Today, we started the day off with our usual game of rugby with the externs and interns, John Baar joined in today too. Then Berin talked to us about online and preparation. Using the circle game for things such as trailer loading, and breaking your circle game down into parts.. the send, allow, bring back. He used a horse as an example to show us some things to work on. I started with Max's back up once Berin gave us time to play with our horses. My goal was to get him to the end of my 45' line. It took quite a few times of going to a phase 4 then back to a phase 1 for him to understand exactly what I wanted. His draw on the yo-yo was amazing today, and instead of trying to rail in my 45' line quickly I decided to just let him run around the rope, he figured it out very quickly. So once I was able to yo-yo him all the way out on the 45' and back, we worked on our send. I would ask very softly, if he didn't listen I would get very slow and intense.. slowly creeping towards him and putting the pressure on. I gave him time when I was doing this then if he didn't move I would slap the ground (or him). Pretty soon he was asking questions about when he should go on the circle. His allow went pretty darn good today, considering this was the first time Max has really played on the 45' using the entire rope. He did walk, trot, canter, and only a few times he got a little excited with the other horses running around near him. His bring back was extremely good, especially since working on our yo-yo on the 45' line first. I would ask him to disengage, then ask him to come in and he would come trotting over! The last thing I worked on with him for the morning was to get him thinking about other things besides just circles. I had him jumping a log from the end of the 45'. He needed some reminders at first of what I wanted, but soon he was seeking out the jump.
Ryan Rose talked to us about auditions today and how we will be able to help our future students with sending their auditions in. Mark Weiler did a Q & A with the group today, which was fascinating and full of information! Today was the last day of the 2 Star Course. Congratulations to all the new 2 star instructors!!
This evening I was able to ride Max. He was SO SO SO much better at the walk and trot. I only had to ask him a few times to slow down at the trot following the rail. We worked on stopping from the walk and trot without having to use reins, only a release of energy was needed. We also cantered for our first time in the HUGE arena! He was great! To the right he was more balanced in the canter, and after the canter.. he didn't rush to the right. He was somewhat unbalanced to the left and afterwards was more emotional when trotting after he had just cantered. So tomorrow we will get to play with this more. We ended our session walking follow the rail with relaxation.
Tomorrow my amazing farrier/trimmer is coming all the way from Massachusetts to trim Savannah's and Max's feet, and shoe Max's front feet with epona shoes. Can't wait to see her!
Welcome to my blog where I can share my journey with you! I am a Licensed Parelli Professional Two Star Junior Instructor. Here you can read about my experiences with Parelli Natural Horsemanship, my personal horsemanship journey, and my journey with being a Parelli Instructor. I hope to inspire and empower you with my quest for never ending self improvement. I have been studying Parelli for 11 years and am an official Level 3 graduate. I am studying Level 4 with my two horses, Max and Savannah. I grew up riding horses the traditional way and was in the United States Pony Club for 12 years, where I competed in Eventing and Dressage. My first introduction to Parelli was with my pony, who at the time was not a problem horse. I've had my andalusian mare, Savannah for 7 years now and after 2 years of struggling with her while not using Parelli methods, I knew I had to change something. I have been doing Parelli with her for the past 5 years and graduated Level 3 with her fall 2010. In the Spring of 2010 I received Max from Kelly Sigler. I owe it to my two amazing horses, as I would not be where I am now without them, they are my greatest teachers. The journey so far with Parelli has been fun, fulfilling, challenging, and life changing.
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