31. August 2009 by Edie.

“When you take the halter and lead rope off, all you have left is the truth.”  ~Pat Parelli

Well, just when you think things are going great, SOMETHING happens to bring you back down from the clouds.  I’d better start from the beginning of the day though, so here goes:

Today we started in the ranch house with PP John Baar introducing a passel of new instructors who are going to help us through the next week.  We also welcomed some new students who are joining us - some for only one week and some for several weeks - classes run simultaneously here, so people come and go, but the majority who started last Monday (around 40 people) will be here for the whole month along with me - some of us are getting pretty tight by now.

John started by talking about how this week we will be working on Liberty savvy, hence “The Truth,” title of this course, meaning, when you take off all the ropes, halters, etc., what do you have left? - THE TRUTH!  Does your horse really WANT to be with you?  Mmmmmm . . . .

We talked about how having the right attitude is SO important - it must be positive, progressive, and natural.  We took each word separately:

POSITIVE: We are to remember to visualize POSITIVELY to create better outcomes.  John again talked about fear (our’s AND horse’s) and how the right side of our brain doesn’t care about logic - its only function is to keep us ALIVE (Cheri, wish you could be here for some of this and share your journey with others!).  John said that what we focus on will expand and is more likely to happen, so that visualizing worst-case scenarios actually makes the possibility of them happening much more likely.

PROGRESSIVE: he talked again about the 3 reasons we do on-line exercises with our horses: 1) to advance our communication, 2) to prepare for something else, and 3) because horses teach people and people teach horses.  He talked about having 3 phases to your session with your horse: warm-up (something easy for both of you), teaching phase (have a plan for your session, then step outside your comfort zone(s) and STRETCH!) and cool-down phase (go back to something simple and end on a positive note).

NATURAL:

- is NOT mechanical or judgmental

- has an attitude of justice

- uses the laws of nature

- “want” vs. “make” (it’s OUR job to set it up so our idea becomes our horse’s idea - we should set them up to do their job with dignity!)

- pressure motivates, release teaches

FOUNDATION BEFORE SPECIALIZATION!

Natural is staying positive and progressive and putting the horse’s need(s) first!

Then John went on to set us up for his demo. outside in the round pen with his horse, Leo.  He talked specifically about circling game and how it is important for us to remember “the power of neutral,” (something I really learned a lot about last week with Sam Caporn).  He drew us concentric circles and asked us to think about staying in the smallest inner circle while in neutral - horses are very aware of and sensitive to silhouettes, and our stick has to be a part of us.  He also talked about how traditional longing simply de-sensitizes horses and doesn’t give them ANY responsibility.  We need to think about how we set up our horse to go out onto the circle and expect them to do THEIR jobs: 1) act like a partner, not a prey animal, 2) maintain gait, 3) maintain direction, and 4) watch where they’re going!  These responsibilities are in a hierarchy of importance (in that order).  He reminded us again that the better our “send” is, the better our “allow” will be, and that as soon as we make it a game, our horse will take an interest.

John talked about how body language is universal, but that WE don’t have to use it to survive - and horses DO!  We must be clear and consistent in order not to confuse our horse.  He ended with saying he wants us to exaggerate to teach, but then REFINE (tall order!).

We had a couple of visitors this morning - Pat and Allure!  Pat talked to us about our “aha” moments and a bit about his (new) relationship with Allure - Linda finally asked if he would ride him for her, since she is not completely recovered from her injury, and he said yes, of course.  He talked about how he has been teaching Allure about cattle and I asked him “How does he like it?”  Pat replied - “He’s like a happy alligator!”  Such an apt description of this off-the-charts LBE horse!  It was cool to watch him “fidget” as Pat talked to us - he obviously hated standing around and wanted to be off doing whatever it is they were going to be doing, but Pat just matched his little movements with his own and Allure never really got anywhere - funny!  Pat never got frustrated or impatient, just continued his Q & A and comments.  I can see why Linda says that Pat and Allure are perfect for each other! 

Then, we went outside and John played with Leo.  He reminded us how it is hard to TEACH at liberty - that is why we start on-line and get it good before we try things without a rope.  We should build/teach on-line first.  He mentioned that some people and their horses seem to be better at liberty than on-line (that would be us!) and just when I was starting to feel cool and think that was a GOOD thing, he said “Those are usually LBI horses who are simply saying “let me out there so I can do what I want!”  Sure sounds like HotShot - better get our on-line better for sure!

John showed us some cool stuff with Leo (backing all the way around the pen - backing is a GAIT to maintain!).  He sent us off to work this afternoon on the first three games (only) at liberty, reminding us that “for every door we close, we need to open another.”

So, after lunch I had to take Ash to the doctor in town - her throat has been bothering her so much because of the dry air - they told her she was OK, although VERY irritated in her throat - at least she’s not sick or anything, that would have been horrible!

After lunch we had three choices to play with:  online building to liberty in the big playground, liberty in a playpen (games 1-3) in the big playground honeycomb, or liberty circles in the grassy hill honeycomb.  Ash and I got back a bit late, so I took HotShot into the 50′ round-pen to warm him up, with the intention of going to one of those stations.  As I was working on his change of direction (we were a bit “stuck” on this, since he has SO MUCH more impulsion since our session with Sam last week, he doesn’t want to slow down!).  So, John Baar was riding by and I asked him for help.  He gave me some pointers and we were just about ready to put HotShot back on line to slow him down and get him more settled, when John got off his horse and offered to show me (bonus!).  He came in the pen and off HotShot went.  I think he was quite nervous about John and in retrospect, John might have taken things a bit slower and played a little friendly first, but oh well.  John seemed to be getting somewhere, but then he pushed a little too hard and HotShot’s draft horse came out again - he decided to go through the tiny opening (about six inches wide) that John had left between the round-pen panels when he came in - disaster!  He knocked down one panel and of course, it was attached to another, and another . . . then as they started to come down, he ended up all tangled up in the panels with his legs!  I of course didn’t breathe until he got himself out and trotted up to the pens - freak-out!  I went up and got him back near the water tanks, and he was limping a bit on his left hind, and three of his four legs are all scraped up.  Talk about heart failure!  So  - we went right back to the round pen and moved him around a bit until he calmed down, then I went up to the wash rack and cold-hosed his legs, applied Betadine, then antibiotic ointment (all provided by wonderful co-students who had witnessed this calamity and came running with help!).  My first-aid kit was up on the hill in my trailer, so I could have gotten it, but it sure felt good to have all the support.

We all talked about what could have been done to prevent such an incident (John immediately took responsibility for leaving the tiny hole between the panels that Hotty obviously thought was a door he could leave through!).  I decided to go back on-line for a few days in that particular pen to get him back and centered.  As of two hours after the incident there does not appear to be any swelling, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that his legs won’t swell overnight, but if they do, a co-student has a laser and phototonic wand that she is going to show me how to use - and another co-student who is an O.R. nurse said that even the small cut on his pastern doesn’t need a stitch or anything.

I thanked God IMMEDIATELY for watching over us - I don’t know what I would have done if he would have been seriously injured - scary!  Thank God he has legs like tree trunks!

So, off to check him one last time in the dark (hopefully there are no bears about tonight) and head back to a hot bath and bed.  I saw John and Aaron off this morning after a fun Sunday playing in the river and the hot springs downtown Pagosa Springs.  They left around 7:30am and were going to try to get all the way to Omaha, NE tonight before stopping, so they have a shorter drive tomorrow and Aaron can get home in plenty of time for his first football game.  Godspeed, but I will miss them for the next three weeks!

Going now to ponder how the angels watch over us . . .

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

30. August 2009 by Edie.

“Dream it to believe it, believe it to achieve it, achieve it to perfect it!”  ~ Pat Parelli 

Wow!  What a day!  There were people all over the place!  I arrived around 9am and warmed up HotShot in the 75′ round pen right near his pen.  I put my saddle on the fence and after he was with me and listening (that send is getting awesome and he sure has increased his impulsion “try” for me since our little session with Sam!) I went to saddle him - then I caught a cowboy on a horse in my peripheral vision - instant freak out - it was Pat Parelli!  He was watching me and I was instantly nervous that I would do something “un-savvy” in front of him, so I tried to hide behind HotShot, but so much for that - I just had to “suck it up” and move on.  Well, he didn’t come over and tell me I didn’t deserve to be in this course or anything, so it must have been OK.  Still, amazing how scary it is to do the most basic tasks in front of Pat - especially when you know that they’re the most important tasks to him!  Proper haltering, saddling, tying, standing for the vet/farrier, trailer loading - these are the things that make Pat sad when his students don’t “practice perfectly.”

I put the cradle bridle and saddle on HotShot and mounted up, heading over to Arena Grande, where there were three Patterns to compete at:  barrels (Pat’s way - balanced on both sides, which is the opposite of a traditional barrel pattern), weave (through cones) and “gaits and distances” around the OUTSIDE of the arena.  I decided to try my hand at the barrel pattern, which was completely new to me - to get the butterflies flying in formation!  Of course, I completely forgot the pattern when I got in there, but we recovered and did well.  You can go as fast as you want in the pattern, but when you get to the end and land in the “question box,” you must stop, drop your reins, and put both hands in the air for 7 seconds, or you get a ZERO for time.  Also, throughout all of these riding tasks, you have zip-ties on each rein (the rein is folded in half and the zip-tie applied).  If you pull too hard on the reins and one or both zip-ties break, you get a ZERO as well!.  We did OK on the barrels and HotShot stopped and stood at the end like a trooper.

We then did the Gaits and Distances pattern.  You could choose fast walk, slow trot, fast trot, or slow canter around the outside of the Arena.  Once you passed through the Start cones, you had to be at the chosen gait and not break  gait all the way around, and it was timed.  We chose fast trot and I posted all the way around - HotShot did great with no corrections (well, except for one little reminder when he saw Libby at the second corner and I lost his mind for a second or two).

Very cool - Lauren Barwick was here with West Point - the horse she will be competing with in the para-lympics (sp?).  Lauren is a para-plegic and Pat’s personal student for this - what a lucky girl!  Still, I understand Pat cuts her NO slack because she has no usable legs - he’s a tough teacher!

By now, John and Aaron had arrived and I wanted to get up to the Freestyle obstacle course - I had HIGH expectations for my police horse here!  Each person went individually.  You started by going over a small log (which HotShot jumped - guess he felt my excitement) and then through a car wash (which he trotted right through with NO hesitation - best of any horse I had seen do this!), over a bridge (we stayed at a fast trot), then through two huge tractor tires that are set into the ground on their side with a VERY skinny squeeze to ride through, then back through - he did GREAT!  Then we went to two more tires (on the ground) and had to figure-8 around them.  Then, a straight-line downhill run over five small hills (we cantered up and trotted down each one) between traffic cones.  Then, you had to step into a question-box that was constructed of BIG logs (the horse has to hop inside), stop, do a turn on the haunches (direct rein) one direction 360, then a turn on the forehand (indirect rein) the other direction 360, stop, drop your reins, and hold your hands up in the air for seven seconds.  As long as your horse didn’t step out of the box, you were good to go.  HotShot actually moved his feet again  at about “one-thousand-six” because he saw Libby over on the hill, but he stayed in the box and we got a STELLAR time of 2.08 minutes!  I was VERY proud of him! And we still had both of our zip-ties!

The coolest thing about the Parelli Games is that there are NO winners or losers.  You compete against yourSELF and everyone wins!  Pat started this because it made him sad that pony-clubs and 4-H only train lots of little girls to hate each other over who gets the blue ribbon.  My goal for the obstacle course by the end of the month here is to do it bridle-less with only a neck-string in the same amount of time - this will be a HUGE challenge, but I watched a woman do this today - it was awesome!  The great thing about Parelli is that there is NO END to never-ending-self-improvement - every time you thing you’re getting good, you see someone who blows your mind!

I went over to the Liberty competition after this, but they were already done timing by the time we got there, so we just ran through the course for fun.  The biggest challenge I am having here with HotShot is his bonded-ness to Libby - he’s never cared before if he’s alone or with someone and could care less leaving her at home - very strange.  I can see him “leave me” mentally here and there - looking for her.  He even whinnied at Magic one time - another black mare - funny! I’m being reminded daily that, although he IS a special horse, he IS still a horse and a herd animal before anything else.

Then, several PP’s and Mastery students did great Spotlights up in the Big Top - great stuff.  At 2pm, Pat came in with Magic and did a cool cutting demo with “robo-cow.”  I was standing (in a nice breeze) at the overhead door on the entry-side of the Big Top on HotShot.  John Baar said I was OK there, but when they went to fire-up the robo-cow, everyone cleared out and he said “You might want to back out - I’ve seen horses go through fences to escape this thing.”  I told him I’d like to stay and that HotShot had seven years of police experience - I was confident he would be curious, not scared.  John said fine, but to be prepared.  So, they started up the robo-cow and HotShot never moved his feet - acted like he wanted to go after it (then I realized, how much more scary than pig-herding could a robo-cow be?!).  He was interested, but not one bit worried about it.  Pat did an awesome cutting demo. with Magic and the robo-cow.

On my way up to the Big Top, there was Linda riding in front of me on Remmer!, so I caught up and asked her how she was feeling.  For those of you who don’t know, she and Remmer had a bad fall about a month ago and she broke four ribs.  I told her that Libby and I had a tumble the week before we got here, and I bruised my rib(s) - felt like a kindred spirit!  We talked for a couple of minutes, then continued on.  I was lucky to grab both Pat and Linda for photos with me and HotShot after they were done today - cool!  I’m going to attempt to upload some photos today - we’ll see if I can get it done!  John took a really cool one of HotShot standing on the pedestal inside the Big Top, watching Pat do his demo.

So, all in all, a perfect day - until . . . about 9pm I got a call from Alicia, my other roomie (John moved us out of our time-share and into Ash and Alicia’s condo today, where I’ll remain for the duration of my time here).  Her horse was colicking and the vet was on the way.  We went back to the ranch to pick up Ash and hung around until the vet arrived.  This is the WEST - no barn,  cover, or lights - just pitch dark.  Alicia had to go back at 1am to check on her again (good thing she had her bear-mace, since she met one at her car the last time she was here!) and Jade seemed OK - guess it was some kind of gas-colic, so she put her on probiotics.  I have had HotShot and Libby on same since about two weeks before we left - it seems to make a big difference with travel-stress and gastro-intestinal stuff.  I’m knocking on wood, but neither of them have ever had a problem this way.  Still, a good reminder that horses are a lot like kids and can be VERY high-maintenance!

I’m actually blogging these last two entries on Sunday - sitting in the (quiet) range-house, trying to get done checking my e-mail before the next class shows up and has their orientation.  Tomorrow starts Liberty Week and this has always been HotShot’s and my  best savvy - so I’m excited to start!  Today I’ll play with HotShot a bit before leaving the ranch, then go downtown with John and Aaron to shop a bit and play in the river and the hot springs.  They leave early tomorrow morning - I’ll miss my boys!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

30. August 2009 by Edie.

Today we started in the lodge with John Baar talking about Focus!  FOCUS gives you FEEL, FOCUS & FEEL give you TIMING, FEEL & TIMING give you BALANCE.  Words to ponder . . .

We talked about fear (ours) and how it is perfectly NORMAL for the right side of our brain to use fear to keep us ALIVE.

He said we should VISUALIZE everything going right, go through our “oh no” moments mentally and think about what we would do if things start to go bad.  This reminded me of my teaching of crime prevention/sexual assault prevention - the same process - run scenarios in your mind so that IF something really happens, you are prepared and already know what to do.  John said that although it is our goal for our horses, WE must have mental, emotional, and physical fitness too.  We need to train our butterflies to fly in formation!

Always “ride your horse on the ground” (pre-flight check) BEFORE  you get on.  SLOW and RIGHT beats FAST and WRONG!

We then watched a very inspiring on-line/liberty Spotlight video of Amy Brimhall and her horse - amazing!  She had him changing leads TO her on the ground - at liberty!

We then did a word-association exercise using some of the main focus-words for this past week: Attraction, Rapport, Love, Language, and Leadership, and Respect.  My word-association partner got the “profound” award for this exercise when he said that: without Rapport (Relationship), and Respect, our horses won’t CARE if we LOVE them, won’t LISTEN to our attempts at LANGUAGE, and won’t FOLLOW our LEADERSHIP - good words!

John again emphasized that the goal is to make our idea our horse’s idea - to make the wrong thing difficult, and the right thing easy.  We then talked a little more about how it is OUR job to use motivational strategies according to our horse’s horsenality.  We need to follow-through (no wimping out!) and be careful what we release on - as the release is what teaches (always).  We need to follow our phases:  suggest, ask, tell, promise, all with the attitude of justice - cause - don’t make, and allow - don’t let.

TRUST and HONESTY were words for today.

Then, we went to the 100′ round-pen, where Sam did a great demo on mounting, dismounting, direct, and indirect rein.  He was riding a three-year-old Atwood Ranch filly and was she soft!  He reminded us not to overlook the “true unity” moments we have with our horses, but to never get on until we have our horse’s mind WITH us.  He said “to get it light, present it light.”  He reminded us that it’s not as much about what we do with our legs/reins as it is about FOCUS - what we do with our minds.  He was asked about emergency dismount and I was happy to hear him say that this should be your LAST resort, not your first mode of defense - that you need to learn to remain on your horse, give him what he needs,  and get him back mentally if at all possible when the catastrophy is presented.  This was always my philosophy with mounted policing - I didn’t ever think it did much for the public’s trust and confidence in my/our riding ability to have to jump off my horse every time he was stressed out.  So, I had my “whirly-gig” de-sensitizing kite and started swinging it around at the rail - he gave us a good show of how to get your horse to calm down and stand when presented with something scary!

Then, John talked about the Open House tomorrow and how they were SURE we were ALL going to participate in the Parelli Games.  He described some of the games and how they would be set up (will explain more in tomorrow’s entry after I do all of this!).  Things were really starting to buzz around here, so after lunch I got HotShot out and rode him around - vendors were arriving, setting up all over and there was a lot of activity - he seemed happy and stimulated, as I suspected he would be.  I felt bad for people whose horses had never been exposed to crowds - they had a lot of “proper preparation” to do before Saturday!

So, more tomorrow about the Parelli Games - can’t wait to show off a little!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

27. August 2009 by Edie.

“Do your thinking at night and your feeling during the day.”  ~ Pat Parelli 

Today we started with PP John Baar in the lodge talking about applying leadership to our goals with our horses.  He reminded us to Isolate, Separate, and Recombine!  (what does the horse need?  Fix it up, then recombine).  We did a funny leadership exercise where one student was taken outside while three others of us were given assignments:  the goal of the “good” leader was to get the unknowing student to come over and pick up a coffee cup when she came back in, by playing the “warmer/colder” game.  I was the “bad” person and was supposed to tell her the opposite! (warmer when colder, colder when warmer, etc.) and the third “leader” was just supposed to shout out random things (confusion) - she was hysterical.  So, the poor student came back in and immediately I started to tell her she was colder, so she started to walk back towards the door.  The “good” leader was able to get her to listen in record speed by passively persisting and she figured it out - a really good scenario for us to see the qualities of a good leader.

After this, John told us that he knew we had a VERY full day yesterday (don’t think I had much time to pee!) and that he wanted us to know that we shouldn’t feel pressured to “keep up” if it’s not in our or our horse’s best interests, but that we ARE being “pushed” as high-level students.  He reminded us that the most important thing was to keep things positive, progressive, and natural.  He promised that all the info. being “dumped” into our heads will be there when the right time comes - it will float back up out of our subconscious when we need it - I sure hope so!  He said as good leaders, we will know where we’re at, know what’s realistic, and stick with a plan for improvement.  He reminded us to: EXPECT a lot, ACCEPT a little (the slightest try), and REWARD often (HotShot LOVES this part, as it often involves treats!).

John said that Pat/the ISC are here for Education and Inspiration, and that we’re here for Dedication and Perspiration - no kidding - I feel like I could drink a water-trough full of liquid each day!  John then went on to tell us that we should memorize the 8 principles, 7 keys to success, and 10 qualities of a horseman.  So, today I will record (again), the 8 principles of PNH:

1) Horse-man-ship is natural

2) Don’t make or teach assumptions

3) Communication is two or more individuals sharing and understanding an idea

4) Horses and Humans have mutual responsibilities

5) The Attitude of Justice is effective

6) Body language is the universal language

7) Horses teach humans and Humans teach horses

Principles, Purpose, and Time are the tools of teaching

He ended by telling us that we need to remember that PRESSURE MOTIVATES and RELEASE TEACHES - so be careful what you release on!

And last - we need to have “hands of steel in velvet gloves.”  I thought that was a good analogy for hands that close slowly and open quickly.

After this, we went outside and PP Sam Caporn did a demo. with a student’s horse on bathing preparation - can your horse REALLY stand still?  I realized again that I have gotten LAZY in this area - Ashleigh and I kept looking at each other, remembering our baths with Libby and HotShot last week.  He reminded us to set it up so there are NO MOVING FEET!

After this, PP John Baar picked three horses with “puzzles” to fix to demo. with - the first was a rather unconfident horse that needed to learn to stay on the rail.  The second was a horse that needed help with the Circling Game.  The third was . . . Libby!  Ash wanted to set her up for being willingly haltered and hooked up (instead of just tolerating it).  John did a GREAT liberty demo. with Libby and she did me proud!  She was following him around like a puppy-dog in the 100′ round-pen within about 15 minutes and put her head into the halter almost by herself!  I felt good - got a lot of compliments on her - Ash said she is going home with her to Australia!  They are really starting to get a good relationship going - it’s gratifying for me to see that Libby can learn there are actually other savvy people in this world besides me - she was/is SO distrustful of humans because of her un-savvy past.

After lunch, we had the choice to work on trailer-loading in the big playground or traveling circle-game (with 45′) in the high grassy field.  HotShot and I headed up there to look for PP Sam Caporn - I had asked him to look for us this aft. and help us with some impulsion issues on the 45′ line at the canter.  He found us while he was riding around and did HotShot and I ever get a great private lesson!

I learned that I was not being effective with my send at the canter and that it was a respect issue - which had to be tweaked before we could address the impulsion issue.  So - Sam asked me to remember my “got to” days of mounted patrol - how did I ALWAYS “get ‘r done” then, but now I’m kind of wimpy?  I pondered this and decided that it was all about PURPOSE before and now what was my purpose - why was it important?  Sam told me to go back to that place of law enforcement leadership and use that mind-set to accomplish things with HotShot now - for the sole PURPOSE of improving our relationship!  This was a good exercise for me - I basically remembered who I was in our 51/49% partnership and he had to be reminded, but it didn’t take much.  Later on today, he was having trouble WALKING on-line (Mr. Lazy-Bones!) because his respect for me had increased so much - my send is soft and effective now because I KNOW I can maintain that respect!  I have never known him to canter FOREVER in a circle around me before today!  Intensity vs. speed or “noisiness” is what I need to remember.

We then went down to the playground to mess around with trailering and I met PP Julie Cross, who informed me that she was a cop for 12 years - instant sisters!  I talked to her about some of my “aha” moments this week” and she asked me how long I’ve been out of law enforcement.  When I told her 3 years, she said “give it 5-7,” meaning, it will take that long for the “gerbil-wheel-demons” to go away completely.  It’s SO wonderful to have an instructor here who REALLY gets me!  She said we will have to have dinner sometime soon - she is here for the whole month - bonus!  HotShot really doesn’t have any trailer-loading issues, but he didn’t necessarily want to be squished into a two-horse straight-load (small), so we worked on that a bit.  I realized that he is pretty used to a slant-load, roomy trailer, but that it shouldn’t matter - it’s NOT about the trailer!

So, all in all, a GREAT day with TONS of improvement.  John told us to think of 3-5 things that went well today, and I think I can actually think of MORE!  My favorite moment, though, was watching Libby and Ash while they were waiting for her turn with John this morning outside the 100′ round pen.  Ash was squatting down in front of Libby, watching through the rails, and I saw Libby lower her head and lightly touch Ash on the head with her ears forward, just checking in.  Ash looked at me and gave me a HUGE grin!  Can’t wait until tomorrow!

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

27. August 2009 by Edie.

Well, today I felt like a gerbil on a wheel!  We were really busy and I didn’t do much in the way of reflection throughout the day - no time.  We started with PP John Baar talking about leadership and our horses.  Unfortunately, I left my notebooks in the Parelli Mercantile shop, where I have now dropped WAY too much cash because all the apparel went 50% off today to make room for new stuff (wait ’til you see what I bought you Deb M. - you’ll love it!).   So, I don’t have my notes to blog - may have to tweak this entry tomorrow, since I’m doing it from memory.

John talked about our culture and how GENERALLY, men like to lead and women would rather follow (or lead more passively).  Horses, though, are natural followers, looking for natural leaders (where have we heard THAT before?).  We talked about how important it is for us to become the leaders our horses need us to be.

Then we went outside and Mattie (intern) did a nice demo. on basic saddling - very informative and exacting.  We all the got our saddles and practiced doing it the “right” way (I must admit, I’ve gotten lazy over the years - gotta get back to doing it right EVERY TIME!) on various fences, etc. around the ranch - funny.  Then we went to the Big Top, where John did an on-line demonstration with his gelding, Leo on two-rein driving from zones 4 and 5.  Kim L. would have liked this - HotShot and I got really good this afternoons after watching John!  He also did some good demonstration of change-of-direction on-line, including flying lead change-of-directions and how to get them - cool!

We spent the afternoon working with our horses on either the 45′ line doing change of direction stuff or two-line driving.  HotShot and I went all over the place - up and down that darned mountain-driveway a time or two, around the playground, etc. and played with some obstacles.  He even jumped through the big wire-spool jump - quite a squeeze-game.  I learned that he is really quite a natural at driving - I kind of knew that when he learned how to pull a sledge a few years back in about 1.5 hours with another draft horse without turning a hair - but boy, do I need practice!  I’ll try to post some photos this weekend, now that John found me a cable for my camera to upload some.

Tonight we had a cook-out and then a campfire.  One of the other students (Debbie from Montana) was sitting across from me at the table when she pointed behind me and said “Hey, there’s a truck driving down the driveway - that’s not fair - Oh, it’s Pat Parelli!”  We all cracked up - students aren’t allowed to drive down to the range house - we have to walk up and down that darned mountain five times a day!  Pat pulled up in his pickup with his guitar (he drives a Lincoln Mark LT, for those of you who care).  John and Aaron came for dinner and we hung around for a while singing songs at the campfire afterward.  Met a guy named Nic from Belgium who is going through the one-week one-star instructor program and we had an interesting chat.  He does NOT want to go home this Saturday!

Time for bed - I’ll probably add to this entry tomorrow when I have my notes and my brain is fully-functioning - I think it’s baked from the sun!  I will leave you with the following PNH “7 Keys to Success:”

1) Attitude

2) Knowledge

3) Tools

4) Technique

5) Time

6) Imagination

7) Support

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | 3 Comments »

25. August 2009 by Edie.

“There are four things that are important to horses: 1) Safety, 2) Comfort, 3) Play, 4) Food”  ~ Pat Parelli

Today was horsenality day and we started off with PP Sam Caporn talking generally about horsenalities and what they mean.  He talked about the difference between being focused and direct-line in our thinking:  Having focus is about isolate, separate, and recombine.  Direct line thinking is about push, push, push with a singular goal in mind, w/o much consideration for the horse.  Focus is thinking: where do I want my horse to be in ten years and how do I get there?  Direct-line is thinking: I want all of it tomorrow!  He quoted Ronnie Willis: “Don’t start unless you have the end in mind.”

He also talked about the importance of “Marlboro Man” nonchalance as opposed to being emotional about things with our horses.  Horses respect us when we do NOT become emotionally upset or irritated with them. (Ex: simply swinging your rope casually as a horse invades your space - it’s their choice not to walk into the fan, as opposed to going after them with the swinging rope).

He also talked about how important it is to remember that WE have zones in our bodies too, and one zone can be activated while keeping another “dead,” depending upon what we are trying to accomplish - I never thought about it that way.

We then went outside and Sam showed us some COOL savvy knots - wait ’til you all see what I have to show you!

After that, PP Kathy Baar talked about horsenalities in depth - taking each one and explaining what drives them, what worries them, and how to be effective with each type.  Can’t go into all of it here, but it was a very good classroom session with lots of participation by the students.  A couple of things worth mentioning here were: Knowing when to quit - it’s the secret of horsemanship.  Whenever things are going well or we are particularly good at a certain task, our tendency, if not to drill it, is to do it at least one time too many for the horse’s sake.

Kathy said that, if we’re good at honoring our horse’s horsenality, they will branch out and start moving around the chart more.  If your horse switches quadrants, you deal with the horse that shows up.

We then went outside and Kathy did demos. with four student horses - including Libby!  She pegged her as I have as a Right-Brain-Extrovert (RBE), although she considered her mild, which means I have done something right with her - she was off-the-scale RBE when I got her six years ago.   I was actually very proud of how Libby conducted herself on top of the playground hill surrounded by all of us - she was much braver than I thought she’d be, especially since HotShot was calling her the entire time from his pen.  Sam said that the herd-bound issue with them will dissipate - I just can’t believe how attached HotShot is to her here - very unlike him to be so vocal.

After lunch, we went to different areas to either play the first five games with our 45′ ropes, or to play in Zone 5 (driving) with our 45′ ropes.  HotShot and I did both and made a LOT of progress today.  I did ask him to lay down for me a couple of times - it was a challenge on the grass (where’s my incentive?), but when he didn’t have grass to eat (in the arena) he knew he’d get a treat if he did - funny!  I have realized more and more that he is clearly an LBI with LBE traits that came out only due to his unique training and life experience - a truly cool combination, but we all knew that already anyway

Alicia (my other roommate starting next week) had a little scare with her horse after dinner - she seemed to be colicky.  She wasn’t even interested in her grain or hay, which is unheard of for her (she’s a Friesian cross).  There was a woman student here who knew pressure points and activated a colic point in her stifle area - she immediately kicked out, then licked and chewed.  As soon as Alicia put her back in her pen, she started to eat her hay - amazing!  You just never know what you’re going to learn here.

Just before dinner, John Baar did a session on the future of PNH and explained how all the new instructor training is going to be from now on - very interesting, and I got a pretty firm answer to my question as to whether or not I will pursue becoming a Parelli Professional.  I think for now, for my life and the good of my family, I’m better off doing exactly what I’m doing right now, for a number of reasons, but that could change.  Still, if I ever get a chance to tell Pat what I think while I’m out here, I’ll take that opportunity.  I will say that, for any young person who wants to do horses for their life - Parelli is the way to go and it would be worth every penny to go through the necessary courses to become a PP.

Well, off to bed.  You can’t believe how pooped you get running around with and after your horse on a 45′ line!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

24. August 2009 by Edie.

“Response - has thought process, understanding, and respect

Ill Response - has thought process, understanding, and dis-respect

Reaction - has fear and/or surprise and no understanding” ~ Pat Parelli

Wow - what a Monday!  We began our day in the lodge with a bit of classroom time with PP John Baar.  Mondays are always “Prey/Predator Day” in some shape or form.  He talked about how we need to be SELFISH while we are here and think only of ourselves and our horses.  He talked about our commitment level at being here:  over 500,000 people have heard or seen something about PNH, there are 80,000 Savvy Club members, and only 70 of us are here!  He said that Pat continually re-iterates the simplicity of PNH - that you can learn the basics in two days, but it takes two LIFETIMES to master it - so true!

We talked about our first week on-line course called “Advancing Communication” and the three reasons for playing on-line:  to advance your communication, to prepare for something else (riding, maybe), and to allow our horses to teach us.  About 45 minutes into John’s morning class-time, a very distinctive guy in a big hat walked in the side door - Pat Parelli!  He spent about 1/2 hour with us and answered some questions.  He talked about horses needing to feel/see relevance/purpose in what we do with them.  I asked him what to do to keep HotShot happy now that he doesn’t have as “relevant” a job/purpose as in the past - he said “just teach him level 4, keep going, and don’t limit yourselves.”

Pat talked alot about attitude and commitment - and told us “Do your thinking at night, so you can do it by FEEL with your horse the next day.”  He ended with giving us four instructions:

1) Don’t be chauvanistic (why are our needs/desires as humans more important?)

2) Don’t be autocratic - be a partner

3) Don’t be anthropomorphic (wimp!!) - (look it up, Kelsey and Tasha!)

4) Be a puzzle-solver, NOT a direct-line thinker

After Pat - we all went outside and watched Kathy Baar give a demo. on how to pick up feet - hands free.  We then got out our horses and worked on this.  HotShot continues to defer to Libby and they are NOT happy when they are apart from each other - how interesting!  He came around and did this task perfectly (of course) and then we went up to the Big Top Coverall and Kathy continued to demo. with her horse on The 7 Games, “but really there are only three” (you all better know what they are!).  Kathy’s horse is an LBI and I learned a lot by watching her - very similar in her responses to HotShot.  Today the emphasis was on. . . (get ready, Kim L!) WAITING on your horse.  She reminded us that Phase 1 is as light as you can possibly be to be effective, and Phase 4 is as firm as necessary to be effective.  After this, we all practiced with our 45′ ropes - throwing them and even playing a version of soccer by trying to move the balls across the arena by hitting them with our ropes - funny!  I could just hear PP John Harms (deceased) looking down from Heaven and smiling on me - I was finally getting the “Rope 101″ cowboy lasso training he said I needed way back in 1996!  I could almost here him say “Good, job, Edie - ya (finally) got ‘er done.”

After (late) lunch, we were instructed to meet with our horses, 45′ ropes, and carrot sticks/strings in the big playground (for those of you who don’t know - it’s a several acre area with every obstacle you can think of permanently mounted - very cool!).  We were instructed to work on what we saw this morning.  HotShot and I went over, under, around, and through all the obstacles, although surprisingly, he remained very concerned about where Libby was for a while.  I was playing with him at a two-horse straight-load trailer when Australian PP Sam Caporn came over on the Cushman and we started talking.  I told him how surprised I was about HotShot being so attached to Libby - we talked a bit about our background (they had us fill out info. sheets last night so the instructors would know a bit about us and our horses, so he knew we had the police background).  HotShot was still worried about Libby and was eating grass, but not in his usual “Hoover” way - he was just not himself at all  - obviously a bit distracted and worried.  So, Sam started giving me some tips on what I could do to play with him and change his mental state.  I admitted to him that I felt on-line was my least-effective savvy and he said that wasn’t really so unusual.  He then showed me some interesting things with HotShot on-line to help improve our Porcupine Game.  We got into a discussion about the effectiveness of the “don’t eat the grass” technique, and about the braciness/pushiness that HotShot had learned as a police horse and how to un-do some of that, now that he doesn’t have to be that way any more.

As usual - it’s NEVER about the horse!  At the end of the 45 min. or so session, Sam said “take my hand.”  Mind you, I have never met this man before today and he didn’t know anything about me (or so I thought!).  I kind of looked at him - then I did, putting my left hand in his right.  He said “Now, I want to go over here (to his left) and do something.  You want to go over there to the Big Top (to our right).  Do what you would do.”  I asked him “How badly do I want to go over there?”  and he said “As badly as you want to.”  So, I started to pull away pretty hard to the right.  He just HELD and gently and persistently tugged and waited, saying “No, let’s just go over here for a while.”  I pulled again and again, but he just kept being passively persistent and using the most amazing FEEL to lead me the other way.  Finally, I just said “OK, I’ll go with you” and I did!  I truly felt like I had no other choice.  He never pulled on me hard or used any real force - it was more of a “strong suggestion” on his part and a “give up” kind of thing on my part - I wanted to go where he wanted to go.  He explained how Tom Dorrance’s horses never pulled on him because they knew Tom would WAIT on them for three days if necessary, so they just never went there.  He reminded me about what Pat says about the “get to” vs. the “got to” and how most people never HAVE to “got to” with their horses, but I spent a career doing exactly that with mounted policing - very eye-opening.

So, you’re all wondering - where do the tears come in?  Well, right after this exercise, Sam said “Now, I’ll be you.”  He took my hand again and PULLED me (just like we all see people pull their horses up from grass or anywhere else) and said “Come with me! Right now!” He yanked on my arm hard two or three times (SO rude and unnecessary!), then stopped.  I just stood there and I swear, you all would have seen the visible lightbulb go on over my head!  I stood there rather dumbfounded for a minute, then thanked him sincerely for the help and he said “I could share some more with you, but I don’t want you to over-analyze - I’ll just leave you to think about this.”  Then he got in his little cart and drove away.  I just stood there for about 30 seconds, then burst into tears!  HotShot walked up behind me, I turned around and buried my face in his mane in apology!  I felt like a complete gunzel, but SO grateful at the same time.  Even now as I type this, I am in tears again.  HORSES ARE SO DARNED FORGIVING AND AMAZING!  Every day, we force our predator selves upon them and they take it and take it - usually without much rebellion or hard feelings.  I sat down on the trailer and cried for a little while, then we set off in an entirely new relationship - because of the HUGE change that had been effected in me.

I found Sam later and thanked him profusely - told him it was a good thing I wear waterproof mascara and that if this is only Day 1, I’m going to cry a river by the time I leave this place!  He just smiled and nodded - been there, done that.  I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about my pushy, bossy, autocratic self and how 25 years of law enforcement and para-military supervision only re-inforced that.  Those of you who think natural horsemanship is all about the horse, well, let me tell you - it’s WAY more about who we are as people and how we (effectively or no) deal with our strengths, weaknesses, and personality flaws.  So - that was my psychology lesson for today - I swear, it was the biggest breakthrough I’ve had in years.

Tomorrow is “Horsenality Tuesday.”  I can hardly wait!  Gotta go to bed and do some more “licking and chewing” and THINK about tomorrow so I can do it with better feel with HotShot!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

23. August 2009 by Edie.

“Cause your idea to become his idea, but understand his idea first.” ~ Pat Parelli 

Well, I slept like a baby last night and did I need it!  Got to Aurora’s around 10:30am to get the horses - they came right to us and looked pretty happy and rested as well.  They happily hopped right on the trailer (are they crazy?!).  We were smart to wait - Aurora said they had set a new record with overnight boarders (25) and that everyone would leave first thing in the a.m. and she was right - there was no one around and it was a very non-stressful transfer.

We arrived at the ISC and most everyone else was there - but we scored!  I had asked ahead if Libby could be on a corner pen, because when she’s in heat she has been known to kick through fences at a horse next to her, so they gave us pens #1 and #2, which are together, but separated from the rest and right next to the tack storage - great!  Only negative is that we’ll have to hike a bit to get to the manure-removal supplies and dump same, but I’ve already been up and down that da(*^&^(*&$$#%ned half-a-mountain hill to the trailer parking twice now, so maybe that will be how I’ll get off the last 5 lbs. of my 20 lb. weight-loss goal!

We had an orientation session at 1pm and talked about where to go, what to do, logistics, etc. for the time we’re here.  Our instructors tonight were John and Kathy Barr (yes, married) - they seem great.  They talked about how teaching happens here:  Tell (presentations), Show (demos), Feel (simulations), and Try (live with your horse) - which is how I hope I teach, as well.   John re-iterated several times that our learning will happen by our making mistakes, and that they won’t jump to our rescue! He said they will follow the mantra that our horses consistently follow (IF we listen!!) which is: I’ll tell you what I’m going to tell you - then I’ll tell you, then I’ll tell you what I’ve told you - no surprises (do you think we humans have a little trouble listening?!).  He said that we are to focus on processes, not tasks, because their goal is to make us “Super-Learners,” so we can go home and be successful when we’re no longer here - makes perfect sense to me.

We were excited to learn that during the ISC Open House this Saturday, we are all encouraged to participate in Parelli Games with our horses - can’t wait!  They said they expect around 600 people to come in for the open house and that Pat will be there - makes you nervous, knowing he will be watching.

As suspected, HotShot’s only concern when we got here today was how many people and horses he could meet and what he could find to taste!  Libby was, of course, a bit more concerned about her unfamiliar surroundings.  John Barr did a demo with his horse on catching/haltering and the “me and my shadow” exercise, then sent us out to “learn one thing about our horses that we don’t know.”  Well, of course, the gunzel in me thought I REALLY knew my horse - after all, what HAVEN’t we done together as partners?  I even asked Ash if she wanted me to wait to let him come out of the pen (he was leaning against the chain asking to come out) and she told me to go ahead and leave so she could deal with Libby.  So . . .

Suffice it to say, it took about two minutes for HotShot to completely surprise me.  Libby was very upset when he left (not a surprise), but then he started whinnying and jumping around to try to get back to her - something very new!  So tell me (Ray, Terry?).  Was it because he was feeling insecure (I can’t imagine that) or because he was “worried” about Libby and feeling responsible for her (my suspicion) or because she was demanding his attention and has become more of his alpha over the past three years than I am?  After all, we haven’t really “worked” together for that long now, with the exception of the Midwest Horse Fair last April.   Anyway, we played alot of approach and retreat, then put them back together in their side-by-side pens.  After a few minutes, I took him out again (at liberty except for my carrot-stick) and asked him to come with me to the big round pen, which was a little ways away, but still within sight of Libby.  He came along well enough, but when she started calling him, he completely left me and galloped around like a maniac.  It took about five minutes to get him to focus and come back to me well enough to play a few games.  Once he was hooked up and calm, he walked back at liberty with me and didn’t rush.  Still, it was eye-opening to realize that he IS, after all, still a horse (we sometimes wonder - he’s so darned independent and bomb-proof).

Went to dinner, then picked up groceries for the week.  I’m signing off now to go check horses before dark and throw a little more hay.  Tomorrow is the first day of class - 9am sharp and I’m excited!   The order of the Master Courses is as follows:  week 1: on-line, week 2: liberty, week 3: freestyle, week 4: finesse.  For those of you who are imagining me riding like the wind and goofing around on a mountain-top, you might be surprised to hear that they asked us to commit to NO RIDING for the first two weeks - ouch!  They promised it will make our first ride two weeks from now that much better - I don’t doubt that, but I might go into withdrawal!

So, I leave you with the following:

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

~Tom Dorrance

Edie

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22. August 2009 by Edie.

We are here in Pagosa Springs!  We left HotShot & Libby joyfully running around in a lovely two-acre pasture at Aurora & Ryan Wright’s.  They were there once before in 2006, when Aurora was working for Parelli Admin. and did me a “favor” by letting me board overnight there before we checked in at the Parelli ISC on Sunday.  It has grown into a thriving business for them, and Aurora has quit Parelli and is now filthy rich in real-estate as well - all in three years!  I LOVE it when good things happen to deserving people.

Anyway, back to our adventures of the past four days.  Ashleigh (hereafter referred to as “Ash”) arrived at midnight Wednesday from Western Australia (Kelsey and Tasha - look up Esperance - that’s where she lives) and I picked her up at the Madison Airport.  Her bag was still in Minneapolis, but she was in good spirits, despite having been on a plane since Monday afternoon!  We spent Thursday getting horses ready and packed and then had a cookout with a few friends - a very nice send-off.

We left Madison around 8am on Friday, Ash riding with me in the truck pulling the horses, and John driving behind with Aaron.  The weather was bad (rain) for most of the day, which was exhausting enough, but then we came upon one-lane construction on Hwy. 80 in Nebraska.  On top of that, I have NEVER driven into such intense, direct sunlight in my life (of course, the sun finally came out at the worst possible time - 2 hours  before sunset!).  The crazy NE drivers didn’t help - Ash and I will forever call NE the “wobbly state.”  They don’t seem to know how to drive in their own lane of traffic!

Ash and I had a great time comparing notes on life in general.  Those Aussies sure are strange!  I learned several new slang words and will be using them on all of you!  We shared our personalities per the horsenality chart (I am LBE with occasional RBE tendencies - she vascillates between LBE and RBI - Libby’s polar and diagonal opposite, so they should theoretically balance each other well.  It was a joy to watch Ash play with Libby on Thursday while we bathed the horses and otherwise prepared to leave - it didn’t take long for Libby to stand up and take notice that there was another alpha mare on the premises!

We arrived Friday night at a bed and breakfast (+ horsey hotel) in North Platte, NE, which is almost exactly halfway from Madison to Pagosa.  Arlene Knoll (proprietor) gave us a great breakfast and we hit the road again at 8am on Sat.,  making much better time because of stellar weather and no construction!  Once again, Hotty & Lib traveled like troopers - waiting for breaks so not ONE pee in the trailer from Madison to Pagosa!  They were good as gold getting off and back on for the times we took them out - even at a mountain road scenic view-point!

We arrived in Pagosa at Aurora & Ryan’s around 7:30 tonight, dropped off horses, dropped off Ash at her condo (which she is sharing with Alicia Frietag from Montello, WI - our third roomie), then proceeded to our time-share, where I’ll be staying the first week with Aaron & John.  I will try to blog each day this week, as after Sat. my WiFi access will be limited (none at the other condo).  John & Aaron will head home on Monday, 8/31 so Aaron can make his football game on 9/1 (he is SO disappointed he will miss the first day of school - NOT!

Tomorrow is check-in day at the ISC.  As I suspected, Aurora confirmed that all the “newbies” will be banging on the ISC gate at 9am sharp, so we will wait until around 11am to check in - there is no reason to hurry in removing Hotty and Lib from their roomy accomodations to the 15′ X 15′ pens where they will be living for the next month.

That’s all for tonight.  Going to get a good night’s sleep for the first time in a few days.  Will report on check-in and orientation tomorrow. Realized today that I forgot my camera cable to download photos here, so unless John finds one cheap this week, you may all have to wait to see photos until I get home - I’m bummed!

Edie

Posted in 2009 ISC | No Comments »

13. August 2009 by Edie.

Getting really excited - only one week until we hit the road for Pagosa Springs!

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