*So this is the copy and pasted entry I posted on the Savvy Club Forum earlier today about the big breakthrough with Bailey. I will add onto it since this is my blog and I'm allowed to be a little long-winded. ;D


*Hey guys! Some of you might know about the little paint horse my mom bought a few months back.. You also might have heard about how much trouble I was having with him when I first started playing with him!

Well, along the way these past few months I have found out some very interesting things about this little guy and today we had a big breakthrough I just had to share.. (I'd really like to know if any of you can relate!)

My main Level's partner Lady is a very LBI/E dominant kinda gal who loves to make me work harder than she does and knows EXACTLY how to get out of doin' stuff she doesn't want to do and so of course she had me Phase4ing so much that my arm near 'bout fell off every time I went out to play. That's what I was used to! I was so frustrated and she'd always PUSH my buttons and win all the time.. But, thanks to this little paint horse, everything about me is changing.

At first he was so dull (or so I thought.) I thought he was exactly like her, I thought he needed me to work for respect and show him who the leader was and why I was worthy of that position like I had to do with her..

So, when I threw a few little tests his way to see how he responded to me being his leader.. He exploded.

Here I had this giant pushy, pully, dominant mare and she had never pulled a 22 ft rope out of my hands and then this little guy comes along and before I even know what's happened he's GONE and so is my longest rope.(Thanks, Parelli for giving me hands that open quickly!)

Major shock on my part so, I let it go. I spent weeks learning about him and just spending time with him. He turned into this horse who was ALWAYS in my pocket, liked to nibble and bite just to see what I'd do and some days he had the cutest, most curious expression on his face and other days his cribbing is incredibly similar to my granddaddy's chain-smoking and he's got that hardness in his eyes and mouth. On a side note, this horse came here with an bad-banana to the extreme posture and horrible muscle atrophies all along the underside of his neck, a serious don't-touch-me-there spot right under his jawline and a very sore and weak back. So, I'm taking these to be key clues as to how he was treated in the past considering I know NOTHING as far as that goes.. While this horse was revealing himself to me, I figured out I needed his trust. Judging from his physical state and mental/emotional reactions to certain things I am guessing that trust is something he hasn't really known and that he's been forced. Quite a bit. I knew he was an introvert. I thought he was Left brain, turns out he's right brain.. That was the first big shocker

By taking the time to get to know him and figuring out his horsenality, I found out that he's incredibly sensitive when asked. This revelation blew my mind.

I never gave this horse the chance to respond. I assumed he wouldn't so I piled the pressure on and within seconds he was gone.

When I tested this theory and tried my techniques today..I found out if I put a TEASPOON too much pressure on him, he'll sull up, brace against me, pull back, lose all faith in me and I have to work really hard to get it back.

And I do mean a teaspoon. I've never met a horse this sensitive with such drastic changes from light, responsive, beautifully curious, trusting, WILLING to hard, braced, biting, kicking, disrespectful, FEARFUL, tight and DEFENSIVE in two seconds flat.

Today, after I grasped this concept and learned where his phase 1 was... we started AND learned all the basic games except sideways and circle.. all with a phase 1.. His phase 1. He's AMAZING and I feel so accomplished because after the session he was so relaxed I took his halter off from my knees and he kept his head down there with me until he was nearly asleep.

I gained his trust; I spoke his language and I found the curious, light horse just dying to be played with.

This is a huge step forward for us and I'm so excited for our future.

Bailey isn't the only one who has given me startling BFO's today. (BFO: Blinding Flashes Of The Obvious.)
Next post is going to be focused on Lady and our Horsenality breakthrough.
But, I think this is going to be it for tonight. I need some rest!

Night, folks!

K.