If you have ever taken a lesson with me then you know the emphasis I put on going through a “pre-flight” list at the beginning of each riding session. The purpose first and foremost is to be SAFE and develop the muscle memory needed in your body to diffuse a dangerous situation. As the relationship grows, our pre-flight checks can …
The Sideways Dance (VIDEO)
Put your Seven Games to the test by incorporating them into this flowing pattern! The “Sideways Dance” is a great way to build connection, test your horse’s yields and most of of all, build YOUR leadership and tool savvy! Enjoy and forgive me for the poor audio quality:)
The Falling Leaf Pattern (On-Line)
Below you will find a video that shows one of my go-to patterns. The Falling Leaf Pattern is one I encourage my students to build as a rote skill. This pattern is a powerful arrow to have in your quiver should your horse becomes excitable and need to move his feet in a productive way you are playing with a …
LITTLE Difference = BIG Difference
This month enjoy a post written by Annemarie Meerkerk! Annemarie is a dedicated student of the Parelli program and is visiting from The Netherlands. She has been here for four weeks and goes home at the end of February. It has been such a treat to have an assistant with such a high skill set and character; making my days …
Up the Ante on Your Figure 8 Pattern
I hope this gives you a new perspective and empowers you to up the anti on the Figure 8 Pattern with your horse!
Lana April Update
I have been having so much fun with Lana! If I could assign her a Valhalla team award it would be “most improved player”. She has come such a long way since I started with her in December and has shown the biggest shift from extreme to centered.
When I first started with her she had the least handling, and, due to her extroverted nature, was very pushy/impulsive. Now, she is grounded, thoughtful and so connected.
We have been beginning to play at liberty and I had Jerome document our initial introduction.
Enjoy,
WEEK 5: LANA: RBE
DAY 20: Lana has had five days off…
We started back in the round pen and revisited her hindquarter and forequarter yields, as well as her ability to transition between gaits on the circling game. The past couple of rides she has shown opposition in both the halt and back up. This is completely understandable as she is an EXTROVERT and those aids can cause her to feel trapped. With this awareness I have been finding creative ways to use the squeeze game where pressure is added in front of her (zone 1).
WEEK 5: LAMARCK LBE (VIDEO)
Lamarck is doing really well! Like the others, I can see him maturing and becoming more and more confident as a learner each and every session. He is much less reactive and feels like he is settling into my leadership and the dynamics of our relationship.
DAY 20: Lamarck has had four days off. Regardless, we went right back to it and proceeded with our grooming and saddling in the barn. It was glorious outside so we played in the sunny pasture on the 22’ line. This is not a field we have played in before. So, I began with the touch it game and allowed him to become accustomed to the new place. Once he was calm we played with our sideways game along he fence and then I used the trees to reinforce his ability to “follow a feel”. The biggest hole I feel with Lamarck is his brace in Zone 1 (hi nose/mouth) and thoughts to have opposition reflex when pressure is applied here.
WEEK 5: DASHING RBI (VIDEO)
Once we picked up the trot he began to blow out immediately and was more connected to the pattern. This is day 3! His halts where dead on in the center and I really felt like he connected to the sweet spot. There was one time that he blew past the center but instead of pulling on his face I just backed him up the 10 or so feet until we were in the center of the cones.
BELOW YOU CAN SEE DASHING AND I RIDING THE CLOVERLEAF PATTERN
WEEK 4: A TOTAL FUDGE
Week four was a total fudge on my part and I did not journal AT ALL! So, I am going to give you an overview instead of a step by step on each of the horse’s progress all in one post. Like I said before, I am hoping and planning to do more videos each week! As you can imagine, this takes a lot of time and effort, not just from me but from my amazing husband/camera man/web designer & supporter in all things.