Definition of a Super Horse

I have heard the term "Super Horse" since I began with Parelli.  I have heard Pat & Linda and several instructors refer to their horses with the word "super" in the sentence.  In the last several months I have started to wonder about how to define a Super Horse.  Is it a horse that plays at a particular level in one, or all, of the 4 savvies?  Is a Super Horse defined by their tenacity towards a certain specialized discipline?  Does the unwavering partnership between horse and human give a horse Super-status?  Seeking to define Super Horse leads me to the next logical question; is my horse a super horse??

Sunday I had a long-overdue and wonderfully rewarding play with Tido that made me think he is closer than ever to recieving the Super Horse title.  Playing online with our downward transitions, Tido is well aware of his responsibilities of a) maintain gait b) maintain direction and c) look where you are going.   He is also aware that he has permission to be as curious as he wants (which is 101% of the time!).   So as he was cruising around on the circle, changing gaits up and down at every halfway point - I could see a small smidge of his attention was focused on his favourite toy of all - a shiny orange cone!  I can assure you - I was giving it all I had to be provocative and keep him engaged.  But I could visibly see his brain-wheels were turning - how could he get that orange cone without breaking his responsibility??  I asked for a downward transition to walk about two strides from where the cone lay about 8 feet outside our circle.   With confidence and purpose he walked forward one stride and in a smooth fluid motion sidepassed 8 feet to the cone, picked it up and carried on in his same forward engaged walk.  I instantly started to laugh - he didn't lapse on any of his responsibilities yet applied a high degree of imagination and focus to obtaining his toy!   Anyone watching from the outside would have thought I had asked for that manouver.    I awarded him several bonus points in his quest for super-horse status!

My little Jesse also had a good day in her goal to move from Next-Super-Horse into full fledged Super Horse!  Again Sunday afternoon, DH (dear hubby) and I pulled out of our lane onto the highway for a venture into town.  Immediately, I realized our young German Shepherd was barrelling across the lawn thinking he should follow us on foot.   DH pulled over and I stepped from the truck to scold the dog and point him in the direction of the house.  Our truck happened to be pulled over on the highway alongside our front horse paddock.  Finished scolding the devil dog, I hear a high pitched whinny of welcome from my filly and look up to see her barrelling up the field from the barn.  She hit the breaks as close as she could be to where I stood and looked at me expectantly like "Wanna play?"!!   Standing on the gravel shoulder, in the dark and dreary rain of November, I rewarded her with a few soft and gentle words and climbed into the truck to continue on our errands.  While my heart was singing with her display of devotion to me (remembering that she is just 18 months old!), it broke a little bit when I left her standing at the fence and drove away.   Just a reminder that time of day and weather don't affect a young horse's play drive - a good lesson to remember!  So Jesse went up a few rungs on the Super Horse ladder too! 

I would love to hear from anyone who has thoughts on defining a Super Horse.  In the meantime, we continue positively, progressively and naturally knowing one day, I too will have a Super Horse.