Would you like to see my vid?

[Crystal Fire]

I made a video - my first :D I am so excited at mastering the technology that I thought I'd share it with you. Apologies to those of you who have already watched on another forum - ignore :rolleyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrjlz3taV-Y

[Drm2Go]

Very cool video, I cannot wait til I am that level of partnership with my appalossa mare!! your gal/guy yields wonderfully to your commands, I can tell you have worked very dilligently with him/her!! Very cool, please continue to post more, I love to see others and learn all I can!!!! :D :D

[Tootsie4U]

Thats some pretty good stuff there! :D

Im confused though - that looked alot like Parelli work to me and I swear I remember reading somewhere recently that your not a Parelli-ian...

Nice mare - alert, obedient and willing! She's got a smart partner too!

[Drm2Go]

hahaah tootsie, you read my mind, I was sooo gonna put that in my thread but decided not too!! I was thinking it looked EXACTLY like parelli but had heard and read some posts that tended to show otherwise that crystal as a parelli student!! nevertheless, she and her horse sure looked awesome in that video!!!!

[Crystal Fire]

:D That is my mare, Crystal Fire.
Surely a lot of natural horsemanship looks similar? We all want our horses to yield in all directions and be responsive to us. If I was working on a 12ft rope I suppose you'd see some differences because there would be no clip... Fire and I started out in NH with Parelli, and I worked with quite a few other horses using that system. There were some things I wasn't really comfortable with, and I wasn't quite getting the results I wanted, even though I had many lessons and even 1-1 with Dave Stewart. I suppose I wasn't finding softness. As for Fire, she attended one clinic and the trainer was very hard on her, leaving her face raw from the rope (I still beat myself up about that to this day :( ). So she never went to a clinic again and I stopped "doing Parelli" with her completely because she seemed to react so strongly to me and the experienced instructors trying to use it on her.
I returned to this sort of stuff with her when she was about 3 years old, and I had learnt a bit more by then, from NH practitioners who approached things a bit differently. I realised that what we had been calling Phase 1 was to her probably about a Phase 3. She doesn't need a raised finger, she understands a raised eyebrow (bit flippant!). She would set herself against increased phases of pressure, if she didn't do something you needed to explain in a different way.
Hope that makes some sort of sense.
I suppose when I look at my old vids from when I was working at up to Level 3 groundwork, and the more recent ones, the main difference I see is softness. That's not a criticism of the whole Parelli system - but I have seen a lot of horses working at level 3 who still have a lot of brace in their bodies. So for the last couple of years I have been able to achieve what I had been aiming for, starting with what I learnt in Parelli and moving on beyond that. :)

[Tootsie4U]

I agree that alot of them (NH trainers) are one in the same but only my Parelli instructor taught me the bend at the hip thing to have her 'come back'. Neat little trick, isnt it?

But, now onto a comment I forgot to add the first time around:

Me thinks you're ready for liberty work now :D;)

[Crystal Fire]

Actually, this vid is a couple of years old, I've drummed that bend out of my body now :D It's a well known feature of people who attended clinics with Ross Simpson and a lot of the PNH instructors take the p out of it :D All I needed to do was focus on her hind end, but it took me ages to stop bowing to her.
Ready for liberty? Yep for sure, although it was never her favourite discipline. My big cob was great at it. About the same time as this clip was done he was doing level 3 liberty in an open field. He was awesome. I could bring him out of the field, take him to the yard to groom, down to the arena to ride and back to the field. Without even putting a rope around his neck. I also had a TB rescue who loved doing the exciting liberty - hurtling round outside a network of round pens at liberty, or playing with obstacles in the arena. Once I fell over and he skidded to a halt to avoid standing on me, love his socks.
I do liberty work now with a slightly different approach. Without bothering so much to teach strong yield on-line and impulsion first, but working much more quietly and low energy in the pen to start. Then building up to faster and more complicated work. Just love liberty don't you? Didn't Pat Parelli say "In liberty is the truth" or something similar?
Sorry, I rabbit on too much. This is my passion and so fascinating. :)
Not putting down that bending to the hind end stuff btw, but someone did point out that with the wrong horse you could be giving them a handy target to aim at!

[Tootsie4U]

someone did point out that with the wrong horse you could be giving them a handy target to aim at!

That made me laugh.

I usually dont ramble too much like this, but I just cant seem to concentrate on my work right now anyway...

Back on the topic of Parelli being sometimes over the top with certain horses. You can include mine in there. It also ties in with the bending thing too. After we both got the knack of the circle game he started reacting almost aggressively and I just couldnt wrap my head around the *why*. After a good few weeks of experimenting, I realized that he no longer needed the bend, lift, look, feel and all that jazz. Like your mare, all I needed to do was use my eyes. It wasnt aggression, he was just saying "Jeez mom, would you stop yelling! I get it already!" But I kept yelling (although in normal circumstances with normal horses it was the regular thing to do) and he just got hotter and hotter.

But when you do get to that point where all you need is your eyes - WOW! Is that saying something or what!

Bottom line, I guess, is that Im agreeing with what you're saying about the PP stuff. I still consider that my primary technique though, although I use alot of this and that.

[Crystal Fire]

Rambling is a good way to avoid the funding bid I'm supposed to be typing...
Parelli was where I started, with a brief encounter with Monty's Join Up first. I worked for Parelli for a while, was steeped in it. So although I can be a little critical of it I also respect the system that Pat put in place. But in my case, a lot of the people that I looked up to and wanted to emulate left Parelli, so I went with them. They left because they weren't teaching strictly as they were supposed to in many cases, the first instructors weren't as regulated as they are now. Then that led on to meeting more trainers, and getting a wider view of the whole NH thing.
So now, my liberty work is hugely influenced by Phil Rodey (the man who toured in Aus with Pat before Parelli was invented) and by Steve Halfpenny. Then of course I learnt heaps from Philip Nye... Nowadays 4 phases don't enter into the equation and the results are better. I also feel, based on my personal experience and instructors, that new people at the clinics I arrange are taught to find "level 3" responsiveness from day 1. Just love the whole learning experience really!
Now I've mastered Moviemaker you'd better watch out - I'll be putting some more up for you all to see. :)

[Drm2Go]

:D :D :D Hahaha Crystal, that is so funny "target to aim at" !!! That is soo true isn't it!! Heheeh Dang I can definitely see where you are coming from when I read about your poor horse and the rope burns...that does not seem too natural to me. I probably would have balled over that and never forgave myself!!! Nevertheless, I agree with Tootsie, I CANT WAIT to see some video of liberty work!! :) Good luck and keep us posted!!!

[Crystal Fire]

I did cry, but I also learnt a good lesson. If I'm ever uncomfortable about something somebody is doing with my horse I will stop them, I don't care what they think or say.
Anyway, OK - will show you some more vids. Wait until my clincs are over in September and I'll sort out some recent stuff. I am pleased you liked this, I didn't want anyone to think I was bragging, I am just so proud of my horse. This is special to me because she has had to retire young due to physical problems, so we probably won't make any more vids like this together again.

[Drm2Go]

Okay that is just sad...it is like a tribute to her!!! :) Oh I hope she is okay and you two can still do some things together!! :) Best of luck! :D

[Crystal Fire]

Well, she's pretty happy I guess. She had to go to flat ground, and I just don't have any. So she lives in my friend's field about 30 mins drive away and I visit her at weekends. It's kind of good and not so good I suppose. A bit sad for me because I can't give her all the scratches and TLC that I like to. But she's a horse, and she's doing what horses do best - eating grass :)

[FRED]

:) good clip.
made me think of D,he puts his head forward like that too when he gets a rub on his neck.

[TheHoglet]

awww how cute :p loverly vid :D

[BecknSkye]

Beautiful video, what a stunning mare!:)

[99E]

Yes, a lot of NH appraocehs have the same basic principles - as one will discover by actually taking a look at other horsemen.

I use www.thehorseshow.com regularly... :)

I also "discovered" youtube a while ago, uploaded a video my husband shot summer 2005, a month or so before we both passed Level 2 (Parelli).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_SuwgPEIxQ
:o

[Horsesaddle]

Lovely movies both of you do either of you two compete or do cross country ?

[india]

Brilliant video clip Crystal Fire, for some reason it always makes me come out in goose bumps and get a little emotional when I watch anything like that.....(creeps away from the desk to get a tissue):o

I also "discovered" youtube a while ago, uploaded a video my husband shot summer 2005, a month or so before we both passed Level 2 (Parelli).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_SuwgPEIxQ
:o
Truly amazing 99E, How can anyone knock the Parelli system when it helps to teach folk how to build on a partnership like the one you and your horse have obviously got? :confused:

Apologies in advance, that last comment wasn't mean't to offend anyone or start up a pro-anti Parelli debate. :)

[Crystal Fire]

Oh blimey - no, let's not get into another Parelli debate... yawn :D
99E I found your vid on youtube and thought it was very nice, your horse is showing great relaxation, which sets you apart from many level 2 students I've seen :) Would you mind if I posted a link to this on another forum? I think they would enjoy it.
Is the cross country question to me? In which case the answer is no, I don't enjoy competition and cross country fences scare me (I don't bounce so well now I'm older!!). I have never been competetive, not even when I was a kid at school. But I think I set high targets for myself with my horses, and have a good picture in my mind of what I want to achieve and how I want it to look, which I find makes me quite demanding of myself if that makes sense?
With Fire my intention was to get into endurance riding, but that goal changed when she had to retire so young. Now I have two smaller ponies, and at the moment I'm just having fun hacking out. (Don't you think hacking out is an under-estimated discipline??). I'd kind of like to do a bit of dressage with one of them, but again, I can't see me being bothered to compete. I don't think I'd get far anyway because of the tack I use, and the way I ride :) I just like to have somebody video me, and then I get home, and if I'm pleased then I get a warm glow as good as any red ribbons.
But then... all we do with horses is a challenge isn't it? I don't think we have to compete to prove ourselves. I get a big kick out of a job well done with my horses. Like, I backed Fire myself the NH way - and rode her bareback and in a rope halter. I also backed my NF pony and hack her out bitless. And my "dressage" pony was in such a state when I got him, so unsafe, that he was on the verge of being pts. But today my friend and I went out on the most relaxed hack on the two of them, he's not the same horse. Even his body has changed shape. That's the sort of achievement I get proud about.
Now - tell me about the things that make you proud, it's nice to hear feel-good stories isn't it?

[Rips]

That is a beautiful inspirational video - I'e seen a lot of 'NH' videos I don't like with submissive 'circus' horses, the bond between you and Fire is obvious in that though and it made me smile when you stepped in to reward her and she start 'lip-wiggling'

How old is Fire?

[Cool Rider]

Lovely Video
I watched it on another post here somewhere, Nice horse :)

[Crystal Fire]

:) When I got that second spin, without the rope going tight I just thought "....ing ace!" and threw it all away to fuss her.
She was 6 in this vid Rips and she's 8 now. Sadly retired from riding and all of this due to kissing spine and a chronic problem in her pelvis :( Still my baby, and when I go to visit her she comes trotting over the field whickering and presents which ever bit of her body she wants scratched :)
I don't have a lot on video, which looking back is a shame, but I work a lot on my own so that's how it goes. I've resolved to get more happy memories taped in the future with my others though.

[99E]

Crystal Fire
You can link all you want - feel free... :)
I had a very... Interesting! experience allowing my mother in law to bring my horse for a Level 2 camp i Germany. The way my horse responded when she came back REALLY was an eye opener when it comes to using phases, softness etc.
Long story short the instructor whose course mother-in-law attended had a tendency to "push through" any resistance by "increasing phase four" (usually until horses got right brain) - and that simply caused even more resistance in my horse. She came back tougher and less responsive...

What I like about the new Savvy Systems is that they focus MORE on preventing the misunderstanding MANY people have had: "If the horse doesn't respond it was not ph. 4"

I'm DYING to get my hands on the new "Liberty & Horse behaviour" home study set!!!

(Husband and i are attending the 6 week courses next summer...)

Competition & Cross Country
I'm highly competitive, som I don't compete.
As soon as anyone mention "competition" og "winning" og "tournament" or so I get "right brain" and quite a predator. :o
Working on it! :rolleyes:

I'd LOVE to do cross country - did as a normal rider, and I simply love it. Hunting too (in Denmark we don't hunt real foxes but "just" riders with a fox tail fastened to their shoulder - so it's more cross country in a group, really...).

So, afte Level 3 when my husband is having fun with terre a terre on his arab (he really wants to dig into renaissance dressage á la Bent Branderup, www.branderup.com) I'll be having fun with "normal dressage - but with excellence", preferably on a younger horse that could jump a bit.

(The mare on the vid is my 16 year old pony that I used to do dressage/show jumping/cross country/mounted games/... on - she's getting older and Iøm not allowed to compete in "english" disciplines with her since shes... a pony.)

[carrieh]

She is stunningly beautiful and you work so well together - a real pleasure to watch :D

[GiJoe]

Crystal Fire the vid was fab, as someone said earlier it brought a tear to my eye watching the bond between you and your horse. It gives someone like me something to aspire too hopefully. I'd love to see more!