We were 6 on the course, making 2 groups of three people, broken into 2x3 hour sessions during which we watched the other group. The morning group were playing in level 1/2, nobody was a total starter so we moved straight into doing tasks using the seven games, set by Jo, who had come over from the UK. Jo Bates is a 2* Parelli Junior Instructor, junior in terms of time teaching and experience; but we got 5* instruction, and more, delivered with enthusiasm, imagination and good humour.
I'm not going to go into details of technique because it's all on the Parelli website; the tasks were therefore to develop our skills & language & relationship, using the tools & knowledge, refining and developing.
The morning group (Christine, Laurence and Carole) started with tasks like energetic friendly game, facing the horse and turning the training stick back & forth across the line, with energy; were they confident with that? Was the horse reading the human, was the human making it clear to the horse when they need to react or when not? Using approach & retreat & desensitization. Then they did some circling game; then sideways along the fence, both close using the stick like a fan to move zone 1 and Z4, sideways/porcupine; then with more distance between you & the horse, facing their Z3, using body energy reinforced with motion from the stick & string, sideways/driving game. Squeeze game. Using this, with a pattern. Then a task which confused most of them: across the field driving game with the human changing the horse to the other side of them while maintaining direction; I've tried this at home and it isn't easy to work out how & where to move the horse! The idea is to move the horse not yourself.
Each task Jo would come round, see how we were doing, answer questions (usually by asking more, so we found the answers ourselves, as we want the horse to do), and after the task she would review it with us all then ask each of us to share something we'd learned and a highlight.
My horse was Polly, a big TB, & a different horsenality to my little mare at home; I'd met Polly before & I'd watched her in the morning group with Carole, so was ready for the big challenge. Polly was being very mareish, concerning herself with all the other horses around, her own herd of 3 as well as the visiting horses, for whom she had a fatal attraction. She showed a big bubble, squealing and turning her rear end when they were near, or whinnying to them in turn. So I knew I had to take control fast or she would just run me over. I had to raise my energy and look convincing, face her down and get her attention and respect; and keep it by reminding her to stay behind me or out of my space. The result was rewarding; at first it took a lot but by the end of the 3 hour session, a look would do - and that is what it's all about, how little it takes once you have that communication & have proved you deserve their respect; and are going to be consistent. When we started she was distracted, so as well as some fairly energetic back-ups I put her over the pole star so she had to think about her feet, then some halts and turns; I had to be fast with changing hands with rope & stick or she would be on top of me. When she started forward towards the other horses I either backed her up a few steps with driving game or porcupine; I never let her be in front of me, even when grazing, if she crept forward then I would gently but firmly correct her; when we gathered round for discussion I put myself between her and the next horse & discouraged her approaching them, by gentle or energetic means depending on her own responses; I also put her behind a pole on the ground as she grazed and if she crossed it or moved forward, gently correct her back. So that by the end I could just turn & look at her or move fractionally towards her and she responded by moving away; and I had her attention. Of course, all with enough friendly game to balance all this. The flies were terrible and it was hot; the horses would sometimes leap towards us if a particularly tenacious fly was on them & they sought relief; we could help them with friendly with the stick & string but unless we had instant respect in place they would take advantage. The difference between being a useful fly swatter and respect was on a fine line so being able to move the horse with very little was a basic requirement for those conditions. Polly came out of the stable looking cross and with a ton of attitude on Sunday afternoon in 28°C heat; even her eating of grass was emotional, but later her whole body language and expression had changed which just shows that if we are interesting enough they can forget grass and flies and be a partner, which is what we are looking to achieve. I like to think of partnership as when horse & human are mentally and physically in unison as if connected by an invisible string.
My group (me, Liz and Christophe) was playing in level 2/3 and we went straight on to the 22' line; sideways without a fence, driving with fan and then Z3; improving impulsion on the circling game and in the send, using our body in the send to try to get the horse to depart with more impulsion and purpose; driving from Z5/4 or 3 (in my case as although I do a lot of Z4 & 5 driving with my Lucie, being behind Polly was not attractive so I stayed where I was comfortable! Combining games and patterns; weave pattern then driving game with energy up the hill; impulsion on driving in Z3, really using our own body to communicate, bringing up our energy; focus; & change of pace. I had never really understood how to use patterns effectively before; now I got it!
Recurring themes were the power of focus; refinement; the power of neutral, and of course, relationships...
We did some conga horse simulations which are very revealing; driving with two lines; circling game; the feedback was very instructive & hopefully helpful for our horses once we knew how they saw our efforts!
During meals Jo didn't let us go to sleep! What are the 7 principles? Responsibilities of the horse? Of the human? We did knots; we talked about horsenality. As the first pure Parelli course I've attended, it was great to be able to share and ask questions and be among other Parellites without having to explain oneself or defend the method. The food was brought along and shared by all, we had a wonderful BBQ, still talking into the night... I left them to it quite early as we had an 08.30 start to beat the heat the next day.
Thanks to Liz, Carole & Richard for having us at their lovely place! It was great to meet Christine, Christophe, Laurence, and your beautiful horses. Thanks to Jo for coming over from the UK & being ceaselessly inspiring. Looking forward to the next one in the autumn! Lots to practise now....
More photos here:
