by Linda Parelli What's a "Passenger Lesson," Anyway?
I mentioned Passenger Lessons earlier, what are they? Well, if you're studying Pat's Savvy System you'll find them in Levels 1 and 2. A Passenger Lesson means you learn how to be the perfect passenger for your horse, much like you're in a car when someone else is driving. Have you noticed how you lean to maintain balance as the car turns, and you rate backward or flow forward as the car brakes or accelerates? Interesting observation: most people don't do this when they ride a horse! The Passenger Lesson surrenders your sense of control when riding (harder for some than others!) and teaches you to "flow with the go" of your horse... to go and slow, to zig and zag, not a moment too soon or too late. Until you've done this, you can't imagine how much you can be out of synch on a day to day basis! I remember the first time I tried a Passenger Lesson in one of the first clinics I attended with Pat, in 1989. Being a self-confessed dressage freak, I had a lot of trouble controlling my horse, especially when it came to making the decisions as to where we were going / turning / and at what speed. It was suicide to turn loose to my horse on this! But when I finally learned how, I discovered a lot about myself. I found that I was so against my horse's movements and changes it was not funny. I resisted everything. Flow with the go? No way! I resisted it! The result was, of course, restriction in my horse. Not only did my horse have trouble moving freely, he also suffered emotional strife because my resistance upset him. This was a big "B.F.O." (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) for me. Until then, I had always blamed my horse for being impulsive and difficult. Now, many years on, I realize that in opposing my horse, I upset him. To this day, Regalo, the difficult horse that led me to Pat (no self-respecting dressage fanatic would have ever consulted a cowboy!), is fine until I get out of harmony with him. If I have any resistance in me it upsets him. But if I do what he does (ride in harmony with him) it works like a charm. When he braces, I do. When he goes fast, I do. It helps him become calm. And then when I am calm and confident and ask him to do what I want him to do... it works like you can't believe. This is everything Pat told me about what to expect. If I'm being a passenger I should do everything my horse does - go fast, go slow, don't be afraid. But most people (and me until not so long ago), don't do this. We brace against what's likely to happen and this upsets the horse! Passenger Lessons - Level by Level In Pat's Savvy System, Passenger Lessons in the Level 1 Partnership Program are at just the walk and trot in a confined area. We stay in a round corral, no bigger than 45-foot diameter, and flow with the horse at a walk. We relinquish control to the horse at the walk and learn how to flow with the go - going where he goes, turning when he turns. If he trots, we bend him (lateral flexion) to a walk and then release. Note: if you don't release after the bend he'll become more impulsive and not learn to maintain the walk as his responsibility! (More info in the Level 1 Partnership Program: Book 6, Lesson 13). In Level 2 Harmony, we advance to bigger areas at the trot, then proceed to canter in small areas (round corral), and then progressively bigger areas. The checklists in each lesson ensure you don't go there until you know you and your horse will succeed. Knowing what you can do/are brave enough to do/what your horse is ready to do - this is called Savvy! In Level 3 Refinement, Passenger Lessons are accomplished bareback. ______________________ Judy
