[RC] Parelli and Natural Horsemanship - Smith, Dave
Coming late to horses when we adopted our mustangs two and a
half years ago, we were pretty much at sea. At the time, my wife and I were
taking riding lessons from a local cowboy who suggested we look into Parelli
and Natural Horsemanship. At his suggestion, we went to a Parelli demonstration
in Reno and
came away in awe of what the Parellis could do with a horse. So we
purchased the Level One program and began to learn how to relate and work with
our horses. The Level One program is all about safety and building a bond with
your horse. It is mainly ground work that takes anywhere from a few months to a
year to complete, depending on how much effort you’re willing to apply.
I can safely say that the lessons we learned that first half
year kept us from getting hurt by two formally wild animals and have helped us
gain some insight into how a horse thinks and relates to its world. For
us, the Parelli program has been a huge success. At my first endurance-related
ride, several of the vets volunteered that my horse was one of the best behaved
of all those they had checked that day. When I first brought him home, anything
would have set him off, and often did. Drop a brush while grooming him
and he was gone. Approach a car or other man-made object and he was a
basket case. I attribute his transformation to, in large part, the
lessons we learned from the Parellis.
As much as we’ve come to value the Parelli program, I
would never insist that it is the only way to work with a horse. There
are many ways to train a horse. Most are effective or they would have
been abandoned long ago. I routinely check into Anderson, Lyons, Cameron
and others and always come away with something worth while.
In my view, the Parellis have improved the lives of many
horses and their owners. They certainly improved ours. However, I would
never treat their program as if it was a religion. And while I am sure
there are probably some out there who do, I’ve never met one.
Therefore, I am continually surprised by the attacks on Parelli and what he and
his wife have offered the horse world. I almost never hear similar attacks on
the other clinicians, so I am always curious as to the basis of this criticism.
Usually when I probe this animosity, I find that the critic knows little about
the program and his/her criticism is based on some faulty assumptions.
Probe a bit deeper and I often find that the root of the criticism is really
about the financial success Parelli enjoys. So, in my view, much of the Parelli
criticism is simple old-fashioned envy.
Now I would be the last to say the Parellis are
perfect. They probably should wear helmets as an example to others.
But then, none of the other big-name clinicians wear them either. And jumping
over picnic tables riding bareback is inherently dangerous. But then just
getting on the back of a 1,000-pound animal is dangerous. There stuff does cost
a lot (although I’ve bought cheaper ropes, halters, etc. and usually come
to regret it.) And other than an occasional demonstration on trailering
and proper riding balance, there shows rarely provide “how tos”
like those of other clinicians. So when I boil down the Parelli program to its
most basic level, I come away with the idea that the Parelli program is about
the bond between rider and mount. How to respect and partner up with your
horse so that he/she will give you that extra bit.
And what’s wrong with that. To criticize this
program for its use of such tools as “carrot sticks” or 12-foot rope
is really petty. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
