Playday at the Parelli ISC

I never thought I would be typing that heading - "Playday at the Parelli ISC" - how fun is that?

A level 4 friend of mine drove down from the Florida-Georgia border on Friday with her horse, Jake, and parked here at the farm. She gave some much-needed pointers with Satin, namely "you're babying her" and "don't let her get in your space (ie, you're babying her)." I noticed positive changes as soon as I stopped allowing Satin to "step on top of me." You'd be surprised how much the tiniest allowances can reinforce a behavior that you don't want. I wouldn't assertively ask Satin to move away from me when she would absentmindedly plow me with her shoulder. Instead I would kind of shove her (which did nothing) and just felt frustrated. My friend noticed this right away and suggested a quick, appropriate reaction -- use pressure (natural reinforcment to horses) to immediately get her from your space and be conscious of where she is so that you don't allow her to enter your space (once she's right on top of me it is very difficult to get her back without backing up my own feet and losing her dominance game).

It took half a dozen of times of (pretty much just shaking the line, shaking my hands and carrot stick) these "wins" and Satin was looking me in the eyes as if to say "You exist? Who are you and where did you come from?"
All I did was make the behavior she was choosing (dominance) uncomfortable or simply not fun and the behavior which I wanted (her to step out of my space and in turn me become the leader) was pleasurable (no pressure).

So that was Friday.

Saturday we loaded up by 7am and made the 1 hour trek to the Parelli center in Reddick. Beautiful is an understatement. The enormous, ancient oak trees were simply amazing. The farm was not fancy at all. The fences were simple: black 4-board fencing or electric tape. They had two water troughs in every pasture (one with plain water and one with molasses water). They have no big, fancy barns; just beautiful pastures with modest enclosures and metal corral panels as turnout for the extern's horses. There was a thin running creek with a bridge, some low-lying areas with maintained natural ponds. There are a handful of buildings - a classroom, office, and dining hall - all very new and efficient.
The staff were incredibly friendly and had accents from all across the world. I heard Australian, German, and others that I couldn't even place - every voice was inviting and polite.
The point is that it's evident that they don't spend money on fancy houses and cars or on unnatural barns, etc (their house is maybe 3,000 square feet (solar panels, energy efficient and covered in plants) and they have one vehicle each - Pat has a Ford truck and Linda has a Land Rover).  Instead they use their profits for spreading the word about their wonderful program. Not only was I able to receive direct encouragement on the Savvy Club forums from the Parelli community, but I sent emails back and forth with a Parelli staff member who offered me personal support regarding whether or not I should come to the Parelli ISC for the games (for those of you who don't know the games are free).

Satin loaded and unloaded without a blink of an eye. She loves to load, as a matter of fact, and always has. I just point her at the trailer and Ms. Curious just climbs right in. She really didn't care about the other horses as we walked around the trailer when we arrived. All the horses were paying attention to their human counterparts - very few were being 'naughty' or 'looky'. It was like being at a dog agility show -- those dogs don't take their eyes off their two-legged parents! I think Satin was comforted by all these relaxed horses as starkly opposed to a horse show where the air is so thick with stress you can cut it with a knife. Also there was quite a bit of grass.... Mmm, food-in-mouth. I think she gets a similar endorphin rush from eating food as she does from cribbing!
We were there from about 8:30am until 1:00pm and we wandered the beautifully landscaped property, played a few timed-games, and most impressively we worked on our circling game in the round corrals. I am thrilled to have gone to the center, thrilled that everything went smoothly, and psyched that Satin and I had a breakthrough in those round corrals! It really couldn't have gone any better (unless Satin turned into a Unicorn Pegasus, now that would be awesome).

Satin, we are on the track to an awesome relationship!

I'll post pictures soon!