Thursday 18th November 2010
Well, who would have thought it? After 2 years, we have at last had a sensible ride in an arena! In the end it has all happened rather quickly but really it is the culmination of hours and hours of preparation.
The evening before, I looked up the level 2 freestyle checklist and audition details and pondered over what I needed to tell Pippa about how Parelli is different. In the end I settled on
1. If I want to get off, I will
2. No tight nosebands
A very short list - which made me feel good as I realise I now have enough knowledge and confidence to apply Parelli principles to alternative training. Now, the observant reader will have noticed that I have not yet mastered Freestyle riding so why am I receiving training in Finesse?
I have long held the theory that some horses need to be ridden into a contact before they feel confident enough to be turned loose and I believe Duncs is one such pony. I'm sure it's probably an initial training issue; if a horse is trained the Parelli way from the beginning, it's not likely to turn out this way. I don't ride in the hackamore - at the moment - because Duncan is much more confident in a bridle (wrote about this in a previous entry).
What really delighted me was reading Linda's article in the Savvy Times about her breakthrough using the "Game of Contact" with Allure. She now finds she can at last ride him Freestyle too. Aha......
I need to go to bed so, alas, will have to write in full about my lesson tomorrow. Just for now, I will say he was FANTASTIC! "Oldencraig" (dressage competition centre) here we come! I also got to play with a GORGEOUS mare with a rearing issue afterwards which was great and on Monday I'm going to practice my catching game skills with a feisty filly foal!
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