I’ve been on the ranch now for about 3 weeks, which means that I have been here for about a 3rd of the amount of time I am here for. In just three weeks, I have learned an immense amount of information. Not only have I learned where some holes are in my horsemanship, but also I can improve in my interactions with others, and the way I am in my own skin.
For now, I’ll focus on my progressions with Hank. At home, I was having trouble with Hank pulling on the 45’ line when we get out there playing on it, so I went back to a 22’ and then to a 12’ to see if I could fix it. I tried all of the arrows I knew to fix it, but nothing was really working. It was getting better, but not a lot better. After a few days here, I asked Berin about it. He had me show him what I had been playing with, and after a bit, he asked if he could play with Hank. While playing, Berin used a lot more energy to help Hank find the release of the halter. He simply kept adding pressure behind the drive line until Hank softened and found the release. Berin also found a few holes in my porcupine game in other zones, and helped me become aware of them and understand how to progress them. Since then, I have had a huge focus on porcupine game in general. Hank, being an introvert, responds slower already, which makes it difficult for me to determine whether he is thinking or simply not responding when I’m asking for a porcupine game. But with Berin’s help, I am now about to see that he was pulling my chain and teaching me to allow him to not yield softly to pressure! He has gotten a lot softer all around over the past week and a half, and I hope it only gets better from here. It was a good lesson in being effective to be understood.
