Opinions on Parelli

Charlie Bucket

Charlie Bucket

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Using this forum I have come to notice that not many of you are a fan of Parelli.
Neither am I, but your reasons and opinions would be interesting! :)
 
firstly
i have HUGE admiration for Linda Parelli
WHAT a business woman
spotted a ripe niche and exploited it to the hilt

secondly
with regard to parelli as a methodology for horse training
absolutely great if you've got bags of money and want a circus horse

personally i have no need for an equine that can stand on a plant pot
as i'd rather actually RIDE my horses
 
I sometimes wonder if the hate towards parelli is just a copying trend.
I personally don't use it as it has no appeal personally, with any of my horses and I very much agree with what labruyere has said...

But I have seen some very problematic horses in the past and seen people do parelli with them and achieve great things. I can think of worse horsemanship out there.
 
Its like any method - you can do as much or as little with it as you want.

I have played the games with my ponies in the past and they've responded well. I lost the bond with one through traditional methods, and parelli helped me get a sparkle back in her, although it has been a while since I've used it, its another tool for me. :)
 
Search on youtube for "Pat Parelli Catwalk". It will turn your stomach. A revolting display of their so-called "horsemanship"
 
I used to be fairly ambivelent towards Parelli, until I had to work on a pony who had been broken in using the method, by one of the people on their website. said pony bolted through a fence with the man, and although I managed to get the pony to be quiet enough to ride, I never managed to get the child happy to ride him. She could never forget watching hi run through a fence. So now I am anti it. As an aside, I think Natural horsemanship is a very good idea, I like to have horses look to me and trust me, I simply don't like the way some people go about it.
 
I think some aspects of it are fine, if taken to extreme it becomes an end in itself and a distraction from focusing on riding horses as opposed to playing with horses.

What I strongly dislike is the fleecing of their disciples with massively overpriced equipment and merchandise.

Im also uncomfortable with some of the methods used - the Catwalk example being one of them. The statement released by Pat afterwards on youtube offers no sense of understanding why people were unhappy with the treatment, just apologised if they were 'confused' by it.

To me, this reflects the extreme arrogance of PP, and when someone becomes that concrete and blinkered in their beliefs, I find it very hard to completely trust their judgement going forward as they have lost the abililty to reflect and learn.

Give me an IH associate anyday....
 
I personally prefer other more traditional methods of training.

Quite funny as I know someone who swears by it religiously(lol) and she's always telling me how she can do things such as, when she moves her hands the horse moves backwards? I just think , yeah good for you, doesn't help me though, the fact if im carrying say a rug and something else , on entering my horse's stable I just say 'back' and he goes back!! Lol
 
Parelli works really well!!!! You only have to see how much profit is being made to see how successful it is.

Rebranding horsemanship has obviously been what the world needed and you can't deny NH as a whole has been good for horses on the whole....

I used to hate parelli, still do to some extent, more-so now I just think it's bloody clever.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
What I strongly dislike is the fleecing of their disciples with massively overpriced equipment and merchandise.
Click to expand...

This ^^^

Many people have different ways of training their horses, some horses and riders suit different techniques and I believe that there isn't a right or wrong way of doing things, it's whatever works for you.

But it gets on my t1ts when PP and his followers believe that their way is the only way and everyone else is doing it wrong. I'm not saying that Parelli doesn't work for some people but it's almost like a cult. They market their techniques, equipment, DVDs, books and talks as if they are the only correct way of training and bonding with your horse. People seemed to get blinkered in to believing that getting your horse to stand on a barrel is bonding and getting the best out of your horse :rolleyes:
 
I'm all for learning about new methods but there have just been too much bad video/media etc... evidence, highly expensive marketing and circus pony tricks (this is why I love Monty and Kelly and Richard Maxwell methods because they not only do the initial (sp?) communication and groundwork but they are the only people that I have found work with problems such as loading, clipping etc... - even then I don't always agree with their methods). BTW I have nothing against trick training horses but surely it isn't needed for pure horsemanship???
 
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Too many people are too quick to post their opinions, especially when they have no knowledge of the programme. Most people seem to equate the programme with the promotion.....the original programme with its keys, principles, responsibilities and qualities of a horseman is excellent, and I think all of you would agree with them if you knew what they are. But the aggressive promotion of products and the few mistakes made by both Pat and Linda have made many people criticize without knowing the whole story. I started the Parelli system back in 1998 and it was excellent. But over the years it has been "dumbed down" and some major mistakes have been made.....but there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater!!! Personally I have moved on as I find the system excellent for beginners but as you need more information the information and support is just not there. If you are most of the way through the original level 2 you need to move on.....in todays terms that is probably level 3 or 4, I HATE the way they split up the 4 savvys!!! But again there is so much unknowledgeable criticism that I have to ignor - prejudice by people who don 't know anything about the actual product.... By the way Pat himself said, learn the basics then learn from the specialists....!!!
 
I've just been doing a search of Youtube for some of the clips of Linda P whacking horses round the head etc but, interestingly, but they have been removed with this message :
"Natural Horsemanship the..."
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship, Inc..

. . . . I wonder why?????????
 
I don't think you can argue that it works just because a lot if profit has been made. This proves that the marketing works - nothing more.

IMHO most people who do Parelli are usually too scared to ride their horses. Controversial perhaps, but this is honestly what I have found.

I think that Parelli plays on this and creates more problem horses than it solves.

The 'backing up' example is classic.
The horse tries to barge etc because it's bargy and needs to learn to just go back when you tell it - easily done with an elbow and your voice, both free.
It doesn't barge because it has psychological issues and needs to have 'games' played with it.

I don't write NH off as a whole, but I do thunk that Parelli is a right load of rubbish.
Also, the type of people who tend to latch on to it and swear by it usually don't have much of a clue.

I'm not saying that's true of everyone who does it - but after years of working in the equine industry I can safely say it's definitely the majority!
 
I think the comments about Parelli obviously working because they are making lots of money is said rather tongue in check.
On a personal note, I have no time for it not because I have no knowledge of the programme, but because I have seen the damage it can do to horses, even in the hands of so called professionals.
 
One thing about Parelli I find alternately infuriating and dismaying is the often enormous gap between words and actions. I'm not saying he/they are the sole culprits - for the truest impression one should probably watch all demos and clinic displays with the sound turned off!
 
Laura-C said:
Search on youtube for "Pat Parelli Catwalk". It will turn your stomach. A revolting display of their so-called "horsemanship"
Click to expand...

Yowsers, just watched it! Surely these sort of techniques are exactly what parelli and monty roberts have been preeching are wrong......?????

Personally I'm not going to say yey or neigh to it! If you use it and it suits what you do with your horse then good for you. I don't use it, never have as not needed to. My horses 'lurve' me!! lol!!! (well one of them won't stop nuzzling me!!!) and I feel I have good relationships with them.

As a side note, those horses I have seen produced using parelli have actually been bolshy and not worked correctly which may also sway me away from the technique. Now whether it's just that the owners failed in their attempts at parelli with these horses I can't say.
 
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I have nothing against parelli, as have seen it first hand work for a couple of horses, I just dont see the need for it with my horse at all plus I dont totally understand what it aims to do.
 
From the little parelli that I have experienced, it is for people who do not ride their horses. The poor little horse seems to have spent most of his life going sideways, but now they want to ride him he can't go in a straight line!
 
Its the 'carrot stick' that gets me. When I go down to the field and bring in 3 horses I want to just hold on to the lead ropes and have them manoevre through the gate ways and turning for me to shut the gates after me with me just holding the ropes and guiding them. If they were so badly trained that I needed a parelli carrot stick in one hand to get them to do what I wanted then I'd be stuck.
 
I have mixed opinions on Parelli. I think its great when you want to solve a problem, or you just want to try something different with your horse. My friend introduced me to parelli when I was having dominant issues with my previous mare. I couldnt ever mount without her trying to wonder of, she was bargy in the stable etc etc. My friend helped me overcome these issues with my mare by using simple techniques (come to think of it, it was more common sense techniques rather than "parelli") I hated the fact how it just seemed like a "cult" and you were cruel to your horses if you didnt practise Parelli. It seemed more of an obsession. I hated some of the techniques and I loved some of the others, once I solved the problems with my mare, I never really used it again, sometimes If I didnt fancy schooling, I'd take her out in the school and practise some of the "lighter" techniques to brush up on our manors. On the whole, I understand why people dont like it, for some of the reasons I mentioned above. Some of their Moto's are good, like the "love, language and leadership" one, but id say every single horse owner knows that, whether they practise parelli or not.

I dislike pat and lynda. Their just a pair of money grabbers, its not economic and not all of their techniques are very nice either. Look at the whole controversy surrounding pat + robert whittakers horse catwalk. I saw the video and I'd say that was cruelty, not good horsemanship!
 
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Eh, I don't care for them either way.
If some of my methods are the same, then so be it. I've figured out what works with Ned, so I'm going to carry on doing that.
 
The debates over Parelli are slightly unfair. Linda justified the 'catwalk' video, stating it was taken out of context... This is believable, considering the video was labelled 'abuse', when it does not quite fall under the true contexts of being abuse.

I don't agree with the video, but there's times when I look back on things I do and think 'oh I could of done that different, or oh I should have done this instead'... No one is perfect when it comes to methods.

I've never tried Parelli, so do not have a strong for or against opinion... I watched their shows / dvd out of interest though and as much as I laughed now and then at the commercial factor behind it all... There's some amazing horse and riders. YES riders!!! They do seem to ride much to popular belief :S

It clearly has good and bad like any method... But the slating is not coming across very open minded.

It does not appear to be a very adjustable method, but if it works for some, it works for some!
 
I know two things about parelli,
A friend went to watch a course and described as great if you wanted to spend your time tormenting your horse with a carrot on a stick.
And after reading a thread on here I watched the Catwalk clip and I was horrified if they would do that in public I shudder to think what goes on in private I will never have anything to do with it after that and will be carefull never to buy or go to anything that contrbutes one penny to their coffers.
 
Imogen_ said:
The debates over Parelli are slightly unfair. Linda justified the 'catwalk' video, stating it was taken out of context... This is believable, considering the video was labelled 'abuse', when it does not quite fall under the true contexts of being abuse.

I don't agree with the video, but there's times when I look back on things I do and think 'oh I could of done that different, or oh I should have done this instead'... No one is perfect when it comes to methods.
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I'm sorry but there is no way anyone can justify that video as a "mistake" it was utter carnage. That horse was terrified! Fair enough there are times we look back and wish we had done things different, but, its never to justify why I bullied, petrified and abused my horse :eek::eek:
 
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