Both girls

You'll notice that I talk most about Satin in my blog. There are a few reasons!
Satin has been my closest friend for 12 years. We've grown up together, gotten into trouble together, learned together. I saw Parelli on tour in 1999 in Kentucky at the Horse Expo (I went with our mounted drill team). At that point I was already in love with Monty Roberts and practiced "join up" and natural horse communication. Parelli took natural horsemanship up a notch and got my attention!

Even though I had a part-time job when I was 16 years old, I didn't have the money to buy the Parelli products. I just played around with what I saw on that tour and I had just a single Parelli book.
But I had no support! My horse trainer was an aggressive, traditional trainer. Everyone around me thought I was a wimp for being gentle. It was very disappointing.

I've always used natural horse communication in my training. If you speak like a horse, a horse will understand. Seemed simple to me!
But I never delved deep into Parelli (again, financial constraints), so I continued to mix gentle, traditional dressage training with my 'horse talk'.

Satin and I have 12 years behind us. She's always been a playful girl - even if it means bucking under saddle. And man can she buck!
But I want to manage that playfulness in a safe way. No more just "riding her through the bucks". I want her to respect me and in turn have a healthier relationship with her. I want her to be happy!

Dancer has been a wonderful friend for about 2 years now. She was a rescue. She's sensitive and easy to work with, although she's very anxious. Dancer will not be a challenge, but I do plan to document our Parelli journey with her on this blog as well.

I am excited for both mares -- their whole lives should change in a positive way!

Thanks for reading!