Pat Parelli

I have mixed feelings about Parelli. I admire the fact that their horses adore them, but I went to one of their seminars and they advertised it like, "Buy our merchandise and you'll be able to do this tomorrow." It's the impression I got. Linda is an incredible bareback rider, though. :)

I don't agree with a lot of their methods, though. I saw an article about using an electric massager to get your horse used to the clippers. I have an idea. Why don't you use the clippers to get your horse used to the clippers?

And their saddles. Conventional saddles cause swayback and downhill build? That's the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard. Naturally poor conformation causes those flaws. Tons of horses who have been ridden in conventional saddles for twenty years are still in great condition. And like everybody has $4,000 to spend on a Parelli saddle.

They also say that tight legs and having your weight in your heels makes the horse tense and somehow debilitates them. That's why Linda always has her stirrups so long she practically has to point her toes.
Have you ever seen any Olympic or Grand Prix riders who ride like that? And look at their horses. They're sooo messed up aren't they? Judgement is 17 years old and still in peak condition, and still jumping at Grand Prix level (in a normal saddle!). Beezie has her heels down and legs tight, and he can still jump and move normally. He doesn't look tense or restrained at all. But get those heels up 'cause Linda Parelli says so! Jeez.
So yeah, they have their good and bad points.

I've been doing Parelli for years and I LOVE it! I'm a Level 3 student. I recently lost my old Levels partner but I've had my current Levels horse for a year now and he's the most challenging horse I've ever worked with. I'm a total believer in the program and highly recommend it.

Linda doesn't ride with her stirrups that low for that reason. Come on. She's all about experimenting with different things so maybe she's doing that.

I don't see that leg position here in this video of LP....errr "doing dressage" but then again I haven't seen such a poor exhibition of dressage either.

Spyder, are you kidding? Did you not hear Walter saying "Nice, nice, very good!"? When you attain Walter's credibility in the dressage world maybe then your opinion will mean as much.

I have tried Parelli and wasn't really a fan.
I think Parelli is good for groundwork and puts things in perspective for people that may be new to horses but that is about it from my experience.
As far as his methods, that's about the only thing I have to say. As far as the cult following well that's a whole 'nother thread that would get locked anyway :P


As far as that video of Linda doing dressage, she seemed kind of floppy in the saddle but that is about all I noticed. What was so poor about it if you don't mind me asking?
(Not meaning to be snarky, I'm just far less experienced in Dressage than you lol)

The point is that you get your horse used to the sound and feel of the massager before you ever bring the clippers in. That way the horse gains confidence and will be calm so that you don't risk giving them an accidental bad hair-do, for one thing. It's not about the clippers. It's about building confidence. And what's so wrong with using the massager first, then clippers??

WAZ is a gentleman and he never shouts or rants like some clinicians. Just his way. If he sees even the tiniest bit of improvement even 1/000 he will say nice. As far as credibility...well WAZ is in his own class and the dressage world appauds him in making the effort to help many people including LP...sometimes you are successful and sometimes you are not.

As far as the video ... what was so poor? Well just about everything. No impulsion, no suspension, no activity.... the horse was not through in any way shape or form.

The "passge" in the beginning looked like the horse was just mincing steps. That is the flatest "passage" I have ever seen. The first transition from canter the horse lost its balance completely. The flying changes were swinging all over and not straight and if the last movement was a half pass it was extremely poor and unclear and nothing was finished....or maybe it was one of those "swinging" flying changes...hard to tell as it seemed to be a mish mash of a few things.

As far as LP herself she is stiff with arms out in fromt of her and the hands are the one thing that in spite of being with WAZ for as long as she has he has not been able to fix them....some bad habits just don't die.

If that were any sort of dressage test she would be lucky to get even 50%

Spirithorse, just because the clippers are in your hand doesnt mean ya have to use them ;)

Whenever I have a spooky horse to clip, I use the body of the clippers (not the blades) and run it down the horse's body to get them into the feeling of having that vibration on their body. Most of the time I keep the cover on the blades themselves. Not to mention, this also gets the horse used to dealing with the cord from the plug in clippers if you aren't using a battery powered set.

Buying an electronic massager just to desensitize my horse to clippers seems kinda frivilous. I already spent enough money on my clippers =) The Massager has a much more intense pulse to it than the clippers do anyhow... and I know some people think "well that's good, because it makes them even more desensitized than clippers do!" which can be true, yes, but I don't see why a horse would need to be desensitized a massager, lol.

Not to mention, a massager and clippers can look entirely different and -sound- entirely different. A Massager may not completely desensitize the horse to the clippers because of that. A massager has a deep buh-bump-buh-bump sound, whereas clippers tend to go WIRRRRRRRRRRR. And the Massager has a pulsing action, where as the clippers have a vibrating action. So it could end up being a waste of time to go from a massager to clippers depending on how untrusting or spooky the horse is.

So, if ya keep the cover on the blades and use the body/plastic casing of the clippers to desentitize the horse to the vibrations ya wont have to risk the bad 'do! =)

Sorry for the off topic post, I just wanted to mention that ^^

Thank you Spyder. I was so busy looking at her that I didn't even pay any real attention to the horse :roll: I see what you are talking about now.