Parelli with a green horse and ground manner question

I've been helping the barn owner work with a green 5 year old to get her better started so she'll sell easier...and since the parelli games did wonders for Sonny I thought I'd give them a try on her.

A little background on Zoey: She can be the sweetest little mare ever...but most of the time she hates everyone hehe. She loves being really up close and personal and will not get out of your personal bubble.

I did 3 of the 7 games with her...well mainly just 2 because really the one I was just lunging her in a circle and not meaning for it to be a game.

On the friendly game she did realllllly well and that was the game I was worried most about. She didn't spook, twitch or anything that would appear that I was bothering her.

Then I did the yo-yo game (my trainer told me to do that one because she needed more work on backing up). Zoey really didn't do good at all. She wouldn't back up, nor would she even co-operate

Then for lunging in a circle (or the circle game I guess you could call it)...Zoey did really well, but when I stopped for 1 minute to talk to someone, and tried starting again, she refused to go...I even took out the lunge whip (which she's afriad of) but she wouldn't move.

All-in-all, she reared up 4-6 times and bucked twice.

It was fun hehe

What are ways I can teach Zoey how to respect someone's space, but something easy that she can understand. She's a really slow learner so it should be simple

The reason why she didn't do good in the yo-yo or circle game (when you came back again) is because you went out of order.

There's a specific order you must go in, as one helps the horse understand the next game.

Since she did so well with the friendly game, I suggest you move onto the porcupine game. This too will help get her out of your personal space, as well as helping to teach her to back up.

After that move onto the driving game, and then so on.

This article, written by Pat Parelli, tells you how to play each game.

I highly suggest you follow the games and let Zoey move at her own pace. :)

I agree 100% with appy when I started parelli with chance I went out of order, we were such a mess but then when I was told to do it in order and we started over everything made much more since to chance!

Originally I was just going to work on the Friendly Game with Zoey to get her used to being touched everywhere (she hates her back legs touched), but my barn owner told me to try the Yo-Yo game with her...so I did it

I'm trying to get more groundwork done with her before I even do more of the parelli games...she doesn't understand that I want my space respected...and she's unpredictable...one minute she loves you and the next she'll try to kick you. I've been kicked by her 3 times before

The point of parelli is to teach a horse to respect your space.

I know...but it's hard for her because
1) she's a slow learner
2) she's used to being able to get into everyone's pace (she used to be a pasture pet before the BO bought her)
3) when you try to get her away she'll either try to bite you, strike you, or won't even back up

With Zoey being a slow learner...it takes her a while to realize what she's supposed to do for the parelli games...so what can I do, in the mean time, to keep myself safe, and to teach her to respect my space

I think you should really do some research on parelli or maybe even purchase the lvl 1 set because lvl 1 will help you with a lot of your problems.

Like already stated, the Parelli games are in a specific order for a reason. Your barn owner was incorrect in telling you to move on to the Yo-Yo game......that basically set her up to fail. The games are all about respect and safety. Do them in order and you will see a difference.

You said she is "unpredictable"........to me that says you have what Parelli calls a right brained introvert. Meaning everything can be fine one moment and then you have an explosion on your hands the next.......or you could have an extreme left brained introvert, which means this horse is very dominant, pushy, lazy, sets ears back, etc. Sometimes people call this horse a "jerk." If you go to the Parelli website there is a Horsenality chart you can fill out for her so you will know which "kind" of Horsenality you have, and what strategies are needed for a successful play session.

You are more likely to be kicked by a left brained horse than a right brained horse. The reason is b/c the LB horses just suck you in lol. You need to be exremely aware of her body language at all times. Look for things that could indicate RB or LB behavior.

Right Brained behavior: eyes not blinking, seems frozen to the spot (right brained introvert), head up, tense muscles, ears tight or moving rapidly, snorting, tight lips, tight or "J'ed" tail, can't stand still (right brained extrovert), twitches or spooks in place, more rapid breathing, seems to "check out" or go introverted or catatonic, glazed over look etc. Also take note of the SPEED at which she kicks or strikes or rears.....is it FAST! Or is it more thought out?

Left Brained behavior: relaxed lips and lips, eyes blinking, relaxed muscles, leg cocked, licking and chewing, ears attentive or relaxed, can stand still, doesn't seem bothered by a whole lot, etc.

Now there are extremes to the LB behavior like kicking, biting, striking, charging, coming at you with ears set back, etc. but you can also see these behaviors with RB horses as well. Sometimes a horse will charge at you, for example, because he is afraid and feels like the only choice he has is to fight in order to protect his dignity. It's all about being able to read the body language.

Like I said, go fill out the Horsenality chart on her. That will help you greatly.

Horsenalities?

Yeah, re-do the games but in the correct order. ;) I agree.