Does anyone have anything negative to say about Parelli natural horsemanship?…?
December 26th, 2009
I’ve heard lots of great things about this method of training, and I’m very interested to join the savvy club, but is it really as great as it appears to be? (I have trained in other ‘Natural’ horsemanship methods and found some of them to be dogmatic and downright abusive to the horse)…
The only draw back I’ve seen is people who only grasp half the concept and let their horses walk all over them, sometimes literally. As long as you realize it’s not about sweet talking them into every thing but communicating in a fashion they can understand it’s a great program. Good luck if you try it.
December 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Parelli is far fromabusive if thats what you are worried about. But I’ve found (and I’m not very skilled in parelli specificaly but in oher meathods) that it works well on submissive horses, but on aggressive ones they often end up with the upperhand. of coarse as I said I may be doing it wrong
But the woman who taught me seemed to have problems with the more agressive ones.
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December 26th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
There is some things I have found negative and don’t work with my horses or the ones I been training; however, each horse is their own.
It isn’t also the trainer, is the person who is watching the "advice" and then trying to do it themselves. You know how you can watch a cooking show and the dinner comes out wonderful on tv. But when trying to do it at home, it can turn out as a disaster? well, that type of comparison sometimes is true.
I don’t like how some of his lunging procedures are and how he is positive it works with every horse. He worked with a few horses at clinics I attended and my horse would of freaked if he tried that as each horse has their own personality and style of being worked with.
It doesn’t work with my Mare, but I do like his trailering methods. It seems to suppress with my youngest gelding alittle.
There is lots of people out there who call themselves "trainers" or "professionals". In reality, a good maybe 30-40% are true and good quality horseman.
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December 26th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I believe that all kinds of "Natural" horsemanship have their place, but that they don’t work for every single horse. Like people, horses are individuals and need to be treated as such. You can’t take 3 horses and train them all exactly the same way and expect exactly the same results, simply because that’s how the book says it must be done and that’s what the outcome will be. My best advice is – sure give it a try, say 3 months or so, but if you don’t feel comfortable with it, or it doesn’t seem to be having the desired results then move on.
Personally i feel that the Parelli method is for lazy people who don’t actually want to ride, but that’s just me. I’m old-school….i do things like I was taught by my instructers, and add in alot of empathy and rely more on my gut feel as to when things work or not.
"Natural" horsemanship is just a fancy way of saying "use your common sense…..eg: i knew…LONG before Monty Roberts did his thing(in my country)…that looking a horse in the eye is the same as issuing a challenge….and lets face it, working a horse on the lunge is applying the exact same prinicpal as joinup does…
anyways, as i said, give it a try, if it works it works, if it doesnt…well…move on…but most importantly of all…HAVE FUN!:)
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December 26th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Well first you need to clear your head with all this NATURAL HORSEMAN crap. Nothing, and I mean nothing is natural about riding or training a horse. This is because it’s just that- you have to train. If it was natural than the horses would do it without having to make it a taught act.
In my opinion try doing things that come natural to you an your horse. Most people have common sense with what is safe or not. Like other people said you may watch these other clinicians and try and do the same thing and it doesn’t work out.
That is because some people are naturally horse savvy and others may have to be trained to do the training.
You know your horses best- and hopefully you spend enough time with them that you know their body language. You’ll know when you’re doing something that works and when something isn’t. If you’re still stuck with training your own horse consult a trainer in your area that will be able to work with you one on one instead of spending lots of money on a clinicians DVDS or training tools that may or may not work.
References :
horse ranch owner, breeder, and trainer. APHA, AQHA, IBHA, NCHA, NRHA, NRCHA, and NARHA lifetime member
and retired equine and large animal veterinarian.
December 26th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
I love the Parelli program. The only negative thing that I would say about it is that it’s expensive…but the quality is great. Even if I did not do the program I would always use the lead and halter.
I am in the savvy club and it is GREAT! The website, the magazines, the dvds they are all worth it. Especially the forums.
My first horse, a young-ish Arab mare. When I first got her she was VERY aggressive about food and hard to catch. With just tthe first few lessons of Parelli she was respecting me a lot more and was more interested in being friends/partners with me.
Another bad thing about Parelli (or any NH) is how much "normal" horse people are disrepectful, rude, mean, etc to you about it. People have called me stupid, said the program is crap or said things bad about the program that just isn’t true. Espcecially when they see one video and claim they know all about the program and how it’s exactly the same as lunging or what-not.
References :
savvy club membership, parelli student, experience with people at my old barn
December 26th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
The only draw back I’ve seen is people who only grasp half the concept and let their horses walk all over them, sometimes literally. As long as you realize it’s not about sweet talking them into every thing but communicating in a fashion they can understand it’s a great program. Good luck if you try it.
References :
December 26th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
The one thing I will Parelli credit for is his total gentle technique.
However because his regimen is very specific, it doesn’t work for every horse as all horses are different. The way you approach the first 8 horses you train may not prepare you for the ninth that reacts totally differently.
The second thing I don’t like about Parelli is that he makes beginners think they can be trainers, which isn’t something people new to horses should be thinking.
Parelli is definitely a good way to go if you are wanting to start working with new horses, and are interested in a career in training because it really does cover the basics in a safe and simple way.
However don’t get into one way of thinking…..learn from Parelli, but figure out what works for you and the horse(s) you are working with.
References :
Horse owner and trainer