THIS TIME WITH THE BIG KAHUNA!

Well call me little Tommy Tippy Toes! Guess who came to me today and asked to play at Liberty? He offered it! I love the way things are going. Maybe it's my excitement every time I go out there, but all of my herd is TURNED ON! We are all having so much fun.

Let me set the stage for you. It was fifty degrees today...a major chinuk here in Kansas this time of year. It was sunshiny and still, just beautiful. So John and I spent the day outside, working on the fence line for the new pasture and adding dirt to the raised gardens before the weather comes back in this weekend. The horses love it when we're all outside, so they were up next to the fences watching us and calling ever so often.

I walked over to say "Howdy!" and Lucky "Oooohhh whoooo whoooed!" at me, then turned and looked over his shoulder at me. "Wanna play?" The invitation was that clear. Pat Parelli is right. When all you do is hang out with your horses, it's like putting money in the bank! There's a new level of communication between us that I have no words to describe. Right now, every thing we're doing is magic. We're not necessarily graceful, but we sure are having fun while we find our way through this new level of partnership!

We played for 45 minutes, and he still wanted to keep going! Trying to control my monkey brain self, who wanted to "keep working" wasn't easy for me. But I wanted to end it the same way it did for Apache, with him wanting to have more. He was so excited, he talked to me the whole time!

Lucky is one of the most verbal horses I've ever been around. He nickers, neighs, calls, croons, and even sighs with a little sound. The horse just flat out likes to talk when we're together. Everyone who comes to visit comments on it. Today was no exception. He talked and talked while we played. John told me later that he could hear it over in the field he was working in (Located next to the one we were playing in).

We played Circles that turned into Figure Eights, Figure Eights that turned into Falling Leaf. We played Stick to Me that turned into Walk/Trot Transitions and Transitions that turned into Sideways...at Liberty! We played lots of different kinds of Friendly games with scratching in all the itchiest places and rubbing on his belly, a comfort zone for Lucky. The horse just kept offering! He even changed direction on the Circle, which is very hard for him because he can't see any real reason for doing a Circle, and he was (before I had him) abused on the circle with rough handling while being lunged.

I did use a few cookies at first, but they ran out in fifteen minutes! The rest of the time was just him, having fun. Me too! We even played some cutting games together. I was the "cow" and he was the "wrangler".

I called it at the end. He wanted to keep going. He followed me back into the paddock, the perfect "floating horse", completely in sync with me. Having this happen two times in a row, once with each horse, is going to spoil me! I love every thing we're doing together.

OH the conversations we're having ! This is my shout out to Pat and Linda Parelli and all of their Professionals... THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU! The educational system you've put together has given me my dream. I have two horses who want to be with me VOLUNTARILY! You've made my world and theirs so much better than I thought it could be.

I just can't wait for the next time. Can't wait to see what happens next!

I am, ever yours, Nancy with a grin from ear to ear!