Life with a Right-Brain Introvert

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This is Dani, my RBI.



Here she is clearly asking a question and this is, 'can I have a cookie?'.  But she's also a bit apprehensive.  Look closer at her nostrils and see how tight they are as they are extended in a full take-in-all-I-can mode.  That's because I am on the other side of the partition/window and who knows what I might have up my sleeve.

She never fully trusts, rarely lets it all down, and it is a trait I can relate to, as I am RBI as well and tend to hide behind my inner walls.

She and I both are also prone to explosive RBE blasts, when it all just bottles up too much in our efforts to contain it and has to blow.

Oh, I understand her....I do, and through learning to help her become more centered, I have become more centered myself.

That is the beauty of horsemanship in general, and Parelli in particular; if you are going to go down this path and strive for an equine partnership, you are going to do the often intense work of personal development.

What I am starting to see now, is that I can truly effect change within my horses SIMPLY by improving myself.  This is where we come up with our horses being our mirrors.  What I bring to them is reflected back.  I can use them as a barometer to measure the quality of energy I am putting forth, even when it seems like I am level and focused, usually I can see where I have checked out or not been mindful enough based on what my horse is telling me through her actions or lack thereof.
Are my releases clear?  Am I staying fully 'on' even though I think I am in neutral and therefore failing to give a complete release to the horse?  Sometimes it is as simple as needing to turn my body away a bit more, take off pressure incrementally, for just our presence is pressure to horses in general and even more so to the sensitive introverted horse.

In doing this work, I see how the pressure from others out in my world does in fact, impinge on me and explains so much as to why I have found situational overwhelm in day-to-day activities and why I prefer my solo time.  So much has been revealed to me about myself as I play with my horses.....what a wonderful journey.

Sue, doing the deep work, in Ohio




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