Better, better and better

Another wonderful session! Three in a row!

I'm going to have to vote on the side of YAYE for the Patterns drastically improving my relationship with my horse. He was mouthy and playful with the cones today and with this being the 4th session, it's time to start thinking about explanding it a little. Maybe one more and we can up the ante a bit. He seemed to be making his own fun picking up the cones and throwing them around.

But remember, we can't push him TOO hard or else he has a mental meltdown. Sigh.

What I love most about the Patterns is how even in the L1 Online games, the most basic of the new program, the constant movement and change of direction keeps the horse THINKING. I noticed it the very first time we introduced him to the F8. Even in moments where he wanted to go RB, or get snotty, I could see the wheels turning in his head: "I'm gonna give those girls a what-for! But first I have to make this turn! ...Alright, NOW I'm - oh, wait, gotta turn again...eh, nevermind, I'm over it."

Hence tossing the cones every where, it probably would have been more fun for Jet had we set-up a whole Sniff This course. I tried to make up for it by deciding, "Ok, you want to smell every turd in this arena? Let's trot to them then!"

He LOVED that game! Once he realized I was always taking him to a new manure pile, he was trotting merrily with me, even gave a few sliding stops.

I got a new camera so I taped Mom bending and doing F8's. As soon as I figure out how to make the video show up on the computer, and put together a smart slide show for all the new pictures I took, I will immediately post notices here and on the Forum :0). There is one fabulous moment during one of the F8's were Jet gets cranky about being sent out again and starts pawing and backing up. Rather than matching his energy, Mom's whole body closes down and she drops all the tension. Jet lowers his head, licks his lips. Mom asks for the send again and Jet continues on like a perfect gentleman.

And then we tried the Circling Game. We had dropped that game for most of the summer because Jet thought we were lunging him, and we figured we had to go back to square one. Apparently, a core game, or several, wasn't strong enough. But I'm pleased to announce that we had no broken core games today because we got the OTHER side of the spectrum for his first circle in months: lazy, sniffing the ground. No, it's no more ideal a circle as a panicked, tearing around in a sweaty frenzied one. But for the two of us, we can improve on laziness far better than panic. I suppose it's a threshold of our own with the Circling Game. So in that sense, we were QUITE pleased with his state of mind this time.

Of course, no day at the ranch is complete without Jet doing something on his own that completely thrills us. Mom, Jill, Sally and I all went into his pasture to put a blanket on Angel, a VERY skittish, snooty mare who has no hair due to severe allergies. We managed to get the blanket on her without a hitch. My back as turned for a moment while I was looking for a halter, and when I came back, Jet was at the gate. I patted his nose and Jill was laughing, "Geez Jet, you startled me!"

"What did he do?" I asked.

"Well, he was all the way in the corner when we came in, and then all of a sudden he was tearing over here at full speed when he saw you. It was so fast."

Of course the day Jet actually RUNS to say hello, I miss it! But an eye witness is the next best thing.

Sometimes I feel like this blog is a cop-out because words can't describe how wonderful of a horse Jet is becoming. Nor can they seem to describe how amazing studying Parelli is and how it's changing everything. I've always been able to write about anything, able to paint pictures with my words and put people right at the scene with me. Writing has always come easiest. Jet is the only thing in the world that I struggle to write about because there is so much about him and so many thoughts and hopes I have for us, I don't even know where to begin. I thank all of you so much for your support and wonderful words of encouragement on this blog AND the forum. I think we can all agree that writing about our journies detail by detail just doesn't hold a torch to actually being there and experiencing it, and what we're REALLY feeling inside!

The Next Phase

Day 2 of the Patterns. We were extremely anxious to see how Jet would take to the F8, because after all, the second time is the hardest.

It went GREAT!

For my F8 in particular, it was one of the first times I tried REALLY hard to concentrate solely on my communication. It wasn't about the figure eight, it was about me giving the right cues. On the drawback, just like in Yo-Yo, I kept my expression soft and friendly, combing the rope to bring him in, then fed him lots of rope when I drove him away. The more slack and less tension in the rope he had, the easier a time he had in walking around the cone. It all made even more sense than yesterday.

He offered a much lighter sidepass than yesterday as well, then I tried his first-ever Squeeze Game. No obstacle yet, just pushing him between me and the fence. He did it correctly, but of course didn't know it, so we left it alone and dropped the whole game for the day so he could think about it. While he was doing that, Mom and I were discussing his future and possibly trying for the old assessment since he's progressing so quickly and calmly (AMEN, off-season!).

"The only thing is," Mom said, "We can't do pushing passenger yet."

Ah, yes. The riding thing. The last time I rode Jet, it was a disaster. My own fault, really. He wasn't giving me permission. I got on him, but he ran off. Luckily, he stopped when he got to the end of the rail, which was just enough time for me to practice my emergency dismount. I haven't ridden him since. The ride could have gone a lot worse but I lost my confidence a little bit and dropped the idea of riding for awhile. I didn't even concieve of the idea that he would give me permission again anytime soon.

Although people inevitably asking me why I don't ride is a little bothersome, I have never really had an issue with losing my nerve. Normies often think that Parelli people don't ride. That's not the case (and if you ARE a Parelli student who has no intention of riding, that's no one's business but your own. It's your horse and you're doing what's best for both of you. Cheers). I LOVE to ride. I daydream constantly about galloping Jet across the desert, learning dressage on him, doing light jumping, learning slide stops, cantering him around the arena bareback and bridleless...I watch the other boarders, Jill, and Elisa, the trainer, ride and I get wistful. I'm DYING to ride, I've been missing it. But Jet and I have other things to take care of on the ground before I can think about riding again. And just like his groundwork, it has to come in baby steps.

But I DID not expect that when Mom mentioned pushing passenger and I said, "Well, first we're going to have to practice the standing gait," that I would glance over at Jet and his eyes would meet with mine, and clear as day, I heard a message direct from him, "It's time to think about riding again."

I know I sound COMPLETELY insane. Logically, and to avoid warped stares, I could say I felt brave enough to start thinking about preparing to ride. But that's not what happened. It was a message. And I felt it come FROM Jet. It's not the first time it's happened.

How can you say I'm delusional when Mom brought over the mounting block, let Jet sniff it, then put it beside him and he didn't budge?

No, of course I didn't run over to the tack shed and grab all his gear. A few months ago, I sure would have. He would be LB enough once in awhile to tolerate that, but Parelli and Jet are teaching me the art of patience in ways I never thought possible. My new favorite motto has become "slow and right beats fast and wrong." Even preparing for riding, though I have been tacking and getting leg ups for my whole life and naturally (normally?) want to do that after glorious groundwork, must be taken in small increments.

Mom went first, since she has never even sat on Jet's back. I think, even though he was half asleep while she stood up there and just rubbed his neck, she was a little intimidated. Jet is a 16.2 hand BEAST with a long, beautiful giraffe neck and she is barely 5'1." However, when I said, "But doesn't the ranch look AWESOME from between his ears?" I could see the years she spent loving riding come back. Her smile said it all.

All we did was lean over his back and rub him all over. I swung my leg up a few times, but never actually sat on him. Instead I mainly laid myself over him. A few times he glanced back. I just waved and continued petting him. As his tail swished lazily, his left leg cocked in relaxation, I could feel his appreciation. "Thanks so much for being so polite." Yes, he was giving permission to Friendly Game myself on his back.

Could I have thrown my saddle or bareback pad on him and taken him for a little spin? Possibly. Would he have been LB and walked calmly? Maybe. But this little moment, which lasted no more than 30 minutes, was huge for both of us. A direct-line-thinking human naturally wants to just jump up and ride. That's the only form of riding prep a former racehorse like Jet has ever known. It's obvious he wished it wasn't always done like that. I felt bad because I too had done that with him. How thrilling that today all was forgiven and JET wanted ME to start trying again. This time, it will be the natural way.

The First OFFICIAL Patterns Session

Thanks to the grotesquely Hotter Than The Seventh Circle of Hell days of summer, we have spent a substantial amount of hours doing a whole lot of NOTHING with Jet. This has proven to be worth its weight in 24-karot gold (with platinum trimming). I am absolutely amazed by how just being with Jet and observing him has developed our relationship. We were able to all get to know each other without the hassle of frustration, fighting, injuries, or scary incidents.

Ok, we had a few of those in the beginning. But they were significantly minimal and I firmly believe those miserable sessions are behind us because WE are becoming more emotionally fit and are learning more and more how to deal with frustrations more LB and logically. "It's not about..."

The more time I spend with Jet, either playing games or just loafing with him and Blahnik, the more I in awe I am of how one's horse truly IS a mirror of oneself. Jet and I are alike in ways I never would have guessed. We both need time to think things over when something new happens. We are both extremely sensitive, mentally and physically; we get insulted quickly over nothing, we both crumble under too much, too fast, but we forgive faster than we get upset. When Jet gets claustrophobic, he gets itchy and starts constantly scratching - just as I do. Maybe I'm anthropromorphizing him, maybe what I'm describing sounds meaningless, but I just never realized I would have such subtle things in common with my horse.

We've also had a new little breakthrough that has been causing my mother's and my hearts to soar: the last 3 times we've gone up to Shiloh, Jet's been waiting at the gate for us, ears up, and sticking his nose out for kisses when we arrive.

So, last time we introduced him to the figure eight and Sniff This games. This time we actually put it to the test. The LBI in Jet likes Sniff This, particularly if there is hay or a turd pile at the end of the tunnel. Mom was doing quite nicely showing him the F8 and I saw first-hand what makes it such a good game. Anytime Jet started getting worried because his Lordship was asked to go somewhere before he had time to think about it, he had to turn around. The changing directions kept him VERY focused. Even when he broke into a trot, wanting to get upset and take off, he COULDN'T because he had to keep turning around. So he just kept trotting and dealt with it. Double bonus - a pleasant trot AND he was actually LISTENING to Mom's driving cues, not just throwing it all to the wind because he got worried.

Then it was my turn. By now, Jet had done GORGEOUS F8's for Ma. The two of them even had a blunder and corrected it in record time. The problem (direction change) was solved so fast I almost didn't see it. It was time to hand the reins (pun intended) to me.

To my disadvantage, I haven't watched Online as much as Mom has, since it's been at her house mostly since we bought it. Good thing the segments are short, but Pat needs to be watched, with the sound off, at least a zillion times in order to pick up the subtlties in his hands and body movement. This was really the first time I was trying a F8. And Jet KNEW IT.

Mr. LBE came out. He took my un-skilledness and ran with it. Around the first cone he stopped in front of it, picked it up and flopped it around. I couldn't help it. I just dropped the rope and laughed. Then he turned around to the next cone and proudly demonstrated the same behavior, then trotted merrily behind me. SO naughty, but I couldn't get mad at him for getting playful.
The send was the hardest for me, and I was also driving him in the wrong zone, which was one of the reasons he was going in the opposite way of where I was trying to drive him. It was quite obvious he knew exactly what he was supposed to do around the cones by now but his feeling was, "Oh, I'll go where YOU tell me to. Ha, ha!"

On the third try, Mom yelled, "Zone 2!" at the perfect moment. I waved the carrot stick there and Jet's face literally read, "Rats, she figured it out," but he completed the F8 sans any more funny business. We did one more for good measure, then practiced sidepassing (his sidesteps are getting GORGEOUS. I've been growing more interested in dressage and think he might really enjoy that in the future) before a hay break.

A few minutes into munching, I decided to oil and pick out his feet. His right side was scrunched up parallel to the rail. I thought about how I had to move him over as I walked to that side and, almost as a joke, snapped my fingers and mumbled, "Move over, babe."

HE DID.

These little moments of unity never cease to blow my mind. even for the most mundane tasks. Coincidence? Could be. But I don't believe in coincidence and nothing means nothing to a horse.

We took the boy back to his pasture where an anxious Blahnik was waiting. He hung around long enough to let us cover his Kissy Spot before he spotted a glorious hay pile.

As if the day couldn't have gone better, back at the Mare Motel Jill was riding her gorgeous Fresian, Tanis. We stood around shooting the breeze for a minute when out of the clear blue, Jill asked if I wanted to take Tanis for a spin around the ranch. You'd have thought she'd just told me I won a cruise to Hawaii.

Although my form looked HORRIFIC in the pictures, puttering around the ranch on Tanis only convinced me further that I have GOT to get me one like him someday. Fresians are so laid back, so kind, and it's like riding a sofa. I always say I'm going to buy the Fresian in the Tournament of Kings show. But any future Fresian will have to get along with Jet, and Jet prefers mares. And since Jet gets whatever he wants...

Smarty Pants

Today was the first time I've seen my darling since Wednesday. Not much happened, but we did introduce his new form of training torture today: The Patterns.

Jet is also improving more and more and more with his hooves. Not only are they getting harder, staying round, and not chipping, but he is becoming more desensitized, less sore on his back feet, and thanks to the bell boots we bought him, his step is improving and he's not tearing his shoes off. And he thinks he looks SO stylin' in his "bell bottoms!" He is also lifting them up politely and enjoys having his legs rubbed and massaged while he eats.

I can't describe how much happier and confident I am feeling playing with Jet in his pasture instead of the round pen now. The privacy makes me concentrate more on the communication, not trying to show off the communication.

Jet WAS a little unsure about leaving his pasture today but I knew once he saw we were going into the "good" arena which is right next to the pasture and he and Blahnik could see each other, he would be fine.

Mom and I both tried out some Sniff Its. As always, Jet is a lovely test of patience. Reitterating something I posted on the forum recently, Jet is very smart and usually pretty LB. But any given time of the day he is 49/51% LBE/LBI - and the 2 quadrants can interchange multiple times daily. He can complete a task correctly very fast, but he still needs time to "analyze" what he just did. I have come to discover that even if his head is lowering and his eyes are closing and he's relaxing, that doesn't mean he's lost interest just yet. We HAVE to wait for the lick n' chew or for him to start walking around, looking for hay, or else that's when the trouble starts. At this point in the journey, if we push him to try something new after just finishing a different game, he panics. Information overload, I guess. HOWEVER, once he has licked his lips, then we have to move on fairly quickly or else he will start acting out anyway, only this time out of boredom.

Yes, in that sense, he IS very fussy.

Anyway, he and I tried a pretty hard one, a brush that was lying on its side in the corner. To the outward eye, it looked like we were standing in the corner doing nothing, but for me, it was rather intense watching him glance around the area, trying to figure out where he was supposed to move, and if he should move his feet or his nose. Finally, I decided to push him just a little further, and prayed it wasn't too much micromanaging - so I Porcupined his head down. He instantly lowered his head and sniffed around. The instant his nose touched the brush I dropped EVERYTHING - the carrot stick, the lead rope - and walked away. He had a LOT of pressure on him for that game so I wanted to make absolute certain he felt the release as soon as he did something right. When I turned around, he was walking over to me, ears forward, head down: "I touched the brush, can I come in and see you??"

To which I replied, "Of course!"

Then the debut Figure Eight was tested. Jet wasn't exactly what I would call engaged and excited, but he walked around the cones thoroughly LB. I think the reason why was the cones were the first objects in Sniff It. Remembering how engaged he became about the cones the last time, he was happy to see them again, pick them up, roll them around. So once he returned to the cones after messing around with other stuff for a bit (and standing around doing nothing while he pondered the ways of the universe), he was already aware that he had to do something involving the cones. Since he really seems to like them, he put in an honest effort (one must try to impress the orange cones, you see). What more could we ask for?

There was only one thing bothering me through this play session and that was the drooling. Long, thick chunks of spit dangled from his mouth and he was grinding his teeth. His mouth was very obviously bothering him and he wasn't very coopertive about me trying to pry his mouth open to look for anything. Being a first time horse owner and highly over protective mommy, I immediately assumed, of course, that he was dying and darted across the ranch to find Jill. All the while I was thinking, "Poor baby, but brave baby! His mouth is killing him, yet he was still paying attention and trying to ignore the pain!" Which was why I knew truly whatever was bothering him was NOT terminal or he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his tasks at hand. I had to give him props though for not getting dramatic or RB in his discomfort. He really does try so hard to please us during Parelli Time.

Of course, he was fine. Jill, the voice of reason, said he just had foxtails lodged in his mouth.
"A lot of the horses have it right now," she said, "Just rinse his mouth with water and flush all the nasties out of his upper lip."

To the wash rack we went. By now, Jet's ears were sagging to the sides, his eyes were glossy, and he was foaming like a rabid dog. He looked the way I felt the other day at work when I had a bad headache. At first I was having a hard time trying to pry his mouth open and stick the hose in there. Then I thought I would try guiding it in from the side, the way I do when he gets wormed or bute paste. The simulation worked! Even more phenomenal was once Jet had a grip on the hose, he actually rinsed out the foxtails himself!! I swear I am not making this up. He has drank from the hose before so I assumed at first that was what he was doing. Nope. While I supported the hose for him, he moved the metal opening around with his teeth and tongue and green chunky water spilled onto the ground. The cool water must have felt good on the inside of his lips. We were SO proud of him. I was so impressed that he was LB and confident enough to think through his irritation and actually solve a problem himself. Naturally, we told everyone who walked by, "Our horse is a genius!" After a good five minutes, Jet spit out the hose, blew his nose on us, and promptly started nibbling rocks. Ahh. Our horse felt better.