Change of Seasons

Well, first the bad news. I got laid-off from my job. Occupational hazzard of living in a city who's sole survival depends on people's indulgence and luxuries. I have some leads, but it's bleak. The Strip is toxic at the moment with so few tourists able to visit us. Who knows when this awful situation will end, but it will someday, and the Strip will rise once more.



My one great escape is completely immersing myself in Parelli and spending more time with the one who matters most - Jet.



Before you all start worrying, "So you're out on the street, but what about Jet??" JET IS FINE (I repeat this over and over to myself every night). He's Ma's horse too, and I'm one lucky gal to have a mom who is lenient about debt and she is financially secure enough to handle the majority of Jet's expenses until I'm out of the woods. Amen. I'm not quite sure what either of us would do if we lost Jet. I personally would consider flinging myself off the top of the Stratosphere. Thank God for Mom. Thank God for Jet. Or else I would be seriously bored and panicking non-stop about the didly-shit economy. In order to keep myself sane, in between job hunting and keeping my ear pressed to the phone for the unemployment hotline, I keep thinking this is the time to REALLY accelerate in our journey. I could get a job tomorrow, I may not get employment for 6 months. Either which direction, I may never have an opportunity to be with Jet like this until I'm ready to retire, or wealthy enough to buy property that we both can live on.



When I saw Jet for the first time since my untimely lay-off, I buried my face in his neck and told him Mommy hit a bad patch but she would make it all better. That things were tight and it may reflect on my mood when I saw him (I swear, that horse picks up on an annoyance over stubbing my toe 8 hours earlier when I'VE supposedly forgotten about it, he's so sensitive to my emotions). But I was going to do everything in my power to ride this mess out and get myself back on track and someday we would never have to worry about a paycheck, or cringe everytime I swiped my credit card, or merely daydream about a course at Pagosa. That he was my everything, and Mom and I would never let anything happen to him.



I think he got the general idea. He blew snot on me and leaned his head against my chest and asked me to kiss his ears, like he always does when I need to cuddle him. Far more comforting than the words of support I'd received all week.

In better news, our Parelli instructor is back! 3* Marc Rea (*applause*), his wife Mary, and their equine partners, Lucy and Desi have stormed the valley once again, giving a bright side to the cold months ahead. The Hickey's hosted Parelli & Pizza night this past Friday. I was surprised to see how much PNH has influenced Shiloh since last February, which was when our clinic with Marc took place. We have met some new volunteers over the year who announced their decision to officially convert in the last month, which was THRILLING. Other familiar faces attended if nothing else with an open mind, always looking for more ways to become bonded to their horses. What more could you ask for than that?

Having someone so close again who studies directly with Pat and Linda has my brain wheels turning even faster. In the scorching heat of summer, with the local PP's far away, it's easier to get lost in the fog and start feeling like you're moving at a snail pace, maybe even wondering that you're regressing if you're a constant, unconfident worrier such as myself. Having Marc back is motivating and very exciting. Professional advice from one of Pat's protoges. I'm so nervous AND excited for him to meet Jet.

As for Jet himself, he's the same LBI we know and love. I learn new things about him as an individual every day and it's uncanny how similar he and I really are. Apparently, he knew what he was doing when he chose me.

Running with Pat's discussions of horses being pattern animals, I've gotten a pretty firm grasp of Jet's daily routine. He's fed between 8 and 830A. He rotates counter-clockwise from the hay alongside the neighboring paddock to the outside rail. It usually isn't until about 1130 (!) that he starts drifting away from his food. He and Blahnik will stand quietly and swat flies for each other for about an hour before Jet goes and looks for a snack. He'll nibble a little, then stand with Blahnik in one of 3 preferred areas of the pasture, then chase some other horses, stand with Blahnik, graze, walk around, repeat until about 330 when he's ready for major eating time again. By studying his routine, I've been able to plan my own ranch routine so that I can help Jill and Sally with stuff, and then be with my own horse during a time when he is more inclined to come out and play. Set-up for success, I suppose. The last few times I've come into the pasture after 11A with his halter, he's happily obliged without me having to compete with a particularly appealing pile of hay.

We have gotten stuck on one particular threshold recently and I am racking my brain with a few solutions as to how to correct the problem: asking Jet to trot. It seems as though no matter how politely we ask him to trot on the Circle or the OL Patterns (except for Sniff This), he bucks, rears, hops, farts, then stomps off in a huffy jog. His tantrums are far better than they were a few weeks ago, but you would think we were asking him to build an extension onto the barn without the benefit of a hammer and nails. We can't figure out if it's a driving issue, a friendly issue, or a staying-provacative issue.

We have figured out one key to our success and becoming lighter, better leaders in the Games - videotaping ourselves. If you have not done this before - START! There is so much more going on in your sessions than you realize, and things your horse is doing that you don't see until you can see the two of you from "a distance." It wasn't until I saw myself on the Circle with Jet that I had a major BFO: not only does my butt look good now that I've stopped eating meat, but I am a DRILL SERGEANT during that Game. From the waist down, I look neutral, but the whole time Jet's out, my back is fixed and my arm is hauled out in the direction I'm asking for in a permanant salute to Hitler. No wonder poor Jet is like, "Why me?" when we play Circle. My body language says, "You're going to circle and you're going to LIKE IT, God dammit!!!" Amazingly, Jet does a lovely circle at the walk in that clip. My only guess is I've asked him so harshly like that to circle for so long that by this video, he's actually just tuning me out. OooOOoops...

But now comes the fun part - figuring out how to make the Circle a game again and not a torture. Firstly is I need to LEAVE HIM ALONE after the send. I'm not trusting him enough to keep responsibility over himself on the Circle. So drop the rope and relax. When this happens, he will probably immediately disengage and come in. That's not him testing, he's only doing what I've unintentionally taught him. There will probably be a lot of, "Well, that was interesting!" moments when I try Circle, Take 2. But I'm hoping in the end, Jet will be relieved that I took so much pressure off, and the trotting thing will much improve. I KNEW Jet was trying to tell me something...

Then I crossed a threshold of my own in our last play session. I rode him! Bareback with a halter and lead. My heart was pounding, as memories of him taking off like Seabiscuit continually flashed through my mind. But as he stood quietly, with one leg cocked and his head low, I began to relax and felt confident enough to walk him around. To the un-Parelli'ed eye, it looked like I was just noodling around, not doing much of anything. And I really was just noodling, testing out some waters. After watching some sessions with Linda on the SC DVD's later, I realized that we are about at the point where I should just be practicing lateral flexion and becoming confident at the standing gait. But some FASCINATING things happened. Jet himself was licking and chewing like crazy.

It won't happen today, it may not happen in a year, but Jet is going to make an UNBELIEVABLE ride someday. Despite normal riding techniques, including the first 3 years of his life being a racehorse, he is somehow SUPER, SUPER light. When you're on his back, he is LISTENING. I was amazed at how sensitive and responsive he was to my rusty seat and even rustier legs.

When I took Jet on the initial test run that was ultimately the deciding factor in the question of adopting him, I was told he didn't steer well and he was hard on the bit from the track. I watched him trot on the rail with his head up in the air, teeth bared, and rolling his tongue like he was being choked. This was in an egg-butt, rubber snaffle. When I got on him, I held onto his mane more so than the reins and his head immediately dropped and he had no issues on the bit. I realized immediately, hardly knowing him at that point, that he had a velvet mouth and preferred to keep it that way.

Six months later, with no bit to call my own, he was proving in every which way that yes, we WOULD ride bareback and bridleless one day and wow the crowds at the ranch. The horse that "couldn't steer?" All I did was look, smile, and squeeze a cheek. No leg. No heel. He turned. I looked somewhere around his ears and mane. He stopped. I sucked in all my air, pulled my bullhorn waaayy back. He backed up. I never used my hands once to make him turn. The only reason I was holding on to the lead rope was so he wouldn't trip over it. And to bend him. His neck was a little stiffer than I was hoping, but I also realized watching Linda later that I wasn't lifting my hands correctly. We'll work a little more on the ground.

The whole ride lasted no more than 20 minutes but it was thrilling. If he's that light and sensitive now, I'd like to first think Mom and I had a little something to do with that from all the groundwork. And also, just imagine how he will be in a year, two years, TEN years. My ultimate goals for Jet occupy a good 90% of my daily daydreams. Judging by how he moves and performs, when he wants to, his athleticism (nevermind his hay belly!), and his general disposition, I think he's got it in him to be a Superhorse. He's herded horses for me, he does rollbacks, sliding stops, jumps...there's hardly anything he can't do. He's too big and lanky to really bend ideally around a barrel, maybe that's it, but I'm not interested in barrel racing or basically any form of competition. I want to learn dressage and do some light jumping, fool around on our future Parelli playground...and I want to do it all with him wearing nothing but a savvy string at the most. I don't think those goals are out of reach. Far off, yes, but certainly not impossible. More than anything, and I'm definitely not alone in thinking this, I want that ultimate unity. I want to be the perfect partner for him. I want him to be my Remmer, my Magic.

I can't think of anything else to write ("Thank God!" some of you are thinking). I'm at that loss again that only Jet can cause :-) That crazy horse will never quite know just how much I love him; that he is my everything. And that everything we've done so far is still only just the beginning.