A different way to look at things....

     With summer coming on and Gingy turning eight this year I've become quite interested in getting him started undersaddle.  Last year I realized this was not something I could do completely on my own and this year I'm looking for someone to help me.  I've prayed a lot about this and I think God has answered my prayer in a big way.  Our neighbor who lives at most a mile away is the manager of a little polish arabian ranch.  He is starting my friend's horse and I've gotten to watch a couple of times.  I liked what he was doing with my friend's horse so much that I asked to come out and look at what Gingy and I are doing.  He did yesterday and it was amazing!

      First Trevor observed Gingy and I playing and then the fun began.  Trevor said he was really impressed with all the ground work I'd already done with Gingy.  He also explained that from what he saw in Gingy's expression and the way he did things, Gingy wasn't motivated he was just tolerating my requests.  I myself have noticed that Gingy sort of keeps his ears back a little all of the time and sometime he gives a definite little swish with his tail.  So I knew we still had a problem of Gingys enthusiasm and complete willingness, I was just unsure of what to do about it.  As Trevor worked with Gingy a total change came about.

       I imediately saw something I really like in the way this man was able to work with Gingy.  Trevor waited for Gingy to present a challenge or a game.  Gingy came through by pushing on his personal space LOL.  Over the course of the whole session they kept coming back to that game.  It was really neat too because he explained everything he was doing with Gingy and he helped to me interpret Gingy's body language.  I began to see some of more subtle things that Gingy was saying.  He also worked on helping Gingy move his feet which was really interesting.  He believe that when you ask a horse to circle you should walk with them and stay somewhere in z4/5* because pressure behind means they should move forward.  He also said that he didn't see anything wrong with not walking with them, but it's a lot more to ask because it can be confusing to the horse.  What he did with circling really helped Gingy, his expression totally changed from irritated to interested. 

      All and all I think this person is just the one to help Gingy and I continue our journey together.  Not only does he live next to me, but he also upholds all of the principles that I believe in.  His two big pointers for me were: focus in on the subtle body language of the horse and be more clear with your cues then start refining them.  It's kind of strange to be trying something that's not parelli, but I think it's important to learn from lots of different people and I guess this is actually another level of conscious incompetence in a way.  Definitely something to experiment with.