A Look Back: Psychology 101 with Linda at the Maryland Horse and Soul Tour

One year ago yesterday, I received a much anticipated phone call from someone at Parelli Central. I had been selected to participate in a demo with Linda Parelli at the Maryland Horse and Soul Tour Stop. The session was called "Psychology 101" in which Linda took four students, each with a horse representing one of the Horsenalities, and showed them how to use Psychology to bring out the best in their horse. Below is a blog post that I had written about my experience as part of the demo which I had not published until now...Enjoy!

I wouldn’t normally consider myself to be a very spontaneous person, however my recent confidence with my horse, Rydel, led me to throw caution to the wind, step out of my comfort zone, and apply for a chance to participate in the 2013 Horse and Soul Tour stop in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. While I had the opportunity to choose from an array of different demonstrations or lessons with Pat and Linda, there seemed to be only one obvious choice for my horse and me: Horsenality 101 with Linda.

I have had my horse for nine years. Several months before purchasing her, my 4-H group had received free tickets to a Parelli Tour Stop.  After watching Pat and Linda from the stands, I was instantly hooked. I convinced my parents to purchase the level one pack and watched and studied as much as I could until I finally got a horse of my own. From the day I brought Rydel home, I began putting the Parelli principles I had learned in that level 1 pack to purpose and I truly believe it was this prior knowledge that kept me safe around what I later learned to be a very right brained horse. Everyday, I would go out to play the seven games with my horse, but something seemed to be missing. When I would ask her to back up, for example, she would freeze, and when I increased my phases and added more pressure, rather than responding appropriately, she would absolutely explode! We struggled on like this for a few years, and just when I was about to give up, the concept of Horsenality was introduced, and my whole world changed! Suddenly, I had arrows in my quiver to deal with my very extreme Right Brain Introvert, and the amount of progress we made in such a short period of time amazes me even to this day.

Having impacted the relationship with my horse in such a dramatic way, it is easy to see why getting a chance to demonstrate Horsenality was so important to me, and when I received the call that Rydel and I would be in the show, I was ecstatic that everything was coming full circle. When the big weekend finally arrived, I was so concerned with making sure my horse was ready for the show, and so focused on being able to demonstrate how truly wonderful these Right Brain horses can be, that I wasn’t taking a step back to focus on myself. The day of the show the lack of self-focus hit me like a ton of bricks and I began feeling uncontrollably nauseous. As I groomed and prepared my horse for our big debut, it took every ounce of energy I had to not collapse from the amount of retching my stomach was doing. Every deep breath I took, and every attempt I made to talk myself into walking into that arena seemed futile as I slipped more and more into a state of panic.  Finally, after no longer being able to hide my emotions, I burst into tears in a small room behind the retail booth and received some much needed mental coaching (read: friendly game of the mind).

At what seemed like the very last minute, I composed myself and Rydel and I walked into the arena with Linda Parelli and the other horses and humans who would be represented in the demo. In the ring, my worries melted away and I was able to just have fun with my horse. Linda took each horse in turn to demonstrate each Horsenality to the crowd. Rydel was the perfect example of an extreme Right Brain Introvert and Linda talked about and demonstrated the importance of managing your energy when playing with these types of horses. Ladies and gentlemen, cue the licking and chewing!

Principle number seven states that “horses teach humans” and this tour stop was a great reminder of that principle for me. When I submitted my application to be a part of a demonstration on Horsenality, I assumed I would learn a lot about my horse. In reality, being a part of a demonstration on Horsenality helped me learn a great deal more about my own personality than I ever would have imagined! Because of this experience, I now feel more equipped to deal with my own emotions, especially in new or stressful environments, and to be the leader my horse needs me to be all the time, even if when means admitting my limitations and seeking out support. I am so grateful to have a horse that teaches me something new at just the right moments, and I am even more grateful to have the support of the Parelli community to lean on when it’s me who needs a lesson in becoming calm, cool, and collected. 

Rydel at the fairgrounds, relaxing after the show!

Well, Look At That!

Was going to write something tonight, when I decided to check the Parelli Central Blog.... Guess I can save my thoughts for tomorrow! In the meantime, feel free to check this out! - Horsenality Isn't Exactly Common Knowledge

Short, Sweet, and Successful!

This past weekend I had a chance to go to Equine Affaire multiple times and it was a great source of motivation! I watched four different demos put on by Linda Parelli and all of them were eye opening, especially the Game of Contact! During her demo Linda said one thing that really resonated with me... "Keep your sessions short, sweet, and successful." In other words, when learning something new it doesn't take a lot to get your horse's mind working. My motto from now on, is now "short, sweet, and successful."

Throughout the weekend, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my horsemanship journey with Rydel.

(I even got to tell my story to Linda!)

Rydel and I have come a LONG way in the last two years, and while it has taken a while to get to this point, our momentum is only gaining. I'm grateful to Linda for developing "Horsenalities" as I truly believe this was the breakthrough I needed that turned everything around. It's going to be a great summer :)

Pattern Savvy!

This weekend we participated in a Parelli clinic put on by 2* Juli Piovesan with the intent of introducing people to Parelli, the games, and Horsenality! Emily did a great job of explaining the event and taking photos which you can view here. It was so much fun and a learning experience for everyone! Not only did I learn that Rydel and I can have success away from home, I also learned that we are going to need to do a lot more pattern work (both in the saddle and on the ground) if I ever want to help build Rydel's confidence with maintaing her own responsibility. You see, it was extremely obvious at the clinic that my little RBI needs to likes to have her hand held during tasks, and I have been inclined to do that for her. This weekend really helped open my eyes to the fact that I am not doing her any favors by not helping her develop confidence and ability to maintain gait and direction without constant interference. In fact, as I stopped micro-managing her with the reins, I eventually got a horse who was much more connected to me and was listening to my focus, seat, and legs a lot more which allowed me to use my carrot stick and reins a lot less! 

So this week I have been playing with the follow the rail pattern adding transitions such as neutral lateral flexion to stop, hindquarter disengagement to stop, fore and hindquarter turns, and walk trot transitions. After playing with this for a few days we had a GREAT ride last night. Rydel was really catching on to the pattern and was even acting particularly left brain and food motivated so I introduced her to the corners game and it was a total hit!

Someone wanted to tag along. 

Not only did she really understand the pattern and was moving off of my focus and seat most of the time and my legs all of the time, but the motivation of getting to stop and eat the clover in a corner of my choice kept her putting effort into getting there! She actually offered to trot and gave me happy ears while doing so which rarely happens! I could tell that the guessing game of figuring out which corner I was going to let her stop in was confusing her a bit because she would put a lot of effort into getting to the corner and then be upset when I wouldn't let her eat. Knowing that she is innately RBI and needs structure, I think I will develop a pattern with the corners game rather than having her guess. For example, I will let her eat every 3rd corner.

Love my arab! <3

 Despite not having my comfort zone of riding in a saddle, I had a lot of fun with this ride and it helped build my confidence riding bareback. I'm excited because I know the more patterns she learns, the more responsibility I can hand her, leaving me with less to micromanage on my ride!

Glued to the rail- look at those ears!

All in all, it's been a very Parelli-filled week and I hope to keep up the momentum! Practice leads to savvy! :)

Using "Horsenality" As A Tool Rather Than An Excuse

Ok, we've all been there...A quick login on the computer to check email suddenly turns into hours of watching Parelli and other horse related Youtube videos. Along with these videos comes feelings of inspiration, encouragement, and sometimes jealousy and frustration. It doesn't have to be frustrating but sometimes it's hard to fight back that natural human emotion. In 2007, Linda Parelli brilliantly launched her new concept of "Horsenality" which gave her students the tools necessary to put their horses into categories that would allow them to tailor their horsemanship to meet the needs of their horse's specific "Horsenality" or innate social attributes. Horsenality seemed to be the missing link for Parelli students, and since learning about how to best provide incentive and reward for my Right Brained Introvert, our relationship and level of progress has soared!

Despite all the perks of knowing the theory behind Horsenality, lately I have found myself using it to make excuses. For example, when watching a video of a Parelli student who taught their horse a cool trick, I'll find myself saying "Rydel and I could never do that, especially since she's RBI", or "That seems like it would be only possible with a Left Brained horse." While I believe that LB horses might catch on to certain things more quickly than RB horses, simply because lack of confidence or trust is  not an issue, this is no reason for me to make excuses for myself or my horse! We may have to take things a lot more slowly but it doesn't mean we can't one day accomplish these higher level tasks and tricks. No more excuses! As long as I use Horsenality as a tool for success and not an excuse, I know we can do anything!

To get your mind going, here is a quick explanation of what each Horsenality needs from HorseChannel.com. 

The Right Brain Extrovert needs safety. Never push him past the threshold until he's calm. You will need to retreat and to interrupt the pattern. You must have a strong focus and must match the horse's high energy level. Give him a job to accomplish to replace his fear with something positive. He must think of you as his "safe place."

The Right Brain Introvert needs comfort. The worst thing you can do is push this horse before he's confident. You'll ruin his trust in you if you push him before he's ready. Taking your time is important because you'll need to wait on this horse to process things. He needs to believe in you.

The Left Brain Extrovert needs play. He craves creative, imaginative tasks and can't stand to be forced into anything. Because he hates to be bored, you'll need to speed things up, be enthusiastic and come up with variety in your lessons.

The Left Brain Introvert needs incentive. There are plenty of ways to offer incentive without "bribing" him. (Think rest, grazing, treats, scratches.) This horse needs to have a purpose and wants to go somewhere. Riding circles in an area with this horse will lead to resistance and defiance. Use reverse psychology for best results