Colt starting naturally in Italy ~ Pat Parelli

In May 2022, I left Switzerland for a few days to attend a course in Italy. I had the chance to participate in a 5-day course given by Pat Parelli. Gigi Pini and Franco Giani assisted him. I wrote each day a chronicle I wanted to share with you here.

14th of may 2022 - arrival in Italy

Today I arrived in Traversetolo. The landscapes were beautiful while I drove through Switzerland and in the north of Italy. I've already met a lot of people at the ranch and during the party evening in the village center. I got to meet Pat too. It was funny to go for an ice cream casually with him.

Now, a bit of rest because serious things are starting tomorrow.

15th of may 2022 - day 1

A very good first day. The participants who are here without horses had to draw by lot the horse they're gonna work with. The 21 couples were separated in 4 groups (2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon). Tom is the horse I picked. He is a nice heighted 5 year-old trotter with quite a pleasant body, whom I have the pleasure to spend time with during this week. We took part in the last group of the day. The first sesion was fantastic. It unfolded better than I could have imagined. I got a few compliments from Pat.

Basically, the seven games have already been introduced and I know what I have to focus on from tomorrow. I noticed quite quickly that he was confident as I was close to him (which is interesting en it comes to sitting on a horse's back) but he felt lost when I gave him rope and added distance as I asked him to trot. Therefore I played with retreat and approche with the 22-foot line in the round pen. Successful result after a few minutes.

I already got to sit on his back with help from Gigi Pini, an italian instructeur. His height and the fact that his mane was clipped made that step a bit more difficult to do alone. It was such a wonderful moment shared with Tom and Gigi. I won't forget it.

After, he learned to wear the pad, the saddle and accept the girth. Everything was calm and smooth. To end up the session, we went outside of the round pen to discover the large open arena. He quickly became curious about the obstacles. I let him cross a tarp and a bridge, which he did with great ease.

All this in 1.5 hours, without any feeling of having to rush him and push him to follow my ideas. He exceeded my expectations on that first day and his attitude changed tremendously between going in and out of the round pen. He was rather tense, extroverted, unconfident, connected to the other horses and, finally, supple, curious, confident, connected. Thank you Mikey for your teachings. I've been able to create a strong bond with communication and trust. Then I realised there were still 4 days left, the basis was going to allow us to do more and I was very lucky to be there with this horse and these people.

When preparation meet an opportunity I think to myself that life is beautiful.

16th of may 2022 - day 2

The second day was also very interesting.

We all worked together in the morning. Some were in the round pens while the others were outside in the large arena.

As it was very hot (it was even worse in the afternoon), I did everything very calmly and with many breaks. There was no need to end up with a sweaty horse. I spent about an hour and a half in the large arena.

I didn't find it useful to saddle him directly to play with him because he was already really confident yesterday.

The main objective was to improve the backward, fore and back-hand yields and the circle. So first I prepared him a bit to reconnect with the whole area, walking, stopping and backing up. Then a halt in the centre.

Sideways movement on the circle to help him release the hindquarters. Also walk-stop-pivot on the hindquarters in front of a fence to help him. This already improved the shoulders which were not moving as easily as I would have liked. After that, a small circle with movement of the hind legs, back up, let the front legs pass and go back on the circle in the other direction. I was very happy because it improved a lot. I could see that he was much more flexible on the left, he was putting the weight more on the right front leg and pushing with the rib cage more on the right side. This is an interesting information that guides my work.

I then worked on the circle with the "box" limited by four cones. Small circle inside, already working on the quality of the walk. Stops in the middle. Large circles at walk outside the cones, then small circle inside. I tried in trot, he was trying to pull a bit (on the less flexible side), so I did it again in walk. It was much better afterwards. He was thinking about the circle and the center of the circle and not about pulling away. I was happy. It's very interesting to see how effective this set up is to work on the circle without the round pen and establish a clear dialogue for the horse.

I went to show him the trailer and he walked in without difficulty (I guess he already knew that). It was also a good opportunity to have a break in the shadow and watch the others.

Then I decided to saddle up and introduce the bit at the same time. Any particular reason? No, not really. I just want to ride him as soon as possible because he will need a frame as he is not very well balanced (his height does not help). So that's better if I show it to him as soon as possible so he can get used to it. I did a few more exercises so he wouldn't worry, then a grazing break.

I checked the flexion and hindquarters disengagement and he seemed ready to ride so I got in the saddle. He accepted this without any problems, but he would freeze and block when I wanted a bit more flexion or to move the hindquarters. Gigi Pini came back to help me and we went into a round pen for that. He gave me the right key, which I had forgotten. He just needed a bit more ground preparation, especially porcupine with the rope around him. I really understood the interest of this technique: to reproduce the same sequence as in the saddle (flexion, hindquarters, forequarters with fluidity).

After a few times, it was better. I went back into the saddle and the difference was obvious. Thanks Gigi! That was enough for this morning session.

Pat called us back before lunch to do some simulations and games with the sticks, strings, lead-ropes and we continued with the long rope after lunch. It was so hot.

For the last 2 hours we did a half hour session by 5 in the round pens. Just on the ground to continue to build a solid foundation with games #1#2#3. Confidence, follow a steady pressure, follow a rhythmic pressure. Always interesting to see how playing with these first 3 games improves everything else.

Important lesson. Focus, feel, timing, balance to move the right foot at the right time.

Tom has gained in accuracy again.

I ended up the day watching the others, but I was out.

Thanks Tom. He is great.

I think there is no coincidence. He is named Tom like Tom Dorrance so I will never forget to think of what an incredible man he was.

17th of may 2022 - day 3

Another beautiful and warm day that pushed me a little out of my comfort zone.

We all started together in the morning to prepare the horses. I continued to work on the precision and lightness of the recoil, the walk circle and the lateral movements around me. All of this improved again.

Then, 6 horses, who still had some difficulty accepting the human and therefore the saddle and the rider, went with their human in the small arena. They did the first 4 games again (notably the friendly game with the applause of the audience) and then the circle and the sideways game. They used the circle to pass in front of and behind the saddle before stopping at the saddle. The horses were saddled and then were turned loose to work at liberty and build more connection without the ropes. We, the other participants with our horses, watched them do this until the lunch break.

In the afternoon, we all went back with the horses to do different tasks requiring the first 3 games + the circle and the lateral movements. I introduced the sideways in front of the fence. Although Pat showed how to do it at the hand of the rope with lots of focus and drive, I continued to do it holding at the head because he was lost and didn't know what to do with his legs when I let more distance. Gradually I added more rope length, but not the whole rope yet.

After these tasks, he wanted everyone to get back on the horse, bareback. Tom was always ok with this idea. Flexion, hindlegs, forelegs. Taking the time to build this up at a standstill. It got better again, but I feel he needs repetition to find his balance with me on his back. I have introduced the forward movement by following other horses, as much as possible along the fences. I take the time it takes. I feel that if I put too much pressure laterally, he could fall. He has already gained confidence in the forward movement, in a straight line if possible, but it's not easy with all the horses and the public. That's why I've been going back and forth between the arena and the large round pen outside.

It's wonderful to feel that he's a partner and that he's not doing anything against me. I feel really confident on his back.

I introduced the first few stops without bending and he was going against the pressure more than I had imagined. I did it again with more feel and it went better. I think it's also a matter of balance in his body.

Finally, Pat wanted to do some more advanced exercises (backup, front and back-hand) with one hand and a carrot-stick. Tom was not ready to do this and I felt it was getting too much. He was getting agitated, he was backing up. I didn't want to damage what I had built. I got down and watched them doing it. He rested his head on my leg and I got it. Pat finished by telling stories (which he also does during the course). This is always exciting. He reminded us how much his mentors had changed his life and his rapport with horses and also the importance of practice, practice, practice. Thousands and thousands of hours.

Learning is fast, but mastering takes time.

The more the days go by, the more I think this horse is beautiful!

18th of may 2022 - day 4

The progress of the horses after 4 days is quite impressive. As Pat likes to say: consistency is a very good teacher, but variety is the spice of life.

We did the first two hours of the morning all together, on the ground. First, without the saddle, we did exercises to continue to improve the first 3 games, then the 4 other ones. Backup, giving the feet, yielding to the pressure of the rope around the belly and between the legs, lowering the head, backing up with pressure on the tail, leading the horse from behind by the tail in one hand, being pulled up the hill in the background. It reminded me how the process of getting to the result is not like the result itself. If you go straight to the point and work hard for the result, very often you put the horse in a situation that makes him work against you. I tried to do the best I could without sacrificing the principles. It was also interesting to test what the horse was still able to give when we added a little bit of difficulty in the application of principle games #1#2#3.

To end up the morning, we saddled the horses and turned them loose in 2 groups. Pat didn't do anything at first, then he got them to move a bit. He also spent a few minutes with a horse that still doesn't have a positive response to pressure and isn't confident enough with what's going on above him. He caught him with the lariat and took the time he needed. It was better afterwards.

In the afternoon we all came back to do freely some of the morning exercises. Then Pat took the 21 couples individually to check and help us from his horse with his telescopic stick. Mount, bend, disengage, initiate forward movement by moving the front legs. Walk, trot and canter, for some of them. Brake and stop the feet by lifting a rein. Stop the feet by bending and disengaging the hindquarters. Bend, hindquarters, forequarters in a row. This was already good and almost all the horses did this without much difficulty.

After the day I was able to watch Gigi, Franco, David, Gae and Joshua practicing roping with the help of Pat.

19th of may 2022 - day 5

This last day was memorable.

We all started together in the morning. The programme was to continue with the 7 games and the tasks given the day before.

I checked how he gave the 4 feet and it was much better. I then did the backup and disengagement again, looking for more and more feel in my body and the rope. I continued with the driving game from behind along the fence of the round pen. I tested the rope on the outside between the horse and the panels, as Luc Parisis showed me last summer. I added the halt and the sideways. I spent some time slowly and properly building up the backup with porcupine by the tail using mainly constant pressure on the rope to help. I tried out a new technique and it was interesting. I ended up with a few steps, I was happy.

It was time to saddle up and then go with Pat into the arena, in groups of 5. He showed a way to prepare the introduction of the bit and how to put it on the head politely. Tom had already had the bit on the second day, so he knew. He was already quite quiet in the mouth. After that we did some more exercises in the saddle at walk and trot to improve direction. I took a bit more time in walk before trotting so he could understand the pattern and better follow the rail and after that it was ok. His trot is nevertheless impressive. It's powerful and he trots a bit strangely.

I finished the morning letting him graze, with Sally and Anaïs.

In the afternoon we were in the saddle almost straight away and did some exercises together in the arena along the fence. Pat gave us different tasks that we had to do without using the reins. It wasn't great, but I could understand the idea behind it. I was satisfied with very little. Pat also pulled a barrel that we had to follow. This was a very good exercise to add focus and therefore improve impulsion.

Afterwards we did some more exercises in 2 groups, including changes of direction in trot.

Finally, we finished the course in a fantastic way: we all went together for a ride on the large pasture. It was wonderful. It was very exciting and the landscape was like nothing I had ever seen before. I again learned a lot during this ride which was a real application. Tom was fantastic despite the steepness of the climb. He really looked after me, even on the steep hills.

What a week! I didn't expect to live such a great adventure. I met again so many people. I cannot be happier. A dream that became an objective and finally an experience. I dit it!

I would like to say that what we achieved in 5 days was an acceleration of the starting process. This is not the way I would do it when I am alone.

Thanks to my parents who made this possible and all the instructors who prepared me for this. It's still only the beginning, but it's a step.