I just went back and read Felix’s last update and couldn’t believe it has been five and a half years. Wow, time really does fly when you’re having fun! It’s strange having a horse this long — as usually a young, healthy horse like him would have been adopted long ago — but his special dietary needs really do make him a challenge for adoption.
The good news is that I still get to play with him and do demos with him all the time. And he even still enjoys doing demos, which is amazing since he’s been doing them for so long. He’s quite the star and sometimes gets sassy during the demos, but he also cuddles with me all the time I’m talking to the group and is obviously glad to be with me. Everyone who sees our demos comments on how great our relationship is. He is a wonderful example of the kind of extraordinary results we can get with the Parelli Natural Horsemanship program. He is literally a different horse than the scared, reactive, explosive, sometimes dangerous guy he once was.
The Parelli program is designed after the martial arts belt system, in that there are levels that we can progress through and pass off. When we pass level four, we receive, instead of a black belt, a black rope and a certificate. I have been 98 percent of the way to passing my level four for a couple of years now, but because I spend most of my time with new horses, I start over and over with them and never work on getting all the way through my level four. It occurred to me the other day that Felix is one of the more advanced horses I know and that I ought to use him to pass at least a couple of areas of my level four (there are four different areas of assessment). The great thing about this is that it gives us an incentive to really make some progress and learn new things, since we usually just demonstrate the same things over and over again. And I must say, Mr. Felix has turned into a super learner!
When I first started with him, he was so unconfident that he got scared any time I introduced him to a new concept. It seemed like it took forever to teach him something new because he was too worried to be in a learning frame of mind. Nowadays, he just soaks it up and really enjoys new and interesting tasks and ideas — proof that his confidence is through the roof. He can learn something new in literally a matter of seconds — so fun! So hopefully, by the next update, we will both have level four under our belts (no pun intended).
Felix is still eligible for adoption and the perfect situation may come along for him one of these days. But if not, he is extremely happy where he is, and if you’re ever in the neighborhood, come on over to our demo on Friday mornings at 10:30. And (as Pat Parelli says) bring an extra pair of socks, because we’re going to blow your first pair right off!
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Subtitle:
Felix enjoys showcasing his skills and charm.
Dateline:
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Byline:
From Horse Haven trainer Ann’s journal:
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Guardian Angel Animal:
Felix