Prince: Mental intensity!

June 30 2010

This morning was my first play time with Prince since we left and I have to say, it was an amazing one! Prince was fabulous to say the least and we had a very fun play session. I started off with just scratching him and spending some time just hanging out after I haltered him. Then we did some Touch it with me in zone 5. After that I asked Prince to jump the logs that were in the turn around (where we were playing) Prince walked up to them and jumped right over them no problem. So then I asked him to draw towards me and then jump the logs, which he did really nicely. 

The whole time we were playing I tried to look at everything as a game, even going to phase 4. One thing that Mrs. Parelli talked about at the Celebration was when you are playing with left brain horses you really have to see it as a game and when you have to go to a phase 4 get mentally intense first. I knew that already but you know, sometimes you need a reminder ;) I think it worked. Prince was riveted to me! He had two ears and eye on me the whole time and put a lot of effort into what I was asking. 

I particularly wanted to play with Figure eights, another thing Mrs. Parelli talked about. She said that there are two ways to do Figure eights, as a driving game and as a circle game. Doing them as a circle game gives the horse more responsibility and causes the horse to fall in love with you being in neutral. Doing Figure eights as a driving game you are micro managing the horse to much. Up until now Prince and I were doing figure eights somewhere in between a driving game and a circle game.  

So Prince and I set off. At first Prince would run right around the marker and keep going. So I shut him down and then sent him again then went back to neutral. At first it was messy but slowly I could see the changes happening and then Prince got it. He trotted around the ends and cantered through the middle and he was thinking his way through it, asking questions and he wasn't pulling on me which meant that he knew the patten and that I wasn't micro managing him. So yeah. It was really neat. 

After that we went back to the logs. My plan was to ask Prince to jump them from a stand still but first I wanted to make sure that he could do it from a walk and from a trot. Prince could and so the last time I sent him really softly but with intent and he walked up to them, stopped and then when I asked he jumped it! He did really well. After that I sat down on the pile of logs and we just relaxed. As I was sitting there this though crossed my mind... to people that watch me play with my horses, who ever they might be and when ever. It would probably look like I do a lot of the same things over and over. But to me it is a totally different. For example, with the jumping. it may have just looked like I was asking Prince to jump the pile of logs three or four times but to me it was different. I was looking for something and being particular but making sure that I set up for success. But people wouldn't know that, only I knew that. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have done it if lots of people were watching but I guess it is just something to think about :) 

Prince stuck around for a little while after I unhaltered him and then he moseyed home with the other horses following. I am so glad to be home and with my family and horses again.

Naturally,

~Keri