I have had a very interesting morning!
I went out to spend some Undemanding Time [UDT] with Lady before her breakfast and she was just totally all in my space, nosing me around or paying no attention to me whatsoever. Just total LBI snottiness! So we were out in the pasture and I felt like it was time for some good ole' Hide your Hiney.
When she decided I wasn't interesting enough and mosied off, I made my way around towards her zone 5** with my carrot stick in hand and my best Schwiegermutter look.. I slowly creeped up and started making noise with the stick, soft at first which she ignored [of course] then progressively harder.. and then came phase four.. *SWISH, SMACK!* Right in her zone 5 and off she went, tossing that head like you wouldn't believe! She trotted in a circle and then came back to me, ears forward, blinking and licking her lips. I walked backwards with my stick held out in front of me, she followed, gave the tip of the stick a nice sniff and that's when I stopped walking, gave her rubs and scratches. I think I did it twice more and by the third time, all I had to do was change my look and move towards her rump and she'd whip right around and look at me, ears forward like.. " I know what you're up to, missy!" The best part is neither of us lost our confidence. Not ONCE. I was assertive and she understood me. Afterwards when she approached me and started getting pushy with her head, I'd lift my stick just a bit, wiggle it and give her that look and off she went, head tossing all the way. She is such a SNOT. I love her so much! Ha ha.
Today was a perfect example of:
"Do as I say, but don't be afraid."

In other great news; I got my Tickets for the Parelli Tour Stop in Jacksonville, FL in the mail today. I'm going down on October 18 and staying a while for my birthday and I am so excited! I also found out that a friend and fellow Parelli enthusiast might be coming with me! :) What could be better?

More cool news! I ordered my Parelli DVD binder last night so soon, I'll have a place to keep my Savvy Club DVDs and keep them nice and organized! I also ordered some cow-flavored barrel covers ( am getting barrels this weekend!) and Pat Parelli's book, Raise Your Hand If You Love Horses. I'm very excited about my purchases and my session with Lady today. :) Looks like I've got a wonderful Father's Day weekend coming up! Maybe I'll have some time to post in between the motorcycle riding and the horseplay!
See ya later!
** For more information on the zones of a horse, click here


Naturally,

Katie Hufton