Savvy Sunday from the Parelli's was super....

Well I am home after my fun Parelli trip in Columbus OH! Savvy day for members on Sunday was filled with information. I was really thrilled, because Linda Parelli had a 19 yr old student come out with her TB/paint cross which had a horsenality of a LBE(Left Brain Extrovert)! Sooo, I was pretty excited to see an LBE in action(since my horse is also LBE)! This girls name was Fran and for 19 yrs old she was doing great with her horse! I figured if she can handle her LBE at 19yrs old. Than I can handle my baby friesian also. I posted more pictures below and you can see the nice relationship Fran and her horse had.

Pat Parelli of course looking great!
Pat Parelli working with his Savvy day student.

Pat Parelli

Pat spinning his horse easily!

Students playing.

Linda watching Fran.

Linda working a short time with Fran's horse.

Fran working on her canter. This horse had a huge stride!!!

Fran taking a breather!! It was super hot that day!! We all lost weight, LOL.

Fran petting her horse.

It was really nice seeing all the students live and seeing Pat and Linda give their wisdom to them while we all watched. I played with Enzo last night and had a great time! I realized Enzo was smart enough for me to start talking to him in sentences now. Before I was just teaching him the words!! But, now it was time to step it up a notch and start talking sentences. Enzo handled it really well! I even worked on my figure 8 like they showed us on Sunday and Enzo did it without a hitch. Showing me he could handle what I was saying. Someday we will move up to a paragraph! Just exciting.

Create great moments~Janine and Enzo

Fun, fun, fun with the Parelli's!!!!

Well, here I am in Columbus OH enjoying the Parelli tour!!!! All I can say is super inspiration and there is nothing to get to your heart!! Like watching the Parelli students ride around so free with NO bridle and seeing their horses so in love with their human! It makes me come to tears and these horses are so happy! I would recommend anybody horse freak or not to see the Parelli's live! Here are some of my pictures below!! Day two is all about the Savvy Club Members!! Of which I am for many years now. Sooo, I am not sure what they have in store for us tomorrow, but I am glad they will knock my socks off again!! Because, it was hot!

Pat Parelli and I
Meggie Allen Junior Level 2 Parelli Instructor that helps Enzo and I bond together


Student working with his horse!

Pat talking his wisdom to all of us!

Student working with his horse and his horse enjoying a relaxing moment!

Linda Parelli and I

Sales area.

Pat working 5 horse at liberty while riding. Was just amazing even in this heat!

Until next time... Create great moments~Janine and Enzo

Woooo hooo Parelli weekend ...

Whooo hoooo, Parelli Celibration Live this weekend in Columbus OH is here!!! I am leaving after work today and I cannot wait!!!!!! I'll try to make some post while I am there. If I can get computer connections? If not? I definitely will post next week!!! Yeah!!!!

As to my last post. Yes, I can learn Enzo's new FUN ways! I will be a great partner for him, as he will be a super partner for me!!!

Create great moments~Janine

Rough waters ahead.........

Tonight I have the vet out to confirm, or not to confirm that Enzo might have splints in his front legs?? I am only hoping good things! If he does have splints? I would expect that he will be on rest for at least 30 days. Which is going to be hard on me. Since, I still know that Enzo doesn't see me as any type of leader, or friend as of yet. Enzo is super dominant and loves to rear, be mouthy with everything, push, etc. He has reared on top of me once and it happened so fast! I thought he had gotten scared at something and tried to run. But I was in his way so he ended on top of me?? Not still sure, since I never saw it being under him. Since that time I have just been working on his confidence of me as a leader for him everyday. But unfortunately this last Saturday. I went to turn Enzo out after giving him a nice bath and working on some trailer loading only. Since I am trying to stay easy on his front legs, if he does have splints? Anyway, I was in the process of taking his halter off and I was practicing on Enzo lower his head for me. The first time he lowered his head I untied his rope halter knot, but held it together with my right hand. Then, I went to take my left hand up to poll again to ask Enzo to bring his head back down again. Well in an instant he reared straight up and on top of me again and took off like a bat out of hell!!!! Somehow for the second time now, I came out of this totally unhurt! Apparently god is watching out for me. I am guessing, Enzo did already assume the halter was off and I was just taking too long and asking him to put his head down one more time was just too much. He basically said "F" off and I am going back with my cool buddies now! As much as I didn't want to. I decided I had to go get Enzo and start all over again. I had to get some leadership back and get him to realize we cannot leave the gate like that. Unfortunately, keeping his front legs quiet totally now went out the window!!!! I was not thrilled with that. But, I played with Enzo right in his pasture. The other horse tried to save him, but I showed Enzo I could move them away from us and they couldn't save him, LOL. I continued to play dominate games with Enzo, I backed him a lot, moved him sideways, moved his front end around. Meaning he had to move his shoulders from me. After about 45 mins Enzo was very relaxed and happy. I walked him back down by the gate. I again practiced on having his head down and keeping it down while I took his halter off(I didn't loosen the knot on halter this time, in case he tried to take off again). This time when I left Enzo he stayed at the gate! Exactly what I wanted! A horse wanting to know why I was leaving and have me leave first. Not the other way around. But, this brings up a great question for me?????????? Am I the best owner for Enzo??????? He needs someone who is assertive and a knows a plan. I am passive and soft. Enzo can scare me, because he is so fast and reactive. Enzo gets more dominance over me when he knows he scares me. Anyway, this is why I wrote rough waters ahead. I have to decide if I have enough savvy arrows to take care of Enzo mentally like he needs it, or if I should find him a new partner and find myself a new partner who would prefer a quiet human? Hmmmmm.....

Keeping it easy....

Some fun pictures of Enzo playing ball with one of his horse friends this past winter! Enjoy.

Keeping it easy for a little while. Since, I think Ezno might have 2 splints. One in each front leg! Agggh. I have my vet coming out this coming Tuesday to confirm or not to confirm, etc? So last night I just worked on Enzo getting on and off of the trailer and working on closing the trailer door. My door closes pretty noisily! Anyway, Enzo has been progressing with the trailer work so well and I am sooo pleased!!! I cannot wait to take him for a trailer ride down the road one day. Tonight, I think I'll just give him a bath. Since, it will be 90 degrees today. And give Enzo lots of rubs to keep his legs quiet again. I am sure Enzo won't mind the extra love!

Create great moments,

~Janine

Play sessions and my horsenality report came!!!!!!

Well, I have been having fun playing my 7 Parelli games with Enzo. I am slowly getting further away from the barn into the scary world outside. Enzo and I play the falling leaf a lot(getting him more confident). I am also super happy in how both of us have gotten more confident with each other lately!!! Like yesterday, Enzo heard a scary bird in the trees and Enzo wanted to come out of his skin and run back to the barn! Now, Enzo did make me jump, but I didn't panic this time. Usually, that would also have me heading straight back to the barn right with Enzo!!! Since, I wouldn't know how to deal with Enzo and he would scare me! This time, I realized what was going on and played with Enzo through it, and guess what? We both lived!! What a cool feeling! I think Enzo was even surprised. I was also feeling pretty confident yesterday that I even played with Enzo on my 22 foot lead outside! Usually, I hadn't done this as of yet. Since, Enzo would run around so much I would get Enzo and I both stuck in the 22 foot lead, not pretty! But, I felt more confident that my brain could handle more than one thing at a time. Like Enzo running, me dealing with the 22 foot rope, and watching my feet! That's a lot to do and I did it and it felt really good! I am very thrilled with our progress, love you Enzo!

On another note!! Before I went to barn last night, I checked my mail. And SURPRISE!!!! My Parelli horsenality report was there!!! Yeah!!! I immediately opened the box and started to read some of the 60 pages!!!! No surprise to me, but yes, Enzo is and EXTREME Left Brain Extrovert!! Go figure!!! But, the whole report gives all the ins and outs of his brain and how I should handle his situations!!! Talk about MORE savvy arrows for me!!! I am really thrilled with the extra information!! The Parelli journey continues!!!!!

~Janine

Why knowing the horsenality?

Why would anyone want to know what horsenality your horse would be in order to play/train with him or her? Basically, once you know what type of horsenality they are, you can take different ways to handle them. Let me try to explain. I myself am a quiet person and get scared when people yell at me. If you were my owner and you kept yelling at me to teach me. I wouldn't have very much respect for you and probably wouldn't do as well for you. Since, I would be scared of you. Now, if I was very dominant and you were very shy. I probably would walk all over you! But, if you knew you had to be just as strong as me, or stronger for me to learn. Then again, I would respect you more than me just walking all over you. Sooo, in the Parelli world it just helps owners to know what kind of horse they are dealing with. Are they dealing with a horse that is super shy and passive?? Or, are they dealing with a horse that is really dominant and pushy? Or, maybe a horse that just simply shuts down?? Hope I didn't just confuse people more?

Create great moments!

P.S. I just order this last weekend and I cannot wait to get it!!!!http://www.youtube.com/user/ParelliTube#p/u/2/WGK6vnoPYYc

~Janine

Last nights play time

I played with Enzo last night and it went even better! We didn't leave far from front driveway by barn. But, Enzo relaxed outside(THE SCARY AREA) while I played with him, didn't try to run away with me today, didn't try to bite me so much, was more responsive to me, got him to pay attention to me when he did get distracted, and Enzo licked and chewed at least 5 times! And, I loaded Enzo on trailer(practicing) which went great and I closed door a few times all the way and Enzo was just fine! I'll just work slowly. My lesson with Meggie has helped me so much that I now know what I am asking for and how long to ask. Before, I wasn't sure of what I was asking and what I needed and if I didn't know? Why should Enzo trust me of course! Today I had clear ideas come across to Enzo and he understood me better as well. I of course, still expect rough days, but feeling better of helping both of us for now.

Information again on Parelli horsenalities below. If you cannot open the other link I posted before, sorry. Enzo is an Extreme Left Brain Extrovert.

Extroverted horses tend to:
have high energy
have more “go”
be quick
have a tendency to run

The Introverted horse exhibits these qualities:
low energy
more “whoa”
slow
has a tendency to stop

Right-Brain horses tend to be:
submissive
fearful
not confident
nervous
reactive

The Left-Brain horse tends to be:
dominant
brave
confident
calm
tolerant

~Janine

What a lesson!

Good Morning! Well, I took a couple arena pictures from last night, but they didn't come out. Too large an area and too dark with outside light being too bright. So unfortunately, I cannot post the pictures I wanted to today.

But, what a lesson and how nice it was to finally meet Meggie my Parelli instructor here in MI!!! She was very pleasant and loved Enzo. My main issue I have with Enzo is leading from the barn to the arena. Enzo is a left brain extrovert and sometimes goes right brain when he is scared of his surrounding area and he of course doesn't trust me as of yet. Anything away from the barn is a scary area to him! When he is right brain he starts running around like a chicken with it's head cut off and he doesn't think at all!!!! At that point, he scares me and I don't know what to do? I dread the daily walk to the arena and I am sure Enzo hates it as well. Since, his leader (me) has been no leader either. Why wouldn't he want to go back to the safe barn where his friends are! Anyway, Meggie has shown me that I needed to do lots of falling leaf with him and disengage his hind quarters a lot, when he wants to pull on his halter and RUN away with me!!! We worked on this a lot yesterday and Enzo enjoyed himself once! As he did sneak to run away from us with his 22 foot line flying in the wind along him.

We were not worried.

I have had him walk around with a 12 foot lead rope before, since he was 4 months old. Just for this reason! Plus, he learned young as he steps on it, he doesn't need to freak out. I did this from the beginning with my other horse Palidor and he was so talented in knowing where his rope was! Some days when I played with Pali, I myself would stand on his line and you would see my horse Palidor starting to dance around with all four feet trying to figure which one of his feet were on the line! It was actually me, but he didn't know that.

Sorry, I digress.

But, I want to make it clear, if you take the time for them to learn about their lead rope. They will not flip over and they don't' freak out.

Anyway, Enzo did run back to the barn that one time he got away from us. He was fine and we continued with our lesson. Meggie explained, I should work with leading Enzo to and from the barn without going any farther than both of our thresholds can handle!!! Meaning, we might not make it to the arena for days!!! Think of it as standing by the grand canyon! All of us would have different thresholds of how close we could walk up to the edge. Also, you wouldn't find me as a great leader, if I kept pushing you closer and closer to the edge!!!! But, if I went back and forth to wear you could handle it and maybe a tiny bit farther the next time? You would have more respect for me as leader and trust me more. You have to also think of this as an approach and retreat type thing, until there is confidence from both of us.

So, this is my homework for some time now. I look forward to it and I expect some big words from Enzo about it, LOL. Meggie has also mentioned that not only is Enzo Left Brain Extrovert, but she mentioned he is an EXTREME left brain extrovert. Ohh lucky me, LOL. That means Enzo is super smart, is very dominant with all his body parts, doesn't stop thinking, and I need to be faster and smarter than him to keep up! Completely different from my other horse Palidor who just loved to NOT move and watch the world go by. Well, I wanted to loose some weight. I have to say I have lost 8 pounds, since working with Enzo this spring. I have a feeling I will be able to award myself with a few dairy queens soon!!! Since, I will be running around a lot with my baby Enzo, LOL.

Create great moments~Janine

Kuring Pictures

Enzo getting 2nd Premie at the Hastings MI Friesian Kuring last year!

Awwwh
Enzo with his pretty momma Belle!

Enzo was shedding out his baby brown winter coat yet! He was only 4 months old.

~Janine

Enzo out of Mintse

People have asked what Stallion Enzo is from? He is out of Mintse 384. Here is a video of Mintse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9a8S8smpFE And here are some baby pics of Enzo! Enjoy!

~Janine

I set up the arena last night!

Last night I set up my indoor arena as a Parelli play world! I have tires, jumps, barrels, poles, street cones, caution taped tied on fences and blowing in the breeze, a child's sand box with a moving weasel in it, giant Parelli green ball, and even a CD player with all kinds of scary noises on it(I'll try to post pics later)! I am all set for Meggie to come and play with us. I felt like Christmas eve last night and couldn't sleep! Because, I am really excited to meet Meggie today and see how she can grow my relationship with my horse Enzo! I took Enzo around the arena last night. He was fine with everything except the blowing caution tape and weasel. He wasn't really sure what this was all about! That was the first time I had used these items last night. Enzo did really well and as usual was very mouthy with everything including my pants, hands, shoes, lead rope, etc! Gotta love the PLAY drive he has! Again, I'll try to get some picture taken tonight for everyone to see!

~Janine

OMG, first real post and here I am!!!

My friend Kristen is soooooo nice! Thanks Kristen for talking me into this!!

Well, I am pretty excited for tomorrow eve! I have a first time private lesson with Meggie Allen Parelli Instructor for about an hour, or two with Enzo! I cannot wait to see what helpful Parelli arrows she can give me? Here is her site if you want to check it out? http://www.parelliinstructor-meggieallen.com/

I have done Parelli for about 8.5 yrs, or more. But before, I owned a horse that was a Left Brain Introvert and now I have a Left Brain Extrovert! Completely different sides of the chart, LOL. My introvert (Palidor) wouldn't like to move. My new extrovert Enzo LOVES to move! Enzo has a play drive like no other and everything has to go into his mouth! He keeps me hopping, in more ways than one! So, you can see why I am excited about the pointers I will get Thursday eve. I will have more posts after the lesson! Here is more about horse personalities, if you not familiar with Parelli?

http://www.parellisavvyclub.com/Download?id=478&type=D

Janine

Never to be forgotten

I write this today of my beloved horse "Palidor(Pali)" of who I lost May 31st 2009.
I lost my best friend, but gained a larger heart and super memories for life! After owner 2 X-race horses off of the track, of which I loved. I decided, after I retired the last racer. That I think, I will start with a brand NEW baby colt and train him myself.
How hard can that be?
That led me to Palidor a 11 month old Friesian/Percheron cross that came from a 2000 thousand acre farm in Ohio. The day I went to see him, was the day Pali had a halter put on! My friend and I watched him run around a round pen. My friend told me, not to buy this horse he seemed "crazy". Of course, I was way in love already! Palidor came to live with me at a boarding facility about a month later. I had him gelded at the breeders, that was the delay. I would go out to the barn everyday just to spend time with him. I noticed training a horse was gonna be a lot harder than I had thought. Especially, since I could hardly catch him, nor get a halter on him. I started to check out on training programs to help me along the way.
I decided to go with Parelli.
Why, you ask? Well, the first step in the program was how to put a halter on your horse!!! I thought, that's for me!! From then on, Pali and I started to bond quick. We even went to a few Parelli clinics to help us with our learning even faster. By the time he was 3(I waited for his joints to mature and knees to close) I was riding. By 4 yrs of age we were already camping.
Now the training and spending all my free hours with him definitely helped. But, let me make it clear, that Palidor was the most sweet, soft, quiet, kind horse out there. All I am trying to say, it was kind of like Pali had read and watched the Parelli DVD's with me and even if he hadn't he was eager to be with me!
As we progressed, I was able to ride him without a bridle, or a saddle! I could just think left and Pali would just start heading left!! It's such a cool feeling! We could trail ride anywhere without another horse, he loved water, and most of all he enjoyed just hanging out! It was such a good feeling to have people ask me how did you get that horse to trailer so well? He loved his trailer and would just jump on!!

Palidor and I swimming in Kensington Park, MI

People asked all the time, why did I ride him bareback? When, I had my TB's I remembered never staying balanced enough and hating that feeling! Someone told me, I would never get that feeling of staying center......kind of like when your on a bike, if I never REALLY learned how to ride bareback. Sooo, one day, I choose this is it! I am only going to learn bareback from this point forward, until I get it. Then, I finally got it! So, there were many moments of feeling completely free on Pali's back out in the fields!!! I was never worried on him, since he was always conscience of me! I do remember there were times I would be racing around a 10 acre field and times I might loose my balance, and I did fall off. But, Pali would feel this ahead of time and actually start to slow down and kind of place me slowly on the ground. Then, he would just look at me as to say... what are you doing down there? I always smiled back, thanked him, and eventually found a tree to climb back on my 16'2 best friend. I wanted to eventually teach him to lay down for me, so I could get on easier. Since, I am only 5'1.
But, there were a lot of things I did miss out on.
Every year, at Christmas time Palidor would get super sick, where he would end up at MSU. I cannot tell you the numbers of times they saved him for me. And, I cannot thank them enough for all there care to him! We were like old friends coming back to MSU for a visit all the time. The techs and Dr's all knew us too well by name. At 8.5 yrs his last Christmas he got sick again. I took him to MSU and after a week of many, many more test he was finally diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer. Only 2% of horses in the world get diagnosed with this disease. All the vets told me "sorry" already and gave him 6 months to 2 yrs to live(since they were really not sure, or they were trying to make it seem better for me?). They even mentioned to me, I must have done great care with him all these years. Because, this was only their second case of lymphoma they had ever seen at MSU in horses and all other cases they read about the horses had passed away within 2 years of age, or younger.
I lost him 5 months later.
I was majorly blessed I did get as many years as I did with my beloved Pali and again very thankful for the all the things he taught me. I miss him so extremely much!

I have started a new Parelli journey now.
I purchased a new 4 month old horse Friesian colt named Enzo.
He currently is 10 months old and everyday I thank Pali for teaching me patients and guidance to deal with the antics of this new free feeling, exciting, not wanting to keep all 4 of his feet ON the ground baby!


Enzo May 25th

My second journey awaits!
-Janine