Licensed Parelli Professional 2* Junior Instructor

My official Parelli Professional website can be found at;

http://instructor.parelli.com/lillanroquet

Wednesday 27 January 2016

I hope you brought a 2nd pair of socks .... ;)

Well, Since I last wrote, Flo has had sessions 4 and 5 ;). And she is making SUCH great progress! Here is a little bit about each Session.

Session 4: Well... Just so you all know, my LIFE gets in the way of my horse time too, and this day was a perfect example. I had the opportunity to have an indoor arena all to myself this day ... BUUUUUTTT I also had a doctor's appt. SO, I loaded Damo, Flo, Uno, and a Clients Horse (Wyatt), into the trailer and we headed to the Doctor. Then ... Of course, the doctor took WAAAAAY longer then planned and by the time I was done it was getting dark ;(. So Flo got to stand in the trailer and eat for about 4 hours. She does really well, but you can tell that she struggles with anything behind her, so closing the divider is a little emotional.



One of the things I LOVE about Flo is that she is REALLY clearly Nervous/Right Brain. Her first tendencies are often to Escape or Flee ... rather then fight, THEN to yield. WE just have to keep playing so that soon her FIRST response will be to Yield, Give and Turn Loose, not flee or panic. Sam Caporn, a fellow Parelli Instructor always used to say, "The horses FIRST response is what they understand, their LAST response is what they will learn." I always loved this as a guide to never release on a brace ... and/or to notice what it is that your horse actually thinks is the right answer ;). Although she can be challenging, its nice that she isn't complicated!

Once we got home from our loooooooong trailering adventure, Flo and I played for just a few minutes. This was the FIRST time that I was able to throw the rope over her back 3 times on each side without her moving at all ;)! We also did lateral flexion, and rope around turns to check her understanding of yielding to steady pressure, as well as being put in a vulnerable position and being able to turn loose to the pressure. NEVER underestimate the power of lateral flexion!

Session 5: SO ... Here is where Flo blew my socks off ;). I decided to bring her with me to a free evening event at Courage Rein's Therapeutic Riding Center in Highland, UT. I was bringing Damo as well, so I knew that worst came to worst Flo could just stand and hang out with Damo.

Flo, however, had different plans! She came to act like a star ;). There were about 50 people at the demo in an indoor arena she had never been to!



I first used Flo to demonstrate the three different kinds of pressure we use with horses ... Rhythmic Motion, Steady Pressure, and Rhythmic Pressure.



Then I thought I would turn her loose and demonstrate catching game ... BUT, Flo wouldn't leave my side! This was the first time I've released her and she didn't walk away, and she chose to do it in an arena with a bunch of people watching! I don't think anybody believed me that she has been hard to catch ;).

I couldn't have been more proud of this sweet little horse! I hope she finds a human to help her through her life soon!

Thanks for following our Journey!

Lillan


2 comments:

  1. What a lovely story Lillan, I can understand why she would want to be with you< you are too much fun!

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