Changes (Warning! Long One!)

It's been forever, I know, but I had a session where a lot of licking and chewing had to go on in my head, as I've also been licking and chewing over a more lengthy post and I want to make sure I've got all my thoughts straight so the post is as emotionally fit and thought provoking as I can prove of myself.

We had a bad session with Jet recently (Ma posted about it on the SC Forum) and while I did NOT want to give up, I had spooked myself and became filled with self-doubt. I was afraid I wasn't any good at Parelli, that I was interpretting Pat's philosophy all wrong and that I was turning Jet into a monster in the process. I figured it was time to call in the Big Guns (Marc Rea, local 3-Star instructor, *cheers* hurray!). But before I did that, I needed several days to work some things out in my head.

We also made a little tweak in Jet's diet. He eats free-choice hay living out in the pasture and gets a hoof and coat supplement everytime we visit. Upon recommendation by a friend, we were mixing a small scoop of senior feed to mask yucky tasting pellets. Basic science - more energy input than output. The mollasses turned Jet into a crackhead - HELLO, it's common knowledge at the track the racers get sweet feed to get them hypered up for race time. Basically we were putting a 16.2h, 1100lb, 6 year old, off-track Thoroughbred on a sugar rush. It was like the days when my drink of choice was vodka and sugar-free Red Bull (or as I used to call it, "The Weapon of Mass Destruction). Mom and I decided right then and there to pull the TINY scoop from his supplements - the horse will eat anything that isn't nailed down anyway, so doubtful he would notice a difference in taste.

****~~~~BRAND NEW HORSE HAS ENTERED THE PICTURE!!!~~~~****

I know, you all think I'm a moron for feeding my horse senior feed. YES, I AM, but at least we figured it out, and in my defense, it wasn't like he got a full bucket of it 6 days a week, it was a very small scoop meant to be a tasty treat in the event his normal supplements didn't fit the bill. I know quite a few horses who have it mixed into their supplements and they don't experience a difference in hyper-activity. Mine did. He told me. We yanked it.

And now, Jet is a Gentle Giant.

And guess what, it wasn't just about the sweet feed. I needed to calm down just as much as he did. I sat back for a moment and decided the best thing to to was to not do anything the next time I saw him. As Mom encouraged, "He is our horse. We train him with the method we feel is best and we spend time with him however we see fit. If you want to come up here and spend the whole day just sitting in that pasture looking at him, you do it." So that day, I did just that. I watched Jet and thought. I thought about how I was putting too much pressure on myself and was rushing like Jet and I had some deadline to meet. I watched how he pushed Blahnik out of his way and thought of how he does the same exact thing to us. I realized I shouldn't take it so personally, he doesn't do it to be mean or testy, he does it because he is normally dominant in his little herd of 2 and assumes the position with us. He groomed Blahnik's mane and I smiled because he nibbles my hair sometimes too. Then I just admired this magnificant, smart, funny, Thoroughbred in front of me and let myself be all mushy inside because this stunning animal in front of me was MINE, the horse I'd always wanted, the horse I'd been waiting for my whole life. And when he sparked curiosity towards me and put his nose on mine and took a big long sniff before going back to his hay, I saw, despite the struggles I had been going through, despite some of our arguments, Jet was - IS - a happy horse. He is loved so much, and we have done everything in our power to make him happy and trusting and he KNOWS how loved and spoiled he is.

Mom joined me shortly thereafter and we had a discussion about what to do from here. As we talked, our horse stood in between us, fast asleep, lazily swishing his tail as we rubbed under his eyes - his favorite Sweet Spot. Thanks to advice and support from the SC, we decided it really was NOT a big deal if we only messed with Jet in small increments for the rest of the summer - the flies are at an atrocious high, it's a zillion degrees and we are in the middle of monsoon season so it's been muggier than usual. We also decided to avoid L1 purgatory, we would start incorporating obstacles and toys to advance on the games Jet is already super strong with - Porcupine, Driving, Yo-yo. For stuff like Circle, Squeeze and Sidepass (which he is still learning to sidepass, but REALLY enjoying it), we would stick to basic L1. And now, anytime I get impatient or excited, thinking of all the things I want to do with Jet on the journey, I think first, "I am 25. Jet is 6. We have nothing but time. We will grow old together."

So...we took some orange cones into the arena this last session. Jet did a terrible figure 8 (thanks to my terrible cues, I was laughing the whole time because I got tangled in the carrot stick) through them, but a couple of nice drives and porcupines. The heat and constant drill Jet gives us in patience (the LBI in him) was GRUELING, but right before my eyes, I started understanding the point of L2 and playing the games with an obstacle. Slowly at first, and then very quickly, Jet realized that everything we were doing had something to do with the cone. It was SO cool to see the wheels turning in his head!!!! Suddenly, he dropped his head and put his nose on it. Mom was gearing to do a drive in another direction and I cried out, "Wait, wait! He's doing something!!" We dropped everything and watched Jet push the cone around, then knock it over, then gently put his hoof on it and try to roll it forward. It was SO cute and we were ECSTATIC that we actually engaged his curiosity and he offered to play with the cone. When he stuck his foot in the bottom and pawed it towards him, he looked up at us and said, "Did I do something right?" He got rubs and a big smooch on his kissy spot. A minute later he licked and chewed.

The session ended right then and there. We couldn't think of a more perfect way to end a session in that kind of heat.