Nicola Parker's blog

Confidence

Confidence is an interesting word , we want our  horse to be confident,I want to be confident , I sometimes pretend to be confident when I am not to get my self through something and I have thought Dundee is confident when he is probably not there yet . 

Trailer Loading and doing his feet has brought this home to me , I realy need to be confident in what I am doing and am getting there having lessons with Max and studying is helping me do the right thing at the right time .

Comfort Zone !

Today I moved out of my comfort zone again !

Its that time of year when the grass is much more interesting to Dundee than myself . So rather than DD having  the game of getting me moving I decided to experiment with him .

Wow!

Wow ! What a day we had yesterday , Max came over to gives me a lesson . As it was so hot and i didnt want to overdue it with Dundee , we worked the lesson around preparation for riding . 

I hadnt realised quite how important and precise the porcupine game needs to be for riding . But it is now all fitting into place .We played with lateral flexion and preparation for the indirect rein and hindquater yield , once DD knew what we were asking he responded realy well .

Keys to Success

I am normally quite an independent soul used to , battling along on my own to get things done . Since studying Parelli , I have realised  success doesnt necessarily happen like this .One needs Attitude , knowledge , support ,Tools , techniques , time and imagination .

22ft line

I have been watching Pat in the new L2 DVD and also listing all the tasks I need to do to progress into  level 2 ,so have made my plan of what we need to do  and aim for .

I have passed !

I am so pleased, I have just returned from holiday to the results of my level1 on line audition and we have passed . Its a great feeling and has given me the confidence i need to progress .and i have acheived one of my goals .

Video attached

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHUYCE7Zm9w

 

Talents!

Just had 10 min of sheer delight with DD prior to turning him out . This is normally his grouchy time , but i have got into the habit of playing on the yard at liberty before haltering him  . His talent is definately getting his front leg as high as possible onto the mounting block rather like he is clinbing it ,one at a time  most amusing ,probably may be a problem when I decide to mount though . Then i got him to move sideways a little both ways as i had got his attention and interest treats obviously involved .

Knowledge

Oh dear it seems ages since i added to my blog so here goes .

We have been doing lots of things together trying to put all the new knowledge i have into practice , which brings its ups and downs but lots of fun .

Sad Day !

I had a realy sad day yesterday , my old faithful labrador Basil died , we were all so upset ,the other dogs were very quiet and even Dundee didnt do his daily morning ritual of wanting a gaim before he would let me  halter him to put him out .

Leadership !

I have just returned from a skiing holiday and have realised how much studying Parelli has helped me to return after a long break to a sport I once loved . Forgeting  all the aches and pains !

It has given me the confidence to move out of my comfort zone which I needed to do to move on,to learn and to challenge my self.

Circles in the Snow !

Wish I could take a picture from up high , I have been playing with DD as usual moving from the stable to the paddock  , we did some travelling circles on fresh snow it looked beautiful!

Respect and Rappore

Aha ! it has finally sunk in that the fine balance of rappore and repect is an on going thing , obvious I know but in reality having  a LBI who can be quite dominant I have been working on respect issues but in doing so had  slightly jepodised my rappore . Although quite dominant he is also very sensitive and I am realising how subtle this can be . So I have been spending more undemanding time with him just hanging out .

I Did It !!

Having re read my last few blogs I felt I had got a little stuck . No more procrastinating(sorry Bryan re spelling) today I had a plan .To move out of my comfort zone in order to reach my goal and continue my self improvement , With a beautiful day ground firm but not frozen relatives all gone home it was me time . My friends know I havent ridden for a long time (years ) so  I am taking baby steps to get back in the saddle.

Xmas Blog

Well I havent blogged lately but have still been playing as much as I can with Dundee  inbetween all the Xmas preperations  and family commitments .Like every one else the lovely cold snap we have had plus snow has altered what we can do .But interstingly because DD had no grass to use focus on I have had his attention a little easier  he has been looking to me to entertain him which has been fun pottering around together doing lots of touch it and doing lots of friendly game taking of his rug for him to have a good roll in the snow and enjoy the moment together .

Thresholds and Emotions!

I had an interesting play session with DD this morning ! He wasnt particulary interested so had to get his attention upping my phases backing him into the paddock which was ok , he decided to circle rather than fig 8 which was my intention so I let him do a couple and then interupted this to do the f8.my idea !

Playing with an obstacle

I havent played with DD for the last week for various reasons , but managed a short session last night before dark .

Yawning !

Things have been going realy well with DD recently particulary as our language and communication improves . However one problem that always arises is his aligator mouth and mouthiness when I am haltering him .

Beautiful day

I thought I would take advantage of such a super morning to play with Dunddee and practice our circling game  using  transitions and change of direction which Max had showed us at our last  lesson .

? Adrenalin

I returned from 2 weeks away last night and as always a little warey as to how Dundee will be having been looked after by someone else as he has tended to be rather dominant  .I am pleased to say he had glowing reports and all has been well  .

Great Day !

I have had a very mixed but  intersting week starting with looking after my 4 year old nephew for 4 days which challenged all my new found calmness and assertiveness . Also brought out all sort of emotions, he certainly new which buttons to press!. He made Dundee lok like a saint . I think I may have failed that task .

Lots of licking!

Since my lesson the other week we have been practising our patterns and developing the 7 games .As we arnt ready for a lot of things I have created one of my own backing him from zone 1 ( which he resists )in between 2 poles , our  sideways is definately getting better , I think we are getting  better communication.  My goal has been to engage Dundee's mind and emotions rather than just his feet . I am noticing more subtle signs of his dominance and can see how this will change as I become a better leader .

Energy and focus

On wednesday evening Max came over to give me a lesson and meet Dundee .

We had a realy great session , I felt emotional and protective as we have not done anything like this for years .Its one thing playing on your own but feeling quite exposed and a little vunerable showing your weaknesses to  someone else . 

Less is more

Following a chat with Max at fridays meeting I have followed her advice and been rewatching the April Savy Club DVD regarding the Lynda's session with the LBI . Using only the slightest touch on the halter she got lateral flexion and got to the horses mind , I have been playing with this the last couple of days and it works ! I have released at the slightest try , I am trying to do as little as possible and let Dundee do all the work .

Back to L.A. First Blog

I am looking forward to being back in the group and thought I should start with where was I last year etc.

This time last year I was waiting in aniicpation for my level 1 pack , carrot stick , halter and rope . I knew very little about  Parelli only what I had seen on t.v. 

But it had inspired me enough to be thinking I could possibly do  this with Dundee . We had done very little for some years for various reasons and I could see the possibilities for us .