Today I audited Kari Bowser, 2 * Parelli Professional, giving lessons. I was happy to see complete beginners trying out PNH with their horses. I've been thinking about the principles and why we do things the way we do them quite a lot lately and how I would approach teaching. At first it was painful to see Kari not say anything and watch her students make mistakes and it drove me crazy. But then I realized that an important part of teaching is knowing when to shut up and let your student think it through. At the end Kari's students got a lot more out of it. I can't bear watching people that I teach make mistakes (for example, my sister) and then I micromanage really badly, which is not a good thing to do.

It was extremely refreshing to see Kari's "How can I help you?" attitude towards horses, even if the horse was giving her a hard time. She didn't think of phase 4 as phase 4, and her voice and body language reflected that. She kept doing what she was doing and helped the horse to keep up. Normal people use phase 4 as a punishment, Parelli people use Phase 4 as the last resort to get the horse to succeed. This attitude is what makes Parelli Phase 4 different from punishement. I find it easy to not get angry at the horse because they only do the best they can, even if this behaviour is inconvenient to me, but when I do Phase 4 I clench my teeth, which is not a true, tension free Phase 4. I'm aware of this, and I'm working on getting better, because it can significantly affect my posture when I'm riding, if I correct Kai with clenched teeth. My horsemanship is better when I approach every horse with a "How can I help you attitude?" and the knowledge that each horse is doing the very best it can at the moment, 110% of the time, even if they bust through pressure or run away in fear or defiance.

I was excited Kari cover the corners game with B. It was a good refresher and inspired me to go out and play it with Kai, because he would really enjoy this puzzle.

Today I had a nice but rather plain session with Kai. I tacked him up and did my pre ride checks in the indoor arena. I let a D. ride him for a few laps around the arena to try out my treeless saddle and then gathered my things and headed to the outdoor. I mounted from the fence and we set off working on follow the rail at the walk. We worked on headset and transitions for a little while and did some cantering.

I then decided to try something just to see where we are at. I asked Kai to canter on a circle and the next time we were at X I asked Kai to trot and then canter the other direction on a new lead. We did this a few more times and then cooled out on the rail. Kai was very bracy when cantering but he got his leads correctly all but one time. I think we are closer than I thought to doing simple changes! Kai was very hot and tired by then. He is holding onto his thick winter coat despite the heat and he gets tired and sweaty faster than usual. I untacked him and set him loose to roll in the sand. Kai came back to me when he was done and I put him away and gave him an apple.

Today I began our ride by asking Kai to move forward at a canter. When he had a good rhythm and was moving freely I asked him to slow down. We played around with transitions briefly because I don't want to drill Kai on this, however he does need some practice.

M. came and I invited her to bring up her horse so that we could ride together. We set up some trot poles together and took turns using them. I want Kai to be in shape for the Fawn Anderson clinic in the end of June so I made a point of trotting Kai a little more than I usually would. I began to wrap up our ride and trotted less and walked more. I got a 22' line and tied it through a cone so that Kai and I could practice dragging it. Poor Kai was very confused about why the cone suddenly started following us. He turned to face it and snorted. He soon calmed down so I dropped the rope and walked him around some more. I let him roll before putting him away.

Today Molly and I tacked up outside for our lesson. I finished tacking up first so I began to do my pre ride checks outside as the indoor was still taken. Kai was calm, connected and responsive so I mounted him almost right away when we went to the indoor. Today we did lots of transitions and practiced trotting with relaxation. Before I knew it the lesson was nearly over. Molly and I started our game with each of us holding the end of the lead rope and riding side by side. When Molly was on the outside she had to go faster and I had to go slower. And then we switched and I had to ride faster! Kai and I were somehow falling behind, so when I asked him to speed up he cantered! He was offering a nice and happy balanced canter all on his own! When the game was over and Molly dropped her end of the rope I kept on dragging it. Over all it was a great lesson and I am getting more confident in asking Kai to find his rhythm and give vertically.

Today when I haltered Kai I knew he was is a dominant mood. I groomed and tacked him up outside. As I was leading him to the indoor he started pulling on the halter and leaning on me. I quickly backed him up and when we were inside I made him move his feet. I put him on a longer line and pushed him at a canter and even tried some flying lead changes. It looked like he had his feet in order and he managed to do some clean ones. I then decided to practice some zone 5 driving. Kai leans a lot and braces into pressure and I had to bump pretty hard.

I decided to try to take him on the trail so that we could practice without having to keep turning around. Kai was good at first and then he decided he was going to lean big time. I yanked his head around and backed him up hard. Kai then offered a really nice, soft, fast and balanced back up.

We went to the outdoor arena so that I had a safety net in case he pulled the rope out of my hands.

We tried more zone 5 driving and Kai was pretty bracy at the walk. I decided to try to trot in case it would help him be softer and have less time to think about bracing. Mom filmed a video so that we could send it to Farrah (to get some help with this).

Kai surprisingly connected and was soft and relaxed. I thought we could go for a ride then. Kai was offering a relaxed level neck at the walk, so I decided to ask him to trot. Kai then did a very tense and quick trot anticipating that I would ask him to canter. I kept asking him to relax and stretch down and he would lower his head but then shoot it back up. Kai then decided that trotting quickly was not comfortable and offered a really nice and balanced canter transition. I decided to not correct him for cantering but to keep asking for the head to go down. Kai broke back into a trot and kept bobbing his head back up and tensing his back.

We played around with transitions and a relaxed head. Kai would relax his head down for an entire lap around the arena and I would change something and he would tense back up. I don't really think he was tense out of fear, I think he was tense which made him uncomfortable which made him more tense. I need to help him find balance and comfort within his gaits.

I even jumped him over some cavaletti. He jumped two and then balked at the third a few times but I worked him through it and he could jump all three. I was not in the perfect jumping position but I made sure I was very light on Kai's back and that I was balanced. We then went back to trotting and working on his head set.

Kai was sweaty and working hard but I didn't feel him run out of gas at all. I had ridden him a few weeks ago and he was so tired and I felt his energy sort of die under me. I was proud of how easily he could handle this much trotting and cantering in one go!

I then tried some bridleless. I wanted to try to ask him to canter in a circle instead of going on the rail like before. Kai was bracing and he was ignoring my leg so I bumped him harder and harder. I felt Kai ball up underneath me so I prepared myself for a buck. He gave a small buck so I dismounted and backed him up faster and harder than ever. I threw his halter back on and jumped back on his back. We cantered fast and hard and I made him respect my leg and go in a circle. When he did a good one I walked to cool him off while doing serpentines directing him with only my leg. We were both exhausted but Kai was soft and respectful.

I was pretty excited how fast his breathing got back to normal! I think he is really getting fitter which opens a lot of doors for us! We have not previously been able to work on these things because Kai would get too tired. But this time he had enough energy for me to really work through!

I cooled him out and put him back in the paddock with some treats.

Today was not an easy session, but it was full of progress. I feel a lot more confident in how much I can push him and in my ability to correct him and help him.

Today I tacked Kai up and brought him to the indoor to do some pre ride checks. Tru was tied in the corner and I was proud of how Kai paid very little attention to her and was connected to me. Kai and I were playing with flying lead change prep at the trot at the opposite end of the arena to where Tru was. I playfully tagged Kai when he didn't do a good canter transition and Tru had a bit of a freak out. She was pulling back as hard as she could and she had a small panic attack. What was really neat was that Kai barely even flinched. I was happy to see that even though Tru pulled the tie out of the wall, Kai stayed put for me. This is what I would have wanted him to do if I was riding. It is good for him to practice staying calm even if another horse is not. Kai ground tied like a champ while I tied Tru back in the corner.

I played some more with Kai and we got some good canter transitions on a small circle. I then somehow felt that Kai needed a massage today. So I untacked him and did the bladder meridian and some leg work. Kai licked and chewed a lot and he yawned at the end. I then let him loose in the outdoor so that he could play a little and enjoy the spring weather. Kai was doing very funny kicks and bucks and he was having a wonderful time running around.

 Next I tacked him up again and did some pre ride checks. Kai offered soft flexion right away and off we went. I decided to canter and we had the best time because he was cantering in balance without help. I rode him around without using the reins at all. I then found the confidence to take the halter off and ride bridleless for the first time.

Kai was not offended by the stick and he was soft and responsive so we cantered bridleless for the first time ever. It was so much fun! Kai was getting a little tired from so much cantering so I cooled him out and then I decided to stand on him. I really wanted to stand on him for a while but it was too cold to take my boots and socks off.

Kai was perfectly still, while I was shakily standing up.

I gave him some molasses for being so amazing when I put him back in the paddock.

Today I tacked Kai up outside and then headed to the outdoor arena hoping to squeeze a short ride in before the rain ruined the footing. It was only the second ride in the outdoor this year and today was overcast and I could smell the rain in the air. I decided to ride in the bareback pad today because I am more comfortable and balanced that way. We did our pre ride checks and I stood on the fence and Kai came sideways towards me so nicely for me to mount. We started on the rail and did walk and trot arena exercises while working on vertical flexion. Then Kai and I just happily cantered around for a while, taking some walking breaks for him to catch his breath back. It has been all winter since we went for a good, happy canter and it felt just amazing to just GO. Kai was leaning a lot less and was more balanced.

I then checked that nobody was around and decided I could be a little silly. I set the reins on Kai’s neck and put my arms out like wings, and we just cantered around like that while it gently drizzled on us. It felt almost unreal, like a magic dream. This is what it really is about, when all the training pays off and you can have a moment of harmony with your horse. Nobody watching, just cantering bareback with my arms out and smiling while it softly rains on us.

Kai was feeling happy too. He loves it when I let him just get into a free rhythm like that. Then as I walked him around to cool him out it started raining super hard. I am not joking, it was pouring down so hard that there was an actual waterfall  down the side of the indoor arena. Kai and I gathered our ropes and ran for our lives to the indoor arena.  I tied him in the corner and ran through the rain to the tack shed to get his green cooler and my lunch. I let him loose so that he could roll in the fluffy shavings (his favorite thing to do)before I put his cooler on. I ate my sandwich as I watched Kai roll right over his back three times snorting with delight and kicking the shavings all over. He got up and had a nice shake before coming over to nose at my half eaten sandwich and look for his apple. I gave him his apple for giving me such a good ride and put his cooler on. I tied him back to the wall and went to get him some hay to munch while he dried off. When we were both done eating I set him loose again to play with the green ball. I taught him to push it back to me when I push it to him.

When he was dry I put him back in the paddock and put a handful of treats on the ground for him to clean up.