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Parelli - The Truth

39K views 59 replies 40 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
I have read so many comments about Parelli, mostly about it being expensive, taking too long, dangerous, good for beginners etc etc. Well, the truth is far deeper than anything I have read. I have spent the past 8 years dedicated to this more than anything else in my life. I have spent way more than 20 hours a week, for over 8 years, studying, watching dvds, playing with my horses, taking numerous clinics, and even spending thousands more dollars to travel great distances to attend clinics in Pagosa, at the hub of Parelli. What a waste of 8 years and thousands of dollars. If I can keep at least one person from making the same mistake I made, the time and money I spent will have been worth it.

People claim that Pat and Linda have been caught up in the corporate end of things, as though they were victims, and had no say in the choices they made. WRONG! They knew who Mark Weiler was and they know who Sara Johnson is (the new Cheif Operating Officer) and they signed them up, with open eyes. Mark came to Pat and Linda with his plan, which was to go after the rich only! That was why their prices went so high. OOPS, the plan did not work and business began going badly. They had to make some drastic marketing changes, not for the good of the horse or their students, but only to convince you to buy more products and line their pockets. Mark Weiler has actually had the guts to apologize to the Parelli team and take responsibility for their initial downfall. Then, along came Sara. Sara was Clinton Anderson's marketing Guru, the one who managed all of his products. I wish I could tell you how they managed to get her, given that Pat and Clinton are enemies but I guess you should keep your enemies close, right.

Anyways, it has been said that Sara models her bad behavior after Pat. Pat treats people very badly and Sara does to. I have heard her called ***** more times than I can count. What amazes me is that people keep tolerating it. Oh yes, that is because people don't know about it. I wonder if Sara will also model having an affair like others at Parelli. Pat and Mark, I think you know who I mean.

Parelli rules with fear. Instructors especially, are not allowed to tell the truth. I encourage you to find some ex-instructors for more information and to validate what I am telling you. Oh, buy the way, I am an ex-instructor and that is why I am free to share. What I mean about them ruling by fear is that if an instructor speaks up, their membership is terminated. No questions asked, no money returned, no thank-you's for the blood sweat and tears. Fear is a powerful motivator and rather than putting the relationship first, Parelli puts the fear of "god" into its instructors to behave.

Speaking of God, all students (future instructors), when taking the Fast Track, are expected to follow the acronym: WWPD (what would Pat do?). Pat Parelli ithinks of himself on par with Jesus. The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (often abbreviated to WWJD) became popular in the United States in the 1990s and as a personal motto for adherents of Evangelical Christianity who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through the actions of the adherents. If that is not enough evidence of how egotistical this man is, I don't know what else to tell you.

Instructors are also trapped into spending more and more money, year after year. Licensing fees are now up to $1400 annually (last year it was $1100, the year before $900). When will it stop. All that gets you is the legal right to use their logo and to put your name on their website. Woo Hoo! After the licensing fees, then come the insurance fees, the continuing education fees....oh yes, instructors are obligated to put in time teaching at the campus, all at their cost, unless you are a higher level instructor, then you get some pay for it. Although you are not available for teaching your own students. Don't forget attending tour stops, Savvy Conferences, Instructor Conferences. They tell you it is voluntary, and then they have you submit all of your Parelli related activities in a monthly log....oh yes, big brother is watching. If you do not submit oodles and oodles of activities, they treat you lesser than. Good luck obtaining a scholarship, something they advertise continually. Or, unless you know someone at Corporate. I know an instructor who received a 100% scholarship because he knew Ann Kiser, not because of any qualifications. I guess the adage of "who you know" applies at Parelli as well. The unfortunate part of this is that this man could afford to pay the fees, while others, who were not given scholarships, could not.

And Ann Kiser was supposedly one of only 3 paid employees of the new Parelli Educational Institute, along with her husband, and Lori, who would run the show. How come Ann is no longer with Parelli? How come Parelli continually loses their best peolple and instructors? Did Ann too have a run in with Sara? I know of a higher level instructor who is considering leaving because of her run ins with Sara. Sara was the one who chopped me. Who else has been her victim.

Now lets talk about the Fast Track. It is 4 weeks of little instruction, that is supposed to accelerate your learning to Level 4. What a joke. The first day, is a 1/2 day, because of orientation, the next 3 days are testing, and the last day of the first week, you meet with mentors and put up a plan for the following week. The last week there are only 4 days, because one day is graduation and leaving the premises and within this four days are a couple more days of testing. The other two Fridays are also meet with mentor days and so, you get approximately 9 - 10 days of actual instruction. Hmmmm, how interesting. You should look up the cost of those 9 days.

Then there is the "Refining Level 3/4" course. That was the final straw for me as I could not take their deceptions any more. The course listed numerous tasks and concepts that we would be covering that really are a part of Level 3 and 4. I needed some official scoring to continue teaching as an instructor (more on that later) and with what they advertised, I was quite certain that the few things I needed to tweek and add would be covered. Let me see, I was after flying lead changes, positive expressions, light responses etc. What I got was, tying knots, tying the halter, throwing out the 45' line (on the ground) and winding it up again. All Level 1 and 2 tasks. We also go numerous video clips (mostly unrelated and comical), not to mention breaks that were 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. This course was run by Tina Giadano and it was run badly. There was no acceleration of Level 3 and 4. I asked for my money back, numerous times, and was flatly refused. And Parelli has a policy that all instructors are obligated to give a 100% refund if a student is dissatisfied. I was dissatisfied. Finally Sara (the COO) told me that her decision was final and that I would not get any money back and that my emails would no longer be responded to, by anybody. So I decided to post on Parelli Connect that I was dissatisfied by their decision and that Parelli did not follow their own policies. Sara cancelled my membership, right then and there. I think she was looking for an excuse to do so and she found one because the truth is not allowed to be posted.

I found out afterwards, from someone who used to work at Corporate, that it is common policy to falsely advertise so that more people would enroll. Usually the people who enroll are lower level students and so team leaders will then teach to the majority of who show up, regardless of what they are supposed to be teaching.

As I mentioned earlier, the Fast Track did little to prepare students for accelerated horsemanship or becoming an instructor, which is what you needed to pass in order to be accepted into the instructor program. And yet they eagerly took student's money, those that passed and were willing to pay the fees, allowed them into the instructor course and subsequently allowed them into the field. Well, guess what, for the first time in Parelli history, calls were coming in the the instructors were not very good. What a surprise. Parelli's plan to rectify the situation, take away the ability to teach until all 1 and 2 star instructors had achieved their Official Level 4s. There was no grand-fathering for people who had already paid and had already been teaching. And then they had the gall, to claim that WE had adopted a "Victim Mentality" because we complained about it. Parelli does not care about people, only money. I can cite so many examples of poor treatment that I would be here for days. Please believe me. There are others out there who can validate the things I say. Just ask around.

I read one post from someone who was surprised that Pat never mentioned Ray Hunt. Actually, he has, but not very often. The thing is, Ray Hunt hated Pat Parelli. There are many people who knew this and I am surprised the writer, who Ray visited, did not. I believe that Tom Dorrance also came to the end of his rope with Pat, but Tom was a gentle, quiet man, who would not publicly denounce Pat. Most respected clinicians out there today have no time for Pat Parelli and his rudeness, his constant need for attention and his greediness. These clinicians are about the horse and how you can get on the best with them. If you want some names, let me know and I can make some recommendations on where you can accelerate your horsemanship. (I will not use the term natural horsemanship anymore because it too has become overused. What is the most natural thing for a horse to do in the face of danger....to run! So what is natural about asking them to keep their feet still? What we are wanting to learn is safe and confident horsemanship, not natural horsemanship. And following the Parelli method will cost you greatly in blood, sweat and tear, and lots of money. Way too much money, for very little return.

These are comments from people that I personally know but I will not use their names for obvious reasons:

I learned more from Janiece in 3 days than in 10 years of Parelli.
I learned more from Jonathan in 5 hours than in the "4-week" Fast Track (in Pagosa)
I learned from Buck Brannaman that Parelli had taught my horse to be dull.
Me too!
And me!
I learned more at McGinnis Meadows, in 5 days, than I learned with Parelli in 5 years.

My own experience, I learned more in 8 months of studying under wonderful horsepeople than I learned in 8 years of Parelli, at only a fraction of the cost.

I have heard from other people that there is more back-stabbing and criticizing in the Parelli program than anywhere else. I have experienced this first hand. 5 Star Canadian instructor Don Halladay came up to a new instructor and warned her to stay away from "his" students. How is it that he can claim ownership over people. Oh wait, isn't that what Parelli stands for, ownership of people?

So, all of that aside, what about the methods. How come when the original program was out (in VHS format) very few people completed and many dropped out. Marketing had to make changes and much was eliminated and then Linda became the central focus, and Stephanie Burns and the program became all about fear. Then the complaints came in that the program was no longer Pat, but Linda. So, marketing had to make changes again and bring Pat back. This time, they took out almost everything and have given you a very bare bones product, with a cheaper price, so that you would be convinced to buy it, perhaps actually get through it, buy more, get through more, buy more.....and on it goes.

The changes were not about what was good for the horse. The basic principals of how to deal with horses has never changed so why has the program changed so much. Not because of what they want you to know, but because of what can be sold to you. Do you not see how you are only pawns and wallets. If you want to learn about your horse, develop a relationship with your horse, and accelerate your horsemanship, please study elsewhere. You will be grateful that you did. I regret that time and money I gave to these people for they did not care about my journey.

Please, copy this entry, send it to everyone you know. I want this to go worldwide. I want people to know the truth. And this is only a fraction of what has gone on. If you have more info, add it and pass it on. Lets stop this before other people get ripped off!

There are many who are in Parelli who speak positively about it and I used to be one of those. I wore blinders and used to judge others for not "getting it" like I did, and a few Parelli friends around me. Funny thing is, these same friends are also studying under the same people that I now study under and are also finding their horsemanship accelerating. Those of you who are for Parelli, you just don't know what you don't know....Yet!

I used to be Parelli, and then my brains came in!
 
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#38 ·
The one guy I know that stayed with them for several years kept thinking he would start 'cashing in' as a result of his being a 3 star instructor and he finally woke up to the fact that he would make more money and have more clients if was not spending half of his money with PP. He also got tired of trying to defend PP to the very big group of people that are completely turned off by him and Linda. I think he is doing more clinics and a lot more training now that he is not associated with them.
 
#39 ·
1. I find that the OP has done a service by sharing her experiences here: if just one person is saved from wasting money, time, & effort going in the wrong direction with horses, the thread has served its purpose.

Because some of you are so wise as to see through scams more easily than others, it doesn't mean that those less, um, savvy to scams are to be belittled. Life is for learning & each learns at his own pace.

2. The horsemanship: This is where PNH is not so cut & dried, imo. The book did have a lot of true horsemanship, true horse psychology, etc. The foundation of the 7 Games is just good groundwork. Hands that release quickly & close slowly, & so many other principles are good horsemanship. Yet, too many chiefs & not enough Indians has obfuscated the horsemanship directives, for one thing. For another thing, Pat himself seems to have changed his methods a bit: there was "monkey riding" before my time in the program - don't ask me what it was, not sure - & he said not to longe a horse round & round in mindless circles, but now sends his horses 40 laps one way. He used to call a medium-drape rein a "BS" rein, now it's used constantly in the program, and so on. One never knows when a practice in PNH will be replaced, & how long it'll take for a faulty practice to be replaced, while, in the meantime, one's horse may be suffering it!
 
#40 ·
Sharing your opinions is always welcome and its nice to here from other view points,however I feel like the statement about if people support them they are supporting dishonesty is not okay.if people want to support them and find that the program is working for them,why shouldnt they?all the trainers get money and probably loads of it.I wouldve worded that differently it came off as attacking people who choose to follow it.Your opinion is valued just choose your words different next time.
 
#41 ·
Thank you for sharing your experiences and for wanting to warn others so they are not taken advantage of. I feel your posting has a lot of value. Of course you are upset with them - I feel with good reason. Getting it out in the open will allow you to eventually be free from the bad taste in your mouth. Perhaps give yourself a time limit though. Establish a date after which you will no longer look back to the bad experiences you had and rather, look forward to where you can go from here to become a happy horsewoman who again looks forward to working with and being around her horses regardless of what others think or say. Pick a date and stick to it.

Like many, I could see right through PP way back in the early 80's when he was first making an appearance in the US. It didn't hurt that he was good "eye candy", but he spent more time hawking his wares than actually working with the horses during a clinic. It only got worse as time went on and I couldn't stomach the guy and his arrogant ego.

It is just the difference in human nature that some "see through" people much quicker than others. Everyone is different. I don't believe it is fair for others to judge you for not getting out sooner. There isn't one person who hasn't made mistakes themselves. The important thing is to learn from it and change our course as a result. It is good that at least you are done with PP now.

I find that it is also human nature to discount the validity of what someone in your position has to say. It is much like those who accuse the victim of abuse for being responsible for how they were treated. It is a very unfortunate reaction.

At the same time, I do believe that we are all responsible for our own actions and words. You are accepting responsibility for the fact that you stayed in longer than you ought to have. PP needs to accept responsibility for any misleading and/or unethical actions. Any of the current big-shot horse trainers need to do the same thing.

As in so many of the activities related to horses, from showing to training, to even boarding, it's all too often, All About the Money and rarely about the horses. It is up to us as horse owners to refocus the emphasis to being truly about what is best for the horse First.

Now go enjoy the search for methods that make more sense to you and utilize the valuable knowledge you gained from your experience. Use what you like and cast aside the rest. Listen to your little voice along the way. Best wishes to you as you move forward in a new direction.
 
#42 ·
Your thread was full of compassion and what is right for the horse and owner :) I have never had dealings with them , however a did go to a Mark rashid clinic once and had a giggle at probally some very silly behaviour :) I would not have bought the book , video or anything else . Horses are what they are - In the face , on the ground and in the saddle - x This will be learnt in time with people who truly have the compassion - I do get cross that this knowledge is abused for money and quick fixes . Thank you for sharing .
 
#44 ·
Northern, weren't you a big supporter of PP in the past? What happened?
I remember many arguments with you where you would argue to death for them.


To the OP, I can't even imagine why it took you 8 years to figure it out. But I fundamentally think you are right. Did you not hear of Linda and the lead rope clip in the blind horses face, or Catwalk during that time?
Did nothing happen, all the stories to wake you up?

Yes they are scammers, and people do choose to be scammed over educating themselves. However I do think that's blaming the victim a little. In an ideal world, there would not be scammers - I tend to stay awake late, and so get to hear infomericals, 99% of them are a scam.
 
#46 ·
I think people often do stick with these trainers for far too long because they get this notion in their heads that its not working because they are doing something wrong and failing in some way - not the program itself
Its not so easy to have self confidence when you're quite new to horses especially when you're faced with a force like the Parellis that are so overpowering and convincing
As for researching them - well you could do all of that and still come up with thousand of happy satisfied PP followers so what is the amateur supposed to believe
Its very difficult
I saw the fiasco with Catwalk - it did put a lot of people off them, many walked out of that building and demanded their money back yet the owner of that horse (one of the famed showjumping Whittaker family) continued his relationship with the Parelli's and sent horses to Parelli trainer and devotee James Roberts (now deceased) so what were people supposed to deduce from that. That it was all OK and just a glitch.
 
#47 · (Edited)
It's like a cult and no matter if a PP follower gets run over or injured by a horse undergoing that training, they still won't see the light.

I have watched this short vid of PP with Catwalk on day 2. I could pick it apart, but I don't have time. However, aside from what happened to Catwalk on day 1, there is one HUGE glaring fault here and it has to do with SAFETY. See PP standing over this horses head, see how fast that horse could throw its head up and send splinters of PPs nasal bones up into his brain? I've heard of a lady doing just what he is doing, horse threw its head up and sent the lady to heaven. Why he is standing there like that is beyond me, it's horsemanship 101 - SAFETY FIRST? If this is how he teaches newbies, then he has done them a great disservice indeed.

(And I bet the horse loved the sandwich....)

 
#48 ·
You know what struck me the most about that video, Muppet? PP looks more than mildly uncomfortable/anxious while working with the horse. Not at all as confident as you would expect from a "professional."
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#49 · (Edited)
Yes you're absolutely right. Even when he was feeding it the sandwhich he was leaning back away from it. I could tell he had fumbly hands the whole time - fumbly hands = anxiety.
 
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#50 ·
What I could never understand is why the Whittakers who have been around horses for generations and know their job as well as and better than most in the business needed someone like PP to sort out a problem - basically they don't
No horse coming off their yards would be unhandled, that horse had travelled to Stoneleigh in Warwickshire from Yorkshire where they're based, no way would they risk such a valuable horse if it was so difficult on a journey like that just to entertain PP fans
This is the same horse now
 
#51 · (Edited)
AlexS, I was & still am a supporter of PNH's principles of horsemanship (easily accessed in his book) & foundation Levels 1 & 2, after a few misdirectives given by Linda are corrected (sit heavy to back up, etc.)

I've found that the classical teachers teach differently than Linda is teaching the dressage, that there seems to be a communication breakdown between Walter Zettl & the Parellis, because he IS qualified, as well as the qualified teachers who worked with her at their dressage summit. She claims to have had the epiphany about what "contact" is, & they don't say boo (look at a video of Nuno Oliveira riding - he needed Linda to show him about contact?) & she's teaching explicit rider-position stuff, involving clenching major muscle groups, that differs with classical.

I see that classical is correct, it extends the lives of horses & makes them happy, & even the Mongols & American Indians didn't need Linda to show them anything.

Pat, to his credit, never claimed to be revolutionizing any part of true horsemanship: he always said his way is vaquero horsemanship & "natural hms is so old it's new again". I feel that Pat needed to have remained the chief of the outfit.

To add to the problems in PNH, I learned over the years that Pat has what I call "loose screw moments" coupled with cover-up stories: his trailer-load of the horse that escaped out of the trailer whilst Pat was schmoozing with his female owner, his being over-horsed with Catwalk, his holding the rein taut & causing Troubador to go into a spin then a buck at contest, throwing Pat (& Pat saying that it was a voluntary dismount). The loose screw moments happen rarely, thus it isn't fair to say that he's a lousy horseman; nevertheless, it's stressful when one's teacher has those moments.

Then, there's the intimidation & $ corruption described by OP, as well as the high-end merchandise & hugs sums required to try & carve out a career as an instructor. OP, after spending thousands, surely shouldn't've been treated as she was, for simply piping up that the course didn't deliver, e.g.

So, yes, the principals found in the book & most of L1-2 are great! :)


eta: I do see the anxious look in Pat's face there with Catwalk; that says that Pat was over-horsed with Catwalk; a picture's worth a thousand words.
 
#59 ·
I have read so many comments about Parelli, mostly about it being expensive, taking too long, dangerous, good for beginners etc etc. Well, the truth is far deeper than anything I have read. I have spent the past 8 years dedicated to this more than anything else in my life. I have spent way more than 20 hours a week, for over 8 years, studying, watching dvds, playing with my horses, taking numerous clinics, and even spending thousands more dollars to travel great distances to attend clinics in Pagosa, at the hub of Parelli. What a waste of 8 years and thousands of dollars. If I can keep at least one person from making the same mistake I made, the time and money I spent will have been worth it.

People claim that Pat and Linda have been caught up in the corporate end of things, as though they were victims, and had no say in the choices they made. WRONG! They knew who Mark Weiler was and they know who Sara Johnson is (the new Cheif Operating Officer) and they signed them up, with open eyes. Mark came to Pat and Linda with his plan, which was to go after the rich only! That was why their prices went so high. OOPS, the plan did not work and business began going badly. They had to make some drastic marketing changes, not for the good of the horse or their students, but only to convince you to buy more products and line their pockets. Mark Weiler has actually had the guts to apologize to the Parelli team and take responsibility for their initial downfall. Then, along came Sara. Sara was Clinton Anderson's marketing Guru, the one who managed all of his products. I wish I could tell you how they managed to get her, given that Pat and Clinton are enemies but I guess you should keep your enemies close, right.

Anyways, it has been said that Sara models her bad behavior after Pat. Pat treats people very badly and Sara does to. I have heard her called ***** more times than I can count. What amazes me is that people keep tolerating it. Oh yes, that is because people don't know about it. I wonder if Sara will also model having an affair like others at Parelli. Pat and Mark, I think you know who I mean.

Parelli rules with fear. Instructors especially, are not allowed to tell the truth. I encourage you to find some ex-instructors for more information and to validate what I am telling you. Oh, buy the way, I am an ex-instructor and that is why I am free to share. What I mean about them ruling by fear is that if an instructor speaks up, their membership is terminated. No questions asked, no money returned, no thank-you's for the blood sweat and tears. Fear is a powerful motivator and rather than putting the relationship first, Parelli puts the fear of "god" into its instructors to behave.

Speaking of God, all students (future instructors), when taking the Fast Track, are expected to follow the acronym: WWPD (what would Pat do?). Pat Parelli ithinks of himself on par with Jesus. The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (often abbreviated to WWJD) became popular in the United States in the 1990s and as a personal motto for adherents of Evangelical Christianity who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through the actions of the adherents. If that is not enough evidence of how egotistical this man is, I don't know what else to tell you.

Instructors are also trapped into spending more and more money, year after year. Licensing fees are now up to $1400 annually (last year it was $1100, the year before $900). When will it stop. All that gets you is the legal right to use their logo and to put your name on their website. Woo Hoo! After the licensing fees, then come the insurance fees, the continuing education fees....oh yes, instructors are obligated to put in time teaching at the campus, all at their cost, unless you are a higher level instructor, then you get some pay for it. Although you are not available for teaching your own students. Don't forget attending tour stops, Savvy Conferences, Instructor Conferences. They tell you it is voluntary, and then they have you submit all of your Parelli related activities in a monthly log....oh yes, big brother is watching. If you do not submit oodles and oodles of activities, they treat you lesser than. Good luck obtaining a scholarship, something they advertise continually. Or, unless you know someone at Corporate. I know an instructor who received a 100% scholarship because he knew Ann Kiser, not because of any qualifications. I guess the adage of "who you know" applies at Parelli as well. The unfortunate part of this is that this man could afford to pay the fees, while others, who were not given scholarships, could not.

And Ann Kiser was supposedly one of only 3 paid employees of the new Parelli Educational Institute, along with her husband, and Lori, who would run the show. How come Ann is no longer with Parelli? How come Parelli continually loses their best peolple and instructors? Did Ann too have a run in with Sara? I know of a higher level instructor who is considering leaving because of her run ins with Sara. Sara was the one who chopped me. Who else has been her victim.

Now lets talk about the Fast Track. It is 4 weeks of little instruction, that is supposed to accelerate your learning to Level 4. What a joke. The first day, is a 1/2 day, because of orientation, the next 3 days are testing, and the last day of the first week, you meet with mentors and put up a plan for the following week. The last week there are only 4 days, because one day is graduation and leaving the premises and within this four days are a couple more days of testing. The other two Fridays are also meet with mentor days and so, you get approximately 9 - 10 days of actual instruction. Hmmmm, how interesting. You should look up the cost of those 9 days.

Then there is the "Refining Level 3/4" course. That was the final straw for me as I could not take their deceptions any more. The course listed numerous tasks and concepts that we would be covering that really are a part of Level 3 and 4. I needed some official scoring to continue teaching as an instructor (more on that later) and with what they advertised, I was quite certain that the few things I needed to tweek and add would be covered. Let me see, I was after flying lead changes, positive expressions, light responses etc. What I got was, tying knots, tying the halter, throwing out the 45' line (on the ground) and winding it up again. All Level 1 and 2 tasks. We also go numerous video clips (mostly unrelated and comical), not to mention breaks that were 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. This course was run by Tina Giadano and it was run badly. There was no acceleration of Level 3 and 4. I asked for my money back, numerous times, and was flatly refused. And Parelli has a policy that all instructors are obligated to give a 100% refund if a student is dissatisfied. I was dissatisfied. Finally Sara (the COO) told me that her decision was final and that I would not get any money back and that my emails would no longer be responded to, by anybody. So I decided to post on Parelli Connect that I was dissatisfied by their decision and that Parelli did not follow their own policies. Sara cancelled my membership, right then and there. I think she was looking for an excuse to do so and she found one because the truth is not allowed to be posted.

I found out afterwards, from someone who used to work at Corporate, that it is common policy to falsely advertise so that more people would enroll. Usually the people who enroll are lower level students and so team leaders will then teach to the majority of who show up, regardless of what they are supposed to be teaching.

As I mentioned earlier, the Fast Track did little to prepare students for accelerated horsemanship or becoming an instructor, which is what you needed to pass in order to be accepted into the instructor program. And yet they eagerly took student's money, those that passed and were willing to pay the fees, allowed them into the instructor course and subsequently allowed them into the field. Well, guess what, for the first time in Parelli history, calls were coming in the the instructors were not very good. What a surprise. Parelli's plan to rectify the situation, take away the ability to teach until all 1 and 2 star instructors had achieved their Official Level 4s. There was no grand-fathering for people who had already paid and had already been teaching. And then they had the gall, to claim that WE had adopted a "Victim Mentality" because we complained about it. Parelli does not care about people, only money. I can cite so many examples of poor treatment that I would be here for days. Please believe me. There are others out there who can validate the things I say. Just ask around.

I read one post from someone who was surprised that Pat never mentioned Ray Hunt. Actually, he has, but not very often. The thing is, Ray Hunt hated Pat Parelli. There are many people who knew this and I am surprised the writer, who Ray visited, did not. I believe that Tom Dorrance also came to the end of his rope with Pat, but Tom was a gentle, quiet man, who would not publicly denounce Pat. Most respected clinicians out there today have no time for Pat Parelli and his rudeness, his constant need for attention and his greediness. These clinicians are about the horse and how you can get on the best with them. If you want some names, let me know and I can make some recommendations on where you can accelerate your horsemanship. (I will not use the term natural horsemanship anymore because it too has become overused. What is the most natural thing for a horse to do in the face of danger....to run! So what is natural about asking them to keep their feet still? What we are wanting to learn is safe and confident horsemanship, not natural horsemanship. And following the Parelli method will cost you greatly in blood, sweat and tear, and lots of money. Way too much money, for very little return.

These are comments from people that I personally know but I will not use their names for obvious reasons:

I learned more from Janiece in 3 days than in 10 years of Parelli.
I learned more from Jonathan in 5 hours than in the "4-week" Fast Track (in Pagosa)
I learned from Buck Brannaman that Parelli had taught my horse to be dull.
Me too!
And me!
I learned more at McGinnis Meadows, in 5 days, than I learned with Parelli in 5 years.

My own experience, I learned more in 8 months of studying under wonderful horsepeople than I learned in 8 years of Parelli, at only a fraction of the cost.

I have heard from other people that there is more back-stabbing and criticizing in the Parelli program than anywhere else. I have experienced this first hand. 5 Star Canadian instructor Don Halladay came up to a new instructor and warned her to stay away from "his" students. How is it that he can claim ownership over people. Oh wait, isn't that what Parelli stands for, ownership of people?

So, all of that aside, what about the methods. How come when the original program was out (in VHS format) very few people completed and many dropped out. Marketing had to make changes and much was eliminated and then Linda became the central focus, and Stephanie Burns and the program became all about fear. Then the complaints came in that the program was no longer Pat, but Linda. So, marketing had to make changes again and bring Pat back. This time, they took out almost everything and have given you a very bare bones product, with a cheaper price, so that you would be convinced to buy it, perhaps actually get through it, buy more, get through more, buy more.....and on it goes.

The changes were not about what was good for the horse. The basic principals of how to deal with horses has never changed so why has the program changed so much. Not because of what they want you to know, but because of what can be sold to you. Do you not see how you are only pawns and wallets. If you want to learn about your horse, develop a relationship with your horse, and accelerate your horsemanship, please study elsewhere. You will be grateful that you did. I regret that time and money I gave to these people for they did not care about my journey.

Please, copy this entry, send it to everyone you know. I want this to go worldwide. I want people to know the truth. And this is only a fraction of what has gone on. If you have more info, add it and pass it on. Lets stop this before other people get ripped off!

There are many who are in Parelli who speak positively about it and I used to be one of those. I wore blinders and used to judge others for not "getting it" like I did, and a few Parelli friends around me. Funny thing is, these same friends are also studying under the same people that I now study under and are also finding their horsemanship accelerating. Those of you who are for Parelli, you just don't know what you don't know....Yet!

I used to be Parelli, and then my brains came in!
Wow, very disappointing to read this about the Parelli's.!!
 
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