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Today I had a 3 hours tuition with Arran and boy, am I tired!! An emotionally testing session but still a good one as always. Arran said that I was doing a great job and had obviously done my 'homework' and spent a lot of time with her. He noted how she found it difficult swapping from her left side to her right side and vice versa and was still very tense about things flapping/being near her hindquarters so he asked us to try something a bit trickier.
n.b. Arran is a fantastic teacher and although his ways might seem a little unorthodox, they are always what's best for Lily and I. Lily is not a straight-forward, 'by the book' horse and thusly we have to explore other routes than the most obvious one to encourage her to develop into a calmer, smarter, braver and more athletic horse. He would not recommend doing higher level tasks for lower level students if he felt it was unecessery or that the student's safety would be compromised at any time.
So Arran had a bit of a play with her with two lines, using one for the friendly game and the other to encourage forward movement/control if needsbe. Whenever the lines or anything catches her on her HQ or hind legs, she gets very tense and will jig on the spot/kick out a little. After seeing how she reacted and playing around with swapping sides by flipping the ropes over, he asked me to have a play. It took longer for me to get the hang of it but after a few fumbling attempts, I got quite confident at changing sides from zone 5 and although Lily's still not that sure about it, she's getting much better and licking and chewing plenty. Arran believes that if I do this solidly for the next 6 sessions, it'll improve our relationship sevenfold. It's all about the friendly game! Oh, how I wish I could tell Lily that everything I do with her is for her own benefit.
After that we had a bit of a play with the saddle and she was a lot less tense than I thought she would be! She was quite relaxed and I rubbed the pad on her, the girth and put the saddle on and off, on and off and she was pretty good. After she was saddled up and ready we played with the purity of gait concept at the trot because I had told Arran she gets very short and introverted when wearing the saddle. It took a fair while and lots of laps before she could maintain gait within the gait but once she started calmly striding out and not bracing, I brought her in and finished whilst the going was good!
I always spend undemanding time with Lily before and after playing sessions so I don't have a catching issue the next day but today I felt like I needed to spend a while with her because the session had been tough on her. Once she yawned the tension out and licked and chewed, the endorphins of coming off adrenaline kicked in and she just sort of rested her head on me whilst I stroked her face. She is wooly because of it being January, she's yellow and black rather than white and black and she was sweaty but being with her at that moment and looking into her soft, gentle eyes I felt like I had the most beautiful horse in the world as my partner. I'm very lucky! :) |
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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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