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Parelli, Your Thoughts?

16K views 158 replies 40 participants last post by  SportHorseHeaven 
#1 ·
I ride Parelli and my horse and I have an amazing bond, she does what I want her to do and wants to do it as well! I have benefitted so much from it but I know there are loads of people out there who don't like or agree with it and just wanted to know your thoughts of it :-o
 
#34 ·
ive spent £15 pounds on my horses equipment since i bought herN she was orginally rode tradtionally so she had a saddle and bridlde, but i sold the brile for £30 so i made £15! ive never bought a dvd. and whip: funny coloured carrot stick and really short carrot stick to me. theres many ways to skin a goose, but id rather teach my horse circus tricks (even though i dont) thaty scare them into doing it.
 
#36 ·
I don't want to scare my horse in to doing things either, that would be dangerous on my part. There are other ways to train the parelli way, and perhaps I train the more 'classical' way, but my horse has never been unhappy, or scared. I use a rope halter to do groundwork, because I'd rather not use a stallion chain- I have once, and only once, and she hopefully will never need it again.
 
#40 ·
A stallion chain works in the way a rope halter does.. but perhaps a bit more firmly.. to put it politely. Its in no way cruel if used correctly, as with a rope halter. Its a chain that attaches to a headcollar and goes across a nose, and attached to a leadrope- depending on the hands depends on the results. If you're nervous around your horse, and your horse takes advantage it may take more than one use, and sometimes continuous use. I don't agree with this. If you have more capable hands, you should only have to use it once. Maybe twice at a push, I did when I first bought my mare- 18.1hh is a lot to hang on to when it says NO. Once it was used, and when I do groundwork, a knotted halter. But then you get, with everything, the 'cowboys' and I don't actually mean cowboys, just a term, that see fit to yank and pull and put as much pressure as possible on a horse's nose.

By classically, I meant traditionally. You teach the horse, the horse understands its job. If the horse is always wanting top position, as you get with some, greenies, stallions, mares, some bloodlines, and the horse tries you, you ask nicely once, and then correct by any means necessary.
 
#38 ·
Savvy, it's not always either Parelli or alike, either scaring a horse into doing something. I'm pro natural horsemanship, but I know many good horsemen that do completely traditional training, yet their horses are active, happy and willing.
 
#41 ·
i didnt mean like that, i meant as in they wouldnt do it as willingly, its not that i dont believe you but what trainers?

I think maybe you should look at threads about other trainers.. you're talking as though you're reading a parelli handout book, no offence.

BUT.. and this is why I bolded it, the smallest pony, if not willing and wanting could throw you in the dirt. It doesn't take a genius to work it out, and people I know who DO scare their horses (thread in training regarding a three yo) don't have a mentally stable horse for very long.
 
#42 ·
i started parelli at a yard that told me that all other training methods were awful. of course i didnt believe them but i didnt realise that a horse would be as happy and willing as NH horses are, i have moved and they said that other methods can work very well, but NH is best for them
 
#44 ·
I would really suggest you visiting good "traditional" stables, riding schools, etc., if there are any in your area, to make your own opinion, not just assumptions from what somebody might have said to you. :) Don't get me wrong, though. Also, my boy, although trained 100% NH, sometimes acts as if I was torturing him with the worst exercises possible, although he is just trying to dominate me into not making him learn at all. :D
 
#45 ·
Personally, I adore Parelli! It's worked for me & my horse, he's gone from an agressive ex racer to a perfect partner :) I've trained quite a few horses through the Parelli method & I've had nothing but fabulous results!

I find that people can be very quick to blame the method when sometimes it's the human on the end of the line that can be at fault :lol: But my pet peeve is people who don't study the programme & label it as "circus tricks". That would be like me saying equitation is sitting there & looking pretty :lol:

And you don't have to spend $$$ to follow Parelli, you can if you want but it's not a necessity. Same as any other equestrian sport! You can use a normal rope halter & a cattle prod, as I did in the beginning. I use an excercise ball in replace of the big green ball as used in level 3 work. It does the same job but doesn't have the label. Same way as you don't need a $$$ jumping saddle to get around a course of fences :)

Parelli has changed my life & I've never been happier. I totally respect people's own opinions on the programme as long as they have all their facts straight xD
 
#46 ·
i thought you meant differently by classically, my friend says she rides 'classical' and beats the hell out of her horse! and i will look for different trainers as well, i dont follow parelli like its math, (like always one answer) i use it like english (and outline but more creativity) if you get what i mean? i use the basics and add in some tradtional and lots from other trainers, just to see what works for my horse
 
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#48 ·
Aha, but you get that in any discpline, any training method. I could tell some unsuspecting folk I train in parelli and beat my horse.. classically is not beating your horse, as far as I remember though ;)

Others will be able to help explain that better, but the Spanish riding school teaches 'classically'
 
#49 ·
i do understand and agree with everything you guys are saying, and i definately think that different things work for different people. i rode traditional for years at an awful place, but as i started young, i grew up thinking there was no other way! they would never tell you to use your legs, it was whip, whip, whip! they would say 'when you get him into a nice trot, keep slapping him on the bumto keep him going. if he gets to fast, yank on your reins and give him a huge slap!' i left i wondered if there was any other way and dint ride for years because i thought that was it. i know that not everywhere is like that, but it has put me off traditional riding for good! like some you you dont agree with parelli :)
 
#52 ·
Each to their own, but don't be put off because of one bad experience. If we did that all the time, no one would get back on a horse for falling off it!
Search the boards, some of the dressage threads are good as it'll teach you that 'traditional' is more than just snatch the reins and put your spurs in a horse's side till it bleeds.
 
#50 ·
Maybe you'd like to look at an excellent example of combining NH and something as classical as dressage - Karen Rohlf is a skilled horsewoman and her knowledge has taught me a lot! -







There are more in youtube, if you search.
 
#51 ·
honestly, its not just smacking with a whip, she put him back in his stall one day, and i started to cry at what she had dont to this poor horse! where she had hit him had gone red raw and was bleeding! she also left him with his tack on and no water! from that day on i hated her and 'classical' or whatever she called it! i didnt realise she meant tradtional! i thought that classical was a method of training when you beat your horse like that! but now i realise it was just her!
 
#55 ·
Karen is truly amazing, I agree. ;) It might be beneficial to read her book "Dressage: Naturally", if you can get one, or watch a DVD, or the videos on youtube. She changed my opinion on dressage, too, and now I do many of the exercises she advises, and see how they do good for my horse.

Mind me, I'm not trying to advertise anything here, just sharing my experience of how not everything is black or white. :)
 
#57 ·
i do understand what you are saying duffyduck but with that other girl making her horse bleed, i just couldnt face it even though i know its not cruel, i just break down and snivvles. she had her horse put down because she 'wouldnt listen to the whip and was too slow' its not that i hate tradtional, it brings back bad memories
 
#59 ·
Sorry if I'm wrong but this horror story is starting to look a little too far-stretched to me... If you faced such cruelty, why didn't you report it to the authorities? And putting down a horse that is just too slow instead of, for example, selling it to someone - do such things really happen?
 
#58 ·
natisha, I always ask my horse permission to mount - and, if he doesn't want me to mount, I know there's something wrong - either with our relationship, hierarchy, or the way he feels physically. Sometimes it means more groundwork, sometimes it means something's wrong with the saddle or something in the arena scares him and he'd like to get a better look at it with me leading him, not with me mounted, etc. It takes a lot of horse reading skills, but I think it's worth the effort. :) Because I put his well-being in the first place, the ride is secondary...
 
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#60 ·
mls, a horse that does parelli, can do everything that anyother horse can do. and natisha, yes, i would like her permission, i dont think id like someone to come up to me and sit on me without asking first ;) and if shed rather graze (which my horse does) i would change her mind, take her somewhere where she cannot eat, and make her do something (like figure 8 at trot or canter) then she will think, would i rather have her on my back or do cantering circles?
 
#74 ·
I am very confused. :?

So you go get your horse, play your games and upon asking permission to ride, she tells you to go pound sand. You then take her somewhere she does NOT WANT to be (IE "where she cannot eat") and FORCE her to work until she gives in and says you can ride her.

Why is her opinion asked, if all you are going to do is punish her if you don't like the response? It would be like me asking my kiddo if she wanted to wear her blue shirt or her red shirt and when she chose red, spanking her because I wanted her to wear the blue one.
 
#62 ·
If I'm riding a very green horse as in only a couple of rides I will do a fairly intensive groundwork session. However if working my own mare it's only a short session as a warm up. 10 mis or so. I could just lead her around but it's more FUN to play with some liberty!

My youngster who I'm working on starting and is a difficult mare and the parelli methods have worked wonders with her.

Riding wise I'm looking at going back to ARC so have been focusing on my jumping and dressage
 
#63 ·
i did, they said that the injuries could have been from the feild or anywhere, but his was the same person who taught me to ride with using only whips, so that might be the only person in the world but one is still to many
 
#64 ·
smrobs, i dont just mean temperament, my horse doesnt show signs of lameness well, so i have to play with her on the ground properly to see if she is in any pain.
 
#67 ·
Nope, I do not use Parelli's methods.

First of all, I don't think of training as "games" or "play time" and I don't want to spend over $200 for each DVD set. Sure I took lessons over the years from a wonderful local horse trainer ... he admired Ray Hunt and I agree fully with the logic behind the "method" - but anything I did on the ground? I learned from the horse, fallowed by common sense. There are a few DVD's available on his website but the cost is a fraction of what Parelli would charge. I have only seeked out one additional trainer for help with my horse and we participated in a 3 day clinic and it was the best money I had spent. I like trainers that don't try to sell me a bunch of useless murchandise. For example: There is nothing special about a Parelli halter, lead rope etc. when its something I can buy locally or even make myself for a fraction of the cost.

Parelli offers a simple laid out program of basic ground exercises. It's nothing new. It's nothing special. It's just in a very simply explained form with great marketing and high prices.

I own and ride a horse that only total 4 people can ride ... he is just mentally unique. I didn't use any fancy expensive training programs or fancy equipment. I learned how to read the horse and used my common sense. I can have my horse circle me at liberty if I'd like ... I didn't drill it in his brain... it's about the feel, I know when to ask him to move forward and when to back off, and how to guide him around iwth nothing but body language.

In simple terms I don't think a lot of Parelli
 
#68 ·
To each their own. Parelli must work for some people, I just can't see it being very practical.

The day I ask my horse for permission to mount is the day that someone needs to check me for dementia. I pay the bills, I decide when and where we ride. Buddy doesn't seem to mind.

Edit to add:

Besides, how does all this liberty/groundwork translate to under saddle work? I've free lunged many a horse in circles around me, never once have a needed to do it.
 
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