Thursday, July 22, 2010

Surprise!!!


Well, I went to the barn yesterday looking forward to working with my Right Brain Introvert, Brandy. She is an older quarter horse mare that is very challenging! Tom decided he'd go to the barn with me & mow Decker's pasture to keep the weeds suppressed while I played with the horses. So I put Decker in the round pen while I played with Brandy.

I played with Brandy for about 30 minutes. I was just checking her out, b/c I have only played the friendly game with her before. She did really well with the friendly and porcupine game. I think I'll have to find better ways to engage her for the driving, squeeze and yo-yo games. Over all though, she was great!

So now that Decker has been in the round pen for 30 minutes, he is all sweaty from running around and playing! The boy sure can buck! :) He is fun to watch...scary to think how athletic he is though! Well I went to get him out of the round pen, so I could feed everyone for the night. He frisked me as usual at the gate, so I played the yo-yo game to back him out of my bubble. He is starting to be able to yo-yo at liberty now! I'm so proud!!! :) Well I let him chew on everything as usual and put the halter in his mouth like a bit to make it playful. He then excepted the halter very well & wanted to play more...so I used that! :)

I backed him up and drove him towards a cone in the round pen. He stood there and didn't do anything. I used my carrot stick & string to push his neck over towards it. He squealed & shook his head, b/c he is so dominant. He got over it though & did what I asked. He picked it up with his mouth as usual & stomped all over it! Better the cone than me! :) He loves checking things out and playing with everything! We then played the touch it game with barrels and cones. I drove him to each object and stopped him so he could check things out. He is getting much better at this game! I can see the wheels turning when I ask him to do something. If I get boring...he gets mischievous!!! Once he got the touch it game, I decided to yo-yo him out of the round pen & ask for some more! I played the driving game to his pasture and then asked him to yo-yo backwards into his stall. He got kind of nervous about the small opening to the stall, so I opened the gate more, so he could feel better about it. The backing and turning at the same time was hard, so I backed him through a gate and then drove him into his stall. This felt like me asking him into the horse trailer. He did it perfectly! I am so happy that we are finally communicating!!! :) Love him! It is surprising what passive persistence will do with a horse! :)


Keep it Natural,
Brooke

Monday, July 19, 2010

Decker Details


Decker, as he's known to us, is a LBE!!! Decker has moments of RBE behavior when he is un-confident or gets scared. I'm learning to interrupt his patterns though to help him through those outbursts! He is such a fun horse when he is being obedient! He is super friendly and always wants to love on everyone! Decker is a 4 year old Appendix registered Quarter horse. He is out of These Irons Are Hot and a Last Detail mare.

I purchased Decker in 07 to be my dream English mount. We'll see how that goes! We have to get to level 3 or 4 before we start showing full time! :) We have a long way to go!!! We are studying Level 1 now and dabbing in Level 2 in certain areas. :)

Decker is wonderful with the friendly game. He is confident with the carrot stick and string and he doesn't have any "yeah but" spots. He is very sensitive in some aspects and then bracey at other times! The porcupine, driving and sideways games are challenging for us. The squeeze is easy though!??? We're working hard on improving them all though! Polite and passive persistence is the key with him. If you ask in a rude manner, he'll show you his mean side! He can get aggressive at times. He is quick and stubborn. Hmmm...How interesting! :)I have to really be on my game when I ask for things. I can't rush him or get frustrated! He really is a great horse to change my way of thinking!

I'm learning not to get frustrated and put our relationship first. I think we've got a great relationship, but now we are working on the respect part! :) I have just inquired about getting help from 3 star Parelli instructor and Horse Development Specialist Berin MacFarlane. I'm hoping once he gets back from the UK, that we can get together and improve mine and Decker's 7 games. Pictures and hopefully video will follow! :)

Keep it Natural,
Brooke

My Parelli Journey with Decker!

Well, I've been studying Parelli for about 2 years now! Having a full time job, going to school part-time, and being a wife has made my Parelli time challenging! I work with Decker as often as I can, but sometimes life makes our time scarce!

I would like to use this blog as inspiration and motivation for me as I continue my journey to never-ending self improvement!

A little background on me...I'm 26 & I've ridden horses since I was 6 or 7 years old. I started showing English at a young age & got my first horse at the age of 13! Oh how I wish that I had found Parelli back then!!! My first horse would have been awesome!!! I sold that horse and continued to ride horses for other people who didn't have time for them. This gave me the opportunity to ride better trained and more expensive horses. I gained a lot of experience riding, but still had the desire for my own horses. I leased some horses and then met my now husband in 2002. He had horses and I've been playing with them ever since! We currently have 6 horses and a pony. I am currently focusing only on one right now, Decker. All of our horses are responding well to the friendly, driving and porcupine games!

...so the journey begins!!! I can't wait! "Good Better Best, Never Let It Rest. Get Your Good Better & Your Better Best!" -Pat Parelli (one of my favorite quotes!)

Keep it Natural,
Brooke