started to rain. D'oh.
So I spoke to Arran last night; he has been doing well with Lily and has even had a sit on her. He said that it went well but she definately does need to be restarted which we had agreed on earlier this year. The best time for her to be restarted will be after I've finished level 2 groundskills because she still has a way to go before she's emotionally fit. He's been working on building her confidence with objects in zone 4 and 5 because they were a bit iffy adding to her claustrophobia which had become quite a problem. We said we'd sit down and have a proper chat about mine and Lily's partnership and whether I'm savvy enough to be a good leader for her because I had been having my doubts but in short he said he didn't seem to think so and said I had a natural savvy so I can't go far wrong. 
I'm going to his yard on the 6th to pick her up and have a lesson with her to make sure we're heading off on the right track and I'm excited and nervous. I am really scared that old habits will die hard but I trust Arran's judgement and certainly respect him as a horseman so if he's not worried I guess I shouldn't be!
Hopefully I'll have a good long play with Benji tomorrow. 
I did a horsenality chart for Benji today and I was chuffed with what I saw:
Benji's horsenality chart *click*
All the left brain extrovert traits are dotted and only one in mild. Well I did say I really wanted a LBe! 
Reading the most recent Parelli e-news got me thinking about Lily's true horsenality too...
"QUESTION
I have a six-year-old Quarter Horse mare who is a Right-Brain Extrovert. When I play with her on the ground, she has a lot of "go", is very sensitive and is very willing to move around, play, jump, run, etc. She is playful and mouthy with toys, but very respectful with me. When I get on her, her Horsenality™ changes. She has very little "go" and will often stop dead from the walk or trot for no apparent reason. If I put pressure with my legs, she will swing her tail and pin her ears back. I would like to get her going at a good pace at the trot and eventually the canter, but I am not sure how to get the message to her feet! Hope you can give me strategies to do to help us both through this. I am currently working through my Level 3 with another horse. -Chantal
ANSWER
Hmmmmm. This does not sound like a Right-Brain Extrovert to me, but more of a Left-Brain Introvert with some Extrovert tendencies. Perhaps she has shown you a lot of unconfidence and even fear which puts her on the right side of the chart, but at the core she is really a Left-Brain Extrovert. So maybe you have gotten her to reveal her true self on the ground, but not under saddle. So my question is... can you do a Horsenality Profile on her just when you ride her? That might reveal a totally different Horsenality, behaviorally speaking. And say it does reveal more Left-Brain Introvert tendencies; are you then approaching her in the right way? The most important thing that the Horsenalilty concept will teach you is how to flex your approach according to the different behaviors that horses present, at any given moment. As Pat says, there are four moments in every second, which makes most of us way too slow for our horses! But that's what mastery is all about. When you see someone who is so good with horses that even horses think they are good... that's what they are doing So... I've not given you a step-by-step answer, but you should discover way more by thinking about her Horsenality and behavior in a specific situation." Maybe at the core Lily is a Left-Brain Extrovert. She has a lot of confidence and trust issues but when she's calm and left brain she is still easy to keep moving and she still has impulsion without the "ahhhhh!!!" moments and surprisingly she LOVES my playball. In March when I chucked it in her field she was scared at first but went up and touched it within 5 minutes then after I put a few treats on it to encourage her to be curious she wouldn't leave it. It even got to when I was running around the field pushing it and she was cantering alongside and chucking her head around; no snotty face nor no wide eyes or snorting, just her ears forwards and really enjoying it. Maybe as we go further into the programmes she will start showing more of this side. That'd be something awesome but I'll still love her just as much whatever true colours she shows but none of us are certain she's a natural RBe, some say LBi but I think she has far too much energy for that. How interesting! It both fascinates and baffles me. 
"Expect a lot, accept a little, reward the slightest try" - Pat Parelli |
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This isn't going to be a long entry because I'm not feeling too great but I told myself I would try and blog everyday I played with Benji. Today he seemed like he had been feeling very playful for a while before I got up and was tormenting poor Molly who was trying to get an afternoon nap!
He decided he wanted to torment me too by trotting round the field tossing his head around which was funny to watch, very typical LBe and after watching him for a good while I then started asking him to catch me and within 30 seconds of driving he was playing stick with me pretty well so we went to graze inhand for 10 minutes before picking up where we left off last time...
We had a good session which was a lot of games on the move because he was feeling very fresh and he had a fly that wouldn't leave him alone making him antsy. Played a little on our circling game which was very good, especially the disengage and bring-back although he still wouldn't give me two eyes for very long - no biggy. :) After having a good few circuits I then knew I should do some more playing on driving the FQ and we were back to square 1 with it so we spent ages doing that with some nice results. Then to finish I thought we'd do what he finds easiest; yo-yo and he thought I was driving him back to go out on a circle and getting rightbrain so we had a little break after I got him to go back 1 step, he licked and chewed. Asked him to go back again and he panicked and set off on a circle again so I went up the phases until he took the slightest attempt and stopped; he licked and chewed. So then we were back to our normal yo-yo's of phase 1 and near-straight backward steps.
"Get firm without getting mean or mad" - Pat Parelli |
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| I'm back! |
Well I'm back off my hols, had a great time and had a lot of reflection concerning my horsemanship studies. I thought of new ways to spice things up and what areas need improvement etc. etc.
I missed Benji quite a lot and when I first got there he was sulking because I'd abandoned him. So I decided to use some catching strategies to grab his attention and when I was trying to yield his hindquarters he purposefully turned his head away from me and his eye glazed over. I smiled to myself and thought "what can I do to focus him?" so I remembered Katie's post the other day and decided I'd hide his hiney! I went up the phases and he had a snotty look on his face and wouldn't budge so WHAM! I smacked the savvystring down in phase 5 and he shot off like a rocket, turned and faced me then trotted upto me with his ears forwards... I was like  then ... Couldn't have asked for anything more. From them on all session he was very affectionate and wanting to stick by me and we had a really good play and I was very pleased with the both of us and how clear our communication was today.
“Never lose your focus; never let someone talk you out of something you believe.” -Pat Parelli |
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My name is Lucy Middleton, I'm 17 years old and from the United Kingdom.
I started Parelli in January 2008 and it has been an incredible journey so far.
Pre-Parelli I did the best with what I knew but now I know better; I want to do better!
This is my blog to document my progress as a natural horseman.
Want to 'follow' my blog, fellow blogspotters? Add my url to your list on your dashboard to stay upto date!
View my profile
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I am owned by this gorgeous piebald cob mare, Lily. She's an interesting character, fun to play with and is a great teacher.
There's more about her on her own page.
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It's not about disposable horses; it's about relationships for life.
It's not about quick fixes and artificial aids, it's about savvy; true understanding and expertise.
It's not about winning and others losing; It's about win-win: you and the horse need to feel good.
It's not about me me me; It's about changing the world for horses, becoming a person of knowledge and influence, and sharing what you know.
It's not about fear and doubt; It's about unconditional love and trust.
Love for the empowerment of others and trust that you'll never ask the horse to do something that would hurt or diminish his dignity.
Reveal your horse. Discover your potential. Live your dream.
-Parelli
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Profile designed, made and coded by Lucy Parelli Student.
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posted by Lucy at 
I've got a lot of time on my hands today so hopefully I'll go play with him properly. I've been thinking that I'm going to work on his feet because although he picks them up he needs persuading and I can't get him to pick up his hindlegs by squeezing his hocks. I think he'd love the "can you put your foot on this..." game so the more responsive he is with his feet the better.