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.
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.
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