Felt really great to take off from Houston to go to Park City for vacation today. Of course, what am I doing while on the plane despite only 7 hours of sleep over the last two days? Watching Linda Parelli helping Lindsey and Allure play on the cloverleaf.
And in case anyone still thinks that riding a horse is not an aerobic exercise, you can hear Lindsey breathing hard as she moves over the cloverleaf over and over.
And Linda reminds me again, always stop on a good note, even if it’s not as progressive as you would like. Linda also makes a very good point about standing still. Because it is difficult for an extrovert to stand still, standing still while they are calm is very important. Because an introvert likes to stand still, once they have had a chance to think and assess, it is best to move off again.
There was no better example of this than the other day when Maverick did not want to move forward for a walking passenger lesson. He was in a seriously LBI state of mind. I would ask him forward; he would take a couple of steps, then stop. I rubbed him, then asked him forward again, and again, he chose to stop. Sometimes he took two steps, sometimes eight, but he would not take very many steps.
We must have repeated this cycle at least 20 times, but I kept telling myself, there is only joy in this, and the knowledge that at some point he will give me more than eight steps. I am not sure how long it took, but he finally decided to take additional steps, 42 before he finally stopped again. Naturally, I rubbed him, and since this was the last thing I was going to do for the day, I hopped off and fed him cookies, rubbed him and told him what a smart, calm, brave and athletic horse he is.
Such a different approach I have to have compared to Walker. With Walker, it was a relief when he finally decided to stop and stand still. I can remember a session that once I got him to walking on a passenger lesson, he didn’t stop for over 30 minutes. And even then, he could only stand still for a few moments at a time.
And with Maverick, I will need to ask him into a downward transition just before he is about to, and then ask him back up in gait again, so he does not feel wrong, and he feels more motivated to stay in gait, as it is a lot of work to transition downward.
All of this seems so simple, but it also so powerful. And the wonderful thing about Maverick is because he carries no baggage regarding the human, he learns really fast. If he gets a night or two to think, he usually performs any task we attempt again with a great deal more confidence and understanding.
On another note, I managed to get my scholarship video out on Saturday for the Fast Track in November. I really hope I get it, not so much for the money, although it all helps, but because they see something on the tape that makes them believe Walker and I are worthy. Either way, the video was fun to make, and because so many people at Huntington Stables contributed to it, it will make a great keepsake either way.
So I want to give a special thank you to Lei, Brenda, Donna and Wendy for graciously giving me their lovely testimonials on why they think I would be an asset to the Parelli organization. And thanks to my son Ben who braved the 95 plus degree Houston heat over the two days he helped me tape the video.
But mostly I have to thank Walker. He has led me on a journey I could not have even imagined when we started together over 7 years ago. I thought I would try riding bareback and bridleless in the park across from the barn as part of my video, even though we had never done it before.
He was soft and sweet and lovely, and I felt so connected to him. My ultimate goal when I become a Parelli instructor is to make it possible for others to have that same connection with their horses, and to realize even when you think the connection couldn’t get better, it can and will.
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