Saaaaaaavvvvvyv! (imagine your hands outstretched at the Saaaaaavvvvvv part and clap at the ‘y’…this we do at the end of each discussion….hmmmm)

Ok. For the Part that’s amazing. We learned so much today! We learned about “horsenalities”…the basics of what makes our horses act the way they do. Extrovert or Intovert? Right or Left brained? Everyone take a wild guess…for those of you who know our mares…and you may be surprised.

Extrovert vs Intovert basically means “more go” or “more whoa”
Right Brain vs. Left brain basically means “fear/less confident” or “playful/more confident”.

Got a good guess?

Now imagine the words “impulsive”, “can’t stand still”, “hyper alert” , “fractious/panicky”, “tendency to bolt/rear”, “runs over you”, “high-headed”, “bracy”, “overreactive”, “forward-a-holic”. These basically describe the part of the chart which describe Missy. A right brain Extrovert.

And China is right there with her.

Lesson # 5 has served me well. Be a strong, effective leader for my panicky, forward mover, and she’ll turn into a kitten. She was the happiest horse today. No colicky behavior, no lying down for hours. We worked on backing up. Since she just wants to move forward, we backed up everywhere. Through gates, into her pen, up platforms. Then once she did that, I let her comfortably move forward. She jumped over logs, then mounds, then big platforms. The whole time she seemed genuinely curious, happy and eager to please. It was remarkable to see her transformation and to feel a part of it. We played for 2 1/2 hours this way without feeling worn out or getting bored.

The other part of our day was playing with ropes. The real kind of ropes…that cowboys use. The kind you throw over a cow’s neck. Or just practice throwing straight. That was lesson # 7. Try to throw (gracefully) a 45 foot stiff rope in a straight line without it looking like a screwed up slinky in front of the cowboy (literally) who is doing the lesson. Ya just look dumb. But it was fun feeling the different ropes…the ones that had been played with thousands of times vs the brand new ones. (you, too, could own a Parelli 45’ rope for the Savvy club price of….) Don’t ask. We’re not getting one.

I hope we keep up this momentum. Missy is doing well, and so are Jenn and China. The rest of the class is friendly and progressing. The Parelli staff has been very very patient and helpful. We’re feeling pretty lucky. Only 10 students on the whole ranch. Last week there were 70. It’s quiet, peaceful and the views are stunning no matter the weather.

Take care,
Your fearless R-brained extrovert. (or should I say fearful?)–Missy
And Amy. Stay tuned. The personality profiles are tomorrow. We’ll see how well we match!!
Savvy clap!! Saaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvy!!

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Parelli Natural Horsemanship by amy