Growing Pains = Forward Change .. Part 1

The 3 day Parelli Clinic with 3 * Instructor Susan Nelson evoked almost every emotion in both me and Willow as we leap forward into a much deeper understanding of each other, the Horsenality/Huamanality dynamic and what true partnership means as a whole.  Day's 1 and 2 were an introduction for the participants to Parelli and the 7 games. I thought it would be slow for me as I have "been there, done that", but as it is all about never ending self improvement... It was so much more than I ever could have expected.  Revisiting Level 1, from a level 4-5 viewpoint makes it a whole new deal indeed!  As Susan introduced each game to the group and we taught them to our horses, I found myself intrigued by the holes, however minute, in some of the basics that needed to be improved.  Susan gave me tasks to progress on each game and insight on noticing how I could make my phases almost invisible, more understandable, and with greater direction and flow in harmony with Willow's movements.   Games 1-4 were beginning to flow, like a dance as we moved around the paddock playing "seek the obstacle" and "stick to me" in a way that had meaning and softness, ahhh, this is what the opposite of direct line thinking  feels like!  You don't notice how direct line you are being in your games until.... you're not... interesting concept, but as you progress in your understanding of the games (through the levels) you will  feel  what I mean....and so will your horse!

Games 5-7 Were even more interesting, as continued movement is required, it can bring up lots of emotion and opinions in you and your horse.  We started these games as simulations, meaning that we, the humans, acted like the horse, we took turns being the different zones of the horse (parts of the body) we also  took turns being the human leading the horse.  It was interesting to see how everyone's energy differed and how it must feel for the horse to communicate with different humans. We experienced clear as well as confusing body language and also how directing energy to the incorrect zone at the incorrect or correct time can make your communication very unclear and scattered, leading to miscommunication and frustration.
When we took games 5-7 to the horses, the interesting just continued to grow.....  We had LBI's, RBI's and an extreme LBE.  We tried and watched as each game was played in a different way with each horse.  The RBI's and LBI's had to find the answer to what was being asked with slow meaningful direction, accepting however slow the feet needed to move while the brain figured out the correct direction being asked.  The LBE had to find the answer by first finding all the wrong answers while quickly moving his feet all around until his brain could kick in and he could begin to think about the right answer. Hmmmm how interesting, if we had played the games with the Introverted horses the way we played with the Extroverted horse, they would have shut down completely, refusing to move, the right brain out of fear an the left brain out of defiance.  If we had played the games with the Extroverted horse the way we had to play with the Introverts, he would have 'checked-out' and decided we weren't acting like interesting/focused leaders and would find his own things to do.   What a lesson in, as Pat Parelli says  "Playing with the horse that shows up" and "being passively persistent in the proper position"!

Needless to say,  after the first 2 days of the clinic, revisiting levels 1 and 2.... there was a LOT of licking, chewing, yawning (all signs of adrenaline release and learning) and puzzle solving had by all!