P.I.T.'s and Rattle Snakes

What a week!! Lots of horse activity going on and lots of positives.  First I wanted to comment on the Humanality/Match report.  Mine arrived on a rare day when I was down and out with the flu and ironically, it was one of the best afternoons I have ever spent!! Having a sick day (rare, I can assure you), gave me some undemanding time with myself to really read and absorb the reports.  I was floored ... no... astonished to find out I am a RBI!  But not just any old RBI - a RBI Axis Point!  What this means is that although RBI is my main quadrant, it is very, very mild and my dot is very close to the centre.  The result is that I can easily shift into LBI and RBE and occasionally LBE (possible but only occasionally).  So, speaking in positive terms, I have the potential to be very adaptable to the horse I am playing with.   The reports are very, very interesting and very reflective of what I have been facing with myself and my horse.  Since reading them, I feel I have a real understanding of the positives and the challenges that Tido and I face as a partnership.  What also hit home, again, was John Baar's discussion regarding labelling.  He advised that we not think of LB and RB as "good" and "bad" and certainly now that I find myself an RBI, this is never more true!!
    
     As things finally started drying up here in south western Ontario in the last week, I got a chance to start playing with my filly. I currently have her identified as a P.I.T. (partner-in-training) because she flip-flops so easily between acting like a partner and behaving very instinctively. Since passing her second birthday on April 9th, I am starting to see more consistent partner-like behaviour as she gains in size and maturity.  But she is still very young, and those prey behaviours surface regularly.

     Throughout the winter I took advantage of every opportunity to play with any of the games that I could - in the confines of the barn.  But as the good weather has moved in, I have begun advancing those games outside!  In one of our first official plays of the year, I was busy placing barrels, flipping cavaletti, setting cones and generally getting things arranged in the outdoor arena.  I was casually dragging the 22' behind me and allowing Jess to trail around after me at Liberty (she's great at that - I call her my pocket horse).  Using my periferal vision to keep a close eye on her whereabouts, her sudden movement caught my eye.  The leather popper on the end of the 22' suddenly came up out of the grass and caught her attention.  After following it with concern for a few moments, she made a small hop into the air with both front feet and came down on the ends - finishing her display with a short tap dance.  Then in a brisk walk with a look of concern on her face she came within 3 feet of me and turned crosswise so her zone 3 was between me and the end of the 22.  She looked back at me over her shoulder with a confident expression that said, "it's okay, I've got this under control."  How can you not laugh??!!   While initially I thought this behaviour was quite instinctual, with some "hhmm .. how interesting" pondering, I have concluded that in many regards, she was actually behaving very much like a partner.   I know in her mind, the leather popper was a rattle snake (which is quite instinctual).  But instead of taking flight, she took as much calm confidence as a two year old can muster, and "killed' the snake to protect her herd of two.  While in the future I will need to watch carefully that she doesn't become dominantly protective of our herd, it was deeply reaffirming that our playtime has some very real meaning for her.   And if we ever ride through the wilderness, I'll be safe from rattle snakes! 


     I leave you with two recent photos of Jess.  The first in her new designer, gold mesh with lynx trim, fly mask. If you can't have fun dressing up your little girl - who can you have fun with??  The second shot was taken at sundown last night.  While I rarely consider her "angelic" - doesn't this photo give her a certain glow??


New designer flywear!




I always knew she was an angel!