On Tuesday, she met me half way (she hasn't done that for a long time!) so I know we're getting back on track. We played with Yo-yo a lot, since she's been having difficulty backing straight and staying there. She wants to immediatly go into a circle, rather than listening to what I'm actually asking. So we spent Tuesday playing yo-yo, backing up and staying put, and then coming to me again. We took it slow, and things went very well.
Today, we played more with yo-yo, and did some circles, but we kept it very, very low key since the ring was full of other riders. And they weren't very perceptive riders... they kept cutting into my circle because they weren't paying attentiong :/ When they started jumping, I got the heck out of there because, frankly, I did not want to be run over. But Gwen did SUPER good with all the chaos! She was listening to me, stayed reasonably calm and focused, it was great!
But as good as our session in the ring went, what happened afterwards was even better, and is the reason for my Milestone title. See, one of the girls at the barn has been having trouble with her horse, Cinch. I've watched them for a few weeks now, and my heart really goes out to both of them. Cinch because she's getting thumped and smacked and argued with, and her rider because she obviously wants to do well but hasn't got a clue how to get Cinch to understand her. I have been /dying/ to try some games on Cinch, and today I got my chance!!
Cinch was having an off day, and since the riding instructor was not there, her rider opted to graze her rather than ride her today, and we got to talking. See, she's a young girl, and she's having similar problems with Cinch that I had with Missy (manifesting in an argument over proper leads, and stopping at the gate) so I offered to talk with her if she wanted, confessing that I'd had a horse just like Cinch when I was younger. She's seen me work with Gwen, and was very eager. So we got to talking about the "root cause" of their problems which is, frankly, relationship and communication. Without actually talking about Parelli, we talked about Parelli! I explained how I built my relationship with Gwen based on love and understanding, and offered some tips on what she could do to help Cinch "like her" more (since she confessed that she doesn't think Cinch likes her). I had my carrot stick with me, and asked if I could try some things with Cinch. She said sure, so I got to playing the games with her mare.
I didn't do all of them, just friendly, porcupine and a very small bit of driving. But my point was to demonstrate to her rider that she could get Cinch to respond on light pressure, rather than relying on heavy pressure (like thumping with legs/crop). I got lots of licking and chewing, especially when I started playing porcupine on her nose and getting her to back up. And I think her rider was a bit impressed at how quickly I got Cinch to respond. At the end (and we only spent about five to ten minutes doing anything) she was coming in with perked ears and a happy expression, blowing out and licking/chewing. It was amazing! I am so thankful that I got a chance to work with Cinch, because I just KNEW she would benefit from some Parelli.
I offered to show her rider a couple games, and we practiced porcupine on her nose. I'm hoping that I get to work with her again some time, to see if I can help build a relationship between them. Cinch is a really awesome horse with a ton of potential, and if I can help them communicate and understand each other, I think they could have a really amazing time together.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Cinch. I'll have to snap one next time!
On a funny side note, Cinch is Gwen's new best-buddy! Haha!!
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| My pretty Gwen! |
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