#7 The game of 'Zero Brace'

Various articles and videos.


A member asked if we could do a discussion on the concept of 'zero brace' as she was having difficulties with her horse and especially grass diving... so hopefully this will give her some answers/direction and also help the rest of us too!

A simple search on the savvy club website box came up with a LOT of Q&A's (type in 'bracing' or 'grass'), so I picked some bits from there, but I also used my notes from an old savvy club dvd, which I will explain more about later. I also used notes I took from the 2011 Celebration in the UK.


Here are notes from SC questions on grass diving:


-when your horse is surrounded by delicious grass, of course he’s going to want to eat it, but then he gets punished for it. That’s like taking a child into a candy store and expecting him to have enough self-control to ignore all that candy. That’s a heck of a lot to ask!

- Allow some grazing time before asking for a horse’s full attention. By doing this now and then – but only when you invite it – you’re being a considerate partner and a firm leader. 

- Be sure to give your horse permission rather than just letting him plunge his head down whenever he feels like it. Use porcupine game on his head for this.

- If you never let your horse eat grass while you’re riding, he’ll take every opportunity to lunge at the grass, even unseating a rider to get at it. But if you’ve proved to your horse that you’re not an unreasonable person, and that you’re considerate of his desires, he is less likely to resent you or resist your attempts to shift his behavior.

- cause and effect relationships

- Plan of action: When your horse lowers his head, allow him to start eating without even touching the reins or rope, then smooch and lightly begin tapping his hindquarters, becoming firmer and firmer until his head pops up. Stop tapping right away and rub.

- At first it may be a surprised reaction and his head may go right down again. Just repeat the smooch and progressively firmer tapping until his head comes up, then rub him again. Very quickly, a quiet smooch is all it will take to ask your horse to lift his head from eating grass.
- He will learn to graze when you invite him to, and to stand respectfully until you do. He’ll stop to think whether he’s been invited to eat before just hauling you off for a snack.

- Be prepared to out-persist your horse on this.
- remember that it’s nothing personal. He’s been munching grass much longer than you’ve been asking him to stop.

- dont ask your horse to lift his head out of the grass unless you have something for your horse to do instead of eating. If your horse lifts it's head and says, "what?" and you say, "Oh, nothing, I just dont want you to eat grass," your horse will just go back to eating grass.

- To bring the attention away from grass, try setting up some barrels around the field with treats on the top, and play point to point. Once he gets the idea (and treats are usually more interesting than grass), he'll look forward to getting to that barrel, and you can practice your riding in between barrels. as time goes on you can decrease the amount of barrels.

And these are for bracing:

- Combing the rope underhand helps us stay soft and not give our horse anything to brace against.
- Use the '4 ounce' rule with riding as well as on the ground.
- If there is a brace in your horse while you are on the ground, it will not get any better when you are riding so challenge yourself to see how good you can get it from the ground
- There are two main reasons a horse will brace: emotional or physical.
     - Emotional = fear and self defense.
     - Physical = Struggles to relax muscles.

- Game of 'zero brace' makes you slow right down and feel for the horse more and give the horse the confidence to feel more for you.

These are notes I made from Savvy Club DVD 52 (can be found in vault) on chapters 3 and 4 with Linda. They are not directly made for this particular problem but having used them myself I think they may be quite worthwhile trying (especially chapter 4!). I recommend watching the video as my notes will make more sense that way!

Chapter 3. 'Swing the shoulders' 

- Lift suspension rein to bring the horse to the fence.

- The aim is to have him light,

- Don't pull down or back, go up.

- do it in walk, trot and canter, but keep it slow.

- Let him blow out and get loose.

- Suspension rein --> leg --> back to fence --> relax.

- Incorporate it everyday.

Chapter 4. 'Partial disengagement' 

- This will help to relieve tension.

- Walk, trot + canter transitions

- Walk forwards --> tip his nose to the fence --> push on zone 3 (walk in an arc) --> hold rein steady. Don't release until he is soft for 20 feet.

- Focus where you are going the whole time (dont look down).

- Listen for the blow out - release of tension.

- Feel for the swing in movement.

- takes 20-30 mins to teach.

- Start making downwards transitions using just partial disengagement.

- Keep the bend after the transition to make sure he is soft.

- If the walk changes, bend again.

- Stay in walk as long as neccessary.

- Try it everyday.

Finally, these are notes I took at the celebration. Linda was playing with a RBI/LBE horse who had real trouble accepting a contact. He would rear and throw his head with any contact on the bit, so Linda set to work on acheiving 'zero brace'.

- Don't ride for today, ride for tomorrow.

- Match his energy.

- Give quick release when he has done good, no continuing pressure.

- Follow his movement, don't brace against it.

- Instead of steady pressure, use rhythmic pressure. So 'flop' around with his movement as if part of him. ket the reins be loose and 'shake' with movement rather than pull, so its uncomfortable for him to run into it, but theres nothing for him to brace against so his easiest option is to be soft.

- Give him a job to do to prevent overthinking and boredom!

And thats all I have. I'm sure there is more out there with some more searches, and maybe chatting to an instructor about the specific issue. I hope this helps though!!

Hope you enjoyed, as always any ideas you have or BFO's please comment or message me! Also, if anyone here has a burning idea for a post and would like to write it themselves just let me know!!

Ideas for future discussions always welcomed.

Do let us know if you got to try this out with your horse how it went!

Bye for now, see you next time!

All together now...

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVY!! *clap*

# 6 A Million Transitions Freestyle - Part 2

www.parellisavvyclub.com > back issues > dvds > Dec 2011 Issue 62

Linda Parelli. Level 3/4 Freestyle with Amy and Sapphire.

Hi Guys, welcome to part 2 of the last savvy club dvd. I've also added on the 'performance pointer' from the end of the DVD with Pat too. I hope that any of you who got to try part 1 out with their horse had a great time, please post and experiences!

Here's the notes I got from the dvd!

- Amy rides bareback and bridleless during the session, so Linda starts by saying that its a good idea to work towards this by practising first with a saddle and bridle/halter, and gradually remove each piece of tack in order to set yourself up for success.
(Warm Up)
- Always testing... is the bond and connection there?
- Test the basics - walk, trot, canter, stop, turns, back up using just your body.
- Keep your stick in neutral resting on your shoulder.
- To back up, try to get it on phase 1 (your seat) and use legs to tap shoulders if necessary.
- Don't use your legs for 'go', use your body. If legs always mean go, you will have trouble achieving refinement when you need them for communication later on.
-'Don't make me use the stick' - make a game out of it!
-HQ + FQ yields.
- Wait for processing and understanding even in the warm up stage. Make sure you're body is relaxed to show neutral.

Main session:
- Once you have established a foundation in level 1 and 2, you can start being creative and mixing things up. Amy backs Sapphire out of the round pen to start the session.
- Amy has a savvy string around her horse's neck as a helping hand for her phase 3/4 if she were to need it.
- Strategy - Don't go past phase 2. Phase 2 would be taking the stick off your shoulder, phase 4 using it, but NOT smacking. You're teaching, therefore there is no room for punishment, it doesnt work on prey animals anyway it just leaves them scared and confused.
- Do it with feeling, but be effective.
- Subtle communication is better for horses too, physically and mentally.
- Some horses won't tolerate you doing things wrong, they are great for learning with because you have to learn to get it right! If you have a more tolerant horse, look for smaller signs of an offended horse!
-Work on speeding up and slowing down the trot. Play online and liberty first.
- Keep your energy up, but lengthen and shorten your focus depending on speed. Same for cantering, keep energy and momentum the same but bring focus closer and further away from your body. 'Think' longer or shorter to avoid changing gait.
- Take breaks for thinking time.
- Use obstacles, jumps etc. Change leads over a jump, change gait, stop in front of jump, over jump and sideways out etc. Be creative!
- Walk to canter transitions just using your body, use clear messages to teach.
- You are working on the transitions, so dont worry if he changes direction or veers off the rail, not important right now.
- Keep freestyle and finnesse as 2 separate savvies. You are not looking for precision and roundness just yet.
- Put the relationship first. If you need to practice more, but your horse needs to stop, use simulators.


Part 3 - Knowing your boundaries - Pat Parelli. Freestyle.

-4 Pieces of pipe or poles in a square on the ground.
- Manage your horse's energy to get the message to the horse's feet.
- Horses often get emotional if you try to move their feet without connecting with their brain.
- Sidepass over all 4 poles using sideways, driving and porcupine games. Only correct if he gets too close or hits a pole.
- Wait for the feeling of harmony, then quit.



Hope you enjoyed, as always any ideas you have or BFO's please comment or message me! Also, if anyone here has a burning idea for a post and would like to write it themselves just let me know!!

Ideas for future discussions always welcomed. Next time we'll be talking about the concept of 'No Brace' as requested by a couple of members :)

Do let us know if you got to try this out with your horse how it went!

Bye for now, see you next time!

All together now...

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVY!! *clap*

# 5 A Million Transitions freestyle - part 1

www.parellisavvyclub.com > back issues > dvds > Dec 2011 Issue 62.

Linda Parelli. Level 2 Freestyle with Lyndsey and Jazz.

Hi everyone! So sorry theres been a delay in posting. Had a lot of busyness recently, then with Christmas etc I just didnt have the time to write up notes. I may have to do a discussion once a month for a while instead of weekly, but we'll see how we get on!

Anyway, hope you all had a great christmas.

I've picked the most recent savvy club dvd to discuss, I liked it and thought it'd be good and topical, plus it will be fresh in your minds if you've already watched it or at hand if you havent yet! If you dont have a hard copy you can find it in the back issues section of the savvy club website, or resources on parelli connect. I've decided to split the discussion into two, so we'll talk about part 1 this week and part 2 next time, as part one was fairly absorbing and took a bit of brain power to take in, I couldnt think anymore after it ;)

The last format seemed to work well, using bullet points, maybe easier to digest than whole hunks of writing. But please give me feedback on what you prefer, as this is everyones blog :)

So here's the notes I got!

- Using a string on the halter while riding instead of the 12ft line or horsemans/finnesse reins. Obviously for some activities you'll be better with a proper line or reins, but in this instance Lyndsey was preparing Jazzy for bridleless riding so a string attatched on one side worked enough to have as a safety net, but not getting in the way.
- Have the bridle 'sitting' on a horse even when not in use or attached to reins. Use it as a friendly game, especially on young horses.
- Try this technique for coming out of neutral if you need to take action and use a one rein stop. Have your stick in one hand, and string in the other, then switch your stick to the same hand as the string, push on his neck and bend to a stop. Work on this to get it flowing easier, have more control over the stick, get good in walk then work on it in trot and canter.
- Mosey around in neutral then bend to a stop as good practice.
- She says Pat has a good way of explaining moving forwards, by 'clutching a coin' between your bum cheeks.
- Use throwing the string over his head (friendly game) to change direction.
- Remember to play friendly game regularly with the stick especially if horse has right brain tendencies.
- No fear should pass through you or your horse. If you find any, address it right away, dont push through it or ignore it and 'hope' it goes away, it will only be worse next time.
- If he has trouble accepting the stick, practice first online, then sit on a fence in zone 3 and rub him from there.
- Try lateral flexion using just the stic. When he gives a slight bend, even the smallest try, release the pressure and rub. If you need to touch him to be effective dont hesitate, but remember phases.
- Practice following the rail using only the stick.
- Pulling 2 reins is claustrophobic and a lot more dangerous than 1! The horse has more to brace against and therefore can run faster and buck harder.
- If you need to use the stick, dont make a commotion with it. Just gently increase pressure and use a tapping motion, encouraging not forcing or pushing. Linda uses the word 'thunk' to describe the action it makes. Kinda thunks rather than hits him!
- Remember to match his energy, like in a passenger lesson, go slow when he does, speed up when he does, but stay safe knowing you have 1 rein stops as back up.
- Carry your stick on your inside hand to bend him toward the rail, to stop and to turn. Practice this.
- If he goes introverted, wait until he breathes, comes out of his 'spot'. Jazz goes a little RBI over the new learning experience and Lyndsey does a great job of waiting for him to come out without being pressured.
- Think about your phases. Now in level 3 they will be smaller. phase 1 is the stick coming off your shoulder, etc.
- Always take what they offer when learning, you can shape it later. Especially with youngsters as this makes the learning experience more interesting and ensures they dont feel wrong or discouraged.
- Always start in a small pen for safety and confidence reasons. It also gives a natural shape so that you can focus more on your task. Once you are both confident, move to following the outside rail of the pen, then out into larger fields.
- Keep your hand down and relaxed, only come out of neutral when you need to be effective.
- Let your stick flow down toward his head, not too slow, but dont let it leap upon him. Give him time to react in phase 1. Once effective remove the stick from his head quick as a release of pressure.
- Get very good in walk before trotting!
- If he tosses his head, paws etc, just ignore and carry on as you are. The more you react the more dominance games he'll win. Just be like 'ahh your gonna head toss, ok thats cool well we're just gonna turn here, yep definitely turning..'
- When he does good, quit! knowing when to quit is a huge part of being savvy. The next session will be better that way. Do the same for all horsenalities. Look for understanding, confidence and response. If he is hitting all 3 then leave it there.
- Have the confidence to see through the game. If you get worried, get off and play for a while then try again.
- Linda adds something at the end which is a really helpful tip for everyone, no matter what level. How to diagnose problems. Is it a confidence issue? A dominance issue? Or and understanding issue? Or could it be a mix or 2 or 3? Once you know whats causing the problem, solving it will be easier.
- As with all new patterns, do once a day for 7 days to get you both happy and confident with it. You will start seeing a change in him.


Hope you enjoyed, as always any ideas you have or BFO's please comment or message me! Also, if anyone here has a burning idea for a post and would like to write it themselves just let me know!!

Ideas for future discussions always welcomed.

Do let us know if you got to try this out with your horse how it went!

Bye for now, see you next time!

Al together now... SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVY!!

#4 Liberty & Horse Behaviour Segment

Liberty & Horse Behaviour box set > Part 2 > DVD 2,3,4 > 1st Games DVD > All chapters.

Pat & Linda Parelli

I know some of you wont have this set (like me!) but I was lucky enough to be able to borrow it from a friend for a while, and if you are unable to buy your own I would strongly reccomend borrowing or sharing a copy at some point... this set was the real step between 'doing parelli' and 'starting the journey as a horseman' for me. It is just fabulous, the psychology behind it, and how in depth it is. It goes into every horsenality, every sort of horse, and what works. It also looks at you, your humanality and how you should respond to different things.

Enough bigging it up! I chose the games segment of the dvd to write up on, I dont have the dvd in front of me as its now returned to my friend, so this discussion will be a slightly different format, mainly just the notes I wrote up when I watched it.

Dvd 2, Chapter 1 - Pat

- There are thousands of ways to play each game... Get creative!
- Observe, remember, compare (relating to a horse in its natural environment, watch him, see what he does, remember it, and apply it to your sessions).
- First 3 games are the core games, get good at these before moving on. Each of the next games is an extreme version or a mix of the 3 core games.
- Friendly = Confidence. Horses are prey animals and can be afraid of motion, silhouette, distance and approach. Friendly games will help your horse to see these don't have to be threatening anymore, through lots of retreat!
- Porcupine = Sensitive. Rub > Stimulate > rub. Reward the slightest try. Cause him to follow a feel, how light can you be? Have hands that close slowly, and open quickly (opposite of predator).
- Driving = Suggestion. Rhythmic pressure, how little can you do? Play the game of 'you're getting warmer'.

Chapter 2 - Linda (More Fun with the driving game- getting creative)
- Touch it from zone 3, zone 4, and zone 5 (behind) Can you get it so that he's just as responsive on his 'bad' side?
- Turning, straight lines, over, through, around and between obstacles.
- Make sure you release when they try!
- Get very good on 1 line, then give it a go on two! (not recomended before level 3)
- With 2 lines, start in zone three and work backwards until confident.
- Use a direct rein, smooch if you need to, to go, and rhythmic pressure as phases if he doesnt respond.
- You can then go to trot and canter, flying changes etc!
- Sideways on 2 lines, stay behind and vibrate 1 line, hold the other.
- Looking for confidence and responsiveness.

Dvd 3, Chapter 1 - Pat


Yoyo - To and fro! Think about straightness and responsiveness. Can you get a yoyo on just a look? (Ultimate phase 1). Give him a job, yoyoing around things, into a stable etc.

Chapter 2 - Linda (More fun with yoyo)


- Up and down the pedestal.
- Up to, but not on the pedestal.
- Through gates.
- On the draw, can he stop 2 strides early? then back a step? forward 3? etc etc..
- Remember to keep your feet still.
- Look for straightness.
- If they get dull on the wiggle, you're doing too much wiggling! Think how you can change your phases.
- Back up to a barrel and stop when he touches it with his back legs.
- Come up to a jump, stop, yoyo, jump, yoyo back again. Start this with a pole.
- If he gets worried, retreat!
- Yoyo from all zones.
- Incorporate with the circle game, by yoyoing at different gaits (Linda uses 2 cones either side of the pen, and changes gait at each cone.)
- Put a circle on the ground with your rope, having the horse at liberty (In round pen), and stay in your circle.
- To teach the elevated trot (high level 3/4), use a plastic bag on the carrot stick (so as not to tangle in the string!) and play yoyo while in zone 3, forward and back. You stay still, and get faster as he builds confidence. Start soft, and increase. When he starts to move in an upwards fashion, ask for forward trot and see if he elevates!
- Drive forward and back from zone 5 just holding his tail.

Chapter 3 - Pat


Circling game - The power of neutral. It must be his choice, its a responsibility (difference between lunging). Different types.. fowards, backwards, slow, fast, small, large.

Chapter 4 - Linda (More fun with the circling game)


- Circling can be boring or exciting, your job to make it the latter.
- Close range circles with the stick on his wither.
- If using the 12ft, either get interesting fast or switch to 22ft asap.
- Circle backwards close range by using rhythmic pressure in zone 1.
- If he gets a leg over the rope, say 'how interesting!', how can he learn something? teach him to get himself out of the situation.
- If he keeps coming in/breaks gait, change direction as soon as you see the thought!
- If at liberty, dont chase him if he gets lost. Just take what he offers and wait for him to come back.
- Travelling circles, hills, obstacles etc. Get out on the 45ft line and let him gallop (once control and leadership is established), he'll love it!
- Put obstacles around the edge of a round pen, and have him at liberty. Sit on a chair in the middle and let him work his way through them, give him responsibility. If he comes in, change direction. Don't watch him, as thats pressure.
- Do figure 8's while standing on a stool/in a hoop.

Dvd 4, Chapter 1 - Linda (More fun with sideways)


- More Distance and speed.
- Remember to stay out of the kickzone.
- Try with you outside the round pen, and him inside, and vice versa.
- If he starts blowing out, let him stop and relax.
- Approach and retreat for confidence.
- Go sideways with zone 5 against fence, barrel, trailer etc.
- Sideways from zone 5.
- Don't worry about perfection, put the relationship first!!

Chapter 2 - Linda (More fun with squeeze)


-Through, under, over and across.
- Don't move your feet!
- Turn, face and wait.
- Consider you're horse's flight line (How far they will run to in fear, eg. Extroverts and RBs further away, introverts nearer)
- Squeeze game is the best confidence builder, use alongside repetition.
- Remember to let them wait, lick and chew etc.
- Try at liberty.
- Merge the games together... circle and squeeze? Yoyo and squeeze? etc etc.
- Squeeze over jumps, turn face and wait.


Well thats all the notes I got for this, was good to re-write it all as its jogged my memory and given me a few new ideas. This one is definitely a good one for those who get stuck doing the same old 7 games and lack creativity. The possibilities with the games are endless, its just about thinking new things up! Hope you enjoyed it, please comment with any ideas of BFO's you had, and any different variations of the games you can think of!! Also do let us know how you get on if you put this to action with your horse.

See you next week!

All together now, sAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAvvy!! *clap*

#3 July 2008 Lesson With Linda

parellisavvyclub.com > Back Issues > DVD's > July 2008 Issue 35 > Lesson with Linda Part 1 - 4

Linda Parelli
Approx 1 hour

Before I start unfortunately part 4 of this video wouldn't load up for me, tried it numerous times but it kept coming up with an error. The first 3 chapters were so good, I was really disappointed when it wouldnt work, it gave me so many breakthroughs as you will hear. I considered picking another video but considering the first three chapters were as good as I found, and I'd written 3 pages of notes which would be a shame not to share!! So do let me know if part 4 works for you and share what it was about!

Video description is... All of a sudden my horse got scared...Linda helps Ann and her horse, Bandit, discover and solve the subtle signs of impending panic. 


 One of the first thing Linda talks about is the difference in finding relaxation in innately Right Brain (RB) horses, and innately Left Brain (LB) horses. She explains that when a RB horse gets scared, its actually a lot easier to calm them down because they are seeking leadership, and when you effectively give that to them they tend to cling on and relax easier. She said it is harder to calm down a LB horse as they arent looking for leadership, and its more of a 'leave me alone, I gotta take care of myself and I dont need you for that!' So they require a lot more... usually ;) I totally understand that, I know with General he can run 50 RBE laps around me before even NOTICING I'm there... whereas RB horses I've played with will do that for a moment, and if I make enough effort to show them leadership, they will start to calm down and see what I have to say.

She talks about how when a horse gets RB, they are only trying to save themselves. By being quiet and trying to get them to stop, it only makes things worse as their instinct is to run and you are just building up the adrenaline more, and by stopping that you are making things 10 x harder, because you are going against his instinct rather than using it.

So then Linda starts making some 'commotion' in the arena while Ann plays with her horse, to get him used to stuff going on/crowds while he is doing spotlights etc. Linda explains the importance of keeping your focus and getting the horse busy while this is happening, so that the horse keeps you as the leader. This obviously relates to other things too, as well as this exercise, like if its windy or theres something going on over there, whatever, its not about the flag, the person, the wind, etc etc. Later in the video she explains how when something is going on, you say 'dont worry about that, we got stuff to be doing!'

As Linda is shaking the flag, Bandit gets a little worried at points but he isnt flying around, so thats the first sign he's got a RBI side, rather than RBE. It shows that he was a little tense as he starts to blow out after a while, releasing the tension and adrenaline. Linda says to take off the pressure when he does this, and retreat to make him feel good. As she says, if the moment he says 'ahhh, I'm starting to feel ok now..' You say 'ok NOW DO THIS THIS THIS AND THIS!' he's going to go all RB again. At the same time, when he is real unconfident, take him away from the thing that is scaring him, and let him reapproach. So basically retreat retreat retreat! As much as you can! Which is the same for any RB horse. But ALSO allow him to move forward, around, and explore the situation or obstacle as much as he wants to. But instead of asking more, quit while he's ahead and back him off again. Then let him reapproach. Til soon he asks to go more, more and eventually all the way. This is an amazing confidence building exercise.

He starts to paw the ground when Ann is playing squeeze game with Linda and the flag, and Linda explains that this is him figuring the situation out. Its an emotional, RBI state horses put themselves in, and the best thing to do is let them do it as much as they need to until they become confident. Look at your horse in scary situations and work out if he's dealing with it as an Introvert or an Extrovert, so then you can help him in the best way possible (for an Introvert giving them time to think, process and wait, for an extrovert get them moving more.).

When he starts wanting to move a little more Linda says to give him one good send them leave him alone to get to his threshold. As soon as we start pushing, its so easy for the horse to feel pressured and say 'I'm never trying that again!' Especially a RBI. She put so much emphasis on this, giving them time to think!!!! Then he starts to yawn, chew on the stick and bag, and it takes a while, but eventually his confidence comes right back up and he's ready to start again.

She talks about the improtance of being ready to change yourself for the horsenality that shows up. Bandit switched from RBI to LBI throughout the demo, and Ann has to get good, fast, at changing her behaviour from being very slow and allowing, to dominant. She says that if he is unsure, just hang with him and wait, but be there for him. And then when he's confident and offers energy, use it! He's naturally a LBI so its important to not shut energy down so that he offers it more often. But at the same time, if he starts swishing his tail and getting cranky, be ready to slow down again before an argument starts!

Here's where the next topic starts, which is expression. I hear instructor talking about getting a good expression all the time, but I never really knew how to do that with a dominant horse without offending them or causing it to go the other way and they dominate you! Linda explained how to 'stop them in their tracks' when they put their ears back (or whatever they are doing), back them off, etc etc, and say with your body 'wipe that look off your face!' They played with that for a while and you really saw the difference in Ann's horse, just a couple of sharp wiggles when he came in too close or flattened his ears was enough to get him moving out snappier and pricking his ears. 'She's onto me! I gotta keep my eye on her..'

Linda then spoke about how LBI's need to earn treats, not be bribed into them. Bribery just causes dominance, and soon you'll be seen as a food dispenser, not a leader or partner. Earning them, so that the food is a bonus, creates curiosity, and an interest in what you have to say. If he pleases you, he gets a bit of food, oh boy, then you have a LBI's mind!

OOOOH then she explains something I was talking about yesterday. How do you explain Parelli to someone who doesn't know what it is?

She said..

You Know you are doing Parelli when..
- You put the relationship first.
- You study in 4 savvies.
- You're involved with never ending self improvement.

Which says it all really :)

She then mentions something else I was talking about this morning. She said that the further along in the program you get, the smaller different things seem, when actually they are huge! I'm currently helping a lady get over some confidence issues with her horse, both horse and owner confidence, and this week she has made some HUGE breakthroughs with him. They are at a place now that she could have only dreamed of a few months ago, yet today she was so desperate to move on to the next step! (which of course is fantastic confidence wise!) I explained the importance of hanging here for a bit and enjoying it, and remembering how excited you were to dream of it, and the rest will come with time. But Linda explains it so much better obviously ;)

So a couple more of the LBI points, with more extreme ones with dominance problems, you may want to use a fence to stand behind for safety at the beginning. They are always playing a game with you, and make sure you arent the one moving your feet first!! As when you do, they check off another point on their score card!
 She also explains that even though they come across tough skinned, they are incredibly sensitive and smaller phases often get a better response, so always start asking soft.

This part was very interesting, and another thing which relates to the lady I mentioned earlier. Her horse has started to lower his head down at the end of a game, which he never used to do. We are reading it as confidence, a submissive position and accepting his leader. Linda explained that there are 2 things this could be.

Number 1: RBI. She said some horses will lower their head, almost burying their head in the sand, not blinking, even noticably breathing, its like they go invisible. They are in a deep thinking state and its so, so important not to get them doing anything until they are well and truly out of that state!
This is often confused with...
Number 2: Submissive. These horses will blow out, blink, lick and chew, etc. Their head is more in line with the withers rather than their feet. Its so important to know the difference. I am still pretty sure the horse I help with is still number 2, although I will be looking even closer next time to make sure. This was a huge BFO with this video.

She then talks about when he has an intention (in this case jumping) that she makes her intention just as strong and add 4 ounces. This keeps the 51/49 relationship in order, and keeps you safe too!

With LBIs, to stop boredom occuring with repetition and the same obstacles, she suggests mixing things up with obstacles, doing something he isnt expecting. So like taking him to the barrels, he almost jumps then she stops him, and yoyos instead. This is a very, very powerful tool with LB horses.

The last couple of points I got were that introverts take a lot longer to get to the stage where they can lick, chew, blow out etc, as all that is thinking time, and they often have a period of time in between where their mind is over-riding. Its super super important to wait with them when they go there, NOT to blow through it, as thats when they explode and become dangerous to you and themselves. When RBI's are in this period they are often pretending that you, or the scary thing, isnt there, it doesnt exist. They know its there but they are so worried that they totally wrap up inside themselves until they can think straight again. Extroverts get there a lot faster, and I've certainly found that my horse will lick and chew half a second after we finish something. They learn super fast and most dont take much thinking time, they want to get moving again. Other of course will take a little longer :)


And thats where it cut out :( So frustrated that the last part wouldnt load. Anyway as I said, if it loads for anyone please let me know what points you picked out.

Hope you enjoyed the video and the post, longest one yet I think! But hopefully you will agree this is a pretty good one :) Please comment your ideas and BFO's, and otherwise I'll see you next week!

All together now, sAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAvvy!! *clap*

#2 Parelli Puzzles Carmen and Barnum

parellisavvyclub.com > videos > liberty > level 2 > Parelli Puzzles Carmen and Barnum.

Pat Parelli

26mins

If you can tear yourself away from the cuteness of this video for a few moments, I thought this would be a cool one to discuss ;)

I think one of the first things Pat says is actually really crucial, even though he said it as a joke! 'her registered quarter horse' suggests she's bringing out a 'normal' sized horse, when she actually has a shettie. But why not treat him like a normal size horse? He's just the same, just shrunken, right? I've heard a lot of friends who own shetties talk about it, when people say to them 'how should I handle a shetland?' they say 'like you handle a horse!' maybe playing with smaller ponies we compensate for their size by maybe being more of a 'carrot' person, not so middle road. Its easy to do, they're so teeny they could break ;) But actually as we have probably found out at some point during our horsey lives, they can be strong little things and just as dangerous as a large horse if they want to be!!! Obviously taking horsenality into account, some mini's will be more sensitive, but just like some larger horses will be too.

So point number 1, treat them like a horse!

This was actually one of the first ever Pareli videos I watched, when I was first getting into it. It was shown on tv and I was fascinated by how much TRY that little pony had. and he wasnt being bossed around, he WANTED to give things a go. Or he would have ran away. Like Pat says 'when you take off the halter and lead, the only thing left is the truth. The truth that pony gave was very different to the truth my horse gave when I took her lead off and tried to copy ;) To be fair to me, I was only just starting and had no knowledge of seven games, levels or horsenality, it was a case of 'I like that so I'll do it!'. But then when you progress and you really feel connection with a horse, and you feel them try, you find that real truth. The one you WANT to hear ;) And thats amazing.

I think we can learn a lot from Carmen's body language. How soft is she? She is so relaxed, not an ounce of her is even THINKING 'please dont leave. please dont leave.' She's in the moment like the horse, she's focused, she's playing, and she's having fun! But she's ready if he does challenge her, and she's quick to respond to his actions so he knows when he's done good, and when he needs to add a little more effort. The pony doesnt get offended at all, not once. Even on the circle game when he is racing round, and he tosses his head and cuts in, I read that as playdrive! (although I'd be very interested if any of you have other ideas?) He's having fun!!! And how to read its not being offended, he asks to come in, over and over. If he was offended surely he would just leave her... She has some seriously good savvy.

When Pat comes in it really emphasises how to treat a mini like a big horse. Pat gets on that pedestal, and around 8.48mins just look at that pony's expression!! Pat isnt even giving him attention yet he is looking at him like he is a real leader, asking questions, do you need me yet? do you need me now? what we gonna do?' Imagine if your horse looked at you like that! That is what we are looking for!! No matter how much we practice the games it comes down to that, having your horse HAPPY to be with you. I LOVE that face. love it. I know when I can play with General again, thats going to the top of my list, how to get the expression better. He generally has a happy, interested look on his face, but when he gets playful sometimes he'll put his ears back a little or something, or if I give an idea he isnt too thrilled about he'll do it but the face isnt so good, so I really want to see how to put that expression at the top of the list, what will it take to have him 100% happy through my ideas? Interesting!

Pat's use of the 45ft line is great too, I love that tool, the extra distance when attached to the horse is great, but also how much 'bigger' it makes you. See how he can touch that horse, right from the pedestal in the centre of the arena. blows that pony's mind! 

 Trust that he'll respond, but be ready to correct. Love the game of 'dont make me get off the pedestal'. Just like a normal circling game 'dont make me pick up the stick', the pony is thinking about how he can keep Pat on the pedestal, still, quiet, and in neutral. the trick is not to stop at the sticky area, and he picks it up pretty fast. Energy is huge here, look at the difference in Pat's energy as he runs across to him, and then when he's up in neutral. really different! and even more relaxed when they then sit down, and the pony's expression changes right away. and I love the face he gives, again, when he draws into them licking his lips. So precious!

When he starts playing with the feet on the pedestal, he starts to teach him before he goes up on there. I think thats super important in anything, setting it up for success. Another idea might be to use something flat, maybe a hoola hoop, or just a hoop made with your line, a tarp, a bucket, whatever, to teach them to put one foot in, two feet, etc, then onto the pedestal. Obviously Barnum is fairly far along in the program so he has probably already practised those things :) He spoke about it being a really impprtant game for horses who have trouble shoeing. You are gaining control of what he does with his feet, which is so important in anything you do with the horse. Things like this make you realise how little online games help with the future of your horse.

Also once he's on the pedestal, Pat explains the importance of solving a puzzle online if it is broken at liberty. Its hard to solve stuff at liberty as its easy to become 'lost' and for the horse to get confused and leave. Online you can hold his hand through it.

Pat also rewards the slightest try, by retreating when he gives him just an ounce of what he wants. And look how fast he got the full monty?!

Then when he tried again with Carmen, and they didnt get it, Pat left it when they were on a high. Carmen and Barnum were trying, and being partners, so they left it there before any frustration or direct line thinking came through, and left it to continue tomorrow. 4-7 days, as Pat said, and I bet the pony was doing it really easy :)

The end quote 'Natural Horsemanship is more powerful than hormones, the idle mind is the devils workshop'. This is so true ;) speaking as a 19 year old who has spent the last few teenage years as a Parelli student, I know that learning Parelli has changed me, for the better :) I'm always thinking, always learning, and I have a craving to learn more and more, which is a lot to be said for a teenager :D

Enjoy the video and play sessions this week guys! Any ideas, comments, BFOs (had a couple of people ask what that meant, its a Blinding Flash of the Obvious!) please leave them in the comments or on the facebook page!

See you next week, altogether now...

sAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAvvy!! *clap*

#1 Thresholds on the trail

parellisavvyclub.com > Tv Shows > 2009 > Thresholds on the Trail.

Linda Parelli
11.42mins

I have watched this video a few times, and find it really useful! I love linda's teaching style anyway, so I usually love her videos but this one sticks out quite well for me.

I think the main idea that comes out of this is preparation is key. As Linda says, thinking of all the things you may encounter when out on the trail, before you go, and make sure you and your horse are prepared! I used to make this mistake often, I'd just get on my horse fresh out the stable or field, and take him for a ride without thinking twice, or even stopping to check if he's ridable! And I wondered why I ran into trouble so much, when there was a sabre toothed butterfly in the hedge or a loose horse! I actually fell off a couple of times when we had 'unexpected moments', thankfully just enough to make me get my butt in gear and start making preparations!!

Linda doesn't explain it in this video, as its centred mainly on hacking/trail riding, but I think pre flight checks are key here too for preparation. Obviously Remmer and Katya's horse are well into the program and are pretty centered now, although I'm sure they still use pre flight checks, but not all of us have horses like that yet ;) So I personally would never get on my horse, or advise anyone else to, without checking things out first, such as flexion, all gaits, transitions, extreme friendly game, maybe pop over a little jump. With my LBE I have to have a fairly vigorous session beforehand to make sure there are no bucks hiding in there, lol!

The part with the gate is cool, I like how she emphasises how important it is to treat the ride as a training session, not just a ride. Still putting your horses needs first, making sure he is confident rather than just rushing through because you dont want to hold people up. I think most of us are guilty of doing that at some time, lol. I know from experience the more you do something (correctly, of course) the easier it will become for the future, so its super duper important to practise these things! In fact, why not devote a whole session to opening gates? I might give that a try when I can ride General again.

Protecting your horses space!!! I bet a few people havent even thought about being the one who swats the other horse away, not leaving it to the horse to deal with. If a horse came trotting up behind you when you were riding, what would you do? Would your instinct be to grab your rein or stick and protect your horses space? Probably not for me, although it should be! Of course I want to keep my horse and myself safe. And I am the leader in the partnership, so I should be the one to deal with these things. Just like a leader in a horse herd wouldnt rely on one of the followers to sort it out!
Someone said to me once(and I think Linda said it too..), when General bit another horse who was crowding us, 'he's not protecting you, he's saying 'move over squirt, I'll deal with this.' Which is a huge dominance thing. Really I should have been the one driving the other horse away and protecting my herd. HMMMM how interesting!

I love the ditch section. Really highlights not just getting over the obstacle in the fastest, easiest place possible. Linda actually goes for the hardest place to cross, so that she has something to work on. This is such an unhuman way of thinking, haha, but its a horseman's way! Obviously you have to take this at your own confidence and experience level. Always look after your confidence!
Even before she's gone for the ditch, she plays friendly game around it, walking back and forth, until he shows and interest. Then she backs off. Retreat is such a useful tool!!! You can see Remmer is a lot more confident to give it a try after a couple of retreats from Linda. And then she doesnt just say 'we did it, now lets go!' (although that may be a better procedure for some horses, maybe one who is super confident and gets bored easily?), she goes back to make sure it wasnt a fluke and practice some more, but quits while she's ahead. Savvy: knowing when to be, why to be, where to be, what to do when you get there, and when to quit doing what you're doing. Linda is such a pro at this, her horses always have a great expression because she always quits at just the right moment. Definitely something to work on.

(By the way I LOVE this little bay horse who's loose, who keeps coming over then running off, and at 6.07 he's like shall i? shall i? OMG i cant!
so cute.)

Then she expresses how important it is to get off if you feel a slight amount of 'i'm not sure..' and Katya demonstraits how to do it safetly from the ground. Really nice :D

Also, grazing when the horse gets worried. What a good idea! Its hard for a horse to eat when they are RB, so grazing is such a cool way of bringing down the adrenaline. Especially then when the horse clearly can tell you when he's ready to go again.
Nice example of protecting space again over the bridge.

I think without directly saying it, Linda is also putting across that trail riding/hacking is not just a hack (its not about the hack!), its a game! Thinking outside the box, other ideas would be touch it, 7 games with any obstacle you find, getting on and off as a friendly game, point to point grazing... the list is endless :D

Cool! Hope you enjoy the video, please leave any ideas or BFO's in the comments or on the facebook group!!

See you next time, altogether now...

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVY!!! *clap*