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.