Quantum Savvy, Moreton Agency

Hi All,

oh wow... where do I start? We finished day 3 of our Level 1 camp and my head is swimming with all the discoveries and revelations I am having.

I am here with my young horse Firefly and she is an awesome teacher, and showing me how important it is to get our 3 basic skills and our 3 purpose plays solid, as we will need them throughout our journey, regardless of the levels we may already have completed.

I am only 1 assignment short of finishing Level 2 with Stubby, and the skills I have already learned are standing me in good steed, but I have so much more to learn in Level 1 and I am so glad I am here at camp.

Just some of the things I am learnig (and some of them learning again):

I need to use my phases effectively and consitently or I will desensitise my horse. I found that when my emotions come up I become a make monster and nag my horse, getting stuck on phase 2 and 3 rather then going through all my phases and using them effectively. Say what I mean and mean what I say ... and smile doing it, and keep breathing.

I have to stand up and be a leader, and Firefly is really showing me that she wants me and needs me to be her leader... it's how I put deposits into the rapport account with her.

She also teaches me to be clear in my asks, focus where I want her to go and that no matter what situation arises my focus needs to be strong and unwavering, and that just like we have to improve our physical fitness, we have to develop emotional fitness as it will help us maintain that focus.

I am also learning the importance of an effective Hind Quarter yield and the difference it makes to have a correct HQ yield where the legs cross over compared to a shuffle of the HQ where the legs land next to one another. Firefly showed me a number of instances where an effective HQ yield will help her to switch from right reactive brain to left logical/thinking brain and get her calm and thinking. A lot of my feedback with Stubby was (and still is) "Get after that butt" meaning I need to get him to do an effective HQ yield. It is something I will be revisiting with him... back to Level 1 to help me in Level 3 later.

And last but certainly not least... timing our release. Rewarding the slightest try and with Firefly it is recognising that a weight shift can be and is a try and to release at taht moment. I found this out today when we did a no contact yield to lift her front hoof. I had to release and rub the moment she shifted her weight over to the other leg, if I missed that moment I had to start my phases over again and again. I missed a few of those little tries, looking for a slight lift of hoof rather then recognising the shift of weight as the try. It is recognising those little tries and rewarding them that will help our horses become light and soft.

Not missing the slightest try also was important when we did our float loading. Just because Firefly loads easily on her own float is no guarantee she will load easily on another float. My expectations of what she can and will do left me missing her slightest tries of getting into a strange float and I became quite the nag. Meredith's guidance and support helped me to have some important discoveries on how my emotions affect my ability to spot the try and the timing of the release, the effectiveness of my phases and my focus.

It's 'only' day 3 of camp and I my head is swimming with the insights and revelations I am having and I hunger for more. I am looking forward to tomorrow and the lessons I will learn, the insights I will gain and the BFO's that will come.

What will my horse teach me tomorrow?

Cheers

Petra