Parelli Lessons?

Ginger Bear

Ginger Bear

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A lady on my yard trains her grandaughter's pony using parelli. She has a friend who has just qualified as a parelli instructor & asked me if I'd like lessons as the instructor has to give her first 50 lessons free. I have done a little bit of research but I don't know a lot about it & I wonder if it's a good thing to do or not. (I have a 16'1 TB) I've been having dressage lessons with an excellent instructor since the summer & I don't really want to introduce him to something new if it may confuse him with what he's already learnt. What do you all think??
 
Whilst I a not a fan of Parelli, some of their methods are excellent, others, I don't like. However, as most of Parelli concentrates on handling the horse from theground then I see no reason why it should confuse him for dressage.
 
I'll give you an experienced reply before all the usual suspects come on saying "It's a cult, it's over-priced, it's just common sense..."
What do you want to learn? If you are happy with dressage with your current instructor then it doesn't sound as if you need Parelli for ridden work. Are you happy with your horse on the ground? I'm saying that if it's not broken don't fix it. I don't care what anyone says, I see a lot of nh-style trainers and students every year and Parelli to me is still at the harsher end of that style of training.
On the ridden side, I've seen too many horses getting spoilt and dumped on the forehand by over-use of some of the ridden work, in particular "Freestyle", so in your case I would avoid it for that reason alone.
In Parelli you would be encouraged to go back to the basics of riding in a rope halter, then a bridle before getting out and competing. It sounds to me as if that might not fit in with your current goals.
(You can pm me if you like, this thread is sure to go the usual way, people will get out the virtual popcorn any minute).
Edited to say that most of Parelli doesn't concentrate on groundwork if it is taught as it is supposed to be. It is all intended to build into ridden work. So there is huge potential to, shall I say "change", someone's dressage work.
 
Thanks for your reply tinypony..that was exactly what I was looking for someone to say. I have no issues with my horse on the ground at all. He really doesn't put a foot wrong, just a bit of a nerve bag at time. I've had the conversation with my instructor & she didn't think it was a problem to give it a go..but what puts me off is the lady at the yard who does parelli with the pony..the pony does lots of clever tricks but she gets away with murder!! I get the basic theory behind it but I'm very unsure about giving it a go. I think I'm going to give it a miss..I've done a bit more reading up on it this morning & I think as you say if it's not broken don't fix it.
 
If the pony gets away with murder I'd question how good the lady in question is with her "Parelli" anyway Gingerbear. A well trained Parelli horse won't barge, shove, or tit about. It will lead calmly on a long rope with plenty of space between itself and it's owner. It should have a few "tricks" that it can do, but not be drilled constantly in them, and should overall be a good riding horse.
There are much better nh trainers around and some will be in the UK this summer, give me a shout if you want to go look at any. I'd always say go and watch someone teach before you have a lesson with them anyway.
 
If your not sure about Parelli perhaps also look at other training styles and methods.
I've heard lots about clicker training and really think its brilliant for horses. I also have found Monty Roberts methods work very well especially for building a relationship and bond with your horse.
 
why give 50 lessons away for free? Shurley as a new instructor you would want some pay? What if work is slow? Or is it part of the initiation process? Sorry guys im baffled?! Any spelling mistakes, i do apologise im on my phone and cant check :-p
 
Don't do it... Parelli is trying to recruit more people into it's regime by offering free lessons. I wouldn't subject my horses to their barbaric methods if they paid me a million pounds.

Please don't subject your horse to the same treatment Barney, Catwalk and millions of others suffer at the hands of so called professionals. Metal clips to the jaw and carrot sticks to the face are routine and taught on the DVD's.

The method only appears to work as the animal are kept in a permanent state of flux, most creatures (humans included) when faced with inconsistency break down and behave in the way the "trainer" so desires. Although the end result may appear desirable a first glance, the victim is depressed, listless and emotionally little more than a beaten wife.

If you need more reasons not to do it check out... teambarney.wordpress.com/
 
if you are thinking about doing it but have reservations then why not sit and watch the other livery have lessons and see if there's anything you could improve on from watching them. if there is and you want a bit of help/guidance then ask for a couple of lessons, you can always stop the lesson if you aren't happy with it.

i take bits from each method of training to suit the individual horse and so far it has worked for me, i don't just stick to one type. as you say there are parts of parelli that COULD be useful if done correctly! ;)
 
team barney said:
Don't do it... Parelli is trying to recruit more people into it's regime by offering free lessons. I wouldn't subject my horses to their barbaric methods if they paid me a million pounds.

Please don't subject your horse to the same treatment Barney, Catwalk and millions of others suffer at the hands of so called professionals. Metal clips to the jaw and carrot sticks to the face are routine and taught on the DVD's.

The method only appears to work as the animal are kept in a permanent state of flux, most creatures (humans included) when faced with inconsistency break down and behave in the way the "trainer" so desires. Although the end result may appear desirable a first glance, the victim is depressed, listless and emotionally little more than a beaten wife.

If you need more reasons not to do it check out... teambarney.wordpress.com/
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I think that is a bit harsh really. Im not a fan of pat or linda parelli, and have seen a lot of videos of them training so have good reason not to like them as horsepeople. But i do think that the methods they teach can be very valuable for a lot of horses. But it does depend on how the trainer approaches the horse. Ive seen some very good parelli trainers, and some not so good so if you were to consider this trainer, i would recommend talking to her first about your horse, and what you wish to achieve through this training.
If your horse is fine and well behaved with no issues, then you might not even need this trainers help. But if i were you, i wouldnt go assuming that she is a bad trainer, or is anything like pat or linda, until you have seen her work. Its unfair to think of all parelli trainers like this when there are some very good trainers out there.
 
Ginger Bear said:
Thanks for your reply tinypony..that was exactly what I was looking for someone to say. I have no issues with my horse on the ground at all. He really doesn't put a foot wrong, just a bit of a nerve bag at time. I've had the conversation with my instructor & she didn't think it was a problem to give it a go..but what puts me off is the lady at the yard who does parelli with the pony..the pony does lots of clever tricks but she gets away with murder!! I get the basic theory behind it but I'm very unsure about giving it a go. I think I'm going to give it a miss..I've done a bit more reading up on it this morning & I think as you say if it's not broken don't fix it.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me as if Ginger Bear made her mind up back on page 1.

All new Parelli professionals have to give the free lessons as part of their accreditation. I don't know exactly why, but I do know that Parelli is very keen on people showng their "commitment".
 
There have been numerous threads regarding Parelli & their methods. many people on this forum are not great fans of the method.

I believe that much of what they preach is common sense horse handling however they have hung names on various procedures & kind of made it their own.

The couple however have an arrogance that is only over shadowed by the size of their own egos. When people had certain misgivings regarding some things that they saw the couple doing with horses on You Tube the Parelli response was extremely patronising & arrogant. Linda Parelli in particular showed extreme arrogance & posted a very short video reply which basically said that she knew what she was doing & everyone that had seen her beating up a half blind horse was wrong in complaining.

Someone mentioned earlier that Parelli is a cult, I think they are right!
 
The only thing I can say on the matter (seeing as I can't find my virtual popcorn) is this:

Each horse is different, some training methods work on some horses for certain situations better than other methods.

I do disagree with some of the parelli methods, but some work well for certain horses in certain situations.

There's bad press about Parelli, Monty Roberts and so on, people have bad experiences.

My preference is Richard Maxwell, which from what I can tell is a mixture of many training methods and some of his own. Working well for us so far.

p.s. found the virtual popcorn --- incoming!!!!!
 
Tinypony said:
If the pony gets away with murder I'd question how good the lady in question is with her "Parelli" anyway Gingerbear. A well trained Parelli horse won't barge, shove, or tit about. It will lead calmly on a long rope with plenty of space between itself and it's owner. It should have a few "tricks" that it can do, but not be drilled constantly in them, and should overall be a good riding horse.
There are much better nh trainers around and some will be in the UK this summer, give me a shout if you want to go look at any. I'd always say go and watch someone teach before you have a lesson with them anyway.
Click to expand...

Not a fan myself, I prefer some other approaches, each to their own I'm sure plenty of people find it a useful tool. But did have a little chuckle to myself when on Horse and Country the other day and Linda Parelli (is that her name?) horse kicked out and belted the groom who was working it on the long line - nice!
 
can.of.worms.


to me its common sense... dont need carrot sticks and headcollars etc. i personally believe in the "normal" way to do things....

however, i know it can work for some but every parelli person ive met wants to parelliefry everything :D every horse is different and it dosent suit everything.
 
It does make me angry that my sister for one has spent well in excess of £10 k on Parelli courses and goods and is still no further forward in riding her horse than when she started 3 years ago. But we don't discuss it as it only causes arguments! As I said before, I like some of Parelli's methods and hate others. I like to rely on my own personal horsemanship and instinct with horses and treat each one completely differently. I have used a bit of Parelli on my current gelding who was jumping out of his skin at everything that moved. I used the carrot stick with the cord attached to stroke all over his body and getting him to follow it to try to bring down his nervousness and it worked a treat. My mare on the other hand is not a horse I would use parelli on as I don't want to squash her cheeky and touchy feely character. Instead I used clicker training with her, both on the ground and when teaching new dressage moves (attached the clicker to the handle of the whip). I have trained other horses much more traditionally. You have to make a judgement based on the character of the horse.
 
At the risk of prolonging the agony of another Parelli thread, I am going to make a few observations based on the experiences I have had over the years.

Firstly, the Parelli training programe for new, or level 1 instructors, insists that following qualification as a level 1, which means a course in America, the newly qualified level 1 is severely restricted in how much they can teach, basically some groundwork, but very simple stuff. They have to complete 50 hours of giving lessons, for which they cannot charge, and once they have completed this, allows them to move on and train themselves for a level 2. whilst being able to charge for lessons after the 50 hours have been completed.

The cost of training as a Parelli instructor is prohibitive, in my opinion, and the chances of finding a truely tallented instructor who can afford the qualifications is difficult. Many people who have an excellent understanding of Natural Horsemanship and could take things forward at a pace are of course excluded by the financial demands of the Parelli organization.

We have been using Natural Horsemanship techniques since the early 90's, and I have to say that I have found that horses that are properly trained in these techniques are superb, compaired to horses that have been trained in a more traditional way. I am coming to this conclusion based on a lifetime of horse ownership both in a private and commercial way and have owned, bred and backed as many as 35 horses at one time. I only mention this, to establish the fact that I am not one of the folk who has had a good or bad experience of Natural Horsemanship through one or two horses.

I have been to more Monty Roberts demo's than I can count, and I have had Richard Maxwell train one of our stallions. I have seen countless Natural Horsemanship trainers, who all have different organizations, and I can say that when you boil it all down, the basic technique is very similar. With many trainers, when you trace their career back far enough, you find their roots in Parelli.

Now I know some people love Pat Parelli and there are just as many who loath him. I have to say that as a horse trainer, he is exceptional, and I say this after years of watching him and applying his methods. I have seen all the video clips, both edited and otherwise (I've seen some that are so obviously doctored, they bare no comparison with the original), which has lead to lots of criticism of the Parelli method. I have read hours of posts by people, some of whom have had some valid arguments, some of whom have an obvious axe to grind, and some of whom are lead by others and have no clue about anything, especially horses.

There is nothing wrong with being a traditional trainer of horses or of wanting to use traditional methods as a horse owner or keeper. The people who are advocates of Natural Horsemanship, and try to paint traditionalists as uneducated and cruel, are stupid, one of the worst for this I feel is Monty. Having read all his books, and his families, certainly puts a different perspective on the man and his language of equus. Having said that some of the stuff he does has been ok, but for me he has been left far behind, and though he has upped his game in recent years, he is not good enough.

What I am trying to say, is whatever method you choose, you must stick to it, and for the horses sake be as good as you can be. It's no good saying 'Natural Horsemanship is just common sense', because it's not, it needs commitment and study. We have had hundreds of people who see our horses and want us to train theirs, we don't, because most want the results without the work. If you train a horse in Natural methods then hand it back to a traditional owner, the result is disaster for both.

You should not be tempted to try a bit of Natural Horsemanship, it's just confusing for your horse. If you do decide to go down this route then it should be a carefully considered decision, you should choose a technique in which you can totally immerse yourself and your horse in. You should also consider that Natural Horsemanship is not a quick fix for anything, and if you do things properly, its a lot harder than traditional methods. It can be a lonely place as well, because untill people see a horse trained to a level where it looks as though the horse is responding happily to your thoughts alone, you will have many detractors, not afraid to give voice to their opinion, of you, your horse, Parelli, Natural Horsemanship or whatever.
 
Thanks for that long and considered post Andy.

I think that some of what you say applies for any style of working with horses. Don't dabble as it will confuse your horse, immerse yourself in the technique, don't expect a quick fix...
 
I'm gathering up some info, I'll pm you.
Honza Blaha is interesting, he's in Bromsgrove in March. Karen Rholf in August will be worth seeing. Personally I'm very keen on Steve Halfpenny from Silversand. There will be others though, so I'll send you a link. Oh, anything Tom and Sarah Widdecombe get up to is worth seeing or riding, I think they will only be teaching at their place in Devon though. They wouldn't class themselves nh trainers. (www.bewithyourhorse.com).
 
Don't touch with a bargepole. If one wishes to apply 'natural horsemanship' techniques (and how parelli counts as natural or more gentle I do not know.. It is just a twist on standard principles, with a bit of circus work thrown in and a rope used instead of a stick) I would suggest they simply learn the art of patience, consistancy and common sense, or get a good trainer.
I have no personal experience of richard Maxwell but he strikes me as a much more down to earth, normal handling methods person, but that's just from seeing/reading snippets so I'd do more research on that.
Parelli tends to confuse both owner and horse, or turn into abuse.
Get a good rope halter if your horse is bolshy, make sure your horse will respond to whatever commands you require of it and that's far cheaper than parelli'ing it! Be consistant. Ask fair questions of the horse. Reward good behaviour. Correct poor/unwanted behaviour. Simple.
 
Thanks tinypony ,oh my oh has met Tom Widdecombe several years ago playing a board game called go. I love the book The bhs book of the natural horse by Sarah Widdecombe.
 
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