Parelli

Ouch sensitive topic on this forum
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Agreeing with the others here, if you are going to do it dont read books/watch DVDS get an instructor!
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I would definately try natural horsemanship over parelli, just be careful and it can be very benefitial! It can really improve you and your horses bond etc..
Good Luck!
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It's not sensitive really - like all things there are good and bad practitioners and some novicey folks pick it up and don't quite get it.

It's quite subtle really, and there is a lot to it, but in the end of the day, like classical dressage, there is little you can get out of books and DVD's and you need to use an instructor.

I get an instructor 3-4 times a year (all I can afford) and it makes a huge difference. That's the downfall of the program - it tries to be distance learning for a subject that is not really suited to totally distance learning approach.

And for the record - the tools are good quality - they are expensive, but no more so than the Australian stuff which I saw recently on a visit down under.

I had a positive experience wiht it, and am sure others can, but it does need an instructor led approach to get the best out of it.
 
I am going to stick my neck out here and play Devils Advocate... Surely Parelli is like any other method - if it is done well, I'm sure it works well however, if it is done badly it can be a disaster.

I think this applies to almost everything horse related: whips, spurs, parelli and dare I say it rollkur.

** runs away & hides **
 
SIMD - very sensible comments. I use Parelli when I need to with a horse and oh boy is it effective - without any aggression, violence, or 'bashing' whatsoever of course. Mostly though I don't seem to need to anything to get the horses to do what I want.

Like any knowledge 'system', Parelli needs to be learned and along the way people make mistakes unfortunately. This happens with any system. All this has been said before but my feeling is that what Parelli should emphasise is you are really being taught "how to read a horse". Many folk simply can't do this well, or at all. If you watch Pat Parelli in action you can see he can read every micro signal the horse gives off and will react appropriately.

What I'm trying to say is that Parelli is/should be about teaching people to read a horse in the same way as normal people can read another person's face. We can recognise micro human facial expressions and tones of voice that let us exactly know how to act in response because we are hard-wired to do this (well, women are!) - this isn't the case with many people with horses. It needs to be learnt. The problem with Parelli is that many learners think it is about the Parelli games, or the equipment. I think Parelli has twigged this and is addressing the fixation with the mechanics of it. The more recent Parelli material is quite different from the early stuff.
 
I don't do parelli but can't see any harm in it if you need some ideas on things to do on the ground.
The people that I know that do it don't really ride so to me it seems that if your not really into ridding then it gives you something else to do with your horses, which is fine each to thier own.
What I don't like about it, is that just becuase I don't do parelli doesn't mean I do not have a connection with my horses. They trust and respect me and just because is not done in the parelli way doesnt make it wrong!
 
I *think* the reason so many people can't stand Parelli is because is it very much a money making scheme. The price of the equipment is ridiculous and the DVDs can't teach you (of course you might like watching them anyway.) It is irresponsible to let people think that they can learn the technique in that way.

Saying that though, I have no problem with Parelli in regards to the way they actually handle the horses and they do very well with their own horses. If you do want to try it you really need to get a trainer to at least teach you the basics. As long as you do it properly it wont do any harm but you really need to know what you're doing.
 
Personally I hate Parelli with a vengence!

I have seen so many messed up horses because of it. Before people say I havent seen a real Parelli trainer, I have and her horses are so badly treated through ignorance it is unbelievable. Not only are they a bag of bones, they are headshy, hate her with a vengence and their feet are the worse I have ever seen due to untrained barefoot trimming that she offers to do to clients horses. What also worries me even more is that people still pay this woman to 'Fix' Their horse!

I have never seen a happy, healthy Parelli horse, when I do I might change my opinion, until then I hate it and have seen at best the headshy horses at worst the shaking nervous recks that are a result.
 
I have done 'parelli-esque' ground work with my last two horses. Really just a mixture of the 7 games and Richard Maxwell's de-spooking stuff and long reining. Its great fun! My last horse was very outgoing and really enjoyed the fun aspect of it, my current horse is (was
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) VERY shy and nervous and it has really really helped him to come out of his shell. I do ride, although I just ride 'normally'. For me it is an additional way of building a bond with my horse and if I'm honest I really enjoy it too!
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i think done wellas with everythings, it can be good

but i dont see why the equipment/dvds are so expensive and why they dont seem to sell the instructor side of things more?

ive not come accross a well trained horse by the parelli method- but i have seen about 4 very messed up ones, that dont seem to be able to preform the simplest of tasks- like leading or tying up?never mind actual ridden work...

a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing imho.
 
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I have never seen a happy, healthy Parelli horse, when I do I might change my opinion, until then I hate it and have seen at best the headshy horses at worst the shaking nervous recks that are a result.

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That's a shame
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I've had the opposite experience in that all the Parelli horses I've seen have been in super condition and really confident.

As for the money-making (as a general note) you see hideously expensive "normal" stuff in catalogues and saddleries so it's a weird logic to discount the possible advantages of a training method when you can find cheaper alternatives anyway.
 
I find H&H is very anti Parelli, most people haven't even tried it and so have no right to comment either way.

I know some have seen people playing in PNH doing it totally wrong and upsetting the horse so the person watching gets a bad idea about it. On that note I understand why they are anti. I have seen video clips on UTube and cringe and think "Oh my god what are they doing" but hten I have also seen a crazy horse that was dangerous to handle end up being one of the best horses to have.

If Natural Horsemanship is so bad then why is the BHS taking an interest?

As with ANY equine discipline there is good and bad. I've seen carriage horses flogged round a course barely able to walk never mind trot, eventers thrashing and kicking their horse for that ribbon, dressage horses reined in so hard I wonder how they are still breathing, Pony club mothers yelling, kick it, or smack it hard with the whip.. etc etc... and in the same disciplines I have seen happy and content horses. This goes for Natural horsemanship.

I enjoy NH but I don't just use PNH principles, I take what I need from various people.

Why people have to run down a discipline that in reality they know nothing or very little about is beyond me.

Understoond and used correctly NH is brilliant for any horse and owner.

If you are serious about going down the Parelli route PM me and I will help you all I can

Cheers

KS1
 
I have a friend who is a parelli intructor and he comes and helps me from time to time with my youngster, I tell him what I would like to do with my horse and thats all we do.
He always laughs at me when I tell him not to certain things as I think some of the games are silly and I just cannot see the point in them.
I do not own a "carrot stick" as to me they are just a lunge whip being waved around, and there is no suprise to me that they move away from it when waved around.
I just use some of the ideas and leave what i don't like, and lets face it most of the ideas were being used all over the world years ago, the parelli's just gave it a name and marketed it and have made millions.
But if it helps people find a way of enjoying their horse without hurting it and have proper instruction can never be a bad thing.
 
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I have never seen a happy, healthy Parelli horse, when I do I might change my opinion, until then I hate it and have seen at best the headshy horses at worst the shaking nervous recks that are a result.

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Please come and see mine - I have 3 happy and healthy horses who love doing this this stuff!
 
After my experience I would say no to Parelli, however, I am interested to an extent in Natural Horsemanship.

I found Parelli expensive and not really suited to me.

I do think though that people have to try these things themselves.
 
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There is a Parelli trainer who comes to our yard, which is why I know so many people who do it. I don't do it myself, but those who do have a great time, and they do spend a lot of time with their horses, which has to be a good thing. Some of the people who do it, have horses that are not sound enough to be ridden, or the owners are not very confident around their horses, and for these people in particular it seems to give them a lot of pleasure.

I sometimes wonder, when I read these posts from people who seem to dismiss it completely without explaining why, if there isn't a bit of 'snobbishness' for want of a better word. You don't have to be a talented rider, or have the perfect horse, or have high aims of 'conventional' success, to be able to take part.

I don't do the Parelli myself because I event and my time is taken up with training and keeping my horse fit, and if i didn't know all about Parelli from the sessions that happen regularly at our yard, I am sure that I too would probably ridicule it, because of what it looks like at face value.

I'm just saying that I think some people who have posted on here don't understand it, and shouldn't take the mickey or cast judgement if they don't know what it is all about.

It's probably true about all the merchandise being a rip off. However the only things that people on our yard have bought are the Parelli Halters and the long ropes. All the other props they use are improvised things found around the yard.

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How refreshing. Someone who makes up their own mind about Parelli.
Very well said.
 
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A lady on my yard swears by parelli....she bashes him on the head with a stick...

x

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Yep and I have people on my yard that beat their horses for the slightest thing and then reach for draw reins and stronger bits!!!!!!!!!!!

1 person doing something wrong does not mean everyone does it.
 
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A lady on my yard swears by parelli....she bashes him on the head with a stick...

x

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Yep and I have people on my yard that beat their horses for the slightest thing and then reach for draw reins and stronger bits!!!!!!!!!!!

1 person doing something wrong does not mean everyone does it.

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I never said everyone did it wrong, i merely implied that the lady on my yard was a prime example of how these things can be practiced badly if people do not understand it properly
 
There are so many 'natural horsemanship' trainers out there, Parelli and Intelligent Horsemanship are probably the better known names but there are plenty more. In my personal opinion, the benefit of Intelligent Horsemanship is that Recommended Associates (RAs) are available throughout the UK, so it's easy (and relatively affordable) to get hands on help with your learning. All the RAs have their own learning path (for example I'm a veterinary physio as well as an RA, Carrie Adams is a listed Dressage judge as well as riding at a high level in competition, John Jones rides Western, Sarah Weston concentrates on working with semi-feral ponies, and much more), so you can find the person who is right for you and your horse. Parelli has much more marketing and a stronger 'program' to follow (and is therefore more regimented, which some people find easier to follow), but there are not so many instructors available so it may be harder to get hands on support (although many of the RAs are able to help with Parelli issues as well, and personally I have my Parelli level 1).

So in answer to the original question, my advice would be to look around, read books, watch DVDs, and whatever route you choose, make sure you get someone on the ground to help you every so often.

Sue
 
Some interesting ideas! I think it's great that Parelli, although it seems to be controversial on here, is causing people to question what they ask of their horse on a daily basis.

So long as we can understand that a lot of people that start down the Parelli route are trying to do what's best for their horses or have a better understanding of horses in general, then it's great news for horses! When we start out learning something new, trying to get an understanding of the principles, things can look a bit awkward at times, and yes, we don't always get it right.

If you want to get a better understanding of Parelli why not take a look at the founder himself, Pat Parelli. If we take the students as examples you will often see them making mistakes as they're trying to learn, but that's just life in general right?

When you listen to Pat Parelli talk, he is all for helping the horse, and his passion for helping people understand horses better really shines through. Can that really be a bad thing? When you look at the horsemen Pat has trained with (Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance, Troy Henry to name just a few), these are some of the worlds greatest horsemen. Someone mentioned the BHS taking interest...also Clive Hetherington (Marketing Director of British Equestrian Federation) has arranged for Pat to work with four top British riders (one showjumper, one dressage rider and 2 eventers) to work towards the Olympics. Also one of Britains top showjumpers works regularly with a Parelli accredited instructor. Walter Zettle, dressage master, has nothing but praise for Parelli. If so many top riders are adopting Parelli principles it makes me question why they would want to jeopordise their careers by using what is thought to be 'fear based' techniques?

It's a great debate folks, and the more it can be discussed, the better it will be for our horses in the long run. x
 
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