Steppin' up my GAME!

Had maybe the best play session with Z ever. It was at least the best I can ever remember. She was playful, energetic, in tune, ears forward...

I've gone through a couple months of darkness with my Parelli vids and progression. I run every single day now on the treadmill and I'm using that time to catch up on videos and reinforce my learning. I watched the Jan 2009 Savvy Club DVD where Pat spends a lot of time trailer loading his horse Vision. It was great timing for me to watch that video! I thought it was a phenomenol teaching tool as Pat has so much savvy with his rope handling, his communication with the horse, his expectations of the horse... I'm at a point where the teachers for me are fewer because I've progressed farther than many around me. I have to spend more time looking deeper at the videos or into the discussions I have to progress my knowledge.

Anyway, Z and I played with squeezing over barrels, loading into a 2-horse straight load (extremely hard for her), moving with precision and being very in tune to my body language from the ground, quick-snappy responses and shadowing me.

I just can't remember a time where she showed more respect, impulsion, PLAY!, and the ability to overcome her confidence issues. I felt like I could actually be a great leader for that horse. I have to teach her more and continue to challenge her mind. I believe I've become boring over time to her. Time to step it UP!

I'm still trying to teach her to shake her head on cue. So funny how challenging it is for her to connect my ask with a head shake from her. Rain would have learned 8 tricks in this amount of time. How interesting!