At 22:39:09 on 03.04.09, plodalong wrote:
my horse and i have a lovely relationship.i am so pleases with the way he has come on,his manners are very good,he is a joy to handle and fun to play with, im really having a moan about other liveries on our yard that hang around the school when we play and make comments such as why do you want your horseto play with a ball,stand on a podium,walk over tarps,ect.i just smile and say because he can.it is sometimes so distracting that i try to play when nobody else is around.does anybody else have expierience of this sort of behaviorfrom others that think natural horsmanship islike teaching horses tricks,rather than teaching safety and good manners.

At 14:25:56 on 06.04.09, saddleup wrote:
Sounds like you have a lot to teach these people. It's always hard doing things that are a bit different and people can be so blinkered not to mention off putting. We were the same as you, and playing with our horse and pony was so much part of our relationship with them...and of course it all hugely fed into how well thinks went when we asked questions of them when we were on top of them too. Don't be put off. And you've come to the right site for airing this as there are lots of us here singing from this particular hymn sheet. You'll get the back up here even if not at your livery yard. But I suspect they'll come round when they see the relationship you develop with your horse this way.

At 10:18:16 on 09.04.09, plodalong wrote:
thanks saddleup, support was needed and given by you, much appreciated,the holidays are here and its lots of safe hacks out for us. hope its the same for you.happy easter.

At 12:07:50 on 09.04.09, saddleup wrote:
Just re-read my last message and it's got scrambled in the middle. Glad you got something out of it, plodalong. Happy EAster to you too and let me know what you get up to with your nice horse. I need it. At the mo am only riding vicariously!!

At 09:12:28 on 23.04.09, plodalong wrote:
just thought id tell you about my weekend hack, we went trail riding down the manifold trail in Derbyshire. the weather was brill and BO was well up fornit. I chose this route because i knew it would bring a lot of the parelli games into play and give BO A CHALLENGE.The route was along a disused railway line. on our journey we went over wooden bridges that bounced as you crossed them, the first one was a bit scary for both of us and i must admit i found myself singing our safe song I neednt have worried as BO crossed it with only a slight hesitation i just gave him a rub and a little squeeze with my leg and off we went.the next challenge was a long but lit tunnel BOnever hesitated and appeare happy to trust my guidance through the tunnel. the water crossing was next. he crossed with confidence. well done BO what a great day we had Ididnt want it to end, i dont thing that Bo would have had the confidence to do those things if we had never played the squeeze game.

At 09:15:27 on 23.04.09, plodalong wrote:
ps i forgot to say that he loaded himself into his trailer.im bragging now.

At 10:46:10 on 23.04.09, saddleup wrote:
Sounds like you're well on your way and congrats to you both for all those scary things. Tunnels!! Bridges!! Sounds like a real partnership. I spent the w/e with a friend whose really taken with Parelli too. Does it with her quarterhorse. We were in a chandlery on the coast and there she was buying sailing boat rope to make into those special halters. What's their name? Oh! and as for Bo loading himself into a trailer...you must be the envy of the yard. Horses that don't load are a heartbreak. What's next for the pair of you?

At 12:32:26 on 26.04.09, The Practitioner wrote:
Hi Plodalong, I have been using natural horsemanship training methods with my two thoroughbreds for over 10 years now and last summer my oldest mare fractured her skull. It was horrific to say the least but my point in retelling it here is that I still have her - she survived it. My vet did not believe we would have been able to get her through the injury had she not been so trusting and easy to handle, because the nursing care and ongoing treatment was so invasive, most horses would not have been prepared to tolerate it. So, when others think our training methods are unusual take heart, not only does it make our horses safer and more pleasurable to ride and handle, there might come a time when the rapport that is established may even save their life. I nursed her myself over several months and the extent of what she was willing to let me do surprised even me ...

At 12:34:37 on 26.04.09, The Practitioner wrote:
The hair has grown back now but in this pic you can see the area of trauma just below her right eye.

At 12:30:30 on 13.05.09, plodalong wrote:
wow,poor thing. im so glad that she is now much better.You must be very relieved to still have her around. I feel a bit stuck with the riding part of parelli I cant find anyone to teach me and the Parelli tutor in our area who is Racheal Mooreland is too expensive for my pocket. Racheal is a brilliant teacher and does training weekend in my area.Bo jangles and i went last december to make sure that we played the games properly as i had learned of borrowed books and dvds. im saving up as we speak to get a ticket for this years conference. im looking for someone in my area to come and play with us and have some fun. its good to talk to likeminded people.pleased to meet you practitioner. You may well end up being a good mentor for this old woman.