The Blaze Gang's Parelli Journey: I can be her leader!

We're the Blaze Gang

Welcome to our blog! I'm studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship with my two ponies, Gingo and Marsan. Both of them have flashy white blazes, hence the name. However, our name is more than just a play on the ponys' markings, it reflects what we are trying to do. We're blazing a new trail, one we've never traveled before; we are becoming true partners. Hopefully some day we'll be a trio all playing to together at the same time. This blog is dedicated to documenting all that we learn and all of our adventures too.

Apr 15, 2010

I can be her leader!

     Yesterday, I had the intention of just going out and riding Marsan in the round pen. Of coure I thought, "what can be so hard about that." The answer? Lot's of things LOL.

     She did great with grooming and saddling, but when it came to moving around without getting RB we had some things to play with. She got pretty spooked because the end of her saddle blanket flew up in the wind, naturally she jumped forward(towards me). Fortunately, my first instinct was to send a p4 four down the rope and get her out of my space.  Even though that, "thanks I need that moment," helped she was still pretty RBE. So I spent the next 45 minutes helping her move her feet so she could start thinking things through. She did begin to think and thus begin to get calm.  Once she could stand still and be relaxed, I did some frienldy games with the end of the saddle blanket. The friendly games didn't really bother her and she blew, so I finally felt confident to get on her.   After all of that we had a very nice little ride.

     I guess in short I learned that I can be a leader, even when things are not the way I want them. I was really put out for a bit that she had to get scared and my first instinct was to try and keep her from being afraid. However, I realized her fear was nothing for me to fear, I could work through it. In fact as her alpha was my job to lead her, which in her case meant letting her face her fear. I think my greatest triumph yesterday was that I was able to stay calm, clearly see what needed to happen, and make it happen.

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Grace(me!)

Hi,

I'm 15, I live in Divide Colorado on our ranch, with Mom, Dad, Caleb, and Gabe. We have four horses, five cats, and one dog.

I have been playing with natural horsemanship for as long as I've been into horses(since I was four), but I only just discovered parelli 2 years ago. It has already proven to be an interesting, fun, sometimes painful journey, but I feel very proud to have come this far without quitting.

Besides horses I have a lot of other interests, such as soccer, gardening, human physical fitness, and especially human and horse psychology.

When I grow up I want to help people find healing through horses and also help horses find healing through humans. I think this is called Equine Assisted, Psychotherapy, but I know there are a lot of different programs out there, so we'll see.

I love Jesus Christ and that has also been a good journey in my life, one that will definitely never end. Everyday I learn to trust him just a little bit more, but that has been a really big challeng in my life. I love to learn more about him through my partners and to me that's one of the most important things about my parelli journey.

Savvy out,

~Grace~

abbreviations for this blog.(star* will indicat something on this list).

All abreviations will be marked with a star*

p = phase(I.E: p1 phase one).

-The different and increasing levels of intensity you use to ask a horse to do something.

pnh = parelli natural horsemanship.

-The natural horsemanship program is founded by Pat Parelli.

Z = zone(I.E: z3= zone three)

-The different areas on a horses body.

(LBE = left brain extrovert.

LBI = left brain introvert.

RBI = right brain introvert.

RBE = right brain extrovert.)

-View the parelli horsenality chart, by clicking the link in favorite links.

cs = carrot stick.

-A slightly flexible orange stick used as an extension of the arm.

sc = savvy club.

-A club created by Pat parelli for like minded horse people.

22' = twenty two foot lead rope.

12' = twelve foot lead rope.

Ss = success series.

-A series of DVDs created by Pat and Linda Parelli.

ss = savvy string.

-A six foot string that can be attached to the carrots stick, used to further communication with your horse.

RP= round pen.

-A circular pen usually 40-60 feet in diameter.

lvl(s)=level(s).

FE= figure eight.

W=weave.

-A pattern in which the horse weaves through various obstacles.

C=circle

CoD=change of direction.

HQ=hindquarters.

-The back end of the horse containing it's two back legs(it's in zone 4).

FQ=forequarters.

-the front end of a horse starting at the shoulder and ending at the nose.

essential equus

Essential equus for the horse is all about assessing movement ability, then massaging and stretching to work through the problems you find. For the human it is about the same thing; it's like pilates, so you use exercise balls and other stuff to stretch yourself.

They have a four part program, which will teach you how to assess your horse's movement, massage and stretch your horse in order work through issues, assess yourself as a rider, then work on your issues through stretching.

They are hoping to develop their own homestudy program so everyone can learn how to do this, so look at their website(listed in my favorite links) to learn more.

Nistar Classic Gingo.

Gingy is a sorrel welsh B pony, seven years old, LBI/LBE. We've been playing together for about 2 years. I sure can't believe how far we've come or how much I learned with this smart little fellow LOL.

Initially, I wanted to hurry up and get him rideable, but it didn't end up that way. Instead we've learned to have a lot of fun on the ground. We've done a lot of online and now we are slowly starting to intigrate liberty, which is really cool!

Gingo has taught me so much. One of the biggest lessons I've learned from him has been that horses are teachers at their best. When I don't quite get something, all I have to do is watch him to find out what it is I'm missing. Of course reading him has been tough because he is such a complex little bugger, but that's the fun of it all.

The thing I love most about Gingo is that he is so subtle yet expressive. If you treat him right he can show a whole new world to you and that is exactly what is happening for me through him.

Damarsan

Damarsan is a solid POA, 13.2 hh, she is 21 years young, and RBI/LBE. Damarsan and I haven't been together for very long, but I can tell that she is very special in her own way.

Marsy is difficult to get to know, in fact I'm pretty sure I don't know her very well yet! As much as I struggle to learn more about what she thinks and does it has been slow. If anything she is definitely teaching me to slow wayyyyyyy down.

I find Marsan to very intriguing because she is so different from Gingy. Marsy is not very outwardly expressive, yet she responds to the slightest change in feel or attitude. This is why she is so hard to work with sometimes.

Because we still don't have a really good understanding of each other's personalities, I cannot say that we exactly have great relationship, but we are getting there.

Sugar Time

Sug is a good ol grade pony, 12.2 hh, 2o something years young, LBI.

Sug was my first ever partner and she was just what I needed at the time. Since she is such a LBI she was and is always very reliable. I had to stop with her because she is getting to old and simply cannot go all the way through the lvls physically. Right now we are experimenting with massage and stretching(essentiall equss) to help her with her because she does have a lot of trouble moving the way she used to.

What I learned through Sug is mostly in the past, now I like to give her treat and pet her sometimes. When we were both younger I did everything possible with Sug. We tried jumping, racing, bare back and bridle-less even LOL. The one thing we did a lot of was just hanging out. I would bath her or just groom her and let her eat hay. It gave me time to think and she got all prettyed up in the process.

Sug will always have a special place in my heart because of what she did for me when I was young. We had a very special bond together back then and I think we still do now.

Cherroke

Cherroke is my Mom's horse and we've had him almost ten years! When I started parelli, he started a new journey too. He started to get really curious about what I was doing with Gingy and Marsan. He used to be very nervous around me and pretty much everyone else, he has always been passive and unwilling to be expressive. Now he actually follows me around and watches intently when I play with the other horses. He is still really passive, yet he is starting to be a little more expressive. He is teaching me a lot about how horses ajust to their enviroment. I haven't actually played with him, still just by watching me play with my horses he is learning new things. I also like watching him interact with the herd. He is the alpha, that's why I get really intrigued by him. Watching him deal with Gingy, has taught me a lot about how I need to deal with Gingy LOL.

I hope someday my Mom and I will have the time to really give him the attention he deserves. At present though he is learning from just watching.