- Freestyle requires mental, emotional, and physical fitness and organization
- It's very natural for horses to follow a trail, so use this instinct to create follow the rail
- Make it a game - don't make me use my legs/stick/reins to put you back on the rail
- Follow the rail helps give the horse responsibility
- Know the tracks - the closest to the rail is the first track, the horse must be on the first track to really understand how to follow the rail
- To signal a turn pick up your reins (don't pull) then use eyes, belly button, legs, then rein or stick - remember when you use your body to move your shoulders too!
- Freestyle is about following a feeling/intention (driving game)
- Horse should maintain gait, maintain direction, look where he's going, and act like a partner (not a prey animal)
- Freestyle is about getting in harmony with the horse and developing an independent seat
- Freestyle gives us the ability to feel what the horse is thinking/feeling more
- Bowtie - use indirect rein to the inside to go from canter to walk, release and then go out the other direction using a direct rein and a 'tickle' with the outside hand
- Redirect too much energy into a circle rather than shutting the horse down as you move into/through L3
- Get high into the corners, practice stopping from corner to corner to keep horse on the rail and making full corners rather than falling to the inside
- Cloverleaf pattern - a series of one direction turn at the half way point down each rail, helps with impulsion
- Good for long horses as it has lots of bends and turns
- Good for short horses as it has lots of straight lines
- It's always a game of balance and counter balance - mix and match your games and patterns (corners, cloverleaf) to keep your horse focused and interested
- The reason we use the Carrot Stick is to become a long bodied animal like the horse, it's more natural to push the horse around than to pull him around
- Begin Carrot Stick riding by asking for:
- Lateral Flexion
- Disengagement
- Move The Front End
- If things get out of control with the Carrot Stick DROP IT and use your REINS, don't bat him around in the face or let things get unsafe - take it easy, take it slow, start with the basics
- Practice following the rail then push his nose over to slow or stop him just as you would when you bend the horse toward the rail with the rein to slow him down
- Seek relaxation in this level, stick with it until you get mental, emotional, and physical changes
- Be patient
- Be persistent
- Only stop when the horse really feels under control (rhythm, relaxation, connection)
- Ride the outside of the horse with the stick and the inside of the horse with the reins
- Get handy with the stick (skill drills), toss it, swing it, helicopter it at the halt, walk, trot
- Try standing at the trot, sitting at the trot, posting, and a combination thereof
- Think about posting as rising off your horse not coming down into/against the saddle
- Posting - rise and fall with the shoulder on the wall
- It's important to post on the correct diagonal so you're weight is correct for canter departs
- Horses are motivated by safety, comfort, and play
- Freestyle Patterns/Games: Corners, Bow-tie, Cloverleaf, Follow the Rail, Circle the Barrel (let it simulate human)
Level 3 On-Line Notes
Parelli Level 3 On-Line Notes
- Be good with coiling your rope
- Keeps it neat and safe, helps reduce coil tension
- Know the difference between suggest, ask, tell, and promise
- Use intent / body language with the phases
- Horses want safety, comfort, and play
- Horse's Responsibilities: maintain gait, maintain direction, look where he's going, don't act like a prey animal
- When the rope is on the horse pretend like it's not
- Expect a lot, ask little, reward often
- 51/49 partnership > use the attitude of justice
- Human - how appropriate am I in applying pressure?
- Be particular without being critical - go for excellence / refinement
- Respect = appropriate response to pressure
- Horsenality = environmental factors, innate characteristics, and learned behavior
- In Level 3 have more function to the games
- Straight lines for friendly (i.e., handshake, Labrador), curves/arcs for dominance (i.e., Border Collie), change in energy and intention with straight lines and arcs
- Level 3 horses respond with respect and without fear
- Trust is good, but control is better
- Advanced concept for the driving game - play it on a circle (don't make it lunging!)
- 1st 3 games are like primary colors
- Humans have circular body space - adding the Carrot Stick makes us oval, horses have an oval body space
- Straightness is very important in the yo-yo (no yo-nana!)
- Transitions are yo-yos
- Get away from wiggling the rope, use the stick to drive horse back - head/neck posture, performance down the road
- Play with the yo-yo from different zones
- Leadership through polite and passive persistence in the proper position
- Play the games with a purpose
- Yo-yo is a fulcrum game
- On a circle there is the send, allow, bring back, AND resend
- Resend engages the mind then the body
- Be assertive (half way between being a wimp and being aggressive)
- Impulsion is emotional collection, go = whoa
- Remember persona body posture - intent / netural
- Disengage the hindquarters for safety (base narrow), base wide / engagement = power
- Look for even slack in the rope on a circle, a circle shows what's important to the horse: safety, comfort, or play
- It is natural for prey animals to be pattern animals
- Human's Responsibilities: think like a horse (feel, think, act, play), have an independent seat (or feet!), use the natural power of focus, don't act like a predator
- Important to lead the nose when teaching leads on the bow tie pattern
- Wait until the horse has passed your body, walk with him, lead the nose, ask for lead > timing is important here!
- Circles build sideways
- Consistency creates obedience, obedience is the message getting to the feet
- Mind, body, weight, feet
- Obedience + Exuberance = Dignity
- Sideways on a circle slows the horse down, helps refine things - don't wiggle the rope at horse, pattern interrupt
- Be progressive!
- Seeking Positive Reflexes = Effort
- Can up the Squeeze game by adjusting impulsion
- Leadership means you've got a plan
- Use the rail for help in change of direction
- Think of your belly button as a start or finish line - push the energy of the horse up or down after the horse passes the line (upward) or before they get to the line (downward)
- Circles - maintaining a true, quality neutral, changing directions, nice transitions
- Sideways allows the horse to have suspension naturally
- 45' line - toss and coil both right and left handed
- Punsishment makes prey animals act more like prey animals and convinces them we are predators
- Know the Bank Robbers knot as a quick release knot, especially for trailer tying