EXCITED!!! Pony going to Parelli guy next week!

[LadyRascasse]

not sure on his his height breed etc. but could you not ask around your local feed/tack shops for some recommendations on either suitable jockeys or instructors that will come to you. that way you know what is happening with your pony all the time. no risk of sending him backwards as if you aren't happy you can just ask them to stop.

 

[Tinypony]

I have pm'd you about "Parelli guys"

 

[team barney]

Cute pony but please don't subject him to Parelli's brand of abuse.

The video of Barney (the one eyed horse LP smacked about) has been removed from youtube but a similar video still remains of a little arabian whose only "crime" was walking to fast... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4fP65F_vqg

There is also Catwalk to remember, PP gumlined a bridle shy horse! how much of a **** does he have to be to think that is acceptable.

For the pony's sake do not subject him to Parelli. It sounds he has suffered enough during his life and I'm sure he would appreciate being aloud to retain his personality

My blog has more info if you want to read more.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Agree with Stroppy and the rest. Parellie folk aren't always the best???????. Comes down to basic common sense, ponies and kids thrive on it.

 

[noodle_]

Im sorry but what a lot of crap. I backed my boy in 2 days and hacked him out on Mill Hill Broadway (with an experienced horseacting as shield/nanny) so who am I...god? All of my horses will allow me to put big blue balls on their back along with saddles, people and various 'things'. Lets get real,PP does what we all can do but WE dont ask for incredible amounts of money. He is having a 3 day clinic here in Italy...cost? £2,600 euro-pass me the sick bag please.

amen to that ^...

my horse will happily stand while horses gallop past her.... have things chucked on her... things fall behind her.... stand of her own free will and have me poke her to death.....and follows me like a dog - without!! a halter etc....

im her leader..... i HATE parelli.... to me to work with horses is COMMON SENSE and trust!!....

 

[gonebananas]

now isn't he THE MOST CUTEST little man ever!! he's adorable!!

 

[lhotse]

I have to say that I never get involved in these debates, as NH is not something that has any interest to me, I prefer to just use common sense and horse skills that come from years of experience.
I have to say though, from watching the following video of the founder of Parelli at work, I would never put any horse of mine through such treatment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gf7w_1ifus&feature=related

 

[JanetGeorge]

Sorry nikCscott - I tend not to say much on Parelli threads as people who choose Parelli are often brainwashed!! I breed (Irish Draughts) and I back and train for other people (as well as my own) and we take 'problem' horses. A LOT of the 'problem' horses have been 'Parellied'!! (In most cases, that's the sum total of their 'problems'!) Some of the techniques used by these 'trainers' are downright appalling - and leave horses either frightened, confused and switched off - or downright angry, pi**ed off and even aggressive, depending on their basic temperament!

Of course, if it doesn't work out, it's always the horse's fault - one lady was told to have her Welsh Cob mare put down because it was dangerous (Parelli trainer had her 10 weeks and hadn't managed to lunge her properly, let alone get on!) She WASN'T in the slightest bit dangerous - she DID have a sense of humour! She was hacking out quietly in 4 weeks here and owner had her home - and going well - in 6!

Then there was the mare who was subjected to 'the patience post' - because she yelled when horses came onto the yard. She was tied up - alone - for 20-odd hours to "teach her self reliance" (or some such b/s!) It didn't work - when she arrived here she yelled every time a horse came onto or off the yard - we ignored it - she stopped!

 

[spotty_pony]

IMO Parelli is a load of rubbish. Most of it is just common sense tbh with a bit of fancy work with a carrot stick involved...

And, quoted from another forum; 'there's a reason why Pat Parelli won't use Appaloosas in her demos ' because they are intelligent and independent and her 'methods' don't tend to work on them.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Nice little chappie! Wots he done to deserve Parelli?? I'm not pro or anti parelli, or any other NH discipline; I feel its what suits that particular horse & rider combination, at that time, which is the "right" thing, rather than seeking out the most faddy and expensive thing around where you have to buy a whole lot of equipment then spend a lot of money putting yourself and horse through the various "levels" - when a good dose of common sense and good old fashioned horsemanship would be far better placed IMO.

 

[Paint Me Proud]

Can i just say that your little pony looks stunning - what a gorgeous little face he has. Would love to see a full body shot.

As for the parelli - i know nothing about it - other than to wish you well in which ever discipline you chose for him, good luck

 

[unbalanced]

To be honest I think it comes down to good horsemanship and bad horsemanship, rather than traditional and natural. Personally I use Parelli methods with my horse - she is great and we have had really good experiences with it. However I am not any kind of expert and I am a self confessed one-horse-person so I don't really know about any other horses than mine. I do know that my horse is happy, comes to me willingly, follows me around, trusts me, hacks out, jumps, does dressage, plays Parelli - it's all about the relationship, whichever method you choose.
I know traditional people that I am very happy to have do things with my horse eg if I go away as they are kind, sympathetic and look at things from her point of view. I know traditional people who use methods like twitching and hitting that I strongly disagree with and won't have near my horse. I know lots of naturals who are great, especially some of the Parelli people (including one Parelli Professional) who I trust absolutely and do a great job and have given me some really good advice. I know naturals whose horses are afraid of them and have seen Pat Parelli use techniques I am extremely uncomfortable with (like the lip line) and would never want to use myself.
It all comes down to how you feel about the trainer in question. Can you go to his yard and look at what he's doing with the horses he already has there? Do you know anyone who has had a horse trained by him? What do they think? At the end of the day I think the person training the horse is more important than the name of the method they use. Whatever you choose is right for you and your pony, good luck and I hope it all works out x

 

[mmel001]

Some people claim to have had great results with Parelli, it's all down to having the right attitude and the right hands. I think that there are bits you can take from Parelli and use, if they work for you and your horse. I've see the video's of Pat and Linda which are readily viewable on places like Youtube that show behaviour towards horses that I don't personally condone or see a need for. I'm sure for each questionable video there will be tons more which show them helping other horses or owners.

There are some similarities to other systems, advance and retreat, pressure and release, the porcupine game etc. You can make your own informed decision and take what works for you. What I think is important in any method of training is an understanding of the horse being trained and it's needs. Horses don't think like we do, they don't see like we do, they don't understand what we are saying and they don't act like we do. They are horses!

What I would ask you is what do you want to acheive from sending your horse away from training? Is it that you don't have the experience or the time to work your horse yourself? Is it that there are behavioural problems, or something else?

There is nothing wrong with getting help and there are always lots of options that are open to anyone who needs help. People can come to you to help you train your horse with you, your horse can go away to someone etc, it all depends on what you want.

What I would say is that what ever method you choose (and it is your choice) ensure you do lots of research not just in the techniques but in the people offering their services. Make sure you know what it is you want to achieve and that if you send your horse away, you are able to go as often as you like to work with the trainer and your horse. I would be very skeptical of someone who would train my horse but I couldn't see or be involved in what they were doing. Especially if you have a lack of experience or are experiencing a behavioural problem, there is no magic fix. Your horse can be trained, but you have to understand how to use that training, and what to do if things get tricky at times!

With youngsters you need a lot of time, patience and consistency. Youngsters know nothing, so it's down to you to help them learn what is acceptable, and for you to be clear in what you are asking of them, and to make it easy for them to succeed.

Whatever you do eventually decide, make sure you do your research, if you can speak to a few people that have used that trainer all the better, if you can meet them in person, see them in action etc then great! If you decide that they aren't for you, look for someone else.


Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide!

 

[stroppy]

Please do yourself and the pony a favour, don't put him through the trauma of being 'parellied' and save yourself the no doubt small fortune you are likely to spend, find yourself a good local producer like 'JanetGeorge' and let him/her work with pony at home , that will do him far more good than all that natural horsemanship and parelli rubbish and in the parelli case abuse!

 

[Echo Bravo]

HEAR HEAR Stroppy

 

[lhotse]

The video of Barney (the one eyed horse LP smacked about) has been removed from youtube but a similar video still remains of a little arabian whose only "crime" was walking to fast... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4fP65F_vqg

.

I have to say that I found that vid with the arab extremely distressing to watch. The horse is doing nothing wrong, and looks so confused.
I wonder, if I put a video on youtube of me smacking a horse across the face with a stick, do you think I can claim to be a NH master?

Disgusted

 

[stroppy]

I'd love to get my hands on Linda Parelli and see how much she would lke being smashed in the face! how anyone can use her, her husband or their followers is beyond me!!

 

[Tinypony]

Strange isn't it, I'm not a Parelli fan at all, but I've met a lot of problem horses and you know what? None of them had been Parelli'd. I think it is possible to get a distorted view when labels are applied, maybe it's just a case that there are a lot of horses out there screwed up by a variety of bad trainers.

 

[Amaranta]

Hasn't he suffered enough?? Sorry - there MIGHT be some good Parelli types out there - but there are two around me and I have had *******-ups from both of them in to 'cure'! I wouldn't ask a Parelli trainer to teach a cat to drink milk!!

PMSL! Brilliant just brilliant!

 

[Amaranta]

amen to that ^...

my horse will happily stand while horses gallop past her.... have things chucked on her... things fall behind her.... stand of her own free will and have me poke her to death.....and follows me like a dog - without!! a halter etc....

im her leader..... i HATE parelli.... to me to work with horses is COMMON SENSE and trust!!....

Absolutely! My horse is very similar, she follows me around, backs up, walks, trots, canters and stops all on my voice, she will also copy me, all without a carrot stick in sight!

I backed her myself and hacked her out within a week of backing so am singularly unimpressed with the two weeks it took the Parelli guy!

OP your pony is absolutely adorable, please do not subject the poor wee soul to the Parelli system!

 

[Tinypony]

Can't win can they? Back a horse quickly and the threads are full of people yelling on about how the process should be taken slowly to be fair to the horse. Take it slow and then suddenly people boasting about how quickly they can do it. When it comes to helping Op out - so what? Whatever we happened to do with our horses, Op is looking to send hers to a trainer. What others managed to do or not do seems a bit irrelevant to me.
I know Jinglejoys and her mule. Let's just say that things hadn't gone smoothly for them with previous trainer, so yes, of course it might be reasonable that the next trainer might take a bit more time with an animal that had some bad experiences to let go of. Also, some mules can be interesting to work with, and be quite different to horses. (Note, I say some, not all before someone jumps on and tells everyone how easy THEIR mule was...).

 

[Chestnuttymare]

not going to say tons on this, but my mare and i would have been in trouble if it wasn;'t for an extremely sensible and experienced horsewoman. It was a mixture of parelli and more conventional methods that brought her right and gave me a really excellent riding horse with great manners.
This was 7 or 8 years ago before parelli was well known or the hype had all started about it. Recently i haven;t seen anything of the parellis that would give me confidence in them or their methods but i do feel if you have someone decent then perhaps you and your horse has a good experience.
I kinda worry that it is just your horse going away for a week. you need to work together to learn the body language stuff that is key to it all.
I don't do the games and stuff now really as it was a means to an end with me and had no interest in bouncing balls on her back or whatever. i just wanted a nice sensible horse to have fun with. and that is what i got thankfully. I am sure you have this covered but please get references from this person and make sure he is decent and not one of the brainwashed crowd that we hear so much about.

 

[miss_bird]

OP your pony is fab looking and obviously trusts you a lot now, would it be possible for you to get a good local insructor in a couple of times a week to wok with you both, that way you can be involved and take things at the ponys and your pace.
I would personally never send one of mine withing a mile of a parelli trainer, butthat is just my thinking.
Good luck with whatever you decide and hope it all works out wonderful for pony and you

 

[nikkimariet]

What a gorgeous little man, really lovely little face on him. Nice to hear you've taken him in and are willing to work through his problems.

My views on Parelli/NH are negative. But it's your pony, and I'm sure you have perfectly acceptable reasons for wanting to pursue that sphere with him. Good luck, please post pics and updates of him, he's such a cutie!!

 

[Bedlam]

OP - stay excited and enjoy your pony. I'm sure you'll have a great experience. You obviously know that you need to learn how to behave with him as well as him learning how to behave as you have stated in your original post that you will be going up with you children on a number of occasions to work with the trainer.

I wish you the best of luck and am sure that you and your gorgeous pony will enjoy the whole experience.

 

[stroppy]

am sure that you and your gorgeous pony will enjoy the whole experience.

That I highly doubt.

Please think again and find a local producer to work with,

 

[Toast]

Good greif i wouldnt subject the poor pony to Parelli! Watch the video of Pat at Stoneleigh with Catwalk.. i assure you i wouldnt let him within 100 miles of any of my lot im afraid. And his idiot wife is just as bad. Its more than just a waste of a LOT of money. Im sure you can find someone with more constructive and helpful advice to help you
Good luck
x

 

[Circe]

Hi,
I love the look of your pony, such a cute face.
I'm interested why you chose to have a parelli trainer? Was the guy recommended, do you know people who have had horses trained by him?
I am not a fan of parelli, for 2 main reasons.

Firstly, I find it agressive, and I worry that parelli fans cant see this.
If I punch my horse in the face until it moves back, or out of my space, this is obviously aggressive, and people would ( hopefully ) be very upset with me. I can't see the difference between this and violently swinging/ hitting a rope around the horses head.
That carrot stick is an orange coloured whip in my opinion.
I think that your pony might well find the training traumatic.

Secondly, I think that the whole parelli system, that can be bought at great financial cost, gives usually novice handlers a false sense that they are experts, can handle any situation, and have an almost mystical connection with the horse. Ive seen a lot of people get into dangerous situations using parelli.
I'm wondering if there are any other trainers you could consider, who will teach your pony, you and your children some basic horse sense. Maybe local livery owners or tack shops can recommend someone for you.

Who ever you chose, I hope it works well for you and him.
Kx

 

[MerrySherryRider]

So glad your pony has found a loving home with you, he is absolutely lovely. From what you say, he's already making progress since you've had him, well done you
If you want to send him away for backing, have a look around different trainers yards and ask lots of questions to find someone who's approach sits comfortably with you.
I would be very wary of using Parelli, the methods scream injustice and confusion to me. Have seen a fair few bewildered Parelli horses whose owners seem happy enough not to be able to ride their horses, but for me, I like to ride.
'Traditional' or 'Natural' are nonsense labels. Look for someone who knows horses, understands them and works quietly and consistently and gets the job done without magic tricks.

 

[Booboos]

My god - There's alot of you who obviously feel really strongly against this.

I genuinely felt that I was doing the best for him- having someone understand him etc etc .

So please WITHOUT being rude- please can you tell be why?

Comments such as 'Wky? Hasn't he been through enough' without further explaination- imply i'm trying to harm him! In answer to the question- yes more than enough hence why i have vowed never to sell this gorgeous 4 year old so i can ensure he as the life he deserves- but just throwing a comment like that in without any explaination doesn't help me.

I would never knowingly put any of my animals 'through' anything. This guy was recommended to me and I was just trying to do right by my pony- please can someone explain why ?...

This is in NO way a *****ty reply, your posted have got me genuinely worried.

He looks like a gorgeous little boy!

There are many different training methods out there, many are lumped under the term 'Natural Horsemanship' and many people who supposedly follow one type of training get themselves into a total muddle over it. If this was my pony, I would ask for recommendations of really good professionals who start horses in my area, regardless of training technique. I would then call up and arrange to visit their yards and watch them work with youngsters (anyone who refuses to let you do this should be striken off your list immediately!). See what you think about their approach, if they seem to be too rough or confusing the animal then strike them off your list. If they do something you do not understand ask them to explain the thinking behind their approach. When you do chose someone visit very, very frequently and keep an eye on things. If you are not happy with progress reconsider your decision.

The reason I don't like Parelli is that they have all sorts of 'scientific' made-up mumbo-jumbo ('right brain extrovert') to supposedly back up their techniques, when in reality they are very confused over what they are doing. The reason they get into so much trouble is that they don't understand basic training techniques and they spend a lot of time disparaging other methods of training rather than getting on with it. More of a marketing, money making machine than a genuine attempt to train horses and educate riders. I don't have a problem with many other aspects of what is called NH, including some Monty Roberts stuff especially about the importance of body language and reactions, I am a big fan of operant conditioning techniques, especially postive reinforcement, and a big fan of many 'traditional' approaches like spending a long time long-reining and lunging before sitting on a horse.

Best of luck with your pony.