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Jack	Lynx
To learn more about Jack, click here.	To learn more about Lynx, click here.

Lynx

JS Lynx in the Woods (Lynx)
6 Year old Bay QH Maiden Mare

Lynx has been a super fun little mare to play with over the last six years.  I purchased Lynx as a weanling in a ranch horse production sale.  As Pat Parelli says, “She was wild and wooly and full of fleas and she’s never been curried below the knees.”  She was un-tame and had very little positive human contact.  I had a very fun time helping her to find me as her partner and human buddy.  She came around very quickly and before we knew it we were playing the 7 games and enjoying learning together. 

Lynx tends to be a contender to be Alpha out in a field of horses which can be quite dominant at times.  During her 3 year old year, I started her under saddle.  She was not very accepting of a saddle for an entire year until I realized that my saddle was hurting her.  I bought a Parelli Natural Performer saddle and she quit her extreme bucking behavior immediately.  Oops…there are so many things all of our horses are trying to tell us if we allow ourselves to listen.

Lynx’s Horsenality is (most of the time) a classy Left Brained Extrovert.  She asks me often… “Play with me!” LB Extroverted horses can be very exhuberant and can be quite Bossy and Mouthy.  These horses can be among the toughest horses to find "Willing Obedience ”.  Lynx loves to ask, “Are you going to be Fun today or should I tune you out?”

Left Brained Extroverted Horses are often:  Energetic, Exhuberant, Charasmatic, Michievious, Tendancy to Bite/ Strike, Playful, Mouthy, Naughty, Bossy, Willful.  Left Brained Horses are: dominant, Brave, Confident, Calm, & Tolerant.  Extroverted Horses are: High energy, More Go than Whoa, Quick, & have a Tendancy to Run.    On the positive side these horses also tend to be: Charismatic, Ambitious, Fast Learner, Exhuberant, Smart, Friendly, Playful & Tolerant.  All of these characteristics may or may not be present in LB Extroverted horses and may be present even to varying degrees. 

There are several strategies that work best for LB Extroverted horses.  When these strategies begin to work I will usually find a more "Willinly Obedient" horse in the end.  I have to give Lynx something to do, she loves purpose and play.  She wants want to know “What is next? If you don't have a plan then I do Jesse! ”   I try to have a good answer for Lynx that sounds like this…”If I were you I would stop eating grass because I need to trot over here so you can eat from this patch of beautiful lush green clover.”  Other strategies that work well with this type of horse is Do Something, be very creative with your play sessions, Be prepared to move the feet on the Parelli Patterns, Match Mirror and Add 4 ounces.  Somtimes she slips down into the LB Introvert quadrant and then I need to find Incentives and Motivation. (Treats, Grazing, Scratches, Rest and Purpose)   Find out what motivates your horse when they are being an LB introvert.   These horses like Lynx need you to match their energy, use lots of variety, and move along from task to task or job to job. 

Lynx can become any of the four horsenalities in any moment so I have to keep my “eyes” open for signs that she has switched Horsenalities.  In 2007 I took her to a tour stop in Columbus, Ohio and she switched to Right Brained Extrovert and I had to use different arrows from my quiver the whole weekend.  She was screamimg, “Focus Me!!!!!”   My best strategy at the tour stop was  to Retreat, Rereat, Retreat!  “Don’t be afraid but do what I say!”  We both learned a lot about each other on that weekend.  Check out her Horsenality charts and how far we have come so far.

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Lynx - Before Parelli Profile

Lynx - Current Profile

Lynx - Current Positive Attributes

Jack

Zippin Jack Pine (Jack)
4 year old Sorrel QH Gelding

Jack is a very cute Quarter Horse gelding that I have raised, imprinted and started under saddle myself.     Jack is a pleasant, reactive yet forgiving colt.  He has a very nice Horsenality that through consistency and repetition will blossom into a very excellent partner that will be more trusting, dependable and trustworthy.  He is currently a very introverted colt that tends to lean slightly towards the right brained side of the Horsenality chart, but also shows many traits on the left brained side as well.  He can be a reactive horse that is very quick to react and then think about the situation later. 

Positive Attributes:

• Friendly and Obedient-  Jack has had great relationships with humans in his past as observed by his desire to be with me as a human and his willingness to please and find the right answer.  He is confident when presented with a friendly game, the saddle and the human (as a friendly game).  Jack also leads well by the legs, lip and even the ear when asked.  He is confident and self assured when he picks up all 4 of his feet easily and without opposition reflex.  He is confident in potentially claustrophobic situations such as the car wash, trailers, and pedestals. 

• Sensitive and Responsive-  Jack is a sensitive colt that yields and responds well to pressure when it is applied.  All 7 of Jack’s games are strong and have a great start to building true communication (confident with stimuli, responding to steady and rhythmic pressures).  His understanding of the games is solid with there being very little opposition reflex when new requests are being made of him.  This colt has had a nice start under saddle as shown by his trust and understanding of responding to pressure and communication.  Jack is smart, obedient, bonding and forgiving

Areas for improvement:

• Dull to pressure-  As I play with Jack I feel that he is a little dull and sticky to steady pressure (porcupine game) when it is applied to the halter.  This is an area that needs to be more responsive because it can be an underlying symptom to how everything applies to playing with him on the ground and under saddle.  Fixing this up to be more responsive and light will help free up the horse in quicker turns, stops, sideways, etc…

• Unconfident in new environments-  As I play with Jack in new environments, changes can be a large stress for him to deal with.  Jack needs things to be presented slowly with lots of Approach and Retreat.  Taking your time will help him to adjust to his new environment as his confidence grows. 

Jack will be a really nice colt in due time if he is developed slowly and consistently. In time he will grow to show his true innate Horsenality which I believe is a Left Brained Introvert waiting to come out.

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Jack - Before Parelli Profile

Jack - Current Profile

Jack - Current Positive Attributes