Winter Blahs

Last week I was reminded of several things that I had temporarily forgotten:

1. I hate winter - specifically January.  It is the month after Christmas and appears exceptionally dark and dreary without the glitter and sparkle of the holiday season.  It is smack in the middle of winter - too close to the beginning to say that spring is coming.  It is cold - very cold.  Yesterday's low of -28 degrees Celsius is cold no matter how hard you imagine yourself on a tropical beach somewhere.   Even more than I hate winter - I hate looking at photos of people playing with their horses at the Parelli campus in Florida.  Or worse, looking at photos of people playing with their horses at the Parelli campus in Florida and then going to play with your horse in the cold arctic -28 wind and snow of Canada.  Darn. I hate winter.

2. I am the first one to tell you that my horse is brilliant.  Tido's super ultra high play drive and LBE horsenality makes me proudly boast how brilliant he is.  But he can't read.  Nor can he watch DVD's.  And he doesn't have a wireless connection between his brain and mine.  So, when the weather outside is frightful, and I curl up to watch, read and generally absorb my vast supply of Parelli materials from a nice warm spot in the house - get this - HE ISN'T LEARNING ANYTHING!!!!   Darn.   I hate winter.

3. No matter how creative and progressive I am - 5 minutes isn't enough playtime for 21 month old girls with - get this - super ultra high play drives and LBE horsenality (see a trend here?).  Heading to the house with frozen fingers, toes and snow frosted eye lashes, so proud of playing with Jess for a full 5 minutes - I hear .. "thunk".  That, my friends, is the sound of the heated float hitting the barn wall as it is removed from the outside water trough.  Yep, she can't talk but that sound very clearly says, "how dare you tease me with five minutes of playtime!! What am I supposed to do for the other 23 hours and 55 minutes left in this day??"  Darn.  I hate winter.

I can't change winter.  Positives?  Let's see, there must be some:

1. My Parelli saddle arrives in less than 28 days!!  Now that might inspire some winter riding!!

2. Laughing keeps you warm.  Simulations with the Parelli playgroup are best done in the winter - the moving around and inevitable laughter (and of course the fresh baked cookies that find their way to the gathering) make you temporarily forget how cold it is.  For a few minutes anyhow ...

3. Time - to watch, listen and read all those materials that you don't have time for during the "good" weather.  And while I try to figure out how to hook up the wireless brain connection between Tido and I, he does benefit, eventually, from my learning.  I have a better plan which makes me more positive and progressive.

4.  If I stand by the kitchen window - there is enough room to "throw" my 45' line down between the fridge and the island,  and coil it up again ... over and over ... and over.  Ron said to get good with it before I use it on my horse.  I don't recall a requirement that I had to get good with it OUTSIDE!  

5.  Marked on the calendar is "May 11 - 15 - Parelli Experience with Don Halladay & John Barr".  Only a mere 105 days (or 15 weeks) away.  Before I know it - it will be here!  While it may not be Florida in January - I can settle for London in May.

So I finish this with the resignation, I may not like it, but January doesn't last forever.  And before we know it, the horses will be shedding and the mosquitoes will be biting and the humidity will make us cranky and we'll be thinking of January ... fondly.

Babies - A Different Breed

   So I am always telling Jesse stories to my Parelli playgroup.  They must secretly laugh at my utter astonishment upon discovering that young horses are soooo different from mature horses.  Having never owned a horse younger than 4 years of age, acquiring my yearling filly last spring opened my eyes to an entirely new world.  Life with Jesse around is never, ever dull and what I have learned from her in just the 8 short months she has been in my life - could already fill a novel!
   I shall start with her latest escapade.  One morning just a few weeks ago, my kids were bustling around getting their outside clothes on, grabbing lunch pails and heaving backpacks onto shoulders.  All of a sudden - they were screaming!!!  "There is a horse on the deck!!!"  Sure enough, there is Ms. Jesse-Lou, looking in the mudroom door with an expression like, "what's for breakfast??"  Of course the kids thought this was the funniest thing ever and, lucky for me, all their friends got a chance to see when the bus came along a few moments later (what the neighbours must think .... but I digress).    Now, it should be said that in my pre-Parelli days, I would have definitely freaked out - thereby making the job of removing a horse from the deck much more difficult.   But savvy changes things ... so I strolled out the door with a happy-to-see-her expression, greeted her with a friendly stroking session.  Then I casually sauntered off the deck towards the barn with a friendly, "well let's find you some breakfast" and walked away.  I didn't look back and sure enough moments later Jesse was trundling along beside me heading for her stall.  Oh - I should mention - Jesse has figured out how to open gates ... hence the deck experience.   She also thinks its great sport to flip the float heater out of the trough ... hence the cronically frozen water.
   What I love most about having her in my life - you ask??  Her play drive.  It is extreme.  This filly will play any time, day or night.  She is a LBE - calm, confident and curious.   Whenever she sees me, she canters to where I am - leaving food and/or friends, just to let me know that if I ever want to play, she is ready.  One night in August of this year, I took the chihuahua out for his last piddle before bed.  There was Ms. Jess in the grass paddock alongside the house, whinnying to get my attention - at 11:30pm.  Such a warm, moonlit night - I thought "why not - there are no rules about playing only during daylight hours".  So we played.  I got the ball out and we played soccer with her at Liberty and had a rousing game of Stick to Me.  Afterwards, I was speechless at the beauty and enthusiasm of that play and was humbled by the realization of what I had just done - played with a yearling in the moonlight!!  A dream come true - a dream I hadn't even dreamt of!
   The drawback of having such a wonderful horse in my life?? She is a source of guilt.  On days when I can't fit in a play session - I feel guilty.  I feel like I have let her down - I see images of her face waiting for me at the gate.  When these feelings set in, I try to put it in perspective.  She could have been purchased by someone who would have just turned her out and not touched her until after her third birthday.  She could have fallen into hands that believe that "breaking" a horse also includes breaking her spirit as well as her body.  She could have found a home that treated her play drive as naughty, something to be disciplined out of her.   So although I can't endulge her by devoting 23.5 hours per day to playing with her - she has a bright future ahead of her and lives a happy life.   And me?  She makes me a better person.  Without a doubt.

So stay tuned for more Jesse-capades!  I am sure she has lots to teach me and me to teach her! 

Wanna play?

Wanna play?

 
  

How to Train Your Dragon ...er .. Horse!

So yes, Ron Pyne has been and gone.  We went in, survived, and came out the other side - more knowledgeable and certainly more exhausted than we began!!  Success all around but, as my brain is still overwelmed with the sheer volume of "stuff" learned, I will wait to blog about our adventures in Ronland when my cranium is quieter and I catch up on the many nights of lost sleep (due to anxiety - not because we were partying in the barn!)!

This week brought the release of one of my favourite kid movies to video.   Generally, I find movies geared for the younger set mildly entertaining and occasionally hit on one that is downright amazing.  How to Train Your Dragon was one such movie for me.  Of course the animation was great, well written, great characters .... but the concept of the movie is what entriges me.  The story of a young, geekish, viking boy who just doesn't have the heart to fight the local dragons, as his classmates do, goes against his father's and his communities wishes and ... wait for it .... trains one to be his friend (in secret of course!).  Using love, language and leadership (and a whole lot of friendly game) the young boy flies off into the sunset on his new friend!   But the real story unfolds as the boy needs to demonstrate to his fellow vikings that changing behaviour practiced by hundred of generations and befriending the dragons has far more benefits than battling against them.   Hmmm - sound familiar??  Eerily so.  

I am struck how often I discover (and use!) Parelli in the non-horsey parts of my life.  4 Phases work amazingly when raising kids for instance!  And my 10 year struggle to lose my baby weight suddenly became clear with the statement: "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten."  Hmm -  after 10 years its safe to say that what I am currently doing isn't working - time to try something different!!  And yes - good, bad or otherwise - you can turn a RBI chihuahua into a LBE and the best little guard dog on the block!!

The Important Role of the Playgroup

Tuesday was one of our bi-weekly Parelli Playgroup sessions.   Time to get together, play with horses (or without), visit, chat and eat.   Time to catch up on horsey (or non-horsey) news and to applaud the little victories.  But most important, time to support each other through the challenges of our individual learning pathways and help each other to stay progressive.   I am constantly amazed at the vast differences between the ages and stages of each member of our group but how close and supportive our little Parelli "family" has become.  The accomplishments from this group are too many to mention - but we are amazing!! Thank you group - it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!!

Tido had a great play on Tuesday.  Ever so slowly he is gaining confidence playing with me on his right side and I can see and feel a much more balanced horse!  It is such a joy to watch him concentrating on something new and not trying to "hide" by putting his left eye on me.  Such a subtle habit on his part and took over a year to identify it as a "problem" (thank's Ron for helping figure out the puzzle!).  In hindsight the signs were clear but .... what can I say, Tido's mischevious nature also lends to a great ability to cover up his weak areas!!  The sweet finale to the day was Tido hanging his head over the gate of the pasture and watching me leave.  I am deeply honored when he would rather spend time with me than grazing or being in the herd.  It is indeed a privlege to be his partner and moments like that just confirm that we are on the right path! 

So my nerves are starting to tingle a bit as I look at the calendar and realize that we are just 14 days until the continuing Level 3 clinic with Ron (Pyne).  Always a pleasure to spend two days with Ron but stressful just the same.  Have I spent enough time practicing perfectly what was covered in the spring clinic??  What challenges will he give us this round??  And all while learning in front of a small audience - yeesh - I still maintain that all Ron's clinics should come with a sedative for the night before!!   Ron - we are ready for the big green ball soccer challenge - you won't beat us this time!!  14 days to go ....