Old Parelli vs. New Parelli

I like the NH concept and love building a bond with my horse BUT some people get weird with it. There is a girl out at my barn who has been doing Parelli with her horse for years....and she's still just on the ground with him. I don't even understand what she's doing with him because all she does is have him on a lead line and follows him around the arena with a brush. I have seen her ride once and he was great but she says that they still need to work on their "relationship" so she hasn't ridden in months.

^^That is one thing that bugs me cause I just don't understand it. I don't train a horse to be my friend, I train them to use and be ridden and if they decide they want to become my friend, then I welcome it and encourage it. However, I don't really have the desire to spend months working a horse on the ground before I ever get into the saddle, it's not practical. I have a job to do and I need a horse to do it, if there is something that he needs worked on other than tacking up or being caught, I am horseman enough that I can work it in the saddle rather than on the ground. I want them to be ready to work whenever I catch them up, not get them ready by playing with them in the pen for an hour before every ride. I am getting ready to make a transition to horse trainer and I can tell you that anybody that knows anything about horses is not going to accept any excuse for taking 6 months just to get a horse semi-saddle broke.

^Well said, smrobs!

My guys aren't "using horses," they're basically glorified pets compared to some of the horses out there, although I would like to get Scout very used to working around cattle soon. I let Dad watch half an hour of cutting and now we think about how handy it could be to use the horses to move the cows sometimes. Anyway, groundwork can only go so far, unless there is some reason to not ride. Yes, it can be a big part of "relationship building," but so can riding, to perhaps a greater extent.

Some NH schools of thought like laying a horse down as a way of really blowing the horse's mind. To me, strapping a saddle to his back and mounting can blow just as big. Psychologically and instinctually, for a prey animal, that has to be a pretty big thing, nicely carrying something on what thousands of years of instinct are screaming is a landing strip for predators. Properly preparing is necessary, but groundwork can only go so far. Sometime you've got to get on. I'm of the general opinion mini's were invented for people who want to do groundwork only.

I agree with smrobs that usability and respect come first. Every using horse I know is a gem to be around. I know several horses who are constantly being messed with (hey, there's a right way and a wrong way to do groundwork, too) on the ground, and are rarely ridden, whose owners want to be friends with their horse above all. Those are some of the least pleasant, least respectful horses I know. I find that when the horse begins to respect the rider (Respect of persistence, consistency, timing, and feel, not of domination or fear) he soon starts to do the "relationship" things; meeting me at the gate, nickering when I walk up to him, bobbing his head when he sees me coming out of the house with the saddle. I've seen people start training the relationship "tricks" that a well bonded horse exhibits, and the horses end up treat-grubbing half ton poodles.

Smords - Perfectly said. My horse doesn't have a job on a working ranch but I bought him for a reason and that reason was to ride and I expect him to do that for me. It really bugs me when I hear people say "My horse is having a bad day". Ok...so what? Maybe my expectations are to high. I have to bite my tongue all the time around allot of people where I ride.

Ground work is important to me but it's worthless if you cannot translate it to the horses back.

I honestly think this persons issues stem from fear and not from her horse having any kind of problem. She rode my horse on the trail and someone went trotting off from the group. My horse bobbed his head and did a little jig and she just jumped off. I have experience this with him and he has never once tried to take off he just gets nervous with someone else leaving. I will usually turn him around and walk away and then walk back toward the group till he relaxes and stops prancing like a fairy horse. But I just cannot understand letting a horse think he's getting any kind of reward for that behavior or that I'm not going to stick with him till he's listening to me again.

Unless the person has fear issues in the saddle, or the horse is very extreme in dangerous behavior or is very young, you shouldn't not ride in the Parelli program. I don't get it, why wait? Believe it or not, we DO ride in the Parelli program ;) I ride all the time! Lol. Do I work with my horse on the ground every time I plan to ride? Absolutely. I go through tests to see where he is at that day, plus the way I work with a horse on the ground is fun for both of us :)

I'm not a Parelli student but I audit their trainers whenever they come, and from what I can see, the changes in their program is entirely for the benefit of the HUMAN student. That's where the biggest problems in communications seem to be, and if the concept of "patterns" helps, or those whatever-brained locations, or even marching around to music --- this is all to help the people think and connect. As for the cost, I have to admit, that when you've spent a LOT for something, you often enough appreciate it more. (Though that's probably not why the cost is so high.) Still, I've seen where a person with the Real Orange Stick has more confidence than when she was using a copycat.

Well, that's the thing, when I need a horse for work and not for pleasure, I may not have the time to work him on the ground to see where he is that day. When my husband gets a call from someone saying they have cows out on the interstate, they might get a little annoyed if my answer was "my horse doesn't feel like it today".

I have no problem doing groundwork with a horse, I have no problem taking my responsibility to prepare the horse for what needs to be done, but I do think that Parelli overdoes it. I've stayed out of this, but couldn't resist any longer. The program has changed a lot since the beginning, and it kills me that the "natural" horse takes so much special equipment to get the job done. I know people who taught for the program, and left because of what it had become and what it had done to the horses.

Parelli has changed a lot since the begining. I watched a show on RFDTV the other night with "Pats first show rerun". The boy has put on some weight! I have to say that I liked what I saw then much more than the glitter and glam that I see now. In my life, the biggest lessons that I have learned are the ones that I have been able to figure out for myself. Its that "aha" moment that sticks in my head more than the countless lessons that I have taken. The "new and improved" Parelli program has taken all that out. They just come out with more gadgets, more dvds, and more flashy shows. People don't have to think anymore, they can just look it up.

I had some old vcr tapes that couldn't keep my interest. Snore
To slow paced but I just bought the new levels 1-4 DVDS and have enjoyed watching tham and much quicker paced. It's all about supply and demand. If no one was buying them they couldn't sell them for what they charge. But it's no different than a work out DVD or other types of products they too are expensive.

Lol Yea Pat did put on some weight but he's slimmed way down again, he and Linda both look great right now!