Back to Basics with Parelli and Beginner Mind

The rigors of my job and the challenges with Tessi led me to a period of profound introspection with regards to my horsemanship journey.  But I have emerged with renewed enthusiasm, joy and eagerness to learn and PLAY with my three horses.  I have returned to the guidance of the natural horseman I most connect with, Pat Parelli.  Starting with Level 1,  with what in Budism is called Beginner Mind.  Many years ago I attended several Parelli clinics and read all the material I could lay my hands on but I did not have the focus or will to really learn and apply the program in a systematic way - although I applied the general principles.  But now I am ready to delve in deeper.

I feel so lucky to have some great teachers near by to guide me.  My friend Sherrill is a Level 4 instructor and also 5 Star Instructor David Lichman lives near by.  For a while I will be blogging about our Level 1 progress.

For those of you not familiar with Parelli, I encourage you to google Parelli for some insight on this teaching method and philosophy of leadership.  The student must learn the 7 Games which are the building blocks for all other manoevers, whether in the saddle or on the ground.  The 7 Games are:

1.  The Friendly Game
2.  The Porcupine Game
3.  The Driving Game
4.  The Yo yo game
5.  The Circling Game
6.  The Sideways Game
7.  The Squeeze Game

I can do all 7 games with all three mares but I still need to refine them.  Surprisingly, Tessi does the games the best.

Sleeping In

Sundays are for sleeping in. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday and Saturday are also for sleeping in for Moses and Harry.

Mirror of a Beautiful Heart

Nora's beautiful eyes...

A Winter Ride

Went for a ride at Folsom Lake with Dorothy and her Arabian horse, Cash.  It started out very misty and cold but ended sunny.   We rode for about an hour and a half.  I was a wonderful outing.   I took this photo of Nora when we got back to the staging area.  Her clip prevented her from getting all sweaty and she certainly wasn't cold, but she was a little tired and took the opportunity to catch a little nap tied to the trailer.

Tessi's Trainer Solves Mystery

We got Tessi's trainer, Janine, this carrot cake as a token of our
appreciation for her figuring our why Tessi is so resistant and
combative in certain situations. It all has to do with the pain her
mother, Zazu, has when suckling her as a little foal. Zazu would bite
Tessi when she could no longer bear the pain of sucking. Tessi would
try over and over to get the milk she needed to survive and would be
bitten repeatedly by her mother in the process. Tessi learned to fight
for her milk and to expect bearings ( bites). She learned that trying
over and over and taking the beatings is what it takes to get what you
want or need.

What a big break through. Her training will now factor that into it.
I feel such a sense of relief understanding that. The journey
continues.

Uma and Hank

Uma is going to have her surgery to have her knee repaired next week.
Uma is sitting in a chair at the kitchen table with Hank and she made
Hank laugh because she lost her concentration when a fly flew by her
and went into fly-hunting mode. Ah - the good life.

Dreaming of Spring

My aunt Chantal gave us this beautiful table cloth at Christmas and
Hank brought me these fantastic dafodils from his recent trip to
Seattle. I was trying to photograph them to show aunt Chantal - Harry
wanted to be in the picture. Needless to say, the color contrast was
perfect and the pictures with Harry were the best. Chantal thought so
too.