I'm thrilled for you both & so glad she has recovered so well !
Now tell me what it all means, are you going for Parelli certification to be a trainer instructor? So happy for you
would love to see pics what's her name ?
Thank you!
We are now home from our wonderful vacation in South Africa. Saw lots of wildlife ... up close, on the roads, often without any other car around to crowd us. It was an awesome trip!
My mare is Easter Lady. Sorry, I don't have any photos loaded in spots with public access. Easter is a smaller Standardbred (14.3h if I fluff the mane just a tad) with slender legs; coloring is dark bay with black points; her eyes are large and expressive; her ears a bit oversized; her legs show a smidge of fringe/feathering at the fetlocks; her summer coat is a very short/fine hair showing a dark golden mottled pattern if the sun hits it just right. She loves to move her feet (more 'go' than 'whoa'), is mouthy, playful, teasing, intuitive , curious and often asks if she may, please, be the boss.
I've been taking the Parelli courses (online, DVD, live events) in order to stay a few steps ahead of Easter. Compared to my compliant, complacent, "I-just-want-to-stand-still-and-smell-the-flowers" gelding, she is pushing me to up my game! So far, the program has improved my skills in reading the horse, increased clarity in my communications, taught me when to release, and supplied me with lots of learning games to play with both horses every visit. I'll keep taking the assessments (auditions) to make sure we aren't skipping components of our progress.
I'm currently working on improving our sideways from the ground with increasingly subtle gestures. I've also started to ask her to move sideways over an obstacle (ground pole, barrels, etc.). We should have already perfected backing through a gate (on the ground w/out touching her) -- but that is still causing a few responses of uncertainty. It is getting better ... phew!
If nothing else, it is fun to watch bystander's expressions when they see me backing both horses out the barn, at the same time, each on about 8ft of lead away from my body, with a simple wiggle of my finger and stern expression on my face. Both horses respect my space and are (mostly) watchful for my cues. That feels great!