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Re: [RC] re: hobbling to saddle - Jim HollandI'm not a Pat Parelli fan....WAAAAY to many dumb "showmanship" stunts to sell his methods, but he is an excellent horseman. I even use some of his stuff. However, there are techniques that he uses I would NEVER use...like bumping the horse on the chin with the lead rope to back him out of your space. I want the horse to DROP his head and back away. IMHO, anything that causes the horse to RAISE his head reduces his "calmness" level. I teach my horses to drop their head and "seek" the bridle or halter with their nose, which is what Pat Parelli is teaching...just going about it in a different way. "Safe" is relative and you are never truly "safe" around horses. Too many unpredictable factors. You always take chances when you deal with horses...you can only reduce the risk to whatever level is acceptable for you and based on how much training you are willing to do. That said, I spend LOTS of time UNDER my horses, starting under controlled conditions. Clean all four feet from the same side. Sit with a foot in my lap, raise their back with my back by crouching under their belly, and many other "underneath" exercises. My farrier sits on the floor UNDER my horses to rasp their feet with them UNRESTRAINED. Could he or I get injured? You bet, but you could also get killed in a car accident, too. We are both "comfortable" with that...and so are the horses. To us it is an "acceptable" risk and the benefits are worth it. Magic dumped me off once and I rolled UNDER Sunny with Joan riding him alongside and both horses spooking. Split my nylon vest all the way down the back but he managed to avoid me...not a scratch! Why? Because he was USED to me being under him and his training and the "trust and respect" he had been taught overrode his fear. It has been my experience in working with horses that a respectful, well trained horse will not intentionally step on you and being unrestrained gives him more latitude to avoid you if he does spook. My goal is to do everything unrestrained, which is of course, desirable but not practical. However, if he is USED to being unrestrained during handling, he is less likely to take advantage of being "loose" and doesn't consider it unusual. "Desensitizing" him to everything you can find from upside down saddles to ATV's significantly improve his confidence when dealing with scary stuff and increase his trust and respect for you. The more stuff he can see and experience the better. However, it's important you present it small increments so he can deal with it in his own timeframe. Some horses "adapt" to strange stuff more quickly than others. No two horses are the same. Patience, Patience, Patience. Manners, Manners, Manners. There is no substitute for training. Magic has gone from a dumb 4 1/2 year old who couldn't stand still for 5 seconds and with no ground manners to the horse above. How long did it take? More than TWO YEARS! At his first Endurance Ride, he was almost perfect. His only problem was the one thing I couldn't teach....riding in a bunch of horses going fast and being passed. (One of the disadvantages of living in the boonies with no one to ride with) <sigh> What works for one person, may not work for another. Look at what EVERYBODY is doing, and as Pat says, "Take it all with a grain of salt". Use the parts that work for you. People, like horses, are all different. Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic superpat wrote: Karen, I agree with you that many of the Parelli stunts are just that, but I do disagree with you about the bridling issue. If you have worked with your horse so that it will lower it's head and keep it there, while you introduce and the horse accepts, the bridle, you have achieved a certain communication and respect with that horse. I think that this is a perfectly sane and safe exercise. I would not expect that one would ever be on two knees under a horse's legs. If you place one knee on the ground while the other leg is slightly in front of you, you can move as quickly as is necessary if the horse were to side step. I think it is good to try exercises that test the horse's trust of you and respect. Just as cleaning all four of the horse's hooves from one side of the horse. I certainly would not want to do this every time, but, again, it is a great exercise occasionally. Added benefit is that if you are on a narrow trail and need to work with a hoof on the off side from you and it would be impossible or dangerous to try to go to the other side, this exercise, having been performed at home, can become a practical way to deal with a potential problem. I think that you can take away much valuable information and training methods from Pat Parelli. I don't even think he expects you to try some of his stunts. what is that saying "take everything with a grain of salt"? Pat =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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