Leadership and Refinement.. A lesson

Hey everyone!

I got a lesson with Tina Giordano, 3 star Parelli Instructor.... It was Fabulous! She's an awesome teacher... I learned a lot, you can always assume the issue is with you and NOT with the horse.

We started out by playing "touch this", yo-yo game, then we moved on to circling game which was the main issue I had told her about.

NOTES:

1) I found out that my power position was more of a lean or a yank! We did some simulations and very soon, that was better.

2) In Level 2 you learn to send and do everything really with a long phase 1 and a quick to 4. I was still on a Level 2 send and my phase 4 was a scary sort of spank the ground!

3) In Level 3, phase 4 becomes lighter and phase 1 becomes not quite as long. Your circling game sending phases will be about three seconds of phase 1 then three light taps on the ground with your stick and string pointing at her neck.. Aha!

I had a many blinding flashes of the obvious. So right now as we move into Level 3, I needed to be remembering that it's about refinement.

Here's what was happening to Cricket and I.

I would back her out to a sending position and then she'd make the assumption about the send and take off in the direction of her choice (that's where my power position came in)! What is Pat's Principle number 2 (it is number 2, right)? Don't make or teach assumptions! I had helped her make an assumption by going with it every time, hmmm.... Leadership?

So where we went after that was playing with our yo-yo game, back and forth. I would back her all the way out and before she could send herself she would be able to come back in! Fun, right?? YEAH!

So once I gained Leadership I was then able to work on me actually doing the sending.. he he... So I backed her out and did a looooonnnnnnngggggg phase 1 and a really BIG phase 4..... BAD! Tina helped me right off.... "Whoa! Slow down!"

During the looooooonnnnnngggggg phase 1, Cricket was saying, "no, no, no, no, no, no... etc...", I needed to interrupt the "no" by being quicker than she could say them.. Hence the shorter phase 1!

So the reason why Cricket wasn't staying out for more than a lap at the trot (but it was more of a pattern of yanking and tugging) was because she didn't have my leadership from the start, our backing out was an assumption, my yo-yo was up and down rather than left to right, and my phases were like I was talking to her like a child... "Mom, we're past that. Can you talk to me like I'm in Level 3?"

So by the end Cricket sent beautifully, trotted a lap and a quarter (with slack in the rope!!) then came in.... FABULOUS.. Couldn't have done it without Tina.. While she did that amazing last lap, I was looking at Tina and talking (I wasn't even paying attention), and as Cricket came around I gave Tina my "I-can't-believe-my-awesome-pony-did-that" smile and Tina said, "Quick! Disengage!"

At then end of the session, Tina said, "She's the cutest. She's really good and you've done a fantastic job with her, I don't see any reason why you can't do everything with her." As you can guess I was so proud of her in that moment, just beaming...

I've gotta go get ready, I'm going to help Tina with a clinic today... EEEKKK!

Toodles for now!!

Priscilla