So I haven't recorded a couple of play sessions that Woody and I have shared because of lack of time. So this post will update my past play sessions with Woody.
July 4th - Morning
A family friend who introduced me and my mom to Parelli came to spend 4th of July weekend with us, and of course, all of our time was spent with the horses. So we went to the pasture and I caught Woody and Mrs. Gentry started to ask me to do things that would test Woody's respect for me. It didn't go well. So, from that point on I did things that would help him see me as more of his leader rather than his friend. Mrs. Gentry took the carrot stick and turned her back to us and started slapping the ground with it. This was a big lick and chew for Woody because he got very worried but I displayed polite and passive persistence in the proper position and if he moved, I would gently put his feet back where they were prior to him moving. Once he was back, the rope would go on the ground and I would relax. It took a while, but finally he had a big lick and chew moment. After that we sat and talked for a while, and if Woody would move I would gently put him back. We then did lots of Yo-Yo Game (#4) and that really helped with him looking to me as a leader because I would do a looooong phase 1, and a pretty quick 2-3-4 and he definitely became more snappy. It started to storm so we had to go in, but I think that was a good session for Woody.
July 4th - Afternoon
After the storm passed we returned to the field to play with Mr. Woody again. I got his halter on and we did a little Yo-Yo to refresh his mind and get the leadership into play again. I then saddled him with my fairly new Theraflex and Wintec Wide and got his hackamore on. Mrs. Gentry and I trekked out to the round pen, carrot sticks in hand to try to change Woody's pushiness while riding. We played on the ground for a bit, then I mounted and he stood perfectly still. We then started walking around on a casual rein, just kinda stretching and warming up. Then Mrs. Gentry asked me if I had ever asked him to tuck his nose under and me ride on a more concentrated rein. I told her no and then I practiced doing to the to a 9-step backup, however my body was not thinking "backwards" but merely in a neutral position. This took him a while for him to figure out, but he did, and the moment he gave into the feel just a LITTLE, I released. BIG lick and chew. So, we dropped that subject and moved on to doing patterns with barrels and practicing turning with an indirect rein and yielding the hindquarters. He did well with it, but, got bored with it. So, we did the same thing trotting and he did great. He was much more engaged and enjoyed the feel of purpose and also liked the unpredictable aspect of it because he didn't know what barrel I would point him to. He did well and was so focused that he didn't even try to push his nose out and against the pressure I applied to turn him. He had a very god day that day and I was very proud of him. My homework from the time Mrs. Gentry was here is to have my official Level 1 assessment tape done by Labor day weekend. I think I can do that!
~Eden
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