I tried to rug Toffee, but he showed his contempt of that idea.
Monday 7 April 2008
Snow today.
It was magical at the field this morning in the softly, silent snow.
I tried to rug Toffee, but he showed his contempt of that idea.
I tried to rug Toffee, but he showed his contempt of that idea.
Saturday 5 April 2008
Parelli
I know a lot of people aren't keen on the Parelli training program for various reasons and in some cases you're either a Parelli person or a Monty Roberts person, and never the twain shall meet. Well, I have to say that I love Monty Roberts and briefly met him at one of his demos. He was softly spoken and had kindness flowing from his very pores. I've not met Pat Parelli, but surely any trainers wanting to make life better for the horses are worth their weight in gold.
I started the Parelli level 1 course a couple of weeks ago, and it's been such an eye opener. The way they teach you to read body language and watching their students go through the program and struggle with some of the concepts really brings it home. One student had to get another to perform some pretty complex tasks using only body language and a plastic bottle, which he could only hit her with if she got it wrong. He wasn't allowed to lead or direct her with it at all. It was funny that as he wasn't able to speak, she also stopped verbalizing, and she also took on some particular horsey traits. When cornered by the bottle, she bolted and when hit too much she lashed out and then ran and hid behind a flip chart. Amazing stuff, and made me realise how important it is to be clear, precise and firm with instructions.
Toffee had his first dabble with a Parelli lesson today, and it was wonderful to see him thinking and watching me. We only worked for about 10 minutes, but he clearly had fun and so did I :)
This afternoon Merlin and I had a game of ball. He chased it around the school and then deliberately pushed it under the fence for me to throw. After he'd done this three times, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a coincidence and that he was playing 'fetch' with me.
Other chores today were pooh-picking and ragwort pulling - oh, deep joy!
I started the Parelli level 1 course a couple of weeks ago, and it's been such an eye opener. The way they teach you to read body language and watching their students go through the program and struggle with some of the concepts really brings it home. One student had to get another to perform some pretty complex tasks using only body language and a plastic bottle, which he could only hit her with if she got it wrong. He wasn't allowed to lead or direct her with it at all. It was funny that as he wasn't able to speak, she also stopped verbalizing, and she also took on some particular horsey traits. When cornered by the bottle, she bolted and when hit too much she lashed out and then ran and hid behind a flip chart. Amazing stuff, and made me realise how important it is to be clear, precise and firm with instructions.
Toffee had his first dabble with a Parelli lesson today, and it was wonderful to see him thinking and watching me. We only worked for about 10 minutes, but he clearly had fun and so did I :)
This afternoon Merlin and I had a game of ball. He chased it around the school and then deliberately pushed it under the fence for me to throw. After he'd done this three times, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a coincidence and that he was playing 'fetch' with me.
Other chores today were pooh-picking and ragwort pulling - oh, deep joy!
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