ran across a post from Rebecca on a Yahoo group - there are a LOT of regional Yahoo groups, if you're looking to connect beyond the Savvy Club forum. She was so excited by her Spotlight experience, I asked her to tell her story. Get yer hankies ready!
In her own words:
An Amazing Journey
A little over a year ago a new teacher entered my life. Little did I know that this new teacher, who took the form of a beautiful 16.2 hh Hanoverian, would teach me about the more subtle things in horsemanship, feel and a new level of leadership in particular.
When I arrived to pick Arie up, that night I thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" I was questioning my savvy level and had no idea if I had the skills necessary to deal with a horse who had these horrible feelings toward people. I decided that I was his last chance and if I couldn't handle it I would find a Parelli Professional to help me.
You know that saying, "Be careful what you wish for?" That is very true! I wanted a horse who had issues like trailer loading, clipping.....I didn't get that. What I got was another level of issues, extreme issues that I had never encountered before. Arie had extreme behaviors in each quadrant of the Horsenality chart: biting for LBE, aggression for LBI, catatonic for RBI and bracy for RBE. I figured the RBE would go away once he settled into his new environment because he is an innately LB horse, and I was right. So he turned out to be tri-polar! Those first couple of months were........very hard to say the least. It was hard letting go of his past, I was thinking of him as this broken horse. Once I let it go, that is when I started making big progress with him. Hmm, how interesting!
A lot of firsts started happening: the first time he felt comfortable asking me a question; the first time he didn't go catatonic when I trimmed his feet; the first time he walked over a ground pole with confidence (he had been pushed very hard in eventing training); the first time he had shots with me and he only swelled up in 2 spots the size of a quarter which were gone in 2 days; the first time I had enough confidence to ride him with leadership.....I had told myself that I didn't have to ride that horse for 2 years if that's what it took. It took me about 3 months before I rode him.
Since the Celebration Arie and I have been having way more fun, on the ground and riding. It's amazing how fixing one simple thing can fix so many smaller things. Pat's a master, no doubt about it! What he taught me was exactly what I was missing. I mentioned earlier how Arie helped me with feel and a new level of leadership; feel is hard to explain, you really have to experience it yourself, but I feel things (the rope, the reins, my energy, his energy) differently now, and I've found that perfect level of leadership for him. Again, this is hard to explain, with Arie things can be very subtle and precise, but he's never put his heart into things like he does now. That speaks more than words.
A new degree of firsts are happening: the first time I jumped him under saddle; the first time he really "got" Freestyle riding (he had been micromanaged A LOT in his past life); the first time I felt that complete harmony when we did lengthening at the trot and canter in our Finesse play......all of this is happening right now. It makes it hard to think that at one time I was afraid of this amazing horse. Feeling success with Arie has given me a lot more confidence in myself and in my skills and savvy. It's been a hard and sometimes scary road, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've grown as a person and as a horse woman from what he has taught me. I feel more empowered than ever before and I have Arie and Pat to thank for that. Pat gave me a gift when he gave me that lesson at the Celebration. I will be forever grateful to him and Linda for what they have done for horses and horse lovers all over the world. Parelli is literally saving the lives of horses. Words cannot describe how deep my passion goes for this program and for doing what I can to spread the word about Parelli.
Rebecca Eddins, Kansas City, MO
Heck, yeah! Rebecca, you did it!
Right after I signed up for the Spotlight for Finesse, I found my sister had cancer. She was put in the hospital and was in terrible pain. She lives about 2 and a half hours from me and I went to see her at least one day a week but usually more. When I go, I spend the entire day. Even if she didn't know I was there, I knew. During that time, I continued to run my 2 businesses. One is a horse training and boarding facility with about 40 horses.



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