Fantastic Play Day Today!!!

Nicole hosted a play day today for the OPP members and Renegade and I had a fantastic time. We played with lots of things today. First was trailer loading at home, since we were picking up another person he had to be tied and the divider closed (slant load). Renegade is used to riding untied and in the open trailer but he did great and was accepting of the other horse in "his" trailer. Of course it helped it was a very sweet mare!!

We played online for awhile in the morning, I was playing with being particular without being critical but not micromanaging either and trying to really pay attention to my energy. It was lots of fun and I got some interesting results - caused me to think quite a bit!!

Riding was interesting as well. During the workshops last weekend, Renegade really had a problem with horses coming up in his zone 5 so today we played with that a bit and he started getting pretty relaxed about it and not feeling the need to protect his zone 5. I also asked other people to ride up close to us while we just stood quietly and that went well. We were mindful of Renegade's bubble and not pushing on it too much at one time and using approach and retreat. We went on a mini trail ride and played with having horses change position in the line and had some fun with that. One of the horses that generally has a problem with kicking other horses out on the trail and we played with her bubble in zone 5 as well. She did GREAT - not one episode of kicking, although she did get "nasty ears" a couple of times, but NO KICKING!! Just goes to show you what you can accomplish when you ride with SAVVY people!!

When we got back from the trail ride Renegade and I rode some circles at the trot around a barrel then trotted some figure 8's. I tried really hard to leave the reins alone and ride with focus and it was fantastic - I only had to do a couple of corrections!! Our circles need work, they were a little lopsided but I wasn't concerned about that right now - the goal was following my focus and feel and I met that goal so it was a GREAT DAY!!

Also, I do want to thank Jerry Williams, the Parelli Instructor teaching the workshops last weekend. He gave me several things to play with and work on and I had fun with those things today!! Thanks Jerry!!!

2 Great Workshops Today!!

Participated in two workshops today and as usual, Renegade was a great teacher! Most things went well, a few things did not go as planned but were fantastic learning experiences. Jerry, the Parelli Professional, presented some great concepts and gave us plenty to think about/work on/play with for quite a while.

Renegade has always had an issue with other horses in his zone 5 but today he was especially bothered by it. It may have been because 4 of the 6 horses were new to him and those were the ones he had the biggest issues with. Jerry gave me a strategy to deal with it and by the end of the workshops, Renegade was standing quietly with other horses zooming around behind him doing canter lead changes and he was relaxed, with no "nasty ears" or his version of the Schwiegermutter look!!

I have more thoughts about the workshops, but am REALLY tired so gonna get some shut-eye and post more tomorrow!!

Amazing Day!!

The weather was cooler this morning so went out to play with Renegade. He's been playing hard to get the past couple of days so we played the catching game for a few minutes and when he came to me, we hung out for a couple of minutes then walked together to the gate, put the halter on and out we went.
AT LIBERTY:
Circling: got some nice, soft circles and some nice changes of direction, two laps to the right maintaining gait and direction.
Squeeze: some nice squeezes over a single barrel with turn, face, and wait. Also a couple squeeze over barrel towards me, stop, and back up to barrel!!
Sideways/Driving: at liberty sideways to and from, very nice and soft - Renegade's second favorite game!!
Porcupine: to lift (L) front leg, Renegade was very soft, doing prep to ask for him to lay down.
Yo-Yo: Renegade is good at this game, but I need to start working on speeding this up!
Friendly: Renegade's favorite game, I was laying on ground, using cs to touch his nose without having him bite the cs (a favorite game). Eventually he was very relaxed and was putting his own nose on the cs tip and resting there!!

FREESTYLE/FINESSE:
Circling: ftr at walk and trot getting better, changes of gait and corrections back to rail are rare!
Driving: used driving when back up got a little sticky. Also, used ss around neck to do driving for back-up - it was light!!
Squeeze: between barrel and fence, Renegade was fine with this.
Sideways: was playing with ridden yo-yo's and Renegade offered beautiful, soft sideways - the best one's yet, both right and left!!!
Porcupine: during sideways was light, yield hq needs more practice to get lighter!
Yo-Yo: go is good, whoa is good, back up sticky - needs more practice to get lighter and faster!!
Friendly: lots of friendly for all the effort with sideways and for hq yields!!

ONLINE (45' LINE):
Circling: some nice circles at about 30' of rope, had to bring him in closer to get changes of direction, need a plan to improve this!
Falling Leaf: did some really nice falling leaf, I stayed on course and Renegade for the most part, kept moving at a trot - pretty nice for our first real attempt at this.
Send: after our play, I sent Renegade to the gate from about 35' away and really focused on the gate - he went, turned and looked at me!!! Whoot!!

Finally - A Chance to Post Again!!

Wow...it sure has been a busy time since I last posted here. I've completed two more classes towards my bachelors degree, attended the Parelli Celebration in Lakeland, Florida, attended the Parelli Open House in Ocala, Florida, and went to a couple of play days.

The Ocala Parelli Players group has been very busy with planning for play days and Tinker has arranged some great stuff for the play day at her place in December - camping, trail riding, play in arenas and round pens and even a pot luck and some entertainment on Saturday night. It sounds like we can have our own mini-celebration!!! It sounds like a fun time!! Getting excited about all the fun stuff we have coming up!!

The play day this past Wednesday at Ingrid's was fantastic. It was fun to get together with Nicole, Kim, Linda, Terri, Ingrid, Angie, Beth, and Sandy (Beth's sister visiting from out of town). And...it was a nice suprise when Jerry Williams, a Parelli instructor, showed up!! I was laying on the ground with Renegade grazing right next to me, just spending some undemanding time after all the playing at liberty and riding we had done.

Renegade and I had a blast today. I rode him in the round pen with the bareback pad and we had a good thing going - Renegade was soft and responsive and we eventually got two laps without change of gait, change of direction, or leaving the rail (no corrections!!) and he was responding to my seat and legs. We also played with driving game while riding using the SS around his neck to back up - he was fabulous!! I had the SS held lightly between my thumb and index finger and he backed (WITH ENERGY) from light driving. We had a really great connection today and he was really sticking with me even at liberty. When we got home I opened the trailer door and Renegade (at liberty) politely waited for me to ask him out and he exited quietly, turned and faced me and stayed with me (in a yard FULL of grass!!). I waited a couple of minutes then headed off to the pasture and at liberty Renegade stayed with me all the way in to the pasture. I am extremely happy with the way the whole day went but especially happy with the way our day ended. WHOOT, WHOOT, WHOOT!!!!

I just love the relationship I've been building with Renegade, we are truely becoming partners. I used to dream about having a relationship like this with Renegade and now it's become a reality and I believe the possibilities are endless for us. I'm dreaming really big for our future!!

THE LAKELAND, FL CELEBRATION ROCKED!!!

Well, the three days of magic are over until next year but I am still licking and chewing on everything I've OBSERVED and LEARNED over the last three days. I love the new Celebrations format rather than the tour stops - the Celebrations are soooo much more informational. I learned so much and saw so many wonderful examples of horsemanship over the last three days.

Thank you Pat and Linda once again for your never ending self-improvement! You keep raising the bar and I applaud you for that!!

L2 Certificate, Savvy String, and Pin Arrived Today!!!!!

My L2 certificate, string, and pin arrived in the mail today and I'm so excited. As I sit here holding my string and feeling of it, I am remembering all the "TRY" it took to get to this point. When I first began this journey (really pre, pre, pre, level one!!!) I had times when I thought I'd never make it and I felt like giving up. I am so glad I persisted and stayed the course. I don't have "those days" anymore, everything is fun and facinating now for me and my horse. We are having a ball together and I'm living my lifelong dream of having horses and knowing "where to be, when to be, and why to be"!!
I have so many possibilities now and becoming an instructor is even part of my dream (even at my age, which I won't tell here!!!).

THANK YOU PAT AND LINDA. BECAUSE OF YOU I AM LIVING MY DREAM!!!
Kathy and Renegade
Proud L3 Student

Update After an Absence!!

I haven't been posting much lately since I've been busy with school, work, playing in L3, playdays, etc.

I've been making a conscious effort to use my 45' line when playing since it's the only way I'm going to get comfortable and efficient with it and so far, so good!! Of course we're not using ALL the 45' yet but that will come with time.

The Ocala Parelli Players group has been great, having a new challenge every two weeks to keep us motivated and progressing over the summer. Some of the challenges have been really creative but designed so they can be done at any level.

I have been playing at liberty with Renegade trying to get him to stick with me at the canter. Well, first I just had to get him to canter and it took a bit of trying. My neighbors probably thought I was crazy, running around the pasture like that!! I was starting to think that by the time Renegade got it figured out, I would be ready to run a marathon!! Thankfully though, he caught on (finally LOL!!) and cantered when I did but then he thought the race was on and he definitely beat me!!! After a couple of repeats of this I got him cantering with me again then I suddenly put on the brakes and stopped. He went a few more canter strides and I swear, I could see the light bulb go off in his head! He realized I wasn't with him and he did a sliding stop and turned around to look for me!!! Whoopeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I need to work on getting him to stay with me and slow it down a bit but that will come with time.

The key to playing with Renegade is just that, I have to PLAY. If I do too many repetitions or try for too much refinement at one time, he just gets cranky and mad - he'll actually stamp his foot!! If I make it play and keep it interesting he'll stay engaged for a long time. I love this horse and his huge play drive, I just need to get better at directing it or putting it to purpose. Something to play with through L3.

Well, I've got to go for now. I've got an early day tomorrow then a busy weekend with errands and housework Saturday and a PLAYDAY on Sunday!!!