education - Parelli Savvy Club

Transcription

ISSUE 47, MAY 2015
Improve Your
Rising Trot
The Power of the Emotional
Fitness Super Clinics
Climbing Mount Everest
A Journey with Parelli
The Difference Between
Taming and Desensitization,
and the Art of Droving
The Ultimate Horsemanship
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ISSUE 47, MAY 2015
The Power of the Emotional
Fitness Super Clinics
18 A Young Parelli Student Doing Her
Dr. Jenny Susser shares the story of
how a chance meeting with Linda
Parelli led them to develop a series
of truly life-changing clinics together.
20 The Road to the Summit
28
Climbing Mount Everest: A
Journey with Parelli
40
Parelli Professional Louise Atkinson
details her thrilling trek to the
base camp of Mount Everest, and
how her Parelli foundation helped her along
the way.
28
Improve Your Rising Trot
108
In this educational article,
Linda Parelli offers effective
strategies for overcoming a
number of common problems when it comes
to the trot.
Part for Rescue Horses in Georgia
24 Stories of Emotional Fitness
28 The Power of the Emotional Fitness
Super Clinics
34 A Beautiful Reunion: Parelli
Returns to Europe
COMMUNITY
40 Climbing Mount Everest: A
Journey with Parelli
44 Ebony’s Story
48 Natural Horsemanship and Martial
Arts: Kassai Horseback Archery
52 Hollywood, or How to Teach a Mini
to Fall in Love with a Little Boy
Taming and Desensitization, 56 Parelli Saved My Horse’s Life
PROFESSIONAL PROFILES
136
62 Cezanne DeCristoforo, 4-Star
NEWS
68 Kathy Baar, 4-Star Senior Instructor
This multifaceted article from
Pat Parelli features a lesson in
horse psychology, along with
the crucial differences between taming and
desensitization.
108
On the cover:
“My first bridleless
ride on Hot Jazz!”
–Linda Parelli
4
Dear Friends
8
Letter from the Editor
Senior Instructor
66 John Baar, 5-Star Master Instructor
72 Kat Green, 2-Star Junior Instructor
EDUCATION & EQUIPMENT
10 Parelli Education Institute Update
80 The Path to Mastery: Silke Vallentin
14 A Sanctuary for Horses and
86 From Mental Connection to
Humans in Québec
Collection: The Four Qualities of an
Exercise
90 The Parelli Levels: A Step-By-Step
Path to Excellence
96 Leads & Lead Changes
98 The Finesse Training Sequence
102 Problem-Solving Liberty
EDUCATION
108 Improve Your Rising Trot
112 Build a Stronger Relationship in
Just 15 Minutes a Day, Part 2
114 The Unconfident Left-Brain
Extrovert
120 Inadvertently Rewarding Bad
Behavior
124 The Journey to Mastery
128 Prepping a Horse for Humansville
132 Saddling with Savvy
136 The Difference Between Taming
and Desensitization, and the Art of
Droving
MISC
78 Recognizing Our Parelli
Professionals
142 Official Levels Graduates
136
THE PARELLI MEMBER MAGAZINE
ISSUE 47, MAY 2015
www.parelli.com • www.parelliconnect.com • savvytimes@parelli.com
USA: 1-855-PARELLI • UK: 0800 0234 813 • AUS: 1 800 460 988 • EU: 41 81 834 49 39
Founders: Linda & Pat Parelli • Official Parelli Photographer: Coco
Editor: Scott Teigen • Art Director: T Jay Carter
All photos are courtesy photos unless noted ©2015 Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
Huge thanks to all the members of our worldwide team, who do their best
to be “the best me that they can be” every day. We value their commitment
to supporting horse lovers worldwide in whatever way they can.
PARELLI
USA OFFICE
Coco Baptist
Elizabeth Brewer
Mark Brown
Aaron Burns
Natalie Carpenter
Sharon Carr
T Jay Carter
Betsy Chavez
Elaine Chick
Daron Clay
Joseph Colafrancesco
Mattie Cowherd
Veronica DeAnda Perez
Tom DeAngelo
Lizzie Dickerson
Susie Drake
Russ Elliott
Jacques Favre
Christine Fleming
Linda Franco
Michael Fuchs
Tina Giordano
Kat Green
Whitney Hicks
Rachel Hester
Josh Hughes
Mimi Lor
Jerome Love
John Musulin
Carlos Oropeza
Omar Oropeza
Hans Oss
Pat Parelli
Linda Parelli
Ryan Pfouts
LaVerna Phillips
Elli Pospischil
Joe Poye
Neil Pye
Tammy Reid
Connie Schanzenbaker
Susan Shoemark
Shane Smith
Maddy Stewart
Philip Swearngin
Polly Stoeber-Sweitzer
Scott Teigen
Samantha Thorning
Ashley Tippetts
Jeri Touchstone
Miguel Vera
Gale Weber
Mark Weiler
Yvonne Wilcox
Sue Wilhoit
Candace Wolf
Emilie Wood
Jose Zamudio
Omar Zamudio
Genevieve Zuchero
PARELLI
UK OFFICE
Emma Darwood
Rachael Eden
Margot Nillesen
Graham Pickup
PARELLI
AUS OFFICE
Allyssa Carlton
Sam Cunningham
Maria Tomlins
Welcome to the Parelli
Family:
• Allyssa Carlton has joined
the Parelli team at our
Wilton, NSW office.
• Rachel Hester and Joseph
Colafrancesco have joined
Pat Parelli’s barn team at
the Ocala, FL and Pagosa
Springs, CO campuses.
news I
BY L I N D A PA R E L L I
Dear
Friends,
I
f the first few months of 2015 are any indication, we are in for a BIG year! Here are a few
stories from my neck of the woods…
4 | Savvy Times May 2015
A NEW HORSE
If you follow me on Parelli Connect, you’ll
know that I have been given a new horse! His name
is Dylano (pronounced dee-laa-no) and he came to
me via my protégé, Marion Oesch. A magnificent
Oldenburg warmblood gelding, Dylano was challenging from the start; soon after finishing his 70-day
approved stallion test in Germany, he became unrideable. To be specific, he violently bucked everyone
off. Marion, the head trainer at the Swiss branch,
was asked to help because she’d already shown her
talent for helping difficult horses learn to trust again.
Over the next 18 months, Marion did an amazing
job in winning Dylano’s trust, to the point that she
could ride him bareback with a halter. Saddling was
another issue. I was able to spend a few days with
Marion on one of my trips a year ago, and since then,
she has continued to make fantastic progress with
him, to the point of being able to walk, trot, canter,
and ride out in the forest. She also has him close to
Level 4 in both On Line and Liberty.
But the time came to make a difficult decision. They
knew it would take a lot of time and effort to get him
to the competition ring, and that he was always going
to need special attention. They wanted Marion to
have him, but it broke her heart to decline. She barely
had enough time for her own horse, Whisper, as it
was. So they talked about gelding Dylano and turning
him out for the rest of his life. Marion asked me
what I thought, and I agreed it was probably best…
or they could give him to me! Not for one moment
did I think they would do that, but a week later I got
an email saying that the owner would love for me to
have Dylano. How could I say no?! So Dylano had
just been gelded, and when he was ready, we brought
him over.
We timed Dylano’s arrival with a visit from Marion
so she could help him make a smooth transition. At
the time of writing, I’ve had him for several weeks,
and I’ve been slowly developing a nice relationship
with him. He is certainly a different horse – “a horse
of a different color,” as Pat would say, and not referring to the color of his coat. He’s very left-brained and
somewhere on the cusp of extrovert and introvert.
Even though Marion could ride him, this was not
an assumption I could make, so I’ve begun with him
on the ground, getting him to trust me and moving
forward in his development to get him more responsive and supple. Stay tuned as the story of another
Parelli Super Horse begins to unfold! By the way, on
Facebook, you can see a couple of videos I posted of
him as an approved stallion, and also when he first
arrived in Florida.
Stay tuned as the story of
“another
Parelli Super Horse
begins to unfold!”
MY MASTER CLASS
What a treat to spend two weeks with 25 enthusiastic students from all over the world, all of them
passionate about learning about Finesse and more
advanced riding! Together with our nonprofit foundation partner, The Parelli Education Institute, we
staged this intensive course at our lovely campus in
Ocala, Florida.
The focuses of the course were my specialties:
Finesse, fluidity, and Horsenality, with the curriculum based on my new Finesse Training Sequence
DVD. We sure had a lot of fun, plenty of challenges,
and some creative ways to learn about improving
posture, position, feel, impulsion, Finesse… and even
www.parelli.com | 5
news
a few tweaks on getting horses more responsive and
connected on the ground.
Everyone made AMAZING progress, and they’re
already bugging me for another course, so stay tuned
for that too!
EMOTIONAL FITNESS SUPER CLINICS
This is one of my absolute favorite subjects, and
I feel very fortunate to be working with Dr. Jenny
Susser on the subject. Her ability to get straight to
what’s holding us back is amazing. As one of the
faculty members in Jim Loehr’s Human Performance
Institute Thought Leaders Council, Dr. Jenny travels
all over the USA coaching the “corporate athlete” for
Fortune 500 companies. But what I love the most
is that she’s a Parelli student of some 12 years, and
she can read horses almost as well as people! To read
more about what we’re up to, head to page 28 for a
feature on the Emotional Fitness Super Clinics!
EUROPEAN EVENTS
Two days after getting home from the Emotional
Fitness Super Clinic in California, I joined Pat on a
flight to the UK for our “tour” encompassing England,
Ireland, and Equitana Germany.
Our “One Day with Pat and Linda” was a sold-out
event at Addington Manor in England. What a
GREAT welcome we experienced, and we’ve had
fantastic “thank you”s and reviews for the education
throughout the day. The show was jam-packed with
information! First, Pat helped a student with a horse
who could not focus and who kept taking over. Then
I rode Grey, Instructor David Zuend’s fabulous Andalusian/Hanoverian, to demonstrate the concept
of my new DVD on the Finesse Training Sequence.
After lunch, it was Silke Vallentin’s turn to captivate
everyone with her On Line mastery, and we finished
with Pat on leads and lead changes. How fun to
see all the preparatory steps, and then in the last
five minutes, there it all was – simple and flying
lead changes!
Over the next few days, we immersed ourselves
with Parelli Professionals – two days with Pat and
then two days with me. Pat focused on the keys to
great performance, while my sessions were on, you
guessed it… the Finesse Training Sequence! Seriously, this is THE KEY to taking your riding and feel to
the next level! It’s always so great to work together
with our Professionals. They are passionate and
committed to helping us raise the level of horsemanship all over the world, and we feel lucky to have such
a great team.
Then it was off to Ireland – our first time ever,
actually – and what a great reception! Over 1,200
excited horse lovers turned up on a rather chilly afternoon in a beautiful facility to watch Pat work his
magic, helping an event rider with her horse that had
no brakes and rushed over jumps. Best of all, the
event was sponsored by Horseware. They produce
the fantastic Rambo, Rhino, and Amigo horse
blankets and rugs that we love and have used for over
20 years. What great people they are – as passionate
as we are about making life better for horses.
And now, as I write, we are in Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s Pat’s birthday, and for the first time,
we are in Ireland for the big event. How cool is that?
After that, we’re off to Germany for Equitana, one
of the world’s largest horse expos, at which we’ve presented often since 1995. I have a session on Thursday
(I’ll let you guess the subject!) and Pat is on Friday.
Then we’re home and back to horses and doggies.
Hope you’re hugging yours today! ST
Keeping it natural,
Linda
DOES THIS BRIDLE MAKE ME LOOK HOT?
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Three sizes and five
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www.parelli.com!
Highland is wearing a Regular-size “Comfi” English Sport with rope Finesse reins. Photo by Coco.
www.parelli.com | 7
from the editor I
BY SCOT T TEIGEN
A Very Brief Letter
from the Editor.
T
his will probably be the shortest letter
from the editor you’ll ever read, and
that has almost nothing to do with
the fact that I’ve seemingly developed
an immunity to the caffeine content
in green tea, leaving me somewhere
between “a little tired” and “unfit to operate heavy
machinery.” No, it’s a short letter because A) you’ll
be reading plenty more from me throughout the
magazine, and B) you’ve got 144 pages of wonderful
content to read through, and I’d rather not take up
more of your time.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy your magazine. I’m
pretty proud of this one, and if I were to list the names
of everyone I wanted to thank for their invaluable
contributions – many on impossibly short notice –
we would have needed to add about six more pages,
and I think Parelli’s very patient graphic designer, T
Jay, would have thrown me and my stupid hat out of
the window.
Also, I know a few of you will wonder, so yes
– it turns out “unconfident” is now a word. How
about that?
- Scott
T
he Savvy Times magazine is always evolving
(what’s that Parelli phrase about never-ending
self-improvement?), but one thing remains
constant: the stories you and your fellow Parelli
students share with us. If you’re interested in sending
in an article to be considered for inclusion in the
magazine, just follow the guidelines below:
CONTENT
As you know, we feature three types of articles in
this magazine: News, Community, and Education.
Here’s a little rundown of what these articles typically
cover:
NEWS: You can focus on an event led by a Parelli
Professional, a group of students doing something
great, or any other newsworthy topics. Have a look at
some recent News articles for ideas!
COMMUNITY: These articles differ from News
in that they lean more towards editorial and often
personal writing, as opposed to the more structured
“reporting” of News. In writing a Community article,
keep a few things in mind:
◦◦ Is this story unique and interesting?
◦◦ Is my voice truly shining through?
◦◦ Is this story relatable?
EDUCATION: To submit an Education article, you
must be a licensed Parelli Professional with a star
rating of 3-Star or above. These can cover any topic
you like, but choose something you’re familiar with
and passionate about, and please avoid repeating
topics from recent magazines.
ARTICLE REQUIREMENTS
SUBMIT ARTICLE TO: savvytimes@parelli.com
WORD COUNT: We don’t have any set-in-stone
word count limits, but a minimum of 600 words and
a maximum of 2,000 is best. Exceptions will be made
on a case-by-case basis.
GRAMMAR & SPELLING: I proofread and edit every
article that comes in, but it’s certainly helpful if your
writing shows a solid grasp on basic grammar and
spelling. Before you send your article in, run a quick
spell-check or have a friend look it over. It just makes
the whole process so much smoother!
PHOTOS: Every article must be accompanied by
photos. Please send 3-6 photos to the stated email
when you submit your article. Please send them as
email attachments (rather than embedded in a Word
or Pages document). Photo quality is essential. Please
use a digital camera set at the highest quality setting.
Cell phone photos are rarely large or hi-resolution
enough for use in print. Please include a caption for
each photo. Finally, if you’d like your photos credited,
please include the photographer’s name in your
email.
Special Note from the Editor
Submitting Your Own Savvy Times Article
DEADLINES
SUBMIT YOUR
ARTICLE BY…
… TO BE
INCLUDED IN THIS
ISSUE
November 15th
February
February 15
May
May 15th
August
th
August 15
th
November
FINAL THOUGHTS
Not every article submitted will be included in the
magazine. We may save your article for a later issue,
we may post it on the Parelli Blog, or we may not
use it anywhere. Following the above guidelines will
improve your article’s chances of appearing in the
magazine.
Every article is edited before publication, both for
grammar and for content.
If you would like a confirmation email sent to you
after you submit your article, please request one in
your initial email.
Finally, please refrain from using negative language
regarding other clinicians, disciplines, or methods.
That’s it! If you have any questions or comments,
please send them to savvytimes@parelli.com and I
will get back to you as quickly as I can!
Scott Teigen, Lead Editor
www.parelli.com | 9
news I
BY LORI NORTHRUP
Parelli Education
Institute Update
G
reetings from the Parelli Education Institute! As we head into
the summer months, we’re very
excited about the path ahead for
us. In particular, we’ve got the conclusion of the Road to the Summit
rapidly approaching, just a few months from now at
the 2015 Parelli Savvy Summit in Pagosa Springs,
CO! You can read more about that on page 20, but
in the meantime, let’s have a look at all the other
great things going on in our world, starting with a
fun series of local student-driven get-togethers
around the USA!
2015 RALLY ROUNDUPS:
MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW!
Look for some outstanding Rally Roundups in
2015! At these fun events, participants learn how to
bring out the “WOW” in themselves and their horses.
Each Rally Roundup features workshops covering all
the Levels and Savvys, as well as competitive events,
auctions, an evening BBQ, and lots of networking
opportunities. Here’s a brief look at what’s on tap:
• There will be a Rally Roundup in Florida, May
2-3. As we go to press, the location is being finalized, so visit the Institute website for the details!
• The Upper Midwest Rally Roundup will take
place August 1-2 at the Oasis Equestrian Center
in Lindstrom, Minnesota.
• The Texas Rally Roundup will be held October
31 through November 1, with the location to be
announced soon.
• The Pacific Northwest Rally will also be held
October 31 through November 1, and will take
place at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield, Washington.
• The California Rally Roundup takes place
November 7-8 at Rancho Ruiz in Gilroy,
California.
Be sure to check our website on a regular basis for
additional details.
BOARD MEMBERS WANTED!
Do you love natural horsemanship as much as we
do? Are you interested in providing executive leadership as we educate others about the value of Parelli
Natural Horsemanship? If so, we might have a
spot for you on the Parelli Education Institute’s
Board of Directors.
We are looking for a few people to join the board.
In particular, we need individuals with financial
management skills. Current board members include
Lori Northrup, Kris Fulwiler, Edwin Alderson, Carlos
Osorio, and Art Glenn. If you have the time and skills
to join us, experience with other successful nonprofits, and the ability to travel to board meetings four
times a year (at your own expense) and be available for email and conference calls between board
meetings, please contact Parelli Education Institute
Executive Director Lori Northrup at Lori@Northrup.
net or 716-474-7580. OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERS
Serving on our board isn’t the only volunteer opportunity available; there are so many ways you can
get involved. We have some of the most outstanding
volunteers in the horse world!
An example of this was our December board
meeting in Tampa, Florida, which was followed by
our first-ever strategic marketing and development
meeting. Linda and Pat Parelli, along with Team
Development Coordinator Seth Burgess, provided
great insights and leadership during the two days
of meetings.
At the team development meeting, we had representation from every one of our areas of focus, plus
marketing, philanthropy, and finance. The effort
produced great results, including the development of
an action plan for the future.
If you’re interested in volunteering, contact Seth
Burgess at seth@parelliinstitute.org or fill out an
application at:
www.parelliinstitute.org/volunteer.
www.parelli.com | 11
news
GETTING ALL HORSES TO “BEHAVE LIKE JAKE”
The Special K Ranch is a residential ranch in
Montana for adults with disabilities, and among
its many activities is an equine program. Special K
was fortunate to have a PNH-developed horse, Jake,
donated to the program. The staff was so impressed
with Jake that the finance manager of the ranch,
Sharon Flemetis, contacted the Parelli Education
Institute to find out how they could get all of their
horses to “behave like Jake.”
The Institute agreed to provide scholarships for
six Special K Ranch staff/volunteers to complete a
clinic with Jenny Trainor, a licensed Parelli Professional and 3-Star Instructor, who lives an hour from
the ranch. Those participating in the clinic ranged
from a 15-year-old volunteer who loves horses but
hasn’t handled them much, to a 79-year-old who has
been around horses his whole life. The results were
amazing and inspiring!
Sharon Flemetis wrote: “By far, this is the best
experience I’ve ever had. Everyone learned so much
and we all realize it’s not about disciplining; it’s
about becoming a partner with the horse and communicating with him instead of forcing him to do
something that we want. Problems that we had with
our horses have been fixed. The connection between
staff and horses is probably the biggest change. I look
forward to continuing the journey with the Special
K Ranch program and continuing my education with
the Parelli method.”
Thanks to volunteers Marilee Donovan (Institute
Programs Director) and Shannon Knapp (Therapeutic Horsemanship Coordinator), along with Jenny
Trainor, for helping to make this happen. If you’d
like to learn more about the Special K Ranch, go to
www.specialkranch.org or visit their Facebook page:
Facebook/Special-K-Ranch-Inc
JOIN DONNA: BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR
PEGASUS CIRCLE
We’d like to say welcome and thank you to our
most recent legacy donor, Donna DiGiuseppe. She
joins our Pegasus Circle, which recognizes the very
special people who have made a legacy gift to the
Parelli Education Institute. 12 | Savvy Times May 2015
Donna is a holistic counselor/educator and owner
of Access Awareness, LLC. When she moved to
Texas, one of the first things she did was buy a horse.
Shortly after that, she got involved with Parelli
Natural Horsemanship as a Level 1 student, and is
now practicing in Level 2. Why did she decide to
become a legacy donor? “Funding today keeps the
organization intact for tomorrow,” she said. “The
Parelli Program provides a healthy, effective, interactive way to enjoy learning, playing, and being
with your horse no matter what discipline or capacity
you choose.”
If you’ve been thinking about making a legacy gift,
join Donna in becoming a member of our Pegasus
Circle by designating some planned giving through
your will or trust to benefit the Institute.
The generosity of these contributors helps
ensure the long-term future of the Institute. Plus,
members of the Pegasus Circle are invited yearly to
a private gathering with Linda and Pat Parelli to recognize the importance of their gifts for the legacy of
natural horsemanship. You’ll note that our Pegasus
Circle logo encompasses the flying horse constellation and the continuous circle of giving. If you’d
like to become a Pegasus Circle legacy giver, please
contact Theresa Fincher, our Director of Philanthropy & Operations at Theresa@ParelliInstitute.org, or
call Lori Northrup at 716-474-7580
THANK YOU
It is amazing how much the Institute has accomplished in just a few short years, and we have you to
thank for our success. Whether you are giving your
time, your talent, or your treasure, the Parelli Education Institute appreciates your contribution. On
behalf of all of us, thank you. ST
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I had a non-chemical way of being
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had great success with them keeping
my property fly free, at three different
facilities and in three very different
climates.” —Pat Parelli, with wife, Linda
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news I
B Y K AT I E T R O Y E R
A Sanctuary for
Horses and Humans
in Québec
A
s May rolls around, so does the beginning of peak riding season in
Québec. Once the snow melts, local
riders look forward to a spring and
summer filled with learning opportunities and time spent with their
horses. The students at Punkin Patch Farm, a small
natural horsemanship school, are ready to celebrate
their favorite time of the year.
Based in Rigaud, Québec, Canada, the quaint
stable has proven to be a haven for its students and
horses. It is owned and run by lifelong horse lover
Kathy Knight, a riding coach certified by both the
International Society of Rider Biomechanics and
the National Coaching Certification Program. As
a dedicated Parelli student, her mission is to apply
her expertise as a coach to teach natural horsemanship to horse enthusiasts of all ages. Her boundless
horse savvy and teaching experience have rubbed off
on her students, not to mention defined the values
of the farm. These values – committing to the never-ending journey of self-improvement, putting the
relationship with the horse first, providing a natural,
nurturing environment for its horses and humans,
and respect for individuals of both species – have
turned Punkin Patch Farm into a place that teaches
its students skills and attitudes to not only succeed
in their horsemanship, but also to apply to their lives
away from the barn. Kathy’s teaching is supplemented by lesson days and clinics with local Parelli Professionals, including Farrah Green and Fawn Anderson.
After discovering Parelli in 2006, Kathy took a
two-year break from teaching in order to embrace
her own Parelli journey and to go through the Levels
Program with each of her horses. Now, Punkin Patch
Farm’s students, ranging in ages and equestrian
backgrounds, are fortunate enough to have access
to a herd of eight Parelli-trained horses and ponies.
Students can focus on developing their own skills
until they are ready to find and develop their own
perfect equine partners (since, of course, horses
teach humans and humans teach horses). More
advanced students have gone on to teach their horses
new things and further improved qualities such as
expression, lightness, and collection. The bonds that
many of the students have formed with the horses
are remarkable, with years of dedication and love to
show for it.
Unfortunately, many of Kathy’s horses didn’t
always have it this good. Kathy has rescued and rehabilitated a number of horses, many being victims of
neglect and abuse. With a keen eye for potential, she
has transformed damaged and untrusting horses into
amazing partners. Today, it’s hard to imagine that
Johann, a Haflinger gelding and the farm’s resident
jokester, could have ever been on his way to the
slaughterhouse. When you meet sweet and sensitive
Caly, you might not believe Kathy when she tells you
how hard it was to rehabilitate her. “If I hadn’t seen
the video of Pat playing with Allure when Linda first
got him,” Kathy explains, “I wouldn’t have thought it
possible to get through to Caly.” Punkin Patch Farm
teaches its students to put the philosophies of natural
horsemanship into practice to improve the lives of
every horse they meet.
With a background in competing, Kathy has seen
first-hand the occasionally damaging effects of
competitive horse shows. When a blue ribbon is on
the line, riders often become predators. They turn
into direct-line thinkers, and sometimes will use an
arsenal of forceful methods to win, including rollkur,
whipping, tongue-tying, and drugging. In these
The bonds that many of the
“
students have formed with the
horses are remarkable, with
years of dedication and
love to show for it.
”
news
situations, the relationship with the horse is very
clearly broken.
This is why Kathy has developed a new program
that allows her students to demonstrate their skills
in a supportive, non-competitive environment. This
program, called Cirque du Cheval, helps students
develop their horsemanship skills with a focus
on performing at public events. Cirque du Cheval
members are encouraged to come out to the farm and
learn from Kathy as much as possible, and meet up
twice a month for group lesson days. All of their hard
work is put towards special events where members
get to showcase their horsemanship to the general
public, such as agriculture shows, fairs, and parades.
While many form partnerships with Kathy’s horses
for their demonstrations, some students perform
with their own horses. In their demonstrations, the
students display their savvy at playing On Line and at
Liberty, riding FreeStyle and bridleless, and working
in-hand. Some also perform trick training routines.
The Cirque du Cheval team shows the public that
anything is possible with horses when they can trust
their human partners.
This year, Cirque du Cheval is introducing its
new ‘Star Levels,’ a ranking system that gives team
members a clear idea of how to progress through the
program. Each Punkin Patch Farm student starts out
as a ‘1-Star’ and reaches more advanced levels based
on their skills and dedication to their horsemanship
journey. A ‘5-Star’ is an accomplished horseperson
who acts as a mentor for the rest of the team, and
leads each performance. It’s about making each
member feel like the star of the show!
Each level also presents a more difficult showcase
– this way, in each performance, the audience can
clearly see how the students have progressed. Higher-level members even get to mentor their fellow
teammates along the way. As a result, the Cirque du
Cheval team is a closely knit group of students who
are always supportive of one another, who are avid
learners, and who are adventurous and creative in
discovering the world of the horse.
For the future, Punkin Patch Farm hopes to
continue to spread the love for Parelli around southwestern Québec and eastern Ontario. The Cirque du
Cheval team seeks to increase their numbers and
further demonstrate to the public what is possible
to achieve with horses when trust, mutual respect,
and love are put into the mix. Most of all, they look
forward to improving their relationships with their
horses and reaching their dreams, naturally. ST
For more information about Punkin Patch Farm,
our special events and performances, and to see
more of what we have to offer, please visit our
website at PunkinPatchFarm.com.
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FRECKLES’ STORY
Freckles came to Pat’s performance barn from a
neighboring ranch in Colorado. He was 10 years old
then, and had been used as a ranch gelding. Freckles
is a very well-bred horse; he is by CD Olena (NCHA
Futurity Champion, NCHA Horse of the Year, $14mio
Sire) and out of a daughter of Freckles Playboy.
When he first arrived at Pat’s barn, he smelled badly
from his gut and had loose stool. After experimenting with several different supplements and feeds,
finally found a supplement that supported Freckles’
digestive system the best. Feeding SureGut has not
only improved Freckles’ stool and removed the bad
smell, but has also helped his overall condition and
well-being.
Over the past two years, Pat and his team have
developed Freckles through the Parelli Program and
trained him for cutting. Since then, Freckles has
carried Pat and his protégé Elli to many successes in
the cutting pen, earning $12,000 and playing a major
role in Elli’s journey into the Top 15 of the NCHA
2,000 Limit Rider class.
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news I
B Y E R I N G AT L I F F
A Young Parelli Student
Doing Her Part for
Rescue Horses in Georgia
O
n November 15, 2014, Parelli
student
Jordan
Faulconer
competed in and won the Georgia
Equine Rescue League’s (GERL)
youth division challenge. She won
the challenge with a randomly
assigned rescue horse she had trained for the past
four months. The Georgia Department of Agriculture is charged
with the enforcement of laws that protect equines
in Georgia. With no funds allocated for the care
of equines that are seized and impounded due to
neglect, they rely heavily on public donations. The
GERL, a non-profit organization, not only raises
funds for these rescued horses, but it has also developed programs to help these horses find forever
homes. Through the hard work of volunteers,
members, and trainers, these horses have a second
chance at living happy, healthy lives. I asked Jordan why she wanted to add one more
thing to her schedule (along with school, a busy barn,
training, chores, and so on). After all, this was a fourmonth project! She told me she could not pass up the
opportunity to “rescue a rescue” and give it a second
chance at obtaining an awesome home. Jordan showcased Halle, her GERL mare, in the
In-Hand, Obstacle, and Freestyle phases of the
challenge. Jordan worked as a patient, confident
partner, as Halle was unsure of the GERL’s small
indoor arena and crowd. Jordan told me that her
plan quickly changed, and she had to play with the
horse that showed up. She truly believes in “putting
your heart in your hand and touching your horse
with your heart.”
Jordan explained to me, and tries to remind others,
that “no matter who’s watching, don’t put your goals
in front of your principles. Take care of your horsemanship and your horsemanship will take care of
you. It’s not always the best horse and rider that
wins; it’s the ones who put the relationship first.” It
was an exciting day that rewarded a winning partnership, one that Jordan was very proud of, and one that
proved that a rescue horse can be saved – not just
physically, but mentally too. Jordan began riding at the age of four, and passed
her Parelli Level 1 at the age of six. She has continued
her learning and love of horses for the past several
years by attending clinics and camps headed by
Parelli Professionals and other talented horsemen
and women, including John Baar’s Horseman’s
Transformation clinic, Jesse Peters’ youth camp,
Carol Coppinger’s Level 3-4 camps, and equine biomechanics through Colleen Kelly. Jordan rides both
English and Western, and now at age 17, she has
discovered her interest and love of cutting. Jordan
helps her mom, Nancy, run and operate the Cloud 9
Ranch in Eatonton, Georgia, a boarding and training
ranch. But her end goal is to become a working
student at Pat and Linda Parelli’s ranch and take
her APHA mare to the APHA Worlds and compete
in cutting. I returned to riding, and my love of horses, three
years ago when I relocated to central Georgia. I
borrowed a couple Parelli DVDs from a new friend,
and quickly became interested. What I did not
expect to find was a soft-spoken teenager who can
ride with the wind. I am amazed at her ability, and
find myself watching her anytime she rides. No
matter your age, there is always something to
learn from each person you meet. I am proud and
honored to have such a talented young woman as
my friend and supporter! I look forward to what
her future holds, and I know she will be part of a
team that will change the way people look at and
treat horses. ST
Photo Credit: Eye-on-Images
news I
BY THERESA FINCHER
The Road to
the Summit
Meet the Parelli Professionals and
the Horses They’re Developing
T
his is a journey you won’t want to miss!
The Atwood Ranch of Red Bluff, California, and the Parelli Education Institute are once again coming together to
make this year’s Road to the Summit
special, culminating with demonstrations at the 2015 Parelli Savvy Summit, to be held
September 11-13 at the Parelli campus in Pagosa
Springs, Colorado. The highlight will be the auction of
six horses, donated as long yearlings, by the Atwood
Ranch. The horses are being developed by some of
Parelli’s top Professionals. Here’s your opportunity
to learn more about these excellent horsemen and
women and their four-legged partners!
at the Pagosa Springs ranch in Pat’s first ever Level
3 course. DeCristoforo lives in Bradley, California
and is developing AR Boons Sierra Buck, also known
as Carter.
Carter is a 2013 palomino gelding, a medium-spirit
Left-Brain Introvert. His sire stands at 6666 Ranch
and is a ranch versatility champion, producing
athletic ranch and performance offspring. Carter
is by Playboys Buck Fever, an NRCHA All-Time
Leading Sire and Equi-Stat All-Time Leading Reined
Cow Horse Sire. Carter’s dam is AR Totally Blonde,
CEZANNE DECRISTOFORO
AND AR BOONS SIERRA BUCK
DeCristoforo, a 4-Star Senior Instructor and Horse
Development Specialist, has been riding for more
than 30 years. Early on in her career, she worked
under numerous professionals starting colts before
being introduced to Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
She participated in her first clinic with Pat Parelli
in California in 1996, and spent the summer of 1998
AR BOONS SIERRA BUCK
“CARTER”
who is out of Boons Sierra, with lifetime earnings
over $330,000, and accomplishments including
NCHA Open Stakes Co-Champion and NCHA Open
Futurity Co-Reserve Champion.
Carter is a handsome colt that arrived last May
while Trevor Carter was starting the AR two-yearolds. Carter is a fun pre-school student. He can be
a little hesitant with new puzzles, but once he understands, he is confident and playful. This golden
palomino is tolerant of others and content in the
herd, and is an amusing playmate. His clever antics
will keep you smiling.
RHETT FINCHER
AND AR DOCS FIRST JEWEL
Fincher, a 3-Star Instructor and Horse Development Specialist, grew up as part of a horse racing
family, working with horses since he was waisthigh. Rhett has started over 500 horses and ridden
thousands in his career, with more than 40,000
hours in the saddle. He credits support from Linda and Pat Parelli
and Parelli Natural Horsemanship for helping him
make a difference. “We’re proving Pat’s vision that
horses can perform at higher levels,” he says. He is
working with AR Docs First Jewel, also known as
Tara. She is a 2013 sorrel filly, a medium-spirit LeftBrain Introvert. Tara is by Colonel Doc Bar Chex
– World’s Greatest Horseman Reserve Champion,
son of Colonel Freckles, AQHA Hall of Famer –
who produces balanced, handsome, versatile, easily
trained, smart offspring. Her dam is First Doc Down,
who is by First Down Dash si 105, all-time leading
AR DOCS FIRST JEWEL
“TARA”
Quarter Horse racing sire, arguably the greatest race
sire of all time, and AQHA All-Time Leading Sire of
Money Earners.
Tara arrived the same night in May that Carter
was born, while their namesakes Tara and Trevor
Carter were visiting. However, Rhett now calls Tara
“Scarlett” because she can go like the wind. Content
with the herd or with the human, this flashy sorrel
filly with four white socks is confident and dependable. Her full brother, Wyatt, was last year’s Road to
the Summit champion.
JAKE BIERNBAUM
AND AR ESPECIALS BAY JAY
Biernbaum, a 3-Star Instructor and Horse Development Specialist, is returning to the Road to the
Summit competition this year after sweeping all
three rounds last year, taking home four belt buckles
and an amazing Parelli Saddles saddle.
After signing up for a Level 1-2 clinic in Michigan
years ago, Biernbaum was on his way in the natural
horsemanship world. Eventually ending up in
Florida, he worked on the ranch for Linda and Pat
Parelli, doing everything from chores and managing
a ranch crew to working on the tour team. “Linda
and Pat have given me a lot of support over the years,
and without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today,”
he says.
Currently living in Virginia, Biernbaum is paired
with AR Especials Bay Jay, also known as Denver.
Denver is a 2013 bay gelding, a low-spirit Left-Brain
Introvert/Extrovert. Denver is by Especials Peppy
Jay, an offspring of the Atwood Ranch stallion
AR ESPECIALS BAY JAY
“DENVER”
news
Especial, who was an only son of the famous Doc Bar.
Peppy J is shown in halter, versatility ranch horse,
reined cow horse, cutting, and reining.
He produces versatile, easy-natured, friendly, and
athletic offspring. Denver’s dam is Sue Sue Bay,
by thoroughbred Valid Expectations, who ranks
as Texas’ all-time leading racing sire by progeny
earnings. Her 2nd dam, Meradas Little Sue, is cutting’s All-Time Money Earning Mare with earnings
over $730,000!
Denver is a handsome colt that arrived around
the time of Parelli’s Denver tour stop in 2013, so it
seemed an appropriate barn name. Plus, his four
perfectly matched white socks against the black legs
are reminiscent of the contrast of the snow-capped
Rocky Mountains. Denver exudes a special tranquility and an easy-going nature. This charismatic gelding
is smart and willing, and a fast learner.
JODY GRIMM-ELLIS
AND AR HEZA COLONEL DATE
Grimm-Ellis, a 3-Star Instructor, has been
involved in the Parelli Program since 2002. Horse
development has always been a main focus for her.
“Parelli gives us the language to understand horses
and to work with them effectively to bring out their
best, developing ourselves as well as the horses,”
she explains.
Grimm-Ellis lives in the Sierra foothills of south-central California with her husband, David Ellis, a 5-Star
Master Parelli Instructor. She is working with AR
Heza Colonel Date, also known as Buzz. Buzz is a
2013 bay gelding, a medium-to-high-spirited Left/
AR HEZA COLONEL DATE
“BUZZ”
Right-Brain Extrovert. Buzz is also by the Atwood
Ranch stallion Colonel Doc Bar Chex, whose
second dam, Shirley Chex, was the ASHA Stock
Horse of the Year for an unprecedented five
consecutive years. Buzz’s dam is AR My Kinda
Date, who is a daughter of NCHA Open Futurity
Champion Smart Date, who has lifetime earnings of
nearly $168,000.
Do you remember Buzz Lightyear from the Pixar
film Toy Story? That’s how this handsome bay
gelding got his name. An action figure, he is! Buzz
likes to move his feet, his herd mates, the ball, and
anything else he can. Talk about extroverted! He is
quite a charismatic character with a high opinion of
himself, along with high expectations of you. Confident and curious, Buzz will take you “to infinity....
and beyond!”
JOHN BAAR
WITH AR SHEGETSCASHNCHEX
Baar, a 5-Star Master Instructor and Senior Horse
Development Specialist, got his start with Parelli
after experiencing common frustrations in training
horses. “With Parelli, it’s not just about taking a
course,” he says. “We are passionate about what we
do, and we give our students a program to follow and
teach others.”
A highlight of Baar’s Parelli career has been his
experience training the thoroughbred Any Given
Saturday in 2006. The horse eventually ran in the
2007 Kentucky Derby. Baar is married to Kathy
Baar, a 4-Star Senior Parelli Instructor, who began
AR SHEGETSCASHNCHEX
“DANICA”
her Parelli experience as a student at the Parelli
International Study Center in 2001.
Baar is training AR SheGetsCashnChex, also known
as Danica. Danica is a 2013 sorrel filly, a low-spirited Right-Brain Introvert. Danica is also by Colonel
Doc Bar Chex, who has NCHA, ACHA, NRHA, and
NRCHA earnings and AQHA points. Danica’s dam is
SheGetsCash, who is an only daughter of Peptoboonsmal, $24+ million sire. Equi-Stat posts Peptoboonsmal #3 on its 10-year All-Industry Leading Sires list.
Danica was named after the beautiful race car
driver Danica Patrick, because she ran laps around
her exhausted dam when she was born! However,
this filly has turned out to be very sweet, thoughtful,
and forgiving; she’s actually happiest going slow.
Danica is sensitive and perceptive, with a huge desire
to please. If you love NASCAR, or a pretty little introvert, Danica is for you! MARGIT DEERMAN
AND AR MERADAS SKYLINE
Deerman, a 3-Star Instructor, has been involved
with horses since she was a teenager. However, it
wasn’t until she met Pat Parelli in 1998 at a California tour stop and read Pat’s book Natural HorseMan-Ship that she understood the value of what
Linda and Pat were teaching. “It was the opposite
of everything else I had seen and read about horses,
and it allowed me to look through the horse’s
point of view and really put the relationship first,“
Deerman said.
Instructing from her home at the M&M Ranch in
San Diego, California, and all along the west coast of
AR MERADAS SKYLINE
“ROCKY”
the United States, she has spent most of the past 11
years teaching in the field. She is training AR Meradas
Skyline, also known as Rocky. Rocky is a 2013 bay
gelding, a high-spirited Right-Brain Introvert. Rocky
is by Mr. Skyline Peppy, who has won over $250,000
in lifetime earnings.
Skyline is a son of the legendary Peppy San Badger,
AQHA & NCHA Hall of Famer, whose offspring
have earned over $25 million. He produces playful,
athletic, charismatic offspring. Rocky’s dam is Valid
Sue Sue, a full sister to Denver’s dam, whose 2nd dam
was NCHA Horse of the Year and is in the NCHA Hall
of Fame.
Rocky is a dark bay colt with matching hind socks
and the perfect star, so he is quite a catch. Sweet and
sensitive, Rocky has a lot of try. Once he’s confident
with all the happenings, he greets you with a nicker
at every opportunity. This obedient gelding is content
and forgiving. He will be a reliable partner, giving
you his whole heart if you take it slow and allow him
to think his way through the world.
KEEPING UP WITH THE HORSES & TRAINERS
If you want to keep track of what’s happening with
the trainers and horses, follow them on Facebook:
facebook.com/NaturalHorsemanshipChallenge.
Starting May 1, 2015, you can log onto our online
auction site to learn more about our horses and
Professionals. Bidding starts on August 1, and
continues through September 13, 2015. Go to
www.biddingOwl.com/RoadToTheSummit. Seventy
percent of the proceeds will go to the Parelli Education Institute, with the Professionals receiving 30
percent to help offset the costs of feed, veterinary and
horse care, and travel that they have incurred during
the year.
“This is an exciting event for anyone who loves
horses and knows the power of Parelli colt development,” says Parelli Education Institute Executive
Director Lori Northrup. “Thank you to the Atwood
Ranch and its managers, Catherine and Mike
Sapienza, our participating Professionals, and all
the volunteers involved in this year’s Road to the
Summit. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when
we work together!” ST
news I
STORIES OF EMOTIONAL FITNESS
My collaboration with Dr. Jenny in the emotional fitness realm is really special, beyond what I’d
expected. If you’ve been to one of our Super Clinics,
you know what I’m talking about. We know that
emotional fitness is a very important element in
removing blocks and moving towards our goals
and passions, but what’s being revealed to me is
that many think about it more as overcoming fear
and controlling anger, and they have no idea of how
it releases them from limiting beliefs and unconscious patterns that are grinding them to a helpless
halt when it comes to their horsemanship. I had no
idea just how deep and how impactful this would
be. In fact, we’ve set up an Emotional Fitness wall
on Parelli Connect so the conversations between
students can continue. There’s some incredibly
powerful stuff on there already!
While Dr. Jenny is watching the mind and emotions
of the student, I’m watching the horse. And it’s quite
interesting to see how much the horse reflects what’s
going on. At the first Super Clinic, I was making
notes about the horse; when Dr. Jenny talked about
what was going on for the student, it was almost
exactly the same. Talk about more evidence for “My
horse is my mirror!” But the best part is how quickly
and effectively the solutions take hold. Jenny gets
right to the heart of the matter, and then I help focus
the students on what the horses need. And as their
emotional fitness improved, the transformations in
both horses and humans were extraordinary.
This led me to a new view of emotional fitness: Are
you emotionally fit enough to consider what your
horse needs? After all, that’s what a leader needs to
do, but when you are afraid, when you are unsure,
when you can’t shut off the negative voices in your
head… what do you do? That’s when you’re glad Dr.
J is in the house!
We have two more Emotional Fitness Super
Clinics this year, and I sincerely hope you can join
us in person!
~Linda Parelli
LAURIE WEBER
T
he Emotional Fitness Super Clinic was more
than I’d expected: the audience was small and
intimate, the benches were cushioned, and the
presenters were amazing.
I went to the clinic because it was brought to
my attention in an “it was meant to be” way. My
21-month-old gelding, Romeo, had been challenging
me. He pushed me down, twice, and then reared over
me. I didn’t get hurt really, but I sure became unsure
of what I was going to do, now that I was good and
afraid of my horse and he knew it. That very afternoon, my husband flicked a letter toward me and it
softly landed in my lap. It was the invitation to Dr. P
(Linda Parelli) and Dr. Jenny Susser’s clinic. I HAD
to go.
At the clinic, I was able to get information to help
my horse and me. Suggestions were made on how to
deal with my Left-Brain Extrovert. I was able to see
a horse that was a lot like my horse benefit from the
information. Since the clinic, I have used these tools;
I see progress in both of us. The fear has subsided,
and Romeo isn’t getting in his own way so much.
My trainer and I are working out a plan to begin our
Parelli work again. I am excited to get started.
COURTNEY CLARKE
C
ourtney attended the 2014 Emotional Fitness
Super Clinic in Ontario, Canada. She shared
her experience on the Parelli Blog; excerpts
from that blog post are included here:
As a Parelli Instructor, I often encounter situations
where students have the ability and knowledge to
succeed, yet they still feel stuck and unsuccessful.
What’s holding them back? It’s their emotional
fitness! When I watch a student make a positive
shift in their thoughts and attitude, there is often an
immediate change in the partnership they have with
their horse.
With this in mind, I knew that the Emotional
Fitness Super Clinic with Linda Parelli and Dr.
Jenny Susser could be a “missing link” to success
for many students of the Parelli Program. Feeling a
need to gain this information first-hand, I cleared my
schedule and bought a ticket! I wasn’t going to miss
out on this opportunity, and I’m sure glad I made
that choice!
The first day, Dr. Jenny observed each rider and
horse as they warmed up. Then she pinpointed what
needed to change in order for each human to better
connect to their horse and their goals. Each rider
went home with homework that night, to help them
make the shift they needed in their emotional fitness.
The next day, the riders and horses who entered
the arena were completely different than the day
before! They were more connected, confident, happy,
and purposeful!
My big takeaway was that if we fulfill our horses’
needs, they will get better emotionally, so long as we
don’t avoid going outside their comfort zone. There
has to be some discomfort for growth to occur! That
applies to us humans as well.
I wasn’t going to miss out on
“this
opportunity, and I’m sure
glad I made that choice! ”
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KEVIN GLENISTER
I
was one of approximately seven men who attended
this clinic. I went with my wife, Susan, after hearing
rave reviews from her after she attended the first
Emotional Fitness clinic in Canada. Dr. Jenny and
Linda (Dr. P) did not disappoint. I would suggest to
all the women out there to encourage their husbands
to attend one of these events, even if they are not
Parelli students. This clinic is about way more than
horses; it’s really the start of a recipe to be successful
in life (relationships and purpose). Being better for
your horse is just a bonus.
LORNA GLEN
O
riginally, I’d planned to volunteer for the
Emotional Fitness Super Clinic with my
daughter and sister-in law. Then an email
came around from Parelli saying that Linda was
looking for horses – one for each of the four Horsenalities – for a demo. We decided to send in a
video of my horse, and I totally did NOT think for
a second that Linda would pick him. It seemed like
an opportunity to go through the process, and it was
kind of fun sending in a video. When I got the email
that Linda wanted to use my horse, Apollo, I was
absolutely shocked – like, “could hardly think
straight” shocked!
Apollo is a Left-Brain Extrovert. I’ve had him since
birth, and I wasn’t prepared at all for his Horsenality; he’s very pushy and dominant, he likes to use his
mouth on everything (occasionally biting), and he
has a big play drive. Even though I could see how fun
he could be, my confidence was way too low, and I
wasn’t able to match him.
Dr. Jenny gave me two things to do: 1) get a connection with Apollo, and 2) ask the question “What
does my horse need?” Again, I instantly felt so
much better.
Linda is such an amazing teacher, and she has
intuition that is so spot-on! She also brings a ton of
fun to everything she is teaching. I don’t know how
it can get better than that, except teaming up with
Dr. Jenny!
MATTIE COWHERD
T
he Emotional Fitness clinic was one of the
most life-changing events I have ever attended.
After more than ten years in Parelli and almost
six years as an instructor, I was not expecting to go
to an event that not only re-ignited my desire to learn
and progress, but one that also was a game-changer
for my goals and daily awareness.
Dr. Jenny and Linda are an amazing team. The
changes in the horse and rider participants, as well as
several people in the crowd, were spectacular. There
were several sessions about the theory of learning
and emotional fitness, as well as a really cool demo
from Linda on Horsenality and how to adjust your
strategies for the horse’s natural tendencies. One
horse in particular, Apollo, was a very great demonstration of Left-Brain Extroverts, and he gave us lots
of laughs and huge “A-HA!”s with his behavior.
I personally left the clinic with a strong desire to
evaluate my emotional fitness and life purpose.
Dr. Jenny was wonderful in helping me look at my
skills and start to evaluate what I not only love and
am good at, but what I truly want for myself and my
future. The future is bright, and though there are
many bumps in the road, I look forward to being empowered to face whatever comes, with a smile on my
face and a purpose in my heart.
THERESA FINCHER,
DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY AND
OPERATIONS FOR THE
PARELLI EDUCATION INSTITUTE
clinic that everyone can learn from; the folks are so
attentive and engaging, and I love that they’ve made
the effort to attend.
I strongly recommend that, if someone is not
meeting their self-established goals with their horse,
they consider attending an Emotional Fitness Super
Clinic. It’s a great event that will help you move
forward in your journey.
SHANNON SOUTH
A
fter taking a powerful (and life-changing)
clinic with Dr. Jenny and my horse Tido in
March 2014, I felt like I had barely taken a
breath when the announcement came that the good
doctor was making a return trip to Ontario, and she
was bringing Linda Parelli with her!
Having this powerhouse team of Linda & Dr. Jenny
navigating the audience through emotional fitness
for humans and horses was one of the most fascinating learning experiences ever presented. While
many of us have been amazed by the mastery Linda
has when reading horses, I challenge that few of us
have ever been present when that same microscope
is turned on the humans in the arena. Not only was
each audience member part of a 160-strong support
system for each rider, but over and over again,
each of us could see pieces of ourselves reflected
there as well. ST
I
was fortunate to be Parelli’s Events Director when
the Emotional Fitness Super Clinic was developed
in 2014, and I was able to attend both the Emotional Fitness Super Clinics with Dr. Jenny Susser
and Linda Parelli (in Ontario, Canada in August of
2014, and in California in February of this year).
It was mind-blowing, the transformations we saw
in the participants. The beauty of this event is that
the auditors get just as much out of this process as
the participants! Dr. Jenny encourages the auditors
to really come from a place of non-judgment, and
when they’re feeling that judgment, to stand in a
place of truth about how they may think in the same
way. I smiled as the event unfolded, because this is a
news I
BY DR. JENNY SUSSER
The Power of the
Emotional Fitness
Super Clinics
T
hese clinics are so intensely personal,
it’s difficult to figure out how to talk
about them, let alone write about them.
This creates more than one kind of
dilemma: How do we share “transformation?” How do we find a way to talk
about the power of the experience without losing
the power we felt? How do we tell you about it in a
way that will inspire you to want to take action and
join us at the next one, so this becomes available
for everyone? I’m not sure what the answers are,
but here is my attempt to capture the magic of the
weekend in a few words…
Linda & I met just over two years ago at the Parelli
Dressage Summit in Wellington, Florida. To make a
long story short, I had been a PNH student for over
ten years at this point, but like most of us, had no
cause to cross paths with Linda or Pat. Timing is
everything, and with some good fortune from the
powers that be, we ended up in the same place, at
the same time, for the same reason, and energies
collided. We spent that winter season getting to know
each other through horses, of course. Our similarities
with regard to our respective “work” was uncanny
and, after a short while, impossible to ignore. The
more we talked, the more we wanted to talk, and
the more we needed to talk. We soon figured out our
work was the same—Linda read and helped horses, I
read and helped humans. It was a perfect fit, and so
we went looking for a shoe.
I have been doing mounted riding clinics in the
dressage world for five years now. Each day begins
with a lecture on sport psychology topics such as confidence, anxiety/fear, preparation, or performance.
Then, nervous riders get on and show me just how
anxious they are in real-time, allowing me to help
them right then and there. The results have been
amazing. People afraid to ride end up riding, some
even cantering, and leave with a sense of power that
was distinctly missing. I have always been influenced
by my Parelli education, but never so much as when
I am working with a horse and rider together. The
gift that reading horses has given me gives more to
the riders than I can describe, and because I can see
things in horses that Parelli taught me to see, I have
been able to help people in a very different way.
Enter Linda Parelli, and now we have a team that
is like the Avengers for horsemanship! The two years
I have spent getting to know Linda and watching her
work have been incredible for me. I have grown my
own horsemanship by leaps and bounds since we
started this journey, and she has grown in her ability
to read people. The cool thing is that we are students
of each other. As we each teach, we each learn. The
energy and atmosphere we create (unintentionally) is one of discovery and curiosity. We look for
truth—Linda sees truth in horses that most of us miss
because of our emotions. When we get around our
horses, most of our rational capacities disappear. We
leave our cognitive tools and strategies in the car or
at home and turn into big, mushy, emotional wrecks
as soon as we see a horse! This becomes a great
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opportunity to go to work on our emotional fitness,
and the emotional fitness in our horses. Most of our horses are in great need of ever-expanding emotional fitness (umm, just like us). It
makes sense that the less emotionally fit a horse
is, the more challenging it is for us. But have you
thought about how difficult it is for your horse when
you lack emotional fitness? The most amazing part
of the Super Clinic is the way this is so clearly represented and displayed by the generous and wonderful
horses as the humans enter the arena, completely
unraveled from anxiety and nerves, and their horses
behave in ways they have rarely seen. The horse as
your mirror is never as powerful as I have seen during
these moments. And the great part is the experiential
learning that occurs for every single person there. We
talk about these things, emotional fitness and horses
as mirrors, but when you see it, feel it, and hear the
riders talk about it, it hits you so hard that change
is unavoidable. Because once you have experienced
this, you can never have that excuse – “You didn’t
understand, your horse isn’t really upset, or you
didn’t really cause this” – again! And then we give
you the tools to make these changes. Really.
Unmistakably important is the crowd. The dynamic
we have had at both Super Clinics has been incredible. First of all, the riders. The brave, terrified, committed-to-growth people that throw themselves onto
a very public canvas in order to get better are beyond
description. Their courage and generosity creates
change and power for everyone around, Linda and
me included. Because of how amazing they are, they
create this instant respect and focus from the spectators. I hate to even call them “spectators” because
news
everyone there is as much a participant as the riders.
Everyone has the opportunity to ask questions,
to share thoughts and feelings (remember, I’m a
“shrink”), and to be as involved in the process as they
want. By Sunday afternoon, we are a community, not
just a group of people in the same arena. I overhear
conversations during the breaks that are full of love
and support. People helping each other as they share
their struggles and successes. I am constantly thrown
off guard and moved when I see someone’s arms
thrown around a stranger’s shoulders with a few
words of encouragement after an intense moment.
Linda and I are frequently moved to tears, whether
we show it or not.
“You are either getting better or getting worse, there
is no staying the same.” – John Wooden (former
UCLA Men’s Basketball Coach). Coach Wooden’s
philosophies are simple, not easy, and powerful
without force. Having been a Bruin, I was lucky to
be influenced by him during my swimming career.
When humans get stuck, we tend to go backwards,
and I say it is exactly because of the sentiment in this
quote. We are not static beings; we are constantly
dynamic, and we are designed to move and change,
no matter how much we have turned “change” into a
dirty word. So I encourage you to look for the places
in your life where you are stuck so you can go to work
on them. The key is help, because we all need help.
Get help if you are stuck so you can get unstuck and
get better (and make sure your help is really helpful
and knows something you don’t, otherwise it’s called
commiserating). I call Linda for help with my horses
a lot! I will make progress for a while, and then as
soon as I think I’ve got it handled, it falls apart and
I get stuck! But I don’t allow that to last for long and
I get help. The Emotional Fitness Super Clinic is
help. We are here to help, so come see us, get help,
get unstuck, get better, and become part of this incredible community that is committed to making the
world a better place for horses and humans (and by
the way, that starts with you).
Thanks for reading this, and I hope to meet
you soon.
Dr. Jenny
ST
news I
BY SCOT T TEIGEN
| PHOTO CREDIT: CLAIRE SPELLING
A Beautiful Reunion
Parelli Returns
to Europe
E
ven before I became gainfully employed
by Parelli Natural Horsemanship, I
recognized that the United Kingdom
was a special place for Parelli. My first
real Parelli experience, actually, was
watching the 2009 UK Celebration DVD
with my then-girlfriend, now-wife. The crowd was
enormous and the show was spectacular, and even
though I’d only ridden one horse in my life up to that
point (something that remains true as of March 19,
2015), I saw that there was something pretty special
about this Parelli thing.
Fast-forward to September 2011, and I am now
a writer for Parelli. We release the Celebration of
Horsenality DVD, which took place in… wait for it…
the UK. Once again, the pure spectacle of the show
captured on that product is incredible.
Fast-forward again to early 2013. Parelli is returning to the UK for a tour stop, this time in Aintree.
I was unable to attend that show, having graciously
handed off my Parelli-tour-sound-guy duties to an
actual sound guy, so I was left to look at the photos
and videos and read the accounts from many of the
folks who’d attended. Not surprisingly, the show
looked stunning (that horse Pat was riding, Grey, for
example – if I’ve ever come close to using the phrase
‘OMG’ without hating myself, it was when I saw those
photos). It was simply a massive event for us.
Are you sensing a trend here? I hope so, because
I’m not being subtle.
There’s definitely something to be said for, as the
phrase goes, “giving the people what they want.” And
that something is “Umm… do it.” So we did, in March
2015. And not to spoil the surprise, but we’re going to
do it again in 2016, on an even bigger scale!
But first, let’s go over what “Parelli Returns to
Europe” meant for 2015. A few months ago, it was
announced that Pat and Linda would be making their
triumphant return to the UK for a One Day with Pat
& Linda Parelli show. This show would take place in
Addington, Buckingham, and would not only feature
Pat and Linda, but also local Parelli Professionals,
demo horses, and a jolly good retail experience (I
sincerely apologize for that joke).
Now, one day is fantastic, but this time, it wasn’t
enough! Mere days after the show in Addington, Pat
went to Europe in March
“We2015.
And not to spoil the
surprise, but we’re going to
do it again in 2016, on an
even bigger scale!
would be traveling over to Ireland for the first time
to put on a pop-up of his own! This was not to be
simply a typical pop-up: first off, it was to be held at
a beautiful – and large – venue, and it was also to be
a collaborative event with Horseware Ireland, a wonderful organization and the world’s largest manufacturer of horse rugs (blankets, as the Yankees say).
And after that, Pat and Linda would hop on over to
Germany for Equitana, which I doubt requires
explanation – EQUITANA!
”
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Oh, and did I mention that Pat would be spending
his birthday in Ireland for the first time? In a bit of
news that may not shock you, Pat (Patrick) was born
on March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day. Sometimes things
align themselves so well that you just have to sit back
and smile.
So, since I did not attend any of these events, this is
the part where I turn the article over to a few people
who did. Enjoy!
ELAINE CHICK, EVENTS MANAGER: “We were
really excited to bring Pat and Linda back to Europe,
since it had been a while. The folks in our UK office
– Graham, Rachael, and Margot – really took some
initiative and got the ball rolling for the Addington
event, including coming up with the ‘One Day with
Pat and Linda’ format. And as it turns out, it was
a huge success! It was a 1,500-seat venue, and it
was filled!”
RUSS ELLIOTT, PARELLI COO: “I’ve only been with
Parelli for a little over a year, so I hadn’t really
realized just how much energy comes from our
European folks. A few of us went over to Switzerland
late last year for a quick trip to visit with the Professionals over there, and chatting with them was very
encouraging – the level of enthusiasm is outstanding. And then, with this event, to spend real time
in the UK with our office team, our Professionals,
our members, and obviously Pat and Linda… it was
amazing. The reception we received over there was
unparalleled, honestly.”
ELAINE: “We’ve really realized that time has
become a very valuable thing for people, and that not
everyone is able to commit to a full two-day event.
Between travel, work, children’s activities – not to
mention taking care of our horses! – it can be tough
to squeeze in a weekend show. So that’s where the
‘One Day…’ concept came from: get Pat and Linda
into an arena for one day, fit as much education and
entertainment into that day as possible, and don’t
make people feel like they have to dedicate an entire
weekend. This certainly isn’t the only event format
we’re going to use moving forward, hardly, but as we
saw in Addington, it’s certainly been successful.”
RUSS: “The folks over there were so enthusiastic
and so engaged, and also so patient! In the retail area
at the Addington show, we had some really long lines
– obviously this means they wanted what we had, but
still – so I was walking up and down the lines, apologizing and thanking folks for their patience. One man
smiled at me and said, ‘Oh, no need to apologize –
this is what we do over here. We find a line, and we
just stand in it. We queue for the loo!’”
TAMMY REID, SALES MANAGER: “For me, to be on
the team that traveled to the NEC show in 2011 and
the Aintree show in 2013 – both sold-out shows –
and then this show in 2015, for it also to be sold out,
it really shows that there’s a real demand over there.”
RUSS: “We were able to debut a few new products
– Pat’s Leads & Lead Changes, Linda’s Liberty and
Finesse DVDs – along with Silke Vallentin, who was
able to demonstrate her mastery of On Line in front
of a big crowd. I really enjoy that we’re able to show
off the latest innovations to a big crowd of eager
students.
“One of the most exciting moments in the Addington show was when we had the opportunity to honor
one of our superstar Professionals, Rachael Morland.
Pat and Neil awarded her her fourth star, which is a
huge deal for her. So Rachael Morland is now 4-Star
Senior Instructor Rachael Morland – it was a wonderful moment!”
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TINA GIORDANO, HEAD OF PARELLI PROFESSIONALS DEPT.: “I was so proud of all the Parelli Professionals over in the UK. We had upwards of 40 Parelli
Professionals step up to volunteer at the Addington
show, which was an outstanding display of support
and team-manship. They’re so enthusiastic over
there, and following up on what Russ said, to have
Pat and Neil award Rachael her fourth star during
the show was beautiful. The Parelli Professionals
make this organization what it is, and to see so many
come together and help out was inspiring.”
RUSS: “Something like 80% of the folks in Addington were Savvy Club members, which is really
encouraging – it shows that they’re really believers
in the program, even if they don’t get to see Pat and
Linda live all the time.”
CANDACE WOLF, MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR: “What
we noticed at the show was that lots of the longtime
students that came also brought along some friends
who maybe weren’t familiar with Parelli. That’s
what’s awesome about our community – it’s full of
people who love sharing Parelli with their friends,
and who offer a support system for new folks.”
TAMMY: “A lot of the longtime Parelli students over
there were eager for specialized and advanced education. Some of our highest-selling items were our
new DVDs, like Linda’s Finesse Training Sequence,
which really starts in Level 4. It’s great to see students
staying progressive!
“One of our UK Professionals, David Zuend, loaned
his horse, Grey, to Pat for the Aintree show in 2013,
and I remember that Pat really liked the horse.
And I mean, the horse was – and is – absolutely
beautiful! So this year, David brought Grey back to
Addington and Linda wound up riding him in her
Finesse session! The progress that horse made over
the course of a little over two years was phenomenal,
and really a testament to David as a horseman. Plus,
Pat and Linda clearly both really like Grey, which is
always a plus!”
CANDACE: “Along those lines, Pat also got to reconnect with Vision, a great horse who now belongs
to Sean Coleman, another Professional in the UK.
Vision was featured in our Success Series, so clearly
this is a horse who’s spent lots of time with Pat over
the years. It was really beautiful to see her and Pat
really pick up where they left off.”
ELAINE: “Speaking of Professionals, it was my first
time seeing Silke perform, and just… wow. She’s such
a passionate presenter, and seeing how much fun she
has with her horses and with the crowd, it’s so great.
We have some very talented folks out there, and it’s
up to us to shine a light on them.”
there is over there for Parelli, we know we need to go
back and honor them.”
TAMMY: “At the end of the Addington show,
during the finale, Pat turned his horse and faced the
audience to tell them that ‘Linda and I are not leaving
until every single one of you gets to talk to us. We’re
staying right here, and we don’t want anyone to leave
with any unanswered questions.’ It just shows how
appreciative Pat and Linda were for all the people
who’d come out to support them – they were just as
appreciative of the attendees as the attendees were
of them!”
TAMMY: “Also, we had some very adorable kids
perform at the show. They’re called the South East
UK Mini Savvy Team, and they were organized by
3-Star Instructor Terri Martinus.”
TERRI MARTINUS, 3-STAR PARELLI INSTRUCTOR:
“The group got together about a year ago. I started
it because I wanted my son, William, to have some
pony friends. We play games together, and I try to
give them fun tasks through which they learn. For
example, last Easter, I held a carrot-and-Easter-egg
hunt! This developed their Zone 3 driving, Pointto-Point, straightness, and focus like you wouldn’t
believe!
“The kids at Addington were Leela, Finlay, Sophie,
Felicity, and my son, William. Leading up to the
show, we met every weekend over the holidays. This
gave the parents and kids a focus through the winter.
All the kids inspire me every time I see them, and I’m
so proud of our Mini Savvy Team!”
RUSS: “As we speak, Pat and Linda are at Equitana
Germany, surrounded by tens of thousands of horse
lovers. Momentum is really building for Parelli over
in Europe. I think people left these shows wanting
more, and that’s good, because we’ve got more to give
them in the very near future.
“You can’t help but come home from an event like
that with a renewed sense of energy and a positive
outlook for the future – we have a program that truly
touches people’s lives. I’ll say right now that in 2016,
Europe is going to be a primary focus for our events
schedule. Folks over there have been asking for more
Pat and Linda for years, and that’s what we’re going
to give them.” ST
RUSS: “A week after Addington, we had a show in
Ireland with Pat, which was great, because around
1200 folks showed up to an event in a country where
there isn’t a huge Savvy Club community yet. Plus, we
got to work with Horseware to celebrate their 30th
anniversary, so that was a huge bonus, obviously!
“In my opinion, there’s absolutely no question that
we need to go back to Ireland – and soon – and give
them the full Parelli experience. Bring Pat back, bring
Linda, bring some Professionals, the full retail experience, bring it all! Seeing just how much demand
community I
B Y L O U I S E AT K I N S O N
Climbing Mount
Everest
A Journey with Parelli
R
ecently, I achieved something that had
been on my bucket list for a very long
time: I trekked to the Mount Everest
base camp, from the Nepal side. This
journey was the hardest task I have
ever done in my entire life, mentally,
emotionally and physically. Throughout this trek,
many Parelli-isms, principles, and qualities kept me
going and helped me through difficult areas.
The journey commenced in Kathmandu. After
surviving the chaotic traffic and enduring the totally
unorganized airport, I took my seat on a plane that
would soon be landing at an airport rated as the most
dangerous in the world, Lukla. It was definitely the
first test of emotional fitness (along with ensuring
that I had the necessary heart and desire)!
Lukla is at an altitude of 2800m (9400ft), so
if you have been to the Colorado Parelli campus
(2200m/7000ft), you understand that breathing
and moving at the same time becomes quite difficult,
especially if your home country is at sea level.
We had two lovely Nepalese guides who would
constantly tell us to “Zoom, zoom,” – meaning
“Hurry!” – followed by “Slow down.” “Hurry up and
slow down” was our mantra. If I went too quickly,
breathing became too difficult, forcing me to stop;
going slowly meant I could progress. Just like getting
a horse through the Parelli Levels – no matter how
much you want to be at that level for whatever reason,
no matter how frustrating it can be when it seems to
be too slow – you have to take the time it takes, so it
takes less time.
The track itself is difficult and soul-destroying. It
goes from one town to another, zigzagging its way up
and down over mountains. Just when you think you
are on the last climb for the day, you realize there are
three more between you and your destination. Add
to this the fact that the trail is so uneven and rocky
that we constantly had to look where to place each
foot. Isolate, separate, recombine; break it into the
chunk that needs attending, and before you know it,
you are at the top of that mountain, ready for the
downhill side.
Altitude sickness is very real in the Himalayas;
our guides constantly monitored us for any signs of
illness, as they wanted all team members to achieve
Just like getting a horse
“
through the Parelli Levels, you
have to take the time it takes,
so it takes less time.
”
the goal, obviously not wanting any of us to die. I am
a very competitive person by nature, and normally
I walk at a very fast rate. It was incredibly frustrating to me that I couldn’t keep up with the rest of my
group; I wanted to get there first, at the speed I like
to travel. Being almost last was hard to handle for a
few days, but eventually I had to let go of my ego and
listen to my body and my guides.
Watching the local animals gave us an idea of how
to survive this altitude. The mules, all at liberty in a
team, travel at a reasonable pace of walk, but approximately every 10-15 meters, they just stop, breathe
deeply for a few seconds, then get traveling again.
Their handlers don’t tell them to stop; they just do
what they need to do, and as the handler catches up
to the last one, he hustles it up if it isn’t already going.
community
We incorporated this natural stop/start pattern, and
it helped.
Nothing, however, could annihilate the pounding
headaches. Inside my head, a man with a jackhammer was pounding away continually. The higher the
altitude, the harder and faster he hit the inside of
my skull. We were eating Ibuprofen like they were
peppermints. At night in bed, our hearts pounded
at an incredibly disconcerting speed, a result of the
Diamox we took to increase the oxygen in our blood.
I began to realize the importance of correctly fitting
equipment. Although the porters carried our main
gear, we had to pack everything we’d need for the
day, including a minimum of 3 liters of water, which
we refilled at lunch stops. Our daypacks weighed
about 8kgs. The nice-fitting pack started to become
uncomfortable when worn all day, every day. The
importance of our horses wearing correctly fitting
saddles at home was driven home; each step I took,
I was walking a mile in my horse’s shoes, literally!
My nice-fitting hiking boots (which I trained in daily)
began to find the ups and downs difficult. Both of
my big toenails turned black with the concussion of
hitting the front of my boots on the downhill sections.
Some of the suspension bridges that we crossed
would normally have scared me to death – planks
missing, old ropes to support it, swaying with each
step – however, just trying to maintain the effort of
one foot after another, along with breathing, took my
emotional fitness to a place of not caring! Watching
donkeys, mules, and yaks crossing these bridges
made me realize that I can expect so much more from
my horses than I do. I’d usually be excited if my horse
stands on a pedestal 6 inches off the ground; now I
will expect him to walk across a swing bridge that’s
100m off the ground (kidding)! They can do so much
more than we give credit for. I shall expect a lot more,
accept a little, and reward often.
Every town we walked through had posters advertising beautiful white Arab stallions to ride to base
camp. I was sorely tempted to quit this walking caper
and ride a fine steed. In reality, the horses were all
tough little mountain ponies, dark brown and about
13hh. We never did see one of the magnificent creatures on the posters. The ponies we did see were
very hardy, as they survive on a diet of potato. Two
local boys came galloping over a hill, whooping with
excitement as they flashed past us. Obviously, the
4900m (15700ft) altitude was not affecting them like
it was us.
Our guides constantly reminded us to stop and
enjoy the view, as we were surrounded by the highest
peaks in the world, and the scenery was constantly
changing. We must always take the time to enjoy
the journey, rather than focusing entirely on the task
at hand.
Reaching Everest base camp at 5340m (17500ft)
was an amazing feeling: one of excitement, achievement, and mostly relief. It was akin to reaching that
next level in the Parelli Program, or that star rating
we desperately seek, but multiply it by 10!
However, unlike the program, our journey was not
complete. We still had to walk back, which proved
almost as tough as going up!
As we reached base camp, it had started snowing;
this very quickly turned into a massive storm, with
thunder, lightning, and heavy snow. We could no
longer see the trail, and we were in a white-out. Our
group was very spread out, so our guides were not in
sight; we were on our own. It was very frightening
to lose that support and be on our own in those circumstances. Somehow, we made it to the teahouse in
one piece. Three of our group members were not so
lucky, and had to be helicoptered out with hypothermia. We had been told to wear our thermals and to
carry our down jackets and snow gear to base camp.
Those three had not done so, unfortunately.
After this journey, people asked me if I enjoyed
it. “Enjoy” is certainly not the word I would use!
“Endured” would be a better word; “survived” or
“achieved” also fit in there.
I am thankful for the 22+ years of Parelli training
that I have experienced. It has helped me become a
better me, it has made me seek never-ending self-improvement, and it has taught me skills that can be
used everywhere in life, from the lowest lows to the
highest peaks. ST
community I
B Y J E N N I F E R B U R C H AT
Ebony’s Story
T
his story is about an Australian brumby
(a mustang, to American readers) who
made an incredible journey to find her
way back to her human partner. But
the story really started way before that
brumby came into my life; it started
when I discovered Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
That discovery came when I was asked by a horse
rescue organization to help a badly abused pony who
had been surrendered to them. The pony’s name was
Tickety Boo, and he was a beautiful little paint gelding
who had been beaten by his previous owner to the
point where he had no trust in humans at all, and
couldn’t be caught or handled. I quickly realized that
I didn’t have the tools or experience to help this traumatized little pony, but as the saying goes, “When the
student is ready, the teacher appears,” and so began
my passion for Parelli Natural Horsemanship.
Ebony proved herself to be an
“amazing
little horse, very surefooted and brave, and our
bond was growing stronger
each time we were together.
”
Thanks to my newfound Parelli skills, I made great
strides with little “Boo,” who quickly found a loving
home. With the pony rehomed, I was ready for a new
challenge. My friend Joy told me about the Victorian
Brumby Association, an organization dedicated to
the gentling and re-homing of brumbies captured
from Australia’s State and National Parks.
So off we went to “Brumby’s Run,” about three
hours away, to find out more. We were both instantly
smitten with the calm, gentle nature and sturdy conformation of these wild horses. While Joy bought a
12-month-old filly, I was chosen by Ebony, a dignified seven-year-old Right-Brain Introvert mare. Both
horses had recently been captured from the Bogong
High Plains area of Victoria.
Most recently captured brumbies need a period of
time to bring them up to a good standard of health,
and – having been wild for seven years – Ebony
needed a lot of patient, gentle handling. But with
time and the help of my Parelli Instructor, Rachael
Clarkson, Ebony was soon doing so well that we took
her up to Joy’s remote weekend property in Rose
River on the outskirts of the Alpine National Park,
about 68 kilometers south of where we live.
Every week, Joy and I drove up to ride our horses
into the bush. Ebony proved herself to be an amazing
little horse, very sure-footed and brave, and our bond
was growing stronger each time we were together.
In late October 2013, everything changed. Joy’s
property was broken into by shooters camping in the
area. They stole the quad bike and cut the fences to
get it out. All of this commotion was too much for
my little brumby, and she ran off into the Alpine
National Park.
I was devastated. I held out no hope whatsoever
of getting her back. Any horse rider who rides the
mountain country can tell you that if a horse goes
missing in the bush, it’s probably going to be missing
forever. And when it’s a domesticated brumby who
was born in the wild and lived that way for seven
years… well, the chances of ever seeing it again are
almost zero.
I was certain that she’d make her way back to
the Bogong High Plains, but was really concerned
about her safety. The bush is not a very safe place
for brumbies anymore. It’s an increasingly popular
pastime for weekend riders to ‘run’ brumbies, which
is a cruel practice, and unless she was re-captured by
the VBA, her future looked pretty bleak.
But it seems that my Ebony had other ideas.
Friday, November 1, 2013 – about a week after the
break-in – Joy and I were at work when we received
a remarkable phone call. It was from the wild dog
catcher Neil Gaudion, who works out of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI)
facility in Whitfield, near Rose River. Neil was wellknown to both of us, and he kept an eye on the horses
and the property when he was up that way, checking
traps.
One of his colleagues at Whitfield, Chris Clarke,
had been on the phone to a counterpart in Mansfield, Tim Vardy. Tim mentioned in passing that he
had seen a horse that looked like a brumby on the
morning of the previous day. She was running along
Circuit Track, Mount Sterling, just near Craig’s Hut.
He thought it strange to see a brumby on its own, especially as there were no wild brumbies known to be
anywhere near that area. The horse was terrified, and
Tim had no hope of catching her.
Fortunately, Chris immediately realized that it
was my horse, and the guys at the Whitfield depot
couldn’t believe that she had traveled so far and had
actually been sighted. Although I was excited at the
news, I still found it hard to believe that this was my
horse. Craig’s Hut is a long way from where Ebony
had gone missing, and in completely the opposite
direction from where I’d assumed the horse would
go. I immediately rang Tim in Mansfield and quizzed
him on the horse’s color and markings.
Remarkably, Tim confirmed that she was a black
mare, about 14hh with a white star on her forehead.
This sure sounded like my horse, but I didn’t want
to get too excited about it. Lost horses, especially
brumbies, just don’t pop up out of the blue like that.
It probably wasn’t my horse at all. Anxious to find out
about this mysterious black horse, Joy and I quickly
hooked up the horse float and headed straight for
Mansfield DEPI office, over an hour’s drive away,
where we spoke to Tim.
He gave me a map and showed me exactly where
he’d seen her on Circuit Track on the morning of the
previous day. After talking with Tim, I let myself get
a little more hopeful that the horse he saw may be my
Ebony. Being the start of Melbourne Cup weekend,
there were already plenty of tourists heading up to
the State Forest, among them a convoy of horse floats
heading for Razorback Hut.
When we arrived at Telephone Box Junction, a
few of them had gathered. I ran over to one of the
drivers and told her my story, giving her my name
and phone number in the hope that she or one of her
friends would stumble across my Ebony in the bush.
I didn’t hold out much hope, because there was some
kind of motor bike race in progress, which was very
noisy. I knew Ebony wouldn’t be staying around with
all that going on.
community
After spending three hours driving around Circuit
Track, running into motor bikes at every turn, Joy
and I decided that our search was hopeless and
started heading back down the mountain. Almost
immediately, I received a text from the horse float
driver who I’d told my story to. It read: “Hi Jenny,
it’s Linda. My friend has found your horse and she’s
at Razorback Hut.”
This was amazing! How could she have been
plucked out of thousands of square miles of wilderness?! We couldn’t get to Razorback fast enough. As
we pulled up, there was Ebony tied to a night line,
looking like she’d never even left home.
She was my Ebony alright, and she let everybody
know she was mine when she immediately nickered
to me and began licking my clothes and hands, which
was a special little gesture she’d always done just
with me. The other horse riders there were amazed
and all gathered around to hear the incredible story.
Apparently, a couple of riders and their horses had
arrived at the hut on Thursday afternoon, the day
Ebony had been sighted by Tim. She came into their
camp late at night, drawn by the other horses, and
had caused such a ruckus that she woke everybody
up. The fact that she allowed herself to be caught was
surprising, as she has a real fear of humans.
This amazing story shows what can happen when
people are concerned enough about a horse to put
themselves out and help. But the fact is that this little
horse could have stayed lost forever if she didn’t want
to be found. She could easily have headed back to the
familiarity of the Bogong High Plains, but instead
headed towards civilization.
Is this remarkable story just a series of unrelated
coincidences that led me to be reunited with Ebony?
Or is it possible that even a wild horse can form a
bond strong enough to actively seek to be with their
human partner?
My passion for, and study of, Parelli Natural
Horsemanship has allowed me to develop a bond
with Ebony that I’ve never had with any other horse.
I can’t imagine any other program that would have
shown me how to develop my horsemanship to this
level to create such a partnership. I’m convinced that
if it weren’t for this special bond, my little brumby
would have ended up gone forever. ST
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Visited
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Lately?
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T
o ensure that you get the most out of your
Savvy Club experience, we’ve added some new
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of these is the Emotional Fitness wall, for those of
you who have attended an Emotional Fitness Super
Clinic with Linda Parelli and Dr. Jenny Susser, and
also for those of you who have yet to attend one, but
who want to learn more about this fascinating topic!
Plus, we’ve also added topic-specific walls for each
of the Levels and Savvys. This means that you can ask
questions and enter discussions with fellow members
who are at the same points in their Parelli journeys as
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Sign in today at www.ParelliConnect.com
community I
BY JOHANNES FISCHNALLER
Natural Horsemanship and Martial Arts
Kassai Horseback
Archery
I
had never thought about shooting my bow from
the back of a galloping horse, because in German-speaking countries, the equestrian culture
only knows “English” riding, where both hands
hold the reins. But only some hundred kilometers east of Vienna, in Hungary, there was
a man who wanted to know how that could work.
Hungarians are a very proud people, proud of their
history and their traditions. For Lajos Kassai, the
knowledge about the past was not enough; he wanted
to explore the abilities of his ancestors in practice.
How did the peoples of the Asian steppes manage to
dominate the art of warfare for so many centuries
with their horses, bows, and arrows? Kassai started
to build the bows, then he mounted a horse and
learned to ride, as he said, “between the falls.” It did
not take long before he had gathered a lot of people
around him who wanted to learn horseback archery.
Lajos Kassai knew that he had to find a form to cultivate the martial art, and he started to develop the
competition sport.
That was twenty years ago.
Last year, twenty-five international competitions
were held in the Kassai School, where the first open
world championships took place, in which 60 people
from 16 nations participated. In the world rankings,
83 persons were listed, and the school had 261
members.
A Kassai competition looks like this: The rider
is cantering a straight and even course, shooting
several arrows at a target positioned nine meters to
the left of the course’s center. This has to be repeated
12 times. The first three runs are not counted; they
are used as a warm-up. The results of the following
nine gallops create the overall result.
You’d think this should be an easy job for the horse,
no? It has to canter the 99-meter track and should
not care about anything. It should not care what the
rider is doing, should ignore the curious things he is
holding in his hands, should also ignore the noise the
bow makes when the string is released, and the noise
the arrow makes when it hits the target. It should
also ignore the thundering applause following a wellshot arrow. After the run, the horse has to walk back
to the starting line while the next rider is doing his
run. All this takes about an hour. Not the hardest job,
you’d say.
Actually, it’s not all that easy. Why? Because the
rider expects, and needs, quite a lot of things from
his partner.
A photo sensor is placed at the starting line and
– when activated – starts a time counter. This is
because time plays a critical role in this competition;
the course has to be completed within 20 seconds,
otherwise the run will not be counted at all, no matter
how many arrows there are in the target. The seconds
saved will add extra points; one second left = one
extra point. Therefore, the horse can help the rider
get more points! But it should not go TOO fast, as
the rider would want to shoot not just one arrow, but
many arrows. He needs time to get the next arrow
on the bow, and he has to find the right moment to
shoot. This is why he would like the horse to complete
the track in a steady speed; the horse should neither
speed up nor slow down. The rider needs to concentrate on shooting the target, and there is no time
to change the horse’s speed. Concerning the speed:
we do not want the horse to set the speed. It is determined by the rider and his shooting capabilities.
The faster the horse, the more difficult it is to hit the
community
target. The slower the horse, the more arrows can
be shot.
Okay, so clearly it’s not so easy. The horse should
do the following:
• He should complete the competition track at a
steady pace and at the speed the rider chooses,
without any aids, during the gallop. The reins
are loose and the rider’s upper body may turn in
various directions as he shoots to the front, to the
side, and to the back.
• He should not leave the competition track,
although there is no barrier.
• He should not take the rider’s activities, his
emotions, or his tension in any way as an irritating command or question; he should, at all times,
preserve his trust in the rider, no matter what he
is doing.
In short, the horse has to understand his job and
want to do it.
We’ve heard that from Pat before: “Cause your
ideas to become your horse’s ideas, but understand
his idea first!” Where is the horse’s idea? Well, by the
time the horse and human reach the competition, it’s
been long taken care of.
It all starts with the horse’s daily life. Our horses
spend all year, day and night, in the paddock with
their herd. They have lots of space there to play or
be by themselves. Every horse knows his place in the
herd, and he knows he’s safe.
In the training, the Friendly Game is everywhere.
The beat of drums, flying balls, swords, lances, flags
– every toy you could think of, as long as it is loud,
colored, and big. Our horses know that they are safe
with their humans, no matter what’s happening
around them.
Our horses become our partners by playing the
Seven Games in the Four Savvys. But it’s not only the
horses’ physical, emotional and mental fitness that
is built up; the Seven Games also develop the riders’
fitness in every direction. More than 10 years ago, I
had my first seminar with 3-Star Parelli Instructor
Martin Wimmer, and I have never since stopped
trying to increase my knowledge in Parelli Natural
Horsemanship. For many years, we were coached by
3-Star Instructor Ursula Schuster, and today, 3-Star
Instructor Patricia Valdhaus visits and teaches us on
a regular basis.
To really develop a truly independent seat (which
we need for horseback archery), our beginners
start riding bareback. The Passenger Game teaches
the rider’s body to follow the horse’s movement.
By trotting and cantering on the longer line, they
develop their balance by playing with the balls,
shadow-boxing, and implementing other gymnastic
exercises. Later, the riders are trotting side-by-side,
tossing the 4kg medicine ball back and forth. Every
now and then, we do horse soccer with a Parelli
Green Ball!
Initially, archery is learned on the ground, parallel
with the riding lessons. Only when the student is able
to control the bow and arrow in every position and
in every direction will he also master his weapon on
horseback. Lots of exercises – like shooting while
running, jumping, or dancing – anticipate and
prepare for the horse’s movement. After the beginner
has proven his knowledge by passing the beginner
exams in both riding and archery, the real fun starts
in the competition, and the sport comes to completion. Of course, learning never ends – not with the
horse, not with the bow. We want to shoot more and
more targeted arrows, and we want to do this faster
and faster. In order for this to work, the rhythm of
the gallop and the rhythm of the shooting have to be
in perfect harmony.
The number of people who discover horseback
archery for themselves is steadily growing. They
enjoy the “queen of martial arts” as spectators at the
competitions and demonstrations, they follow the
training of horses and humans at our “open days,”
and they actively participate in our seminars. Some
of them just want to do more than simply riding their
horses. Others want to use their bows only on the
ground. And then there are those who step on the
path to bring the unity of horse, man, and bow into
reality. Power, speed, and harmony are path and goal.
The simple structures of the Parelli Program and the
simple rules of the Kassai School show the way. They
make progress measurable and fun guaranteed.
The Kassai School can be found in Austria, Hungary,
and many other countries – and the number is growing.
As of now, we are the only school in the German
-speaking countries, but we’re working hard to
ensure that, one day, our sport shall be part of the
Olympic Games. ST
Johannes Fischnaller is leader of the Kassai
School.
community I
B Y K AT H Y B A A R
Hollywood,
or How to Teach a Mini to
Fall in Love with a Little Boy
T
he story of how a Cremello miniature
horse named Hollywood came into our
lives is almost as unique as the little 32”
character himself! John (my husband
and 5-Star Parelli Master Instructor)
went to Texas in 2014 to assist Pat in
teaching a colt start. At the same time, our son Luke
and I went to Pagosa Springs, CO so I could assist
David Lichman in an Advanced Liberty course. When
we all reunited in Kentucky, John had a surprise
waiting for Luke: Hollywood!
While John was at the Circle Bar Ranch in Truscott,
TX, not only were there Quarter Horse colts to be
started, but also a charismatic little two-year-old
miniature horse named Hollywood. Hollywood
found a way into the herd of colts and ran as part
of the full-sized herd for three weeks. He negotiated
the pastures, ditches, flying hooves, and dominance
without a scratch on him, and he was one of the
friendliest of the group. In short, he made an impression, and John decided he would be the perfect
first horse for Luke! Having decided that Hollywood
would become part of the family, John needed to find
a way to get him home.
This was one of the few trips John made without a
horse trailer; in fact, he had driven only the Toyota
Highlander down for the course. Luckily, as he
was soon to find out, a 32” young miniature horse
will fit into a Toyota, and will actually quite happily
ride in the air-conditioned back of said Toyota for a
13-hour trip! So, Hollywood was loaded and moved
one step closer to becoming part of the Raising The
Baar family. After a fairly smooth trip full of youngster antics, such as working his way UNDER the tarp
(the tarp that was meant to keep all of his droppings
from getting onto the car floor), they arrived safely
in Kentucky. Also, I might add that at this point, I
still had NO IDEA about Hollywood! John had done
a fantastic job keeping him a secret!
At this point, halfway across the country, Luke and
I began our trip home, excited to be together as a
family and catch up on all we had learned. We had a
few delays on our return, which meant we wouldn’t
arrive until after dark. As I pulled in the drive, Luke
was sleeping soundly in his car seat, and John was
waiting by the door to come outside to help unload
– or so I thought.
When I turned off the car, Luke woke up, and instead
of helping me unload, John scooped Luke up out of
his seat and starting to carry him off to the pasture.
Keep in mind that I didn’t yet know about Hollywood, so this behavior seemed at the very least a little
odd, particularly for dark-o’thirty! I kept thinking,
“Honey, he can see the horses in the morning! Let’s
get in and go to bed!” As Luke and John headed off
to the pasture, I started making trips into the house
with the luggage. On my second time out, I saw Luke
walking into the porch light with a huge smile on his
face… dragging a lead rope… with what looked like…
a glowing white miniature unicorn?! (Hollywood was
having an exuberant hair day.)
And thus begins the story of Hollywood and Luke!
Both seemed excited to be with each other (although
Hollywood may have been more excited to get his
first taste of Kentucky grass), and they seemed to fit
together like peas in a pod from the start.
Now, what I haven’t told you is what was going
through my head:
“You got our son a mini?! What were you thinking?
It’s going to kill him!”
You see, my past experiences with miniature horses
hadn’t been all cute and cuddles. In fact, most of the
minis I had been around hadn’t really liked people,
and they’d learned very quickly how to “out-position”
the little kids who’d tried to play with them. These
minis very quickly learned how to win the Seven
Games, and even ended up scaring the kids who
wanted to rub on the “cute little pony.”
However, I trusted John and I knew he would make
an educated and good choice when it came to picking
a first horse, so I regrouped and asked myself, “How
community
can I teach this little horse to fall in love with my
little boy?”
To start, I wanted to have Hollywood around as
much as possible. Luke was just turning two years
old, and I realized that the process of having to go get
his horse and bring him up to the tack room before
we could play would not fit into the length of Luke’s
attention span. Knowing this, we made the choice to
keep Hollywood in a paddock right next to the house.
Also, when we went in the backyard to play, I would
go with Luke to get Hollywood and bring him to the
backyard to “play” with us.
At this stage, Hollywood and Luke’s play consisted
mainly of Hollywood eating grass, with Luke taking
occasional breaks from tractor play to go over and
hug Hollywood. Generally, at this point, Hollywood
would take Luke’s truck and start to walk off with it.
Luke would take it back and then follow Hollywood
with his truck, talking. (I assume he was telling Hollywood why it wasn’t good to take other people’s toys
without asking?) This scene, or something very close
I realized that Hollywood was
“going
to need some education
on how to act in Humansville,
along with some basic means
of communication.
”
to it, would unfold every 20 minutes or so while we
were outside. At one point, Hollywood trying to join
Luke in his wading pool!
The idea was that if Hollywood was always in arm’s
reach, Luke was more likely to have the opportunity to interact with him, without it becoming a job
or chore. Also, the best grass happens to be in the
backyard, which means that Hollywood started to see
Luke as the “bringer of good things.” As soon as Luke
would show up, something improved for Hollywood:
grass, water, fly-swooshing (Luke hates it when there
are flies on his horse, and will tirelessly swish the
flies away from him).
Also, due to his dislike of flies, Luke LOVES to put
fly spray on Hollywood; he has his own bottle for
him and will often apply so much that Hollywood
is dripping! (Don’t worry, I have a special mixture
for Luke to use; it is 100% organic, environmentally
friendly, and kid-safe. It is a mixture of 100% H2O.).
While developing a scenario that would help Hollywood “fall in love” with Luke, I kept in the back of my
mind the percentage that often comes up in successful models: 80/20. I had a theory that if Luke could
provide 80% of the things that were important to
Hollywood, then Hollywood could appreciate Luke.
Basically, the goal was first to have Luke build rapport
with Hollywood without either of them feeling like it
was a job; the first goal was “make friends.”
At the same time, I realized that Hollywood was
going to need some education on how to act in Humansville, along with some basic means of communication. Still keeping the 80/20 model in mind, I
decided I would provide 80% of the education for
Hollywood (while Luke was napping or otherwise
occupied with important jobs, like playing in the
sand), and that I would leave the undemanding time
to Luke. I wanted him to “score” the big draw points
with Hollywood!
After about a week, when we would walk out the
back door, Hollywood would see Luke and whinny.
This gave us the chance to talk about having horses
come to humans rather than having to go catch
horses. In fact, I didn’t realize how much this lesson
had sunk in until about two weeks later, when we
were talking about Hollywood and I asked if Luke
wanted to go catch him so we could play. Luke
responded with “No, no.” I thought, “Okay, maybe
later,” at which point Luke continued with, “No,
Hollywood catch us, Mommy!” Lesson on the
catching game for Luke: check!
A few weeks later, John and Luke were out in
the pasture when Hollywood spotted Luke. He
CANTERED over, passed John, and went straight
to Luke. Lesson on the catching game for
Hollywood: check!
So, now that I had a little boy and a mini who loved
being together, the next step was getting the mini a
safe distance away from Luke! This is an important
step, because if you have ever had a horse who “loves”
being with you, the likelihood of getting stomped is
pretty high. This moved us on to the Yo-Yo Game.
Luke and I played this game with each other, in
simulations, and once Luke learned he could get
people to back up by wiggling his finger or a rope, he
was hooked!
He’s tried it on all the dogs, on his parents, on new
people he meets in restaurants (most restaurant-goers seem to have some opposition reflex to a little boy
wiggling his finger at them, but it has received a lot of
laughs!), and on Hollywood (who, thankfully, I’d had
some private time with beforehand. Principle #7:
Horses teach humans and humans teach horses.).
We quickly made a game out of backing Hollywood
through things like cones and barrels, into the
trailer, and so on, so that Luke and Hollywood both
had a purpose while they practiced balancing drive
and draw. Again, the goal was to help them build a
relationship without either of them feeling like it
was work.
Luke and Hollywood are both young men with
strong ideas and their own opinions about how
things should be done. They are the perfect match for
each other in many ways, and I hope to keep fostering their growth together without smothering either
one in the process. Hopefully I will have lots more
Hollywood and Luke stories to tell! ST
Note from Kathy: You may notice that Hollywood
isn’t wearing a Parelli halter in a couple photos.
These photos were taken soon after Hollywood
came home; this is the halter that came with him. A
Parelli halter was already in the mail!
On Line Level 1 Kit
On Line Level 1 is all about building a language with your
horse on the ground while staying safe. Your equipment acts as
a safety net, both in the sense that you can confidently play with
your horse without the threat of him running off, and that you
will be able to effectively move your horse out of your personal
space – a crucial aspect of safe horsemanship.
This kit collects four pieces of Parelli equipment that are essential for On Line Level 1, and pairs them with the On Line
Level 1 DVD for an unmatched educational value! The equipment is as follows:
• Parelli Halter (choose your size and color)
• Carrot Stick (Adult or Kidz; choose your color)
• Savvy String (Standard or Kidz; choose your color)
• 12-foot Lead Rope (choose your color)
Get Started Today!
SHOP.PARELLI.COM
community I
BY JAN GROGAN
Parelli Saved My
Horse’s Life
TWO DAYS AFTER SURGERY
M
y Arab gelding, Dudley, walked
into his stall after I poured his
supplements into his corner
feeder. He took a couple sips
of the supplements and slowly
walked outside and lay down.
Even though he did not appear to be uncomfortable,
I knew something was wrong. Pat and Linda have
always taught us to know our horses’ Horsenalities
and observe their facial expressions. Because of that
learning, I am very aware of what is normal for my
horse. This was NOT normal.
I went outside the stall and counted how many
manure piles Dudley had produced the night before.
There were only three piles. His normal amount of
manure overnight is about 5-6 piles. I checked his
water barrel, and it appeared that his water intake
was normal. I pressed on his gums, and almost instantly, the color came back. I checked to see if he was
hydrated by softly pinching his eyelid; he appeared to
be hydrated. I was puzzled… and scared.
I tried not to panic. I walked away from him and
grabbed a flake of hay. I put the hay in his feeder.
Feeding him made me feel as though he would eat,
and everything would be okay. In the meantime, he
had gotten up and walked about 100 feet to the other
end of his area. He lay down again and slowly rolled
a couple of times. I walked over to him, put his halter
and lead rope on, and asked him to stand up. I took
his fly sheet off, led him out of his corral, and over
to the arena. We walked slowly around the arena. A
couple of times he tried to lie down, but I asked him
to keep moving, and he did.
Although Dudley did not appear to be in a lot of
pain, I didn’t feel comfortable with the situation. I
decided to call my vet, Dr. Kinser. He suggested that I
give Dudley 10 cc’s of dipyrone, intramuscularly, and
put him back in his corral. I was to watch Dudley, and
if he tried to roll, I should tie him. Dudley was very
quiet after getting the injection. A few minutes later,
he did lie down and slowly rolled. I got him up, put
his halter on, and tied him. He stood there quietly.
I decided to take him to Dr. Kinser to be examined.
When we arrived at Apple Valley Equine Hospital,
Dr. Kinser examined Dudley. He said there were no
gut sounds and suggested that we do an ultrasound
to determine if there was an obstruction.
Dr. Kinser invited me to stay with Dudley during
the ultrasound. He pointed to the ultrasound screen
as he moved the wand slowly under Dudley’s girth.
He explained that the small intestine would be small
in size if there were no obstruction. If there were an
obstruction, the small intestine would appear to be
larger than normal.
He continued to move the wand until he came to
an area where he could see the small intestine. The
image on the screen revealed that the small intestine
was extended to about 4x its normal size, indicating
there was a blockage.
Dr. Kinser explained that the blockage could be a
twisted intestine, a compaction, or a stone. He explained each of the conditions and the diagnosis for
each. An option would be to hospitalize Dudley and
try to treat him, although treating him may not be
successful because we didn’t know what had caused
the blockage. Dr. Kinser asked me if surgery was an
option. I felt the tears running down my cheeks as I
looked at Dudley, and quietly said, “Yes.”
Dr. Kinser highly recommended Dr. Huggons,
a surgeon who is located about two hours away
in Bonsall, California. He called Dr. Huggons and
alerted him that I would be there with Dudley.
He then injected Dudley with a dose of pain medication as a safety precaution. He suggested that I
load Dudley in the trailer and be on my way as soon
as possible.
I was afraid that Dudley would go down in the
trailer before we reached Bonsall. I have a camera
in the trailer and turned it on so I could view him
as we drove, but for some unknown reason, it wasn’t
working and I didn’t have time to stop and find the
problem. I am lucky that 95% of our travel was on
the freeway. I drove without stopping. I called the
Pat and Linda have always
“
taught us to know our horses’
Horsenalities and observe their
facial expressions. Because of
that learning, I am very aware of
what is normal for my horse.
surgeon’s facility when we were about two miles
away and was advised that someone would meet us
when we arrived.
As I pulled into the driveway of San Luis Rey
Equine Hospital, Dr. Potenza and an intern met us.
I unloaded Dudley and the intern took his lead and
immediately walked him into a stall. The surgeon,
Dr. Huggons, came within minutes and examined
Dudley. He suggested that we perform another ultrasound so he could analyze the condition of the
intestine. He pointed to the image on the ultrasound
viewing screen and remarked that the small intestine
was fluid-filled and still distended.
Dr. Huggons gave me several options for treatment,
but suggested that surgery would give Dudley the best
possible chance for survival. If we were going to try
surgery, we needed to get started as soon as possible.
I asked him if Dudley would be compromised in any
way. He answered that there were no guarantees, of
course, but that Dudley should be able to resume a
normal lifestyle within a few months.
I glanced at Dudley and he was watching me. I felt
so close to him and he was so full of life. I knew I
couldn’t put him down. I looked at Dr. Huggons and
said, “Let’s try the surgery.”
I hugged Dudley before he went into surgery, and
could envision him well, getting out of the trailer at
home. I followed him out of the stall and watched
as a technician led him away. His appearance was
not that of a horse with a horrific medical problem.
He looked calm, and walked confidently with the
technician. I prayed that I had made the right
decision for him.
Dr. Potenza, the assisting veterinarian, came out
after about three hours of surgery, and informed me
”
community
that Dudley had a benign fatty tumor on his small intestine. She explained that as the tumor had grown,
it had became heavier, and that had caused it to
hang down and caused a cord, or pedicle, to form.
The pedicle had looped around a section of the small
intestine, blocking the blood supply to the tissue,
and also preventing ingested material from passing
through the intestine. About 8-10 feet of the intestine had died from the lack of blood, and would have
to be surgically removed. She explained that there
were a lot of toxins in Dudley’s system because of the
blockage. His chances of surviving this ordeal were
about 40-50%. She asked if I wanted to continue
with the surgery. I thought we should continue and
she agreed.
After three more hours of surgery, Dudley was
wheeled into the recovery stall. A short time later,
I was informed that he was having a hard time
getting up. I went to the recovery stall and peeked
in from the doorway. I was surprised when I saw the
number of people who were there to help him. Dr.
Potenza, a vet intern, and several technicians were
supporting Dudley as he stood there, with his head
hanging down. Dr. Potenza gave me permission to
talk to Dudley, but asked me to stay where I was. I
said, “Hey Dude!” (Dude is his nickname.) His ear
moved towards me, and he slowly moved his head in
my direction. I was then given permission to come
into the stall. I moved slowly as I knelt down in front
of Dudley’s lowered head. He was still groggy from
the anesthetic. I will never forget how soft his eyes
were as he looked down at me. He blinked several
times as though he were trying to focus his blurry
vision. He slowly moved his nose closer, and touched
my hand. I wanted to hug him…. but only touched his
nose softly with my fingers. His lips slowly wrapped
I shared with her that he
“would
have been almost
impossible to handle in this
hospital setting if I had not
studied the Parelli Program.
”
around my index finger, and he gently moved it back
and forth. I felt so much love for him that I cried.
The next few days were crucial in Dudley’s recovery.
After the 8-10 feet of intestine were removed, the two
remaining ends of the healthy tissue had to be sewn
together. These ends have nerves that had to communicate with each other before the intestine could
function. Dudley would not be able to eat anything
until that happened.
Each day when I arrived to visit Dudley, I would
ask if the intestines were functioning. Each day I
was told “not yet,” but was encouraged not to give
up because he was still within normal for this type
of surgery. Several different medications and fluids
were still being administered intravenously, and he
still had a drain from his stomach, but he appeared
to feel well and looked great.
Dr. Huggons called me on Day 5 and had great
news: the small intestine had some movement. We
had crossed another hurdle. Yeah!!! Now Dudley
could start eating, and hopefully, be able to digest his
food. He was taken out of his stall every two hours
and walked to a grassy area, where he was allowed
to graze for two minutes. When I arrived in the afternoons, I was allowed to take him out to graze. I was
so excited for him. He really looked forward to those
two minutes.
An intern told me how easy it was to administer
Dudley’s treatments because he was so mannerly.
I shared with her that he would have been almost
impossible to handle in this hospital setting if I had
not studied the Parelli Program. He was so explosive
and claustrophobic before Parelli that he would not
have been able to cope with the treatments or being
confined to a stall. She looked surprised. She gave
him little kisses on the nose and said that Dudley was
one of her favorite horses at the hospital. He liked
her too, and greeted her when she came into his stall.
The next hurdle for Dudley was to be able to pass
manure. A normal timeframe would be about 10 days
after surgery. Sometimes it took a little longer. He
started to produce small amounts of manure soon
after he began eating, but was not able to pass it. I
visited him every day and hoped to see manure on
the floor of the stall when I arrived. I was afraid
that he would not pass manure and I would have
JUNE 2014
to euthanize him. Had I made a mistake having
him undergo the surgery? The days went by, and it
seemed like an eternity, but finally, on the eleventh
day, he started to pass manure. Each day he passed
a little more. Wow!! Another hurdle crossed! Yahoo!!
I was ecstatic!
Even though Dudley was passing manure, Dr.
Huggons wanted him to stay a few more days for observation. In the event of a complication, it would be
better that Dudley was at the hospital.
Dr. Huggons called me a couple of days later and
informed me that the horse across the aisle from
Dudley had been released. Dudley was so bonded to
the horse that he had started to run back and forth in
his stall. He had to be tranquilized to keep him from
injuring his 17” incision. We decided that it would be
a good idea to get Dudley home the next day.
I went into the office when I arrived at the hospital
the next day to complete the check-out process.
The office staff told me that Dudley was one of their
favorite patients and that they were going to miss
him. Dudley’s favorite intern said that she had not
believed me when I told her about Dudley’s behavior
before Parelli. “It was only when we had to tranquilize him so he wouldn’t hurt himself that I began
to understand what you were talking about.” She
laughed; “I still love him, though.”
As I walked to the barn, I could see that Dudley was
still very right-brained and pacing in his stall. Dr.
Huggons met me, and we walked to Dudley’s stall.
Dudley was wide-eyed and wanting to escape.
I opened the stall door and went in, and Dudley
came to me. He lowered his head so I could put his
halter on. I rubbed him a little and then kneeled to
put his shipping boots on his front legs. Dr. Huggons
offered to do that for me, but I felt comfortable doing
it. Dr. Huggons cautioned me that Dudley had been
coming out of his stall rather quickly and he offered
to lead him out for me. I thanked him, and assured
him that Dudley would calm down, and he would
come out safely. When Dr. Huggons opened the stall
door, Dudley started to get anxious and was ready to
rush out. I turned to him and wiggled the rope firmly.
He stopped, and looked at me as if to say, “Thanks, I
needed that!” He relaxed and walked out of the stall
behind me.
We walked out of the barn and into the courtyard
where my trailer was parked. As we walked to the
trailer, Dr. Huggons mentioned that he would give
Dudley a tranquilizer, if necessary, to load him. He
wanted to make sure that Dudley did not injure
his incision. He said that it had taken as long as
two hours to load some of the horses leaving the
hospital. I was fairly confident that we wouldn’t have
a problem loading Dudley.
Dudley suddenly stopped as we approached the
trailer. He put his head up and looked around. I
looked at the doctor and said, “Let’s just give him
community
a minute to relax.” We stood there for a couple
of minutes, letting Dudley look around. When he
looked relaxed, I picked up my rope and sent him up
the ramp. He calmly walked into the trailer and put
his head out of the open window. Dr. Huggons gently
took Dudley’s head between his hands and told him
that he was a great horse.
Looking back, I can honestly say that this was
a life-threatening situation for Dudley. Both Dr.
Kinser and Dr. Huggons remarked that Dudley was
very brave and did not display the pain he was experiencing. Dr. Huggons commented that most brave
horses die because the owners do not realize what is
happening. Because Dudley only appeared tired or a
little uncomfortable that first morning, it would have
been easy to assume that he did not want his supplements. I may have thought that he was just tired
when he lay down because he did not display signs
normally associated with a blockage. It would have
been easier to think that maybe he would eat later,
and gone to work and left him to a certain death.
How grateful I am to have studied Parelli, where I
learned about Horsenalities. Aren’t we, as students,
always being challenged to watch for “the question
your horse may be asking”? What a GREAT challenge.
That challenge taught me to be aware of Dudley’s
facial expressions, his food intake, his manure count,
and other things that have helped save his life.
It is easier for your veterinarian to evaluate your
horse’s condition over the phone, and to give you
instructions on helping your horse until he arrives, if
you can provide the following information:
• Temperature
• Dehydration
• Capillary refill
• Amount of water intake
• How much manure your horse has passed ST
PAT PARELLI ON SET FILMING LEADS & LEAD CHANGES.
TO LEARN MORE, SEE PAGE 96.
Atwood Ranch
How Important
Is Pedigree?
A
s we travel to tour stops and Parelli
events, we often hear something
along the lines of “Bloodlines don’t
matter to me, since I just use my
horse for trail riding, pleasure, and
a few clinics.” Or that famous line,
“You can’t ride papers.”
In fact, breeding does matter, even to the recreational rider. At the moment, the only measure
of good breeding that we have is a horse’s accomplishments in the show pen or on the racetrack, and
money earned by a dam or sire’s progeny. And that
money does matter. The best example I can give is
an Atwood Ranch stallion named I’ll Be Smart, a
full brother to Smart Little Lena. Along with being
well-accomplished in the cutting pen himself, I’ll
Be Smart’s offspring have earned nearly $2 million.
The meaningful part about that is not so much the
money, but the fact that it was earned by amateurs
and non-pros. Those offspring were trainable,
tolerant, dependable, consistent, and athletic. It
did not take a professional to get them trained or
shown. It was accomplished by everyday riders and
weekend warriors!
Most recreational riders are not competition-driven, but they do want a horse who has the ability to
do all those tasks they want. If you love reining, you
admire a smooth spin or a long slide. If you are a
dressage fan, you relish a lovely piaffe. Most horse
owners enjoy a topic-specific clinic by an esteemed
professional specializing in his discipline. Occasionally, we hear a person say they’d really like to attend
a reining clinic or a ranch versatility, but their horse
just isn’t up to it for whatever reason. Solid breeding
programs emphasize good conformation, among
other things. Conformation dictates longevity and
athletic ability to a large degree, and athleticism
affects performance. We all want to attend that clinic
on a horse that can do those maneuvers the instructor is teaching!
After 40 years, we at Atwood Ranch have the advantage of looking at our breeding program from a
historical standpoint. Besides athleticism and conformation, reputable breeders also take into account
talent, ability, movement, looks, teach-ability, spirit,
temperament, and that ever-mysterious “mind.” We
also look at parentage in terms of imperfections,
making every effort not to pass along or exacerbate
known faults. Plus, more and more research is being
done in genetics and genetically associated traits,
which only helps breeders do an even better job of
selecting sires and dams, and improving crosses. In
many instances, breeders are empowered by genetic
testing for known diseases, giving them the ability to
eliminate those diseases from their herds.
In this day and age, everyone deserves a horse with
good bloodlines and the solid foundation training we
offer the Atwood Ranch horses. Our clients all seem
to come back and say something like “I wish I’d done
this sooner. My horsemanship has skyrocketed!”
Come take a look. If you decide to select a new
partner, your progress will grow exponentially, and
you will achieve the results you’ve always dreamed of.
That elusive “ride off into the sunset, mane blowing
in the wind” vision can be yours for real!
ATWOOD RANCH,
16565 Reeds Creek Rd.,
Red Bluff, CA 96080
(530) 528-0504
AtwoodRanchNaturally.com
professional profiles
Cezanne
DeCristoforo
4-Star Senior Instructor
I
have always felt a strong desire to be with
horses. However, my parents were not horse
people. They were “live in the city, work in an
office, golf on the weekends” people. When I
was a toddler, they would take my sister and
me to a friend’s house on the weekends and let
us ride their pony. I would cry non-stop when we had
to leave. Finally, one day, my parents moved us out
of the city so that we could have ponies of our own.
My mom was the one who pushed for the ponies, but
my dad thought that I would grow out of it. He would
say, “Just wait until she gets into school, boys, or a
car.” I think it is safe to say that I did make it through
school, boys, and a car, all without losing my passion
for horses. My parents did what they were told, and
put me into traditional riding lessons. I competed in
horse shows, participated in parades, and rode on a
drill team to keep riding fun.
In 1993, a friend of mine asked if I would help
her clean stalls at the place were she boarded her
horse. While cleaning the pens, I looked out at the
arena and watched the trainer working with a horse.
I remember trying not to stare at her; however, the
way she was training the horse was very different. I
asked my friend what she was doing, and she said,
“I think it’s called ‘Parnelli’ or something like that.
She is an instructor.” I thought to myself, “I am done
with the other horse clubs and the traditional riding
lessons. I want to do what she is doing.” It looked like
fun, and I wanted to be a horse trainer like her.
The Parelli Instructor’s name was Deb Cooper. She
was eccentric and very intimidating, but I was up for
the challenge. I worked for her for about five years,
starting and developing challenging horses. Then in
1998, I went to the Parelli Center in Pagosa Springs
for the first time. It was Pat’s first Level 3 course. I
thought I knew everything about the Parelli Program
when I arrived. Boy, was I wrong! I looked around at
the other students. They were a lot more advanced
than me, and I said, “Well, I’m the worst one here. I
am going to learn the most.” The course was amazing!
It was four weeks long, and I cried for the first three
weeks. So many emotions came up because I felt like
I had done things wrong. I hated the choices I had
made in my life and the wasted time. By the last week
of the course, I made the decision to let it all go and
focus on my future with horses. Like many others,
I didn’t want to leave the center at the end of my
course. I didn’t want to go home to the chaos I had
left behind. Luckily for me, I was offered a position
working in the lodge, serving dinner, washing dishes,
and cleaning bathrooms and cabins for the other
students. I happily did my job so that I would be
able to stay in the Parelli Ranch bubble as long as
possible. At the end of the summer, I did go home.
I quit my job with Deb, pursued my Level 3 so that I
could become an instructor, and focused on my path.
In 2000, I received my Level 3 from Pat and Linda
at a tour stop in Sacramento, California. Then I went
on to get my teaching certification and started my
own business, starting, re-starting, and working with
challenging horses. I would hear Pat say, “Take care
of your horsemanship, and it will take care of you!”
So I committed myself to the next 10 years, working
on my horse development skills instead of teaching.
This pathway led me to work with Ronnie Willis for
almost two years at La Cence in Dillon, Montana,
plus a couple of horsemanship clinics with Ray Hunt,
week of the course,
“By the last
I made the decision to
let it all go and focus on my
future with horses.
”
and I also had the opportunity to be part of a special
group of colt starters that developed race horses
for Winstar Farms. In between all that, I rode in
courses at the ranch with Pat and Linda almost every
summer, and took every opportunity to learn more.
In 2006, I was given yet again another opportunity:
I was asked to join Pat’s barn. During this time, I got
to further my colt starting interests, ride almost all
of Pat’s top horses, travel with the tour team, and
study with classical dressage master Walter Zettl. I
worked directly with Pat and Linda at the campuses
in Florida and Colorado, and I was entrusted with the
care and transport of Parelli’s horses while on tour
throughout the US and international events.
This was a special time in my life. The skills Pat
taught me go way beyond horsemanship. I learned
how to stay left-brained in right-brain situations,
how to adjust to fit the situation, and that having a
pattern in my daily life will make me more efficient.
One example of staying left-brained in a right-brain
situation was the first time Pat let me saddle Casper.
Pat came up to the barn one morning and said to me,
“I want you to get Casper ready.” I was surprised, but
I thought, “Okay, I got this.” I saddled him and took
him out to the field to play On Line. The first time I
sent him out, he started to buck. I thought, “This is
okay, I’ve still got this.” Well, next thing I know, the
saddle starts to slip under his belly. I look over, and
here comes Pat. Casper then started to really buck
and then fell over. When Pat arrived, the saddle was
under Casper and he was lying on his side. Pat rode
over very calmly and said, “Would you like to try that
again?” I learned that even when everything seems
to be going really bad, it’s best to relax and take a
fresh start. While at Pat’s barn, I had many opportunities to test my emotional fitness, and I figured out
thankful that I have had
“soI ammuch
time developing
horses, because starting a colt
is difficult, but raising a child is
much harder.
”
that being uncomfortable was okay. That is were the
learning happens.
In 2008, I started a new adventure: children! I
have to say, I have had some extremely challenging
horses in my career, but my most challenging horses
have been my kids! I laugh because I often think of
what Pat says: “You should treat a horse the way you
have to treat a mule.” It can also be said that you
should treat a horse the way you have to treat a child.
The Parelli Program has had an amazing influence
on how I raise my kids. Parelli has taught me to use
the same principles to build our relationship, teach
them new skills, and apply appropriate pressure to
motivate them to do the right things. Everything is
love, language, and leadership in equal doses. I use
the same strategies for my 6-year-old that I would for
a Left-Brain Introvert horse: slowing down, making a
game out of learning, and candy rewards to motivate
him. I am thankful that I have had so much time
developing horses, because starting a colt is difficult,
but raising a child is much harder.
Parelli is such a big part of my life; I think that’s
what makes me a successful Parelli Professional. I
live the core values, I stick to the principles, and I
make a game out of everything. I enjoy the challenges
and I think of myself as a student of the horse. Every
horse and student offers me something to learn. The
best part of teaching is seeing the light bulb go on
when something has clicked. I’m always trying to
help my students find the answer sooner, and one of
my favorite things to hear someone say is, “I never
thought of it like that.”
As I move forward on my journey, I plan on raising
two happy, energetic boys as a stay-at-home mom,
and one day being a 6-Star Instructor. It is not easy,
juggling my family with my career, but I am up for
the challenge. Every choice I make is towards those
two goals.
As I look back, I am very thankful to my parents for
taking a risk and changing their lifestyle so I could
grow up with horses in my life. If it weren’t for that
little black pony, I might be a very different person
today. I don’t know of many people who get to say
they’ve lived their dream since they were three years
old, but I feel extremely fortunate to have been able
to live mine. ST
MDBarnmaster
MDBarnmaster Barns
Offer Unique
Flexibility and Expansion
Opportunities
Most horse owners would never dream of moving a barn.
With innovative and flexible barns from MDBarnmaster,
however, not only can you easily expand or build out your
dream barn over time, you can take your barn with you
when you go!
Innovation, safety, flexibility and customization are hallmarks that set modular barns from MDBarnmaster apart,
making them the ideal choice in a variety of unique and
ever-changing settings.
The flexibility of MDBarnmaster barns and the ease
with which they can be expanded over time make them
the ideal choice for owners who may need to start with a
budget-minded barn, but who plan to create a dream barn
over time.
MDBarnmaster barns work well in a wide range of
unique settings, even those that change over time. As one
long-term customer from Idaho found, expanding his barn
from a four-stall barn to six-stall barn was a quick and
convenient process.
“Bottom line, there is a lot of flexibility,” this barn owner
notes. “You can pick components and dimensions for
complete customization. And, the beautiful thing about a
modular barn is the ability to add additional stalls.”
MDBarnmaster’s unique construction method has revolutionized the horse housing industry over the past 30+
years. MDBarnmaster barns feature a unique bolt-together assembly that is both safe and convenient.
“MDBarnmaster’s high-quality pre-manufactured barns
are well-suited to a variety of unique settings and offer
options, from the most basic barn to expansive dream
barns,” says Bruce Thomas, MDBarnmaster Chief Executive Officer. “Best of all, thanks to their innovative construction, MDBarnmaster buildings are easily expanded
over time and can even be moved in the event one needs
to relocate.”
Miami University in Ohio has first-hand experience in
both moving and building out a barn. With help from MDBarnmaster, this university expanded its original modular
barn to create an innovative setting for its students, its
teams, and the community.
Originally planned as a temporary structure, this modular
barn at Miami University was moved to a different location at
the school and expanded from 14 stalls to 42 stalls thanks to
MDBarnmaster’s unique products and construction methods.
Miami University in Ohio created an innovative equine facility in
2012 by moving an existing modular barn and expanding
it with offerings from MDBarnmaster.
“They were so pleased with the original barn that it was
a natural choice for them to turn to us again when they
were ready to create something more permanent,” said
Joe Morgan of MDBarns Great Lakes, the dealer who
helped Miami achieve its dreams for a growing equestrian
program with a quality barn.
Although designed initially to be a temporary barn in a
temporary location, the original barn became the base for
the build-out when Miami wanted to expand. Built originally in 2003 with 14 stalls, the barn was moved to another
location and expanded to 42 stalls in 2012.
MDBarnmaster barns offer more than just flexibility.
These state-of-the-art modular horse barns carry a 0%
flame spread rating, greatly reducing fire risk. MDBarnmaster barns are also chew-proof and kick-proof, boosting
the safety for occupants as well as making them low-maintenance and reliable.
This article is re-published from Savvy Times issue 45.
John Baar
5-Star Master Instructor
I
HOW DID YOU FIND PARELLI?
saw Pat jumping Sparky bareback and bridleless in a Western Horseman magazine. The
picture piqued my interest, and when I looked
into the program, I found a local instructor.
Like many students, I had a challenging horse
that caused me to seek out more information.
She was a new horse to me; she took four hours to
trailer load when I brought her home, and she’d
already bucked me off, giving me a concussion. As
I began progressing through the Parelli Program,
I was amazed at how I was getting results with my
horse from just watching and listening to a cowboy
on a video talk about playing games with horses!
To say the least, I was impressed. My Parelli
journey got a fast start, and has only gotten faster.
After picking up the home study packs and taking a
few private lessons with a licensed instructor, I took a
10-week school module at the Parelli Center.
I had a big realization: that there was a whole
lot more to Parelli and horses than I’d imagined!
Since that time, I’ve done whatever I can to be a
part of Parelli – taking another school module,
several university modules, and going on tour with
Pat and Linda.
HOW HAS IT CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND/OR
YOUR HORSEMANSHIP?
Canter and be able to support long-term students
with specific goals. ST
Mostly, the program has molded my life and helped
influence my direction. Plus, I met my wonderful
wife, Kathy Baar, while at the Parelli Center.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO
BECOME A PARELLI PROFESSIONAL?
As soon as I realized Pat Parelli had a system for
not only teaching, but teaching people how to teach
others to get amazing results with horses, I wanted to
become an instructor.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST CHALLENGING
HORSE, OR THE MOST CHALLENGING HORSE
YOU’VE HAD IN TRAINING.
Some of the most challenging horses I have had
the opportunity to play with were in colt starts. They
were horses who had never been tamed, and who
carried skepticism towards human leadership. It is a
great feeling to be able to take those horses from this
untrusting stage and help them learn how to act like
partners, while also participating in their first rides.
TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR MOST
SUCCESSFUL STUDENT OR STUDENTS.
After teaching at the Parelli Center for many years,
I have seen many students make the transformation
from student to Parelli Professional. I’ve enjoyed
being a part of these journeys, and watching these
students grow.
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PARELLI
PROFESSIONAL?
I once heard Neil Pye say that “becoming a Parelli
Professional is about becoming a people person.”
This, along with taking care of your horsemanship, is
the recipe for success as a Parelli Professional.
WHAT DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
Traveling the world and helping as many people as
possible learn the foundation of Parelli.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
To continue reaching out to people and teaching.
At the same time, I would like to open a Parelli
professional profile
Kathy Baar
4-Star Senior Instructor
I
HOW DID YOU FIND PARELLI?
have always loved horses and was fortunate
enough to be around horses growing up. I had
dreams of doing amazing things with horses,
while at the same time having the horse as my
“friend.” However, as I pursued my goals and
moved into the show world, I realized that I
wasn’t having fun, and the horses weren’t either! I
decided that if it wasn’t possible to have my horse
enjoy being with me, then I needed to change careers
and passions to something that was possible. I made
the decision to move cross-country and begin a new
career.
One evening, before I began my new path, I
watched a short clip of Pat Parelli riding bareback and
bridleless while I was flipping channels. The show
got my attention and I soon found out that Pat would
be presenting at Equine Affaire in Columbus, OH. It
was only a short time away, and I decided to attend.
During one of the breaks, Pat held a drawing to win
a trip to the Savvy Conference (Summit) in Pagosa
Springs, CO. I had entered, and Pat drew MY name! I
had never been to Colorado before and thought that,
if nothing else, it would be a great vacation.
During the Savvy Conference, I saw things that I
had never seen before. Pat’s STUDENTS were playing
with mares and foals, at Liberty and bareback. Horses
were running to not only Pat, but also his students.
He highlighted a zhorse (zebra/horse) that could not
only do Liberty, but was ridden bridleless! During
the entire event, I saw horses who chose to be with
humans and who came running back to their human
partners if separated. The inspirational stories and
demonstrations stick with me to this day. Needless
to say, I saw what I had only dreamed of before, and
on that weekend I realized my dreams with horses
could be a reality!
HOW HAS IT CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND/OR
YOUR HORSEMANSHIP?
While at the Savvy Conference, I made the first
choice of many: to get back to the Parelli International Study Center as soon as possible. I spent the next
10 years living at the Center, working my way from
cleaning toilets to riding with Pat and Linda Parelli to
becoming a member of the Parelli Faculty.
While Parelli has drastically changed my professional career, the biggest change has been personal.
I met my husband, John Baar, while studying at the
Parelli Center. We have grown together and now
expanded our family with our son, Luke.
A more accurate question may be “Is there any
aspect of your life Parelli hasn’t touched?” The
answer is, without a doubt, “No.”
While studying horsemanship and learning how
to get more results and desire from my horse, an interesting thing occurred: I grew into a better leader
and partner for my horse. This growth happened on
mental, emotional and physical levels. Without my
passion for horses and for becoming a human my
horses want to be near, I wouldn’t be the person I
am today.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO
BECOME A PARELLI PROFESSIONAL?
I was awestruck when I first heard Pat’s vision:
“To make the WORLD a better place for horses and
humans.” WOW! That is a huge goal, and as I began
to digest what that meant, I realized that I wanted to
be a part of that vision. I love helping develop young
horses and introducing horses to their first saddle
and rider. I also realized that those horses will go
back to the humans who own and love them. The
best way to make a difference is to be able to teach
both the horse and human how to play as partners.
I discovered that not only did I want to learn how
to be excellent with horses, I wanted to learn how to
be excellent at teaching the humans who loved them.
This is the desire that began my journey to becoming
a Parelli Instructor.
Needless to say, I saw what
“I had
only dreamed of before,
and on that weekend I realized
my dreams with horses
could be a reality!
”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST CHALLENGING
HORSE, OR THE MOST CHALLENGING HORSE
YOU’VE HAD IN TRAINING.
What a great question! I have had so many wonderful equine teachers, but the one that springs first into
my mind is the first horse I brought through Level
4, Chloe. She is a 17.2hh American Warmblood, and
I can remember our first day on the Colorado ranch
together. Gorgeous view, amazing Colorado spring
sun, and the peace of knowing I was in a place where
the horses were just as happy as the people. As I led
her up the gravel drive, past the small coverall and
towards the pens, who should we pass that first day
but Linda Parelli riding in the 100’ round pen! What
a magical moment!
Throughout our journey to Level 4, Chloe was one
of those teachers who pushed at the right moments
(and at what felt like the wrong moments)! She always
pushed me to be better. She had an uncanny ability
to know if my Phase 4 had any emotion in it, and if I
was unjust. She became every skilled at kicking just
the end of my Carrot Stick, so that the stick would go
flying and I was left dumbstruck, wondering how my
stick ended up 45 or so feet away from me. She was
a patient teacher and was always effective with her
lessons, willing to go to whatever phase I needed to
get the message. Although she was not a “walk in the
park” or the easiest partner, she was remarkable in
how and when she gave me “gifts.”
To understand Chloe, it may help to know a little
about her. Her presence exudes dignity, and from
the moment she walks into a pasture of horses, she is
the leader. She is a horse who gets noticed wherever
she goes, and not only from horses and humans! One
hot summer afternoon, I decided to go for a bareback
trail ride through the National Park surrounding the
ranch. I knew of a spot with an open, green, grassy
meadow and thought I would ride Chloe up to the
spot where she could relax and graze. On our way up
the trail, I noticed a bear and cub off in the distance;
they were a fair ways away, and happily foraging on
their own. I thought, “I can’t wait to tell my friends
about the bear!” At any rate, we continued on the
trail, made it to our meadow, and spent the afternoon
relaxing in the sun. As the sun was setting, I decided
it was time to return home. On our ride back, I was
focused on the sound of Chloe’s breathing and her
hoof beats on the trail when, in what felt like half
a split second, we were being charged by a bear! It
was coming straight for my leg! Chloe turned, faced
the bear, and made a sound that I can only describe
as a dragon snort. She grew to AT LEAST 18.2, and
before I had time to take a breath, the bear was gone
and we were alone on the trail once more. In that
moment, not only was I thankful for my life, I also
realized that – beyond a shadow of a doubt – Chloe
was amazing. She would have a spot with me forever.
As great partners and teachers do, Chloe drives me to
personal growth, protects me while I grow, and gives
me more than any person deserves.
I could write a novel about all the things we’ve
experienced on our journey together. All the things
she has taught me have laid the foundation for my
knowledge and skills in natural horsemanship. She
remains my most challenging horse, and will always
have a place in my heart.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL
STUDENT OR STUDENTS.
Success… this is hard to pinpoint. I have a few to
highlight:
I had a student whose goal was to get her mule to
like her. We counted how many times the mule picked
her ears up and forward while they were together. In
the first session, the mule picked her ears up once;
it was when the grain came. The student stopped
counting forward ears when her sessions got to 55!
Great success! Another student was afraid to just
sit on her horse, even in a round pen. At the end of
a Confidence In Riding course, she rode her horse
through the National Forest with a smile on her face!
Another student used to have panic attacks on the
way to the barn, and missed half her sessions with her
horse because the thought of opening the stall door
and putting on the halter was too overwhelming.
Now, she is confidently taking her horse to dressage
competitions and LOVING every minute!
It’s hard to narrow it down to a few; horses and
people are AMAZING and inspirational. Almost
every day I teach, I get to see a student have a success,
and to say that one is more successful than another,
I couldn’t do that.
Allentown, NJ • September 25-27, 2015
Tampa, FL • December 4-6, 2015
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL PARELLI
PROFESSIONAL?
In an effort to sum up a Pandora’s Box-type
question: Passion, knowledge, and the ability to
adjust to fit the situation.
WHAT DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
My main specialty is Parelli, and the sport that
drives my goals is eventing (dressage, cross country,
and stadium jumping).
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
Personally, I hope to continue setting an example of
what competition can be like for a horse and human
who both like their “jobs” while also finding ways
to keep horses as balanced mentally, emotionally,
and physically as possible while competing at high
levels in the English sport horse world. My equine
sport passion is eventing, and I will continue moving
forward in this field with my personal and professional goals.
In addition, I dream of helping people find their
joy. In the beginning, most people get a horse to
have fun. Each person’s version of fun is different.
For some, it is being the best at the show, and for
others it is walking down a trail. No matter the goal,
I hope to help empower people to reach their goals
and dreams, and to find the happiness and joy they
dreamt of when they first decided to bring a horse
into their life. ST
KNOW YOUR HORSE. KNOW YOURSELF.
OVERCOME ANYTHING.
It’s not about your past. It’s about your future.
Visit parelli.com/events to learn more or visit shop.parelli.com for tickets!
professional profile
Kat Green
2-Star Junior Instructor
I
was honored to have the chance to write about
my Parelli Professional journey in an article for
the Savvy Times. First, it should be noted by
readers that it would take many articles to fully
express the gratitude I have for what my life
has evolved into. There are much fuller stories
I could tell about my special horses, my Michigan
family, my Parelli co-workers, the Pagosa community, my instructors, peers, and Parelli students around
the world, all of whom have shaped and contributed
to that evolution. Here, I am sharing a condensed
version of the story. This is simply a collection of
highlights from my experiences as a Parelli student
and Parelli Professional.
I was born into a family of horse owners, and my
parents raised me with the understanding that there
is always more to learn about everything. My mom
is a wonderful horsewoman and sought out opportunities to expose my sisters and I to horsemanship
I started my journey with
“Parelli
because the program
aligned with who I was and
what I wanted to be.
”
education. When I turned ten years old, I had been
riding the better part of those ten years, and I was
given an un-started three-year-old Egyptian Arabian.
I spent a year on the ground building our relationship
and learning about that mare, who I named Misty.
My mom oversaw my progress when I started her.
Once my sister and I had well-trained horses to ride,
my mom and dad found a 4H group led by a woman
with a great deal of experience. Between what I
learned from my mom, Misty, and Chanda Donnan
(my 4H leader), I received a wonderful foundation.
Unlike many stories of beginning the Parelli
Program, I did not have a problem horse. When I was
sixteen, I was having a lot of fun at the horse shows
with Misty, and I had a two-year-old gelding named
Blu that would be ready to start soon. I had dreamed
of becoming a renowned horse clinician, traveling
the world and teaching horsemanship based on what
I had learned from working with the horses in my
life. In May 2007, Parelli Natural Horsemanship put
on a two-day tour stop in Detroit, Michigan and I got
to see what a successful version of that dream looked
like. I remember my mom calling me from the event
on Saturday. She said this program was right up my
alley, and I had to come with her for the second day.
I took pages of notes watching Linda Parelli work
with her demo horse, Beau, who resembled my
gelding at home.
I started my journey with Parelli because the
program aligned with who I was and what I wanted
to be. The idea of being a part of a mission to make
the world a better place for horses and humans drew
me. Still, holding that box of home study materials,
I felt like I would be cheating if I opened it up. It did
not seem as romantic of an origin story to recount
how I learned so much by sitting down and watching
DVDs and reading booklets: “The couch was plush,
and I fell asleep listening to the sound of the guitar
on the title menu. Such horsemanship knowledge
was gained.” However, I reconciled with my ego, and
knew I may spend decades learning everything that
Pat and Linda Parelli had compiled. Why put my
horses through time with a lesser horsewoman any
longer than necessary? So, my sister Maggie and I
began Parelli, and I became a living-room-to-arena
horsewoman with a dream to represent Pat Parelli in
the field as a Parelli Professional.
In my desk at work, I still have my journals that
detail every session with Blu and Misty. They are a
testament to the fact that the learning happens when
you go outside and experience the techniques and
concepts with your horse and your tools (and that
writing is an integral part of my learning style). I am
proud of what I learned with Maggie, with only the
home study program to guide us and our family to
support us. That being said, when I decided to go to
a course in Pagosa Springs, I made a point to seek
out a Parelli Professional named Meggie Allen (now
Meggie Andrews). She lived close to me and I wanted
to enlist her help to prepare me for the campus experience. She came to my house and helped me in
lessons with both of my horses. I also shadowed her
to a few of her lessons. We would debrief and talk
about the lessons through both a horsemanship and
teaching lens.
I was attaining all of my horsemanship goals to
prepare for my campus experience, but when it was
time for me to sign up for the course, it turned out that
I only had a month to meet the best price deadline.
My family was not well off financially; what we
lacked in money, we made up for in good horses, and
those good horses sure know how to keep a human’s
wallet light. I had to work hard to raise money. It is
only thanks to my family and the friends I’ve made
through Parelli that everything came together. Over
a year later, we loaded Blu up at 3:00am on June 29
to begin the 1,500-mile journey from Bath, Michigan
to Pagosa Springs. No less than ten Parelli members
played a part in that journey across the country, from
borrowed horse trailers, to places to stay for the two
nights of the journey, to Anna Hill, my travel buddy
with whom I coordinated for nearly a year before the
trip started. It was a huge adventure filled with good
people who shone as examples of what I aspired to
be like when I grew up. It also helped me understand
what a great network of friends I had through Parelli.
Kristi Smith led my sixty-student four-week course
with the support of eight other Parelli Professionals.
The experience was amazing and I learned techniques and concepts I’d never put together or tried
before. Kristi taught me the importance of preparing myself and my students for the crazy phases of
learning through the simple kindness of telling those
students, “Hey, you are going to feel uncomfortable,
and when you do, that’s okay.” That lesson helped
me become the person I needed to be to handle the
opportunities that would come my way in the following months. I also believe that it helped my fellow
students come through an intense course shining
and smiling on the other side.
One of these opportunities was to participate in
a course led by Pat’s right-hand instructor of the
time, Ryan Rose, directly after my course with Kristi.
Ryan’s class was put together a bit last-minute, due
to a long waiting list of students who applied for
my first course, which was maxed out. Twelve of us
stayed on campus to continue our education. One of
the nice aspects of continuing onto this course was
that the twelve students and horses (who had four
weeks to get comfortable with being in the campus
routine) were quite advanced. I think the relaxed and
confident nature of over half of class also helped the
new students be okay with that discomfort that comes
with learning. Looking back now as an instructor, I
see we were all so lucky to have that particular set of
circumstances come upon us.
At the end of the first course, Anna and I had
decided that we would somehow get ourselves and
our horses to the Florida campus for the twelveweek Externship scheduled for the end of September to become 2-Star Instructors. We had already
achieved the prerequisites of the Externship in our
four-week course with Kristi. I had actually brought
office clothes with me, because my devious plan was
to land some kind of job working for Parelli until it
was time to go to Florida. When it was announced
that the campus in Florida would close and the Externship was canceled, I was already enrolled in the
August course with Ryan, and Anna was hired on to
Pat’s horse health team. Anna’s position would be
in place until October. Since she drove Blu and me
out, that meant I was going to have to figure something out for the five weeks following my course. So,
Faith Head (our roommate and classmate since July)
and I managed to keep ourselves busy helping in
the campus office. We all boarded our horses in the
student pens and lived in the cabins on campus.
It was surreal while I was on campus as an un-enrolled student. Faith, Anna, and I would spend
evenings playing with our horses and continuing to
learn. Faith and I even watched Linda give lessons
to instructors. I was so grateful to be in this position!
When I saw the team setting up for the 2011 Summit,
I happily let the ladies from corporate know that I
was available to assist in set-up. That was Tammy
Reid, Laura Rome, and Susie Drake, and they seemed
glad for the extra set of hands. I had a free pass to
the Summit, but I spent the weekend talking to customers and sharing my experiences in the sales tent.
At one point, I remember saying I needed to stop
shopping because I had to save some of my money
to get home to Michigan. Tammy told me to shop all
I liked because I could just stay and work for Parelli.
At first I thought it was a joke, but by the end of the
weekend I had spoken with the sales manager, the
COO, and the President of Parelli in informal interviews! After a formal interview the following week, I
was gainfully employed at Parelli Natural Horsemanship as a customer support representative.
Living in Pagosa Springs has been a huge change
for me; I attended Michigan State University just a
few minutes from my house, so at twenty years old,
this was my first time living away from my parents
and family. I also left Misty, my friends, my cat, and
my dog. I’d never imagined living anywhere but
Michigan, and now I was two time-zones removed!
I kept myself in good spirits by making trips home
to see my family and making good friends in the fine
little town of Pagosa. The hardest part was knowing
Misty was at home without me. She was my heart
and my mirror, and no one understood her the way I
did. It was not long before I brought Misty to Pagosa
Springs. With a lot of saving up, a scholarship, and
the help of family and friends, Misty arrived in June
of 2012 and my Externship with Kristi Smith began
in July. I was beginning to have a pattern of choosing
to achieve something and seeing it come to fruition.
Next on the list was to become a Parelli Professional.
I thought I had learned so much in the thirteen
weeks I spent on campus in 2011, but this twelveweek course was a grueling test every step of the way,
and I loved it. In this course, Kristi shared so much
about how she plans lessons and clinics, and designs
spotlights (performances with a horse, set to music).
She also demonstrated how to support students to
meet their maximum potentials, and how to be a contributing part of the worldwide team that is Parelli.
Of course there was horsemanship education in
every moment of the course, but what I learned from
Kristi about being an instructor has served Parelli
Looking back now as an
“instructor,
I see we were all
so lucky to have that particular
set of circumstances
come upon us.
”
students by helping the lessons I am teaching get
across to the students.
I graduated from the Externship with everything
I needed to become a 2-Star Junior Instructor. As
soon as I taught my first lesson, I knew this was
the right career for me. I had an affirming moment
when several other Parelli employees and I were
participating in a day-long lesson with Pat Parelli.
He was teaching us skills and exercises to improve
our performance in the sport of team sorting. It was
toward the end of the day and we were practicing
one of the final exercises that Pat gave us. He would
come through as we were practicing and check on
us individually. When he checked on Blu and me,
he said, “You know what you’re doing. Go help her,”
and pointed to the student he had just been coaching
through the exercise. This may seem small to some,
but to me, it meant a lot to have Pat send me over to
coach another student. One might say that I represented him while he was helping other students. One
might be full of herself, though.
Since becoming a Parelli Professional, I have had
the opportunity to help dozens of people learn a
better way to communicate with their horses, and I’ve
empowered them to raise the level of their horsemanship. One of the most challenging horses I’ve played
with was a little gelding who did not have a name.
He is unnamed here, not because I will not share it
in this publication, but because he was so extreme
the owner was not sure if he wanted to keep him. It is
always up to the horseman to decide if a horse is too
much or too dangerous. This horse’s owner wanted
to give this horse one more chance, and I committed
to helping. I loved working with The Horse; he was
sensitive, intelligent, athletic, and artfully composed.
He was also the tragic evidence of what a rough start
can do to a young horse. It took several sessions
before I started to see his true nature—a confident,
fun horse. Usually, he was tense, distrustful, and
closed off. The owner was new to Parelli, and it was
great to hear him recognizing things like when The
Horse was making progress and how handy it was
that we taught him that silly Touch It pattern with
cones On Line, so we could use it to build confidence
and positive forward motion while riding. Unfortunately, one day, The Horse had an episode with the
farrier, and that was it for the owner. The Horse has
a new home somewhere with a new owner. I deeply
wish I’d had more time with The Horse. He was a
Since becoming a Parelli
“Professional,
I have had the
opportunity to help dozens
of people learn a better
way to communicate
with their horses.
”
difficult lesson on letting go of things outside of my
control, and it taught me how important it is to play
a part in giving horses and people a good start in life
when I have the chance.
Blu and I enjoy teaching kids—Blu, because it
gives him a chance to interact with a human who
is not going to ask much of him, and I because the
Parelli Program is an optimal introduction to horses
for a child. My most successful student is a little girl
named Audrey. She has proven that she is dedicated
to her goals, and she is eager to learn the habits and
skills she needs to attain those goals. When I first met
her, I asked what she was interested in doing with
horses, and she said, “I want to jump!” Audrey has
never owned a horse in her life, but she has her own
little English saddle, and has stuck with it through a
lot of pressure to ride Western (the more popular discipline here in Pagosa Springs). She makes the most
profound or informed statements about horsemanship when I ask questions like “If we switch our focus
from Pushing Passenger to horse training right now,
when would we allow Blu to rest?” Her response was,
“When he stops knocking the cavalettis and steps
over carefully!” She came out for a free lesson two
years ago, and now we are planning to attend her first
hunter jumper schooling show this spring; we may
even be at the show as you are reading this!
I have been teaching for two years now, and am
certified to instruct Levels 1 through 4 On Line and
FreeStyle. I enjoy teaching kids, but I have not identified that as my niche yet. I work with an array of
students at various stages in their horsemanship and
Parelli journeys. I have a few workshops under my
belt and have assisted with several clinics; I loved
those experiences and look forward to putting on
more workshops this spring and summer. I still work
full-time for Parelli Natural Horsemanship in the
office, so teaching hours begin at 5:00 pm Monday
through Friday and all day Sunday (the only horse
time allowed on Saturday is Kat’s horse time). I
cannot wait until my next opportunity to be on
campus in an official course, because I plan to climb
the Parelli Professional ladder as high as the top can
take me! I hope to see you along the way. ST
photonic health I
BY DONNA WOODS
Personal Injury Confirms Theory
of Contra-Lateral Healing
In December, I sustained a traumatic hand injury.
Okay… my horse kicked me! My hand was fractured
in three places, the entire hand was sprained, and I
suffered several bone bruises. While I could write an
entire article on what I learned from my horse from
a horsemanship perspective, I would like to share
with you one of the methods I used to accelerate
my healing.
1 DAY AFTER IMPACT
10 DAYS AFTER IMPACT
Immediately after the impact, I raced to the house,
where I took off my rings (never wear rings, even
when doing “just” groundwork), and my husband administered red light therapy and ice. After assessing
the situation, we went to the doctor. The diagnosis
was in: it would take about 6-8 months to recover,
due to the severity of the injury. Fortunately, the
breaks were in areas that did not require casting, so
it was up to me to make the best of my recovery. Let
the red lighting and icing begin!
During my recovery, I implemented a strategy that
we teach in our courses. When treating acu-points,
we work on both sides of the body; this is called
contra-lateral stimulation. This helps to balance the
system, to allow proper energetic flow to compromised areas. We have had several students report
that they used this strategy to recover from physical
injuries, so I incorporated red lighting both hands
into my twice-daily routine.
Recovery went amazingly well for the severity
of the injury. Two months into my recovery, I had
infrared imaging done on my hand (see below). The
hand on the left of the photo is not the injured hand.
However, you will notice that it had more heat in it.
The hand on the right was definitely cooler. Immediately after the image was taken, I red lighted ONLY
my uninjured with our standard light for a total of
five minutes. We waited another 10 minutes, then
re-imaged the hands. The results were in. By my red
lighting the “healthy hand,” the images show that it
made an almost 2 degree difference in the change
of temperature in just 10 minutes. According to
research, most therapeutic devices hope to achieve
changes like this in 1-2 weeks.
As a result of my diligent red lighting, my recovery
went from an estimated 6-8 months to 4 months.
When rehabilitating your horse from an injury,
treat the contra-lateral side with red light therapy.
This promotes healing from both sides of the
body, increases circulation, and keeps energy
flowing appropriately.
For additional tips on natural healing for horses
and free videos, visit www.PhotonicHealth.com
To avoid injuries such as this, be impeccable
with your horsemanship, leadership, and communication, and learn everything you can with the
Parelli Program!
PHOTO 1: White areas on hand on left indicate
extreme heat; purple indicates coolness.
PHOTO 2: Notice the white areas in the hand are
diminished; there is more warmth moving into the
hand on the right side of the photo, as indicated by
the light blue and green in the fingers.
Looking for guidance on your Parelli journey? Find a Professional in your area!
PAT PARELLI, FOUNDER
LINDA PARELLI, CO-FOUNDER
NEIL PYE, INSTRUCTOR EMERITUS
PROTÉGÉS working at Pat and Linda’s Barns
Elli Pospischil
Ryan Pfouts
Aurelie De Mevius
Micaela Love
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The Path to Mastery
Silke Vallentin
BY NEIL PYE
S
ilke Vallentin is, without a doubt, a sublimely unique person. That’s one of the
reasons I was so excited to create On
line with Silke Vallentin, a process that
began nearly a year ago. She’s a master
of On Line and Liberty, a fact that many
people believe to be obvious, being that she’s in a
wheelchair. But there is a huge difference between
focusing on something out of necessity and dedicating oneself to that thing, and that’s where Silke has
set herself apart.
Silke has looked at these two Savvys – we’ll focus
on On Line for the purposes of this article – with a
depth that few have ever matched, and that’s why
the insights she’s shared in her DVD are profound
for everyone.
Now, there are hundreds of thousands of people
around the world who do On Line, Liberty, FreeStyle,
and Finesse. They may or may not call them by those
names, and many of them do all four pretty well; they
get their horses safe, they have fun, they ride around,
and they’re truly doing a good job. But there are very
few who have dedicated themselves to reaching a
level of true mastery with any one of those areas, let
alone two. What Silke does with her horses On Line
is simply breathtaking.
For example, in the opening scenes of this DVD,
you’ll see Silke with her famous black Friesian, Biko.
He’s doing about 25 tempe lead changes in a row
as she rides along in her chair next to him, subtly
moving her hand and her Carrot Stick. That’s extraordinary. But above all that, she strives to teach
others to reach similar levels of horsemanship. What
could have, in lesser hands, turned into a “look at
me” exhibition has instead become a master class in
the On Line Savvy.
While the vast majority of us who will watch this
DVD are not in wheelchairs, we have the opportunity
to tap into what she sees; we can learn from her experience, learn from some things that we’ve missed in
our own individual study of On Line. This program
that Silke presents really unearths many of the secrets
to her success. She’s based it on the Parelli Program
– the Seven Games, the Four Savvys, etc. – just like
all of us have, but she’s got some new insights that
will really make people say to themselves, “Wow… I’d
never thought of that!”
I will say that it’s not a DVD for the beginner. If
you’re a new student and you watch this product,
you’ll surely be inspired by the displays of horsemanship, but expecting yourself to immediately
implement the lessons in your own journey wouldn’t
be fair to you or your horse. It would be like being
dropped off in the middle of a foreign country and
expecting yourself to speak the language fluently.
On Line with Silke Vallentin is the first volume of
our Savvy Mastery Series, a product line we’ve named
as such for a reason. It’s designed for students who
have reached, or are about to reach, Level 4 and who
want to continue above and beyond within the Parelli
Program. Silke has some insights that may seem unfamiliar to many students, even those in Levels 3 and
4, and to an extent, they are unfamiliar; it all goes
back to the Four Savvys and the Seven Games, but
unless you’ve spent a lot of time learning the ins and
outs of this program, you’ll probably encounter some
things that don’t make immediate sense. And that’s
okay – as progressive horsemen, it’s important that
we challenge ourselves.
SILKE’S STORY
Silke was born in East Germany when the Iron
Curtain was up. That in and of itself is interesting –
here we are, talking about love, language, and leadership, and she grew up in a time and place where
many human beings hadn’t even attained those
rights. Anyway, I’ve known Silke for a long time; I
remember one time, in my ignorance, saying to her,
“Oh, it must have been very tough growing up where
you did, when you did.”
In her delightful way, she happily responded, “Oh,
no! It was wonderful. We had nothing, but we learned
what was important in life. You poor folks in the
West – you have everything, but you know nothing!”
And I realized she was right. She has the incredible
ability to say wonderful, insightful things that sneak
up on you and stop you in your tracks. There are
plenty of instances of that on her DVD.
When she met Pat, she was already in a wheelchair
(the result of a motorcycle accident that happened
when she was 18 years old). She’d grown up with a
love of horses, and when she heard what Pat was all
about, she sought him out, attended a clinic, and introduced herself. She took it upon herself to learn the
Seven Games – which were not neatly articulated in
those days, as they are now – and the rest was up to
her. And she’s clearly succeeded.
She’s performed all over Europe, combining
teaching and demonstrating. She’s been one of our
featured spotlight performers at our big UK shows at
the NEC, and she also joined Pat, Linda, myself, and
a few other Parelli Professionals in presenting to Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace!
I’ve been blessed to have worked with Silke on
many demonstrations over the years – mostly in
England, but also including last year’s Savvy Summit
in the United States, where she may have drawn the
loudest applause I can recall at that particular event.
Anyway, there was a time when we would tour all
over England. One time, we were doing a presentation at a racetrack in the UK and she was presenting
with Biko and a young warmblood.
At the time, she had a wheelchair with holes drilled
near the wheels, which allowed her to bring a Carrot
Stick and a couple other sticks while also driving the
chair. About halfway through her demonstration, she
went to put a crop back into the hole, but the base
of the crop somehow went down too far and began
hitting the wheel as she moved. So every time the
wheel made a revolution, it would hit the base of the
crop, which would cause the top of the crop to snap
her in the face as she was performing her demo! The
faster she went, the faster it would whack her in the
face! But she was such a trooper – “the show must
go on,” you know – that she just kept going. Finally,
I got on the microphone to momentarily stop the
show, and I walked over and quickly got the crop out
of her face. She was so stoic and professional that she
never would have stopped to do it herself!
ON LINE WITH SILKE: CONCEPT TO REALITY
When you think about the Parelli concept of “love,
language, and leadership,” the Seven Games are the
language. Games 1-3 are the alphabet, with Games
4-7 being words and simple sentences. When we start
to combine them, that’s when it becomes a dialogue
between horse and human. In this DVD, she takes
this language to a new level of sophistication.
I believe that any student watching this product will
experience many BFO moments (which, don’t worry,
is not an acronym containing profanity – it stands
for “Blinding Flash of the Obvious”). She brings a lot
to the table, and presents it in a way that will be new
and revealing for a lot of people.
She starts off with one horse – which, incidentally,
had never seen her or her wheelchair before, but she
quickly overcame that obstacle with her skill – and
explains the key component of her teaching, which
is the “mental connection.” There’s a reason the
subtitle of this DVD is “A Mental Connection”: that
term, as it applies to this brand of horsemanship, is
Silke’s brainchild, and it’s the lens through which she
looks at everything she does with horses.
She then introduces the Four Qualities of an
Exercise, which are presented in a very Pat-and-Linda-esque manner (i.e. the Seven Keys to Success, the
Eight Principles, etc.). I think the simple brilliance
of overlaying the Four Qualities of an Exercise onto
When you think about
“
the Parelli concept of ‘love,
language, and leadership,’
the Seven Games are
the language.
everything you do as a Parelli student is that it ensures
that you’re doing it the way it’s meant to be done, and
it also ensures that you’re staying progressive.
It’s a four-step process, where you assess your
progress each step of the way. If there’s something
missing, you go back and fix it; you don’t advance
unless everything’s in place. Now, that sounds
obvious, but you’d be surprised how often we as
students notice a weakness and say to ourselves,
“Well, I’ll deal with that later” while moving on to
something more advanced. It doesn’t often work out
that well for us, does it?
In filming this product, we actually had to remind
Silke that we weren’t looking for perfection – we were
looking for Silke! This is her first educational DVD,
and she was understandably nervous for the filming
process, so she found herself striving for perfection
and being frustrated with herself when she didn’t
attain it. But after we told her that we wanted her to
work with the students and horses just as she would
in a normal course or clinic, she became immediately comfortable, and that level of calmness and
confidence shines through on the product. There’s a
quick scene – I’m not going to say exactly which one
– where she sort of off-handedly gives the meaning
of life. And if people catch it, almost a throwaway
line, it’ll be one of those “sneak up and make you
say ‘Wow’” moments that I mentioned earlier. That’s
what makes her special.
After the initial scenes where she shares the screen
with this new horse, throughout the rest of the DVD,
she has a group of three student/horse pairs that she
interacts with – sometimes one pair at a time, sometimes all three, and so on. The students are actually
licensed Parelli Professionals – Sean Coleman, Liz
Jones, and Fawn Anderson – and their interactions
”
with Silke are a lot of fun to witness. I think these
student lessons are crucial, because they provide
an avenue for Silke’s teachings to be, I suppose,
“grounded” in a real horse and human pair, as
opposed to simply existing on a piece of paper.
So many reach a certain level of horsemanship
and get stuck. I believe the information on this DVD
will help them become un-stuck, and allow them to
progress to a whole new level.
A BRILLIANT HORSEWOMAN
In my opinion, the genius of Silke Vallentin is the
fact that she has never felt constrained by the Seven
Games. Rather than playing them over and over and
deciding that was good enough, she’s used the games
as a foundation – stretching, improvising, and seeing
what works and what doesn’t. This is something that
the greatest horsemen and women in Parelli’s history
have in common: they see the Seven Games as a
building block upon which to go wild!
Now that we’re beginning to showcase a new generation of Parelli – be it on DVDs, in events like the
Road to the Summit, and so on – it’s inspiring to
see so many folks who have taken Pat and Linda’s
program in new and exciting directions. Above all
else, Silke and her fellow students and Parelli Professionals are profoundly passionate about the Parelli
Program (alliteration not fully intended!), and horsemanship in general.
One unintended effect of this DVD that I’ve
noticed over the past few months – let’s call it a
happy accident – is a noticeable decline in people
finding excuses to not get out there and play with
their horses. After watching this wonderful woman
zipping around in her wheelchair, a massive smile on
her face, with multiple horses doing amazing things,
it’s a lot harder to justify saying “Well, it’s raining… I
broke a nail… I’ve kind of got a sneeze today… I don’t
have time…” instead of heading to the barn. Think
about it! This woman has to manipulate the Carrot
Stick, the Savvy String, and the lead rope while also
perfectly maneuvering her motorbike forwards,
backwards, left and right! It’s incredible.
Occasionally, we fall into the habit of seeing On
Line as simply a road on which to travel to Liberty,
FreeStyle, and Finesse. While On Line is the first
Savvy we introduce in the Parelli Program, and it’s
what we encourage riders to use to warm up their
horses, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have an
innate level of mastery on its own. In my opinion,
watching Silke perform with her horses On Line
rivals any other horsemanship activity when it comes
to poetry in motion.
AN INTERVIEW WITH SILKE
I believe the information on
“this
DVD will help students
become un-stuck, and allow
them to progress to a whole
new level.
”
Last fall, right after the 2014 Savvy Summit, I had
the opportunity to sit down with Silke for a casual
interview, which wound up being used for our
Parelli Podcast audio series for Premium Savvy Club
members. I’m obviously not going to transcribe the
whole interview, but I think a few of these exchanges
really highlight what’s wonderful about Silke, and
why all of us at Parelli are so excited about the early
success that her DVD has already had!
ON GROWING UP: “I’ve always had a passion for
horses – I remember, as a child, making my father
stop the car whenever I saw a horse in a pasture off
the side of the road! I chose a career in agriculture so
I’d be able to be near horses. When I was 18, I was
in a motorcycle accident, and this dream stopped for
a while. I had to re-organize my life, and needed to
take care of my health first, but I still felt this love of
horses. One day at a horse fair, I saw a student of Pat
Parelli’s, and it changed my life from that point on.”
ON HER EARLY YEARS IN THE PARELLI PROGRAM:
“I met Pat Parelli about 20 years ago, and soon participated in my first Level 1 class. About a year later,
I was so excited, I said to myself, ‘I have to show the
whole world this unbelievably great program!’”
be effective on light phases, which is something I
think we can all improve upon!”
I believe that Savvy Mastery Series: On Line with
Silke Vallentin serves two fantastic purposes within
the Parelli Program and the greater horse industry as
a whole. First, it illustrates the fact that On Line can
be far more than a stepping stone – it can be taken to
a level of mastery, beauty, and elegance that is truly
inspiring. And second, it showcases a wonderful
and inspiring horsewoman in Silke Vallentin, who
has brought so much to all of us who know her and
have learned from her. For progressive, high-level
students, I can think of no better role model than
Silke, and no better educational product than On
Line with Silke Vallentin. ST
ON THE EXPERIENCE OF HEADING TO PERFORM
FOR HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH ON GUY
FAWKES DAY YEARS AGO: “I was driving in my car,
going through London with my horses in the trailer
behind me, and all over the place there were fireworks
going off! My son was with me, and he’s something
of a, well, ‘firework-er,’ and he’d managed to get an
unlit firework into my car! We drove into the castle,
with all the security, and one by one, they all told me
‘Silke! Tell your son that there are no fireworks in the
castle!’ It was very funny!”
ON MENTAL CONNECTION: “Sometimes, in the
horse world, we have strong, active people with
lots of power, and they’re able to be very effective.
In my situation, I had to figure out a way to develop
a mental connection with my horses in order to
achieve the things I wanted to achieve – canter
pirouettes, flying changes, and so on. The question
was, ‘How do I find a mental connection, and how
can I teach it to my horse with light phases?’ I’ve
studied Pat’s program for over 20 years, and I got
the idea that it would make sense to teach high-level
groundwork and healthier movement on the ground.
I have these limitations (we don’t have to lie here!),
in that I can really only use one hand, because the
other is steering my motorbike, so I really need to
develop that mental connection. I knew I needed to
From Mental Connection to Collection
The Four Qualities
of an Exercise
BY S I L K E VA L L E N T I N
I
n my sixteen years of teaching Parelli, I’ve
always been guided by the principles and the
formula: rapport, respect, impulsion, and
flexion. This sequence is fundamental for a
successful and thriving relationship with your
horse. In my lessons and clinics, I have met
many different human/horse pairs with various
kinds of issues, dreams, or attitudes. But from the
beginning, I’ve realized it does not matter which
experiences a horse has had, or “on which side of
the round pen” they woke up today. In the end, it
all comes down to rapport, respect, impulsion, and
flexion. Once you have gained the rapport, it is time to
work on the respect, and until impulsion is balanced,
it doesn’t make much sense to work on flexion!
We have heard Pat tell us over and over again,
“Mind, flexion, weight, and feet.” When we want our
message to get to the horse’s feet, we first need to
engage his mind. Then we can continue by asking for
the needed flexion; furthermore, the horse will shift
his weight, and subsequently move his feet. These
things that Pat has taught us, I’ve applied on each
exercise, and focused on getting the mental connection to the horse as soon as possible, getting him in
a learning frame of mind, and helping him to avoid
becoming emotional. The sooner a horse and human
are mentally connected, the sooner they can carry on
with flexion, weight and feet. This is what led me to
the first quality of an exercise: “Reward the slightest try.” Horses are always looking for answers that
might fit our questions.
As we’ve learned from Pat, we simply ignore the
answers that we do not want, but reward the right
answer at the very moment it happens. Pressure
motivates, but it is the release that teaches. The
better I can read my horse, the sooner I recognize
if he is getting the right idea, and I can immediately
reward him by releasing the pressure. This is how to
reach the first quality of an exercise. It will give me
the mental connection with the horse. The second
quality of an exercise is “Don’t break gait.” Slow and
right is the natural continuation of rewarding the
slightest try.
It is essential to not lose the mental connection by
forcing the horse to the next quality and making him
do it. So I came up with the term “mini release.” This
means to quit using your physical aids, but keeping
your energy on. This gives you the opportunity to
reward your horse for having the right idea by asking
him to go ahead with the exercise at the same time.
Once you reach “slow and right,” it is time to speed up
and do the exercise in higher gaits. This is the third
quality: “speed up on energy only (without using your
tools); fast and right.” The fourth quality is teaching
your horse to move healthily. In my opinion, healthy
movement includes not only posture, like framing
and stretching of the horse’s body, but mental and
emotional collection as well.
From the very beginning, I’ve always had in mind
how to get my horse to move healthily, and wondered
if there were a way to reach this goal even before riding
Finesse. My dream was to make a healthy-moving
horse possible even in On Line, Liberty and FreeStyle. So, I thought, why not?! Let’s teach our horses
to move healthily right from the start, in On Line!
With the Four Qualities of an Exercise, I’ve found a
way to put together what Pat has taught us in a short
form that empowers people to progress quickly in
the relationships with their horses, to motivate their
horses to move healthily even in the On Line Savvy,
and also prepare and enable themselves and their
horses for high-level riding. Teaching the healthy
movements in On Line and taking them over to
Liberty actually is preparation for riding.
Everything we do on the ground builds the foundation for riding. This is the big advantage of On
Line and Liberty. So why not start the healthy movements, framing, engaging the hindquarters, lifting
the back, stretching the top line, and so on also from
the ground? In On Line, you can start to explain to
your horse how to move healthily, how to use his
topline more, how to step more under the center of
his weight, and how to stretch his topline and lift
his back. Once you only need Phase 1 to play with
your horse at Liberty, you simply have to advance
your Driving Game into a Mirror Game. As we have
learned from Pat from the very beginning, a foal
learns to synchronize with the mother and do what
she does. With the Mirror Game, your horse learns to
mimic your posture and synchronize with you.
How about developing your Sideways Game into
a travers? How about developing the Circling Game
around an obstacle into a Squeeze Game between you
and the obstacle by asking your horse to frame and
use his topline more? There really is no limit when
it comes to developing your relationship, developing
the horse’s emotional fitness, developing your horse’s
body, and developing your skills and mental connection to your horse. Never-ending self-improvement!
I am very grateful, and feel deeply honored, to be
a part of the big Parelli family and to have had the
great chance to learn so much from Pat and Linda.
Also, by the stunning fact that I have been given the
opportunity to do the first DVD from the new Savvy
Mastery Series. Keep it natural! ST
“
4 Disc DVD Set
Runtime 5 hours, 18 minutes.
SHOP.PARELLI.COM
This video series will knock your socks
off. I’ve watched all four DVDs twice in
about a week, and have six pages of
notes! I’ve been implementing these
philosophies with my Left-Brain Introvert
mare the last few times I’ve played with
her, and I’m getting phenomenal results
already, both on the ground and in the
saddle. One of the best products ever
from Parelli! Well done Silke!
- Steve
”
The Parelli Levels
A Step-by-Step
Path to Excellence
BY SCOT T TEIGEN
I
don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb here
when I suggest that people love anything and
everything to do with “behind the scenes.”
There’s something innately fascinating about
peeking behind the curtain, so to speak, and
figuring out how the thing you love – be it a
movie, an album, or perhaps a popular at-home
horsemanship education DVD series – was created.
For example, I’ve probably watched the “Making Of”
feature for The Social Network more times than I’ve
watched the actual movie.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer you a little behind-the-scenes look at how our new 12-part Levels
pathway came into existence. Now, before we get into
the nitty gritty of the operation (it involved dozens
of Sharpies™, a lot of upbeat acoustic license-free
music, and gallons of sunscreen), I’d like to clarify a
couple of things about these products:
1. THESE DVDS ARE THE SAME FOOTAGE AND
CONTENT FROM OUR FOUR SAVVYS PRODUCTS.
When we debuted the Four Savvys in late 2013 and
early 2014, we knew we had four truly outstanding
products on our hands here. I promise, that isn’t
hubris – an enormous amount of planning, filming,
editing, writing, designing, and producing went into
those products, and we’re proud of the work we put
in. I’ve watched my fair share of Parelli DVDs in my
time here, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Pat more
effective as an educator. The student lessons are
fantastic, the pocket guides made a triumphant
return… it was all there. And the reviews were unanimously positive.
Here’s the thing, though: There was an entire
group of people, both current Parelli students and
folks who were just introduced to the program, who
saw the Four Savvys and asked “Where do I start?”
This was a problem, considering Parelli is a
foundational horsemanship program, and people
weren’t sure where or how to start on their personal
foundations. No one argued that the content wasn’t
spectacular; it simply wasn’t always intuitive. And
so, the idea of splitting the Four Savvys into individual Levels was hatched. These 12 DVD packs
contain all the necessary content for each Level/
Savvy pair – On Line Level 1, FreeStyle Level 3,
and so on – in an easy-to-follow format. You get
the lessons from Pat, you get the student lessons,
and you get the pocket guides. You get it all!
For those of you who already own the Savvys, or who
prefer to progress along your Parelli journey on a
Savvy-by-Savvy basis rather than Level-by-Level,
you can rest assured that you are still learning from
the latest and greatest Parelli education. If you’d
watched my fair share of
“I’ve
Parelli DVDs in my time here,
and I don’t think I’ve ever
seen Pat more effective as
an educator.
”
rather take On Line all the way to Level 4 before beginning FreeStyle, for example, that is fantastic. We
just wanted to ensure that students who would rather
learn by Level have that option – that they have a
simple pathway to follow, and that they can learn at
their own pace, piece by piece.
2. THE COLORS HAVE MEANING. Those of you
who’ve been Parelli students for a reasonable amount
of time – particularly those of you who have submitted auditions – will recognize the different colors
associated with Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. These colors
(red for Level 1, blue for Level 2, green for Level
3, black for Level 4) match the colors of the Savvy
Strings students are awarded when they pass those
individual Levels in an audition. The fact that black is
associated with the highest level of Parelli’s at-home
study program is not an accident (think of black belts
in martial arts). As we were designing the packaging
for these products, a Parelli student and employee
named Sam Thorning brought up the fact that these
PRE-ORDER NOW AT SHOP.PARELLI.COM
FREE SHIPPING WITH CODE SAVVYUP*
*Offer valid through June 1, 2015.
colors have specific meaning to thousands of Parelli
students, and that if we were going to emphasize
the Levels, we should use those colors as signifiers.
So when you see green lettering for Level 3 Liberty,
it’s not just there because it looks nice (although, to
be fair, green does look good with everything) – it’s
a quick way to identify that product’s place in the
Parelli pathway. Plus, it looks pretty snazzy on a
DVD shelf.
3. ALSO… ACTUALLY, THAT’S IT. IT’S NOT ROCKET
SCIENCE.
So, now you have a little more understanding of
how these DVDs made their way from concept to
virtual shelf to, presumably, literal shelf in your living
room. But enough from me; I wasn’t there during
the most important part of the whole process: the
filming! While I was relaxing at my desk in a delightfully air-conditioned office in the summer of 2013,
probably drinking a virgin Pina Colada or something
(hey, it was 2013), some wonderfully talented people
were out at the Parelli ranch, swatting mosquitoes,
shoveling horse poop, and doing their best to focus
on horsemanship while keenly aware that there were
many cameras trained on them. We’ve reached out to
some of those people, and included a couple of their
stories for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.
ADENCY START:
LEVEL 4 FINESSE STUDENT LESSON
I was in an Externship at the time. They were
picking students from our Externship for certain
filming sessions, and I was chosen for the Level 4
Finesse filming. I was a little nervous when I was
told this, as I hadn’t played with much Finesse at
the time, and I felt like I would be a little out of my
comfort zone. But if you aren’t out of your comfort
zone, you aren’t learning and growing, right?!
When I arrived at the filming area, which was
Linda’s arena, I was a little anxious with all the
camera crew, and didn’t really know what to expect.
They got everything set up and got microphones
on Pat and I. I had worked with Pat a couple times
before, so I wasn’t too nervous about working with
him – I was just more nervous about knowing what
to say and do so it would look okay on DVD! Once we got started and got going, it was much
easier to just focus on the lesson, pretend like the
cameras weren’t there, and just soak up all I could
while getting a free lesson with Pat! I would say one
of the biggest lessons I learned was that I need to be
more particular with EVERYTHING that I do, in my
own body and in what I am asking the horse to do.
But also, I feel like I learned that there is a balance
where you have to be more particular and also not
try too hard.
I think, sometimes, we get so focused on one particular thing in Finesse and it tenses up our bodies,
as well as the horses’. Finesse should be fun and
“free-flowing” like FreeStyle, but with contact. The
other lesson I learned that really stuck in my head
is that I used my hands way too much. I have truly
learned what it means to ride with more leg than
rein. It has improved my horsemanship drastically,
and it just seems to make sense to the horse. I believe
the whole session took at least a few hours, and I was
asked to come back for another session the next day
for a “part two,” which I was excited about. Overall, it
was a challenging yet fun experience!
SAM THORNING:
LEVEL 3 FINESSE STUDENT LESSON
In 2013, I was an extern at the Parelli Ranch in
Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I think every student
in the Parelli Program dreams of riding with Pat
Parelli. What is it like to ride with a master? Could
I magically become an Olympic-level rider after just
one lesson? What will Pat say about me as a student
and hopeful Parelli Professional? Well, during my
Externship, I was given the opportunity to find out!
I was chosen for the Four Savvys Level 3 Finesse
Student Lesson with Pat!
When my Externship instructor told me, I think
I nearly went numb inside, all the way down to my
toes. Ummm, what?! I get to ride with THE Pat
Parelli??? I instantly began planning my strategy
for success.
We’ve all seen Pat teach students on various
DVDs. It looks intense. It feels intense from the
living room! The level of excellence that Pat operates
at is truly unquantifiable. I remembered watching
lessons where Pat would say something over and
over, like “Go left! Go left! Left! Left! Other left! GO
LEFT!” while the student blindly rides around to the
right. I’ve seen that scenario over and over again
with Pat’s student lessons. So my strategy for success
became “Do as Pat says, when he says it. Just let your
ears transfer his instructions to your brain and then
JUST DO IT.”
Also, be witty, clever, funny, and talented – and
above all, impress Pat Parelli!
Simple. Strategy planned. All my arms and legs had
to do was listen, and my face should smile, and all
would be perfect. As I picked out my clothes for the lesson, I chose my
nicest (which also happened to be my tightest) pair of
breeches. The only thing I decided I didn’t want to do
(besides look like a fool, not follow Pat’s directions,
get bucked off, or have my horse run away with me)
was dismount and mount during my lesson. I have a
tall horse, and I had tight pants on. Yeah, mounting
from the ground? Avoid that at all costs.
Riding up to Linda’s arena for the lesson, I felt like
I had it all together. I looked nice, my horse looked
good, and I had a strategy for success. What could
go wrong?
Getting a first-hand, behind-the-scenes look at
the set was amazing! I couldn’t believe I was getting
mic’d and prepped to be filmed for a lesson with Pat
for the new Savvys DVDs! There were lots of cameras,
equipment, lights, microphones, and famous people
everywhere (well, famous to me!). I was excited to
see some of the protégés and Neil Pye, and Highland
even jumped the fence and came down to try and
crash the set a couple of times! As I was sitting on Aspen, breathing deep, repeating my mantra – “Just do what Pat says and smile”
– I looked over, and there he was! Pat came riding
over on Slider to introduce himself.
Honestly, the rest of the lesson gets a little blurry
from here. I think I got my name right, I was a little
confused where I was from, and I completely bombed
telling Pat what my big dreams and goals were. Ever heard of “The Pat Factor”? Well, let me tell you:
it’s real. Pat asked me to go ride around and show him what I
had. In my mind, I walked and trotted a bit, and then
he asked me if I could canter. I thought I had a witty
reply, something like “We’ll see!” It was meant to be
more like, do WE have canter? Me and my RightBrain Extrovert Thoroughbred? Heck yes, we have
lots of that, and a gallop too! Watching my lesson
back, I had no idea I spent so much time walking and
trotting my horse along in a Right-Brain Introvert
near-catatonic-haze. When Pat asked me if I could
canter, I actually just mumbled something, smiled
shyly, and bombed off in this awful canter. Ugh. So
much for looking suave, talented, and confident.
I also almost ran over the cameraman. You can hear
me say, “I am SO sorry!” as I ride out of the shot. My
horse was looking over the edge of Linda’s arena
toward the extern barn, determined that if I truly let
go of her head, she’d run down that embankment and
back to the barn, permanently humiliating me for the
rest of my life. Nearly taking out the cameraman was
as close as she got to that idea, thankfully.
After I got done showing Pat what I could do, he
said something like, “Okay, let me tell you what
was good. You know your diagonals.” This is where
I knew it wasn’t going as I had planned. That’s all I
had going for me? Diagonals?! I was supposed to
be wowing Pat with my amazing talent and skills,
wit and charm, and of course my ever-obedient and
compliant horse!
Pat was gracious during my lesson. I think he could
see I was nervous, and that my horse was feeding off
of that. He even asked me how confident I was on a
1-10 scale. I jokingly replied, “Oh, that’s a tough one!”
or something like that. I know how confident I am
on a horse; I felt pretty good on my out-of-control,
cameraman-diving steed. Watching it back? Yeah, I
look like a deer in the headlights. That was a tough
question. I looked like a 2, but I think I gave it a 6. I’m
lucky I could recall numbers between 1 and 10 at all. 94 | Savvy Times May 2015
So, you’re probably thinking by now that my lesson
was a complete disaster. It felt that way to me at the
time. Pat would say, “Use your legs!” and my brain
would say, “What legs?” He’d say, “Let go of the
reins!” and my brain would say, “What are reins?”
Pat would say, “Go five strides and stop,” and I’d
ride all the way up to five strides and then remember
he said “stop on five,” so I’d barely be able to have a
nice stop on eight.
It was at this point in time that Pat said it: “Go
ahead and get off your horse.” I think a few choice
words went through my head as I got off, hoping my
pants had loosened up a little by that point.
He had me do the five-stride exercise on the ground. I think he just wanted to make sure I could count to
five. Turns out I could. I realized that I needed to
ride the horse I had under me. I had an extroverted
horse. I couldn’t ride her all the way until step five
and then think about a stop. I had to think about a
stop at step two or three to land it on step five. How
interesting! My extroverted horse, who I always want
to slow down – had I been riding her all this time
with the gas pedal stuck down? It came time to get back on. I tried to casually
shimmy around in my breeches a little. I told myself
that if my pants ripped, at least I’d have a funny
story to tell when the embarrassment wore off in 50
years. I mounted. Pat actually said that I did a good
job getting on! Second compliment of the day! I
couldn’t have been more relieved.
Shortly after this, during a filming break, I was
sitting on Aspen, petting her mane like I do when
I’m tense, and Pat said, “Hey Sam! Nice hole in your
pants!” My heart literally stopped, then started again
in triple time. It had happened. Somehow my breeches
had torn while I was mounting. It’s the only possible
way it could have happened. I felt my face turn a
shade of red that probably isn’t humanly possible,
and I slowly began trying to figure out where the hole
was that Pat could see. To the absolute greatest relief
OF MY LIFE, another girl named Sam had come over
with a hole in HER pants! They joked. I just about
died of relief. Be still my thundering heart, you’re
making my face way too red right now.
So, at the end of the day, what did I learn? I think
the most profound lesson I took away from my time
with Pat (aside from the fact that I am not as cool
as I thought) was that I wasn’t using my legs nearly
enough. At one point, Pat asked me to take my horse
sideways without using the reins, but she kept leaking
forward. He kept telling me not to use my reins, but
use my legs! He hadn’t seen me use my spurs once
yet! All of a sudden, Pat and Slider came thundering toward me. The next thing I knew, he had my
leg in one hand and my rein in the other. All I could
think about was, “Pat’s in my personal bubble! No,
he’s popped the bubble! What is he saying? My legs? Did I even wear spurs today?” Then, in the midst
of my frantic thought and Pat puppeteering my
limbs, something magical happened. Aspen became
truly light. She felt like a hovercraft. I’m sure if the camera had
zoomed in, you’d see her feet weren’t even touching
the ground. She took me sideways. There was no
pushing, pulling, convincing, cajoling, or encouraging her. She realized what Pat was trying to get my
hands and legs to do, and actually yielded. It was the first time I’d ever felt her lift us both up
and take us somewhere. It felt like being on a train,
where there’s so much power and direction that you
and the train car are just going together. I can’t quite
explain the feeling. It felt like flying, even if only six
inches off the ground.
I learned I needed to use my legs more, so I could
use my reins less, and so Aspen could use her brain
more, become responsible as a partner, and be able
to participate in exercises WITH me.
It is something I really didn’t understand before –
how much I micromanaged her through the reins,
how much my body was actually telling her to go
(evident in my five-strides exercise), and how little
my legs were used to communicate with her and get
her body doing the right things. I was always avoiding using my legs because they
sent her forward. I had passed my Level 3 FreeStyle
with a 3++ at that point in time, but I had kind of
babied her through it. I had never really fixed the
impulsion issues we were experiencing, and now that
I wanted to use my reins for shaping and my legs for
more communication in Finesse, I couldn’t do it.
I finally understood that, in order to truly be successful as I progressed through the Levels, and to
I think the most profound
“lesson
I took away from my
time with Pat (aside from the
fact that I am not as cool as
I thought) was that I wasn’t
using my legs nearly enough.
”
give Aspen the most fair deal possible, I needed to get
the foundation solid in each Level and Savvy before
expecting more of her.
I had wanted to come out of my lesson with Pat
doing beautiful lateral maneuvers with perfect circles
and lovely, precise riding skills. Instead, I got exactly
what I needed: a lesson in the value of FreeStyle
riding as a prerequisite to Finesse. If you are still
experiencing trouble with your FreeStyle, then expecting perfect Finesse is unrealistic. Pat created the
program as he did for a reason. It’s a perfect program
if you trust in the process.
It’s like Pat says: “You don’t know what you don’t
know until you know what you don’t know” – that
whole “unconsciously incompetent/consciously incompetent” thing. I think of the Levels like rungs on
a ladder. You can try for the highest rung right away,
but it’s not going to be an easy, fun, or likely safe way
to the top. What happens if you get to the top and it’s
not going so well up there? How are you going to get
back down without your lower rungs?
I am forever grateful for my experience with Pat. I
wish all the jokes I’d made had actually been funny,
that I had been witty and clever, that I had blown
Pat’s socks off. I wish I had told him exactly how
passionate I am about the program and how it has
changed my life for the better. I wish I hadn’t almost
run over the cameraman. In the end, that all pales
to the valuable lessons I learned about the importance of the foundation, and how lightness should
really feel.
Oh, and Neil Pye said Aspen was a really nice
horse, and Pat agreed! So, yeah, I’d say it was a good
day! Success! ST
Leads
& Lead
Changes
BY AURELIE DE ME VIUS
F
irst off, I’m so happy I was able to not
only learn these great leads and lead
changes techniques from Pat, but also
be a part of the making of this great
product that I know will help lots of
other riders as well. Leads and lead changes is a topic that is so often
made complicated, and it seems like an unreachable
goal for many riders. I love the way Pat makes it really
simple, which is exactly what he does on this DVD!
Now, “simple” doesn’t mean “easy,” of course. What
I enjoyed the most in the lesson was having Pat’s expertise in helping me feel where my horse’s feet were.
Footfalls are quite simple in theory, but not always as
easy when on top of your horse while in motion. Since my lesson, I have been really particular with
myself on feeling where my horse’s body is, and
making sure I take the time it takes in setting him
up for successful transitions. Ray Hunt, one of Pat’s
mentors, said, “Prepare to position for the transition.” We’ve had great results! Other than that, it is always so much fun to be part
of filming a product. That is how I first met Pat in
June 2013, when we filmed a lesson for the Four
Savvys Level 4 Liberty DVD, and I haven’t left since
then! It was a great honor to be able to ride my horse
in this lesson; it’s not everyday that you get a private
lesson with Pat Parelli! Here’s a little behind-the-scenes secret from the
film set: If you watch the DVD closely, you may notice
that I’m always positioned a little downhill of Pat
when we’re talking. This is because my horse, Sam,
is a lot taller than any of Pat’s horses, so to make
sure that Pat could actually look me in the eyes when
we were talking, we always stood on slightly lower
ground! Those technical details are always fun! We
were lucky to work with an amazing crew. They were
patient with us and the horses, and were always there
if we needed help or felt confused. Being confident in front of a camera is still not easy
for me, especially when my English lets me down and
I have to consciously think about being understandable, haha! Being part of filming this product was a
great experience for me, on many different levels!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and that you
can now take your own leads and lead changes to
new heights! ST
Leads&LLead
CHANGES
PREREQUISITES FOR PERFORMANCE
WITH PAT PARELLI
“
2 Disc DVD Set
SHOP.PARELLI.COM
Love, love, love this! The way Pat
coaches Aurelie through the basics with
this young horse is awesome! Don’t
lose forward, don’t make the horse
feel wrong, great isolation/suppling/
strengthening exercises, all about
managing the impulsion by managing
the rider’s energy. And Aurelie’s ‘what I
got out of the lesson’ was spot on with
the most important things Pat said, for
her and Sam at this point.
~Jennifer M.
”
The Finesse Training
Sequence
W I T H L I N D A PA R E L L I
RYAN PFOUTS
S
eeing the Finesse Training Sequence on DVD
and being presented in Linda’s courses is such
a neat experience. I have had the opportunity
to watch Linda develop this from the beginning. She
would take the experiences from her many lessons
with some of the great dressage instructors she
knows and basically isolate, separate, and recombine. One of Linda’s extraordinary skills is being
able to break things down into their simplest forms
to make it easier for the horses and the riders while
they’re learning.
What excites me about the sequence is that it is a
natural extension of the Parelli Program. Each step
of the sequence is a chance to test and pull back the
“layers” of your foundation. For example, “Freely
Forward”: it’s going to test responsiveness, the ability
to maintain gait and direction, impulsion, etc., while
now looking for a higher expectation of developing
a stretch and softness across your horse’s topline.
Can you imagine if your horse was connected with
the idea of forward – so that it was easy to go, easy to
whoa, and he found his own balance instead of you
having to micromanage it – and he carried himself
in a relaxed way with a soft, round topline, naturally?
If your horse understands that, he’ll move so much
better physically in FreeStyle, and you’ll be set up
for success before you start delving into the more
advanced studies of specialization, or the Game of
Contact. The whole sequence just expands upon the
foundation we already know, and it helps us to have a
better training plan for our horses’ mental, emotional, and physical fitness. If you are having a difficult
time in Finesse with your horse being stiff or not
forward enough, or if you have difficulty in laterals,
then the sequence is going to be exactly the tool you
and your horse are looking for. The horse I rode in the Finesse Training Sequence
is Rhembrant. Rhembrant is a “project horse” that I
took for the summer. He is an extraordinary horse,
with the sweetest spirit and character; however, he
had serious brace when it came to training. If I would
have any feel or connection with the reins, he would
get extremely emotional and upset – to the point
of rearing and turning the other direction – simply
because he felt trapped. He had such a difficult time
understanding “pressure” and that the bit was not a
barrier, so the Finesse Training Sequence gave me a
formula for helping him through his fears.
Prior to starting the sequence, I had been focusing
on reconnecting him to the fundamentals, which
are in the Four Savvys. After I had our common
language, basic control, and more positive basic
yields, we started focusing more heavily on the
training sequence. This sequence just gave me so
much clarity, which really helped him excel and gain
more confidence and trust in my leadership, particularly when it came to Finesse and having a connection with him.
On the DVD, you may see him “chomp” the bit
when we are standing still, which is telling you the
state of his brain. Now, I am excited to say, he can
stop and have very little chomp or mouthy behavior.
The sequence has helped me to focus and connect
to more positive physical and emotional outcomes,
which has taught me a deeper understanding of relaxation and suppleness. Now knowing this, I can be
a better and be more effective leader in the saddle, by
releasing at the optimum times. I think the DVD is going to be a great support
product for so many people, because it shows several
different horses in different stages. Seeing horses
with different Horsenalities and stages of development gives you a lot of information, so you’ll be wellequipped before going and riding your horse. MICAELA LOVE
T
he Finesse Training Sequence is something
that has been evolving since I started riding
with Linda back in 2013. Being on the ground
floor as Linda meticulously developed each step and
used us as her guinea pigs was a priceless experience! As a customer and student, you should know that
Linda’s heart - and many sleepless nights - went
into shaping this concept into the powerful and yet
achievable sequence you will see in this product. I truly believe that this is the “missing link” that
will now help riders bridge the gap between FreeStyle and Finesse, simultaneously filling in the hole
that swallows so many of our students’ confidence
around precision riding. Linda is constantly striving
to educate us in the clearest and most effective way
possible. This sequence breaks down the big picture
of Finesse and offers it in bite-sized pieces of information for both the rider and the horse! ST
2 Disc DVD Set
SHOP.PARELLI.COM
Linda Parelli has developed a
revolutionary 10-part training sequence
with which to guide students through
the fourth Parelli Savvy, Finesse. This
2-DVD set features Linda teaching
top students as they implement each
component of the formula, step by step.
If you’ve ever found yourself unsure
about your progress as you play in
Finesse – or you’re simply interested
in learning what Finesse is all about –
you’ll find this DVD to be the perfect
road map for you and your horse.
Problem-Solving
Liberty
W I T H L I N D A PA R E L L I
RYAN PFOUTS
T
his past summer, Linda filmed this very exciting
project. Over the last several years, Linda
has become known for her breakthroughs in
Finesse, but we must not forget that Linda is Pat’s
most dedicated student and she has a strong attraction to the other Savvys as well. At Linda’s barn, we
will occasionally have “Liberty Mornings” where
instead of riding that morning, every horse will
have a Liberty session. We will play with each horse
and Linda will watch and coach us through specific
issues, or give us support on how to advance. Often
it seems that I will overthink an idea or solution, so
it is refreshing to have Linda’s support, simplifying
it back to the fundamentals in the Parelli Program.
I think you’ll find that, in this DVD, the information
is not over-complicated with details that might make
it hard to process. Linda simply isolates where the
“issues” are and provides simple and effective ideas
and techniques that the student can expand on to
remedy the issue. In the Four Savvys Liberty DVDs,
you’ve probably heard that “once you take the halter
off, there is only one thing left: the truth.” This DVD
really delves into the psychology of how to present
the corrections so that your horse continues to be a
willing partner, and you develop your relationship at
a deeper level and develop positive patterns.
Linda also provides information on advancing
Liberty. This is exciting because she gets the students
to think a little more out of the box, and expand on
their foundation. Advancing our skills can often be a
humbling experience, because it feels like we haven’t
really achieved our original goal. Pat says that it is
important to stay positively progressive, and through
the advancing portion of the DVD, you will improve
your feel, timing, and savvy while adding new ideas
to play with and develop. I had the opportunity to play with Linda’s horse,
Hot Jazz, in this product. I don’t really play with
Jazz very much, but when I do, I always cherish the
opportunity. Linda coached me on close circles. This
was fun for me, because it’s always interesting to
play with someone else’s horse at Liberty – especially
going into the refinement of having a smaller space,
because it feels more intimate. Because our relationship isn’t very strong and he needed to allow me to
come into a smaller space, I really tried to have an
inviting energy. I remember that as the lesson progressed, he got more confident to stay closer a little
longer, and how “big” and “up” he felt, which is really
exciting. I remember he started to offer the canter,
which is something he didn’t do before the filming. I have no doubt that if you have a fascination with
Liberty and you want to learn how to use more psychology in your training, then this is for you. hadn’t even started riding my horse, Annabelle,
yet. She was my first horse, a four-year-old OTTB
who was rescued from a kill barn. We brought her
home in October 2011, and we had been building
our relationship ever since. After playing with
Parelli for a couple of years, I decided to apply for
the twelve-week Externship. Once I found out I was
ALLISON GAEREMINCK
I
t was February 2012 when I attended my first
Parelli tour stop and saw Lillan Roquet’s spotlight with her horse, Damo. At that point, I knew
I wanted to become a Parelli Professional, but I
accepted into the program, I was excited to have
the opportunity to further my horsemanship skills.
Soon, I was asked to take part in the making of Problem-Solving Liberty. Prior to our lesson, I was worried
about offending Annabelle and pushing her out of her
comfort zone, because she is a Right-Brain Extrovert.
I wanted to be the calm leader she was looking for, but
in doing so, I lost some respect and was boring her.
The biggest change I have seen since my lesson with
Linda is becoming connected to the energy that I
have. It reminds me of Yoda in Star Wars, being able
to move things with my mind and willpower! Now
that I am more connected to my energy, Annabelle
is more connected to me. Not only has my Liberty
improved, but my riding has also improved, especially my Finesse. Being able to control my energy has
allowed me to start playing with piaffe and passage.
I see now, in my relationship with Annabelle, that
as I get more particular with things, she gets more
and more expressive. She tells me when I am fair and
when I am not. Instead of her getting worried and
running, she responds in more left-brained ways, by
swishing her tail or pinning her ears. Best of all, the
expression in her eye has transformed from starry
and right-brained to curious and willing to learn.
ADELE BUCKLEY
W
hen the opportunity for a lesson with Linda
arose during my 2014 Externship, I immediately put myself forward. I had always
wanted a lesson with Linda, and here was my chance,
so I grabbed it. It was going to be filmed too, so no
pressure! I have to admit, I did worry about how I
would come across on camera, but excitement won
out over worry. On the day of filming, it was a beautiful morning with a breathtaking background. We got
to film in the big top. I was to be the first lesson that
day. On my way into the arena, Neil called out to me,
“Make sure you talk to Linda!” I had a small moment
of panic - what if I can’t talk, or freeze up in front
of the cameras? I needn’t have worried; Linda was
wonderful. It wasn’t long before I forgot about the
microphones and cameras; I was just having a lesson
with Linda Parelli.
The lesson was amazing. My lease horse, Porsche,
was a Right-Brain Extrovert. I was excited to learn
with her, as I had the least amount of experience
with this Horsenality. Porsche is an ex-race horse
who had a lot of go, but also had a very sweet
nature. I enjoyed the challenge she presented.
I was having a problem with lack of connection at
Liberty, and I asked Linda if we could work on this.
When I would send Porsche out, she would lose all
connection and get very worried. I was unsure of
what to do, not wanting to cause her to jump out of
the round corral. I learned so much in that session.
One of the main things for me was using my energy
correctly. The simulation Linda did with me was
powerful; I could really feel the difference. Having
my energy come from the core meant I could channel
my energy and have it mean something. Therefore,
I was more effective. This was evident in the Yo-Yo
Game; when my sending energy improved, so did the
back-up. This was something I had struggled with
before, even with my own horse at home. I had not
been able to turn loose to it. Linda’s lesson helped
me immensely.
I was able to get my energy where it needed to be,
and I found that I had a much better connection
with my horse. I also learned that I needed to be a
better leader to develop responsiveness in my horse,
and by adjusting my energy, this happened. I needed
to encourage her ideas and be the ambassador of yes.
Linda is an amazing teacher. She is a role model
for me as a Parelli Professional, being approachable and supportive; she is excellent at explaining,
demonstrating, and adapting to and addressing
the needs of her students. I have taken much from
my lesson – personally, for my own horsemanship, and for my teaching as a Parelli Professional.
Taking a leave of absence from my employment in
order to spend last summer on the Parelli ranch,
devoted to nothing but my horsemanship, was one
of the best decisions of my life. It was an amazing
experience to be immersed in ranch life, and learning
from the source. I would recommend it to anyone
interested in progressing their horsemanship. Thank
you, Linda, for my amazing lesson!
pleasure of riding her in the Savvy Summit, showing
her at a local dressage show, and participating in
Linda’s Problem-Solving Liberty DVD.
With each of these events, I have gained so much
experience and joy by being thrown completely and
utterly out of my comfort zone. The moment I think I
have prepared enough and form an expectation in my
mind, I find myself grasping for the skills to adjust
to fit the situation. Na’vi is a Left-Brain Introvert, so
I need to find ways to motivate her – right? I have
strategies, and I think I have her number… wrong!
Just when I think she’s going to zig, she zags, and just
when I think she has caused me to become upset, I
have only fallen more in love with her.
The reality of this pattern is depicted perfectly in
the new DVD with Linda. You can see where our
(pre-film-day) expectations lived, based on the fact
that we were slotted for Disc 2: Advanced Skills.
However, two minutes after we entered the round
corral, I knew the beast had been awakened, so to
speak, and a string of Parelli-isms flooded my consciousness: “Stay on your balance point,” “Offer zero
brace,” “Play with the horse that shows up.” Luckily,
the clear and penetrating voice of Linda broke
through, and we were able to redirect Na’vi’s spontaneity back to the task at hand.
MICAELA LOVE
W
hen I started my position with Linda last
summer, I was introduced to Linda’s mare,
Na’vi. This beautiful and spicy mare has
become one of my greatest teachers, and has shaped
me as a horseman and Parelli Professional.
With Linda’s guidance, I have been developing
Na’vi into a Parelli Super Horse, and have had the
In retrospect, I believe our session on teaching
spins at Liberty offers a bonus lesson on the importance of having your horse in a learning frame
of mind. Until your horse is calm, connected, and
responsive, success will be hard to find when introducing new concepts.
The days that followed filming offered proof that
Na’vi had “gotten it,” and gained more confidence as
a learner. She was able to maintain gait and relaxation through the spins, and her tendency to punch
on the gas through the turn dissipated. After a week, I
was feeling great about our progress, and decided we
could have a rest from the spins for the day. Within
three strides of the first circle, Na’vi, in her zig-zag
fashion, offered the most perfect and fluid spin at the
trot, then came trotting to me with an expression of
“Didn’t expect that, did ya?!”
SUSAN NELSON
L
ast summer, while I was at the Parelli Center in
Colorado, I had the opportunity to participate
in the filming of the Problem-Solving Liberty
DVD with Linda. When I found out they were looking
for all four Horsenalities, I immediately raised my
hand to participate with my Left-Brain Extrovert,
Fashion. Liberty is a challenging subject for us, as
Fashion feels like he can be the leader at Liberty,
and takes advantage of his human since there is no
lead rope attached! I wanted to address an advanced
Liberty subject under the guidance of Linda, knowing
I would get phenomenal coaching!
Fashion is quite far along with his basic Liberty,
so I chose the subject of walk/canter departs, which
I had never attempted before. It is exciting and
nerve-wracking to be part of the cast for a DVD.
Arrival on the set is pretty intimidating for horse and
human, with lots of equipment, a production trailer,
people moving around, and cameras and cords
everywhere. The experience on a film set is awareness-raising, as you realize that your every move will
be caught on film, everything you say will be caught
on audio, and everything your horse does or doesn’t
do will be recorded – overwhelming, to say the least!
As your mind is taking all this in, you are just trying
to breathe and stay calm, focusing on being the
human your horse needs in the moment. Then, Neil
Pye, the director of the shoot, says “action” – oh, my
goodness, here we go, ready or not! As you enter the
round pen, it is like time standing still. Linda starts
to interact with you, and the magic begins - she has a
way of making you feel so comfortable when you are
having a lesson with her that you pretty much forget
about all the people watching you (which, that day,
were my 21 extern students, along with the crew).
I am very thankful to have had this learning opportunity in this unusual environment; just one more
thing to add to my list of “friendly environments” for
Fashion and I! Thanks to Linda, the crew, and my
externs. The experience went smoothly, without a
hitch, and was quite fun. I hope you enjoy watching
Fashion and I in action! ST
LEVEL 3-4 STUDENT LESSONS
WITH LINDA PARELLI
Linda’s energetic teaching style has inspired
students all over the world for the past 20
years. Her dedication to never-ending selfimprovement as a teacher, combined with
her vast experience and knowledge of people
and Horsenality, comes together superbly in
this 2-DVD set that will help you overcome
problems and simplify your approach to more
advanced maneuvers. You’ll see each of the
subjects in live, real-time lessons.
2 Disc DVD Set
SHOP.PARELLI.COM
The first DVD easily solves problems such as
draw, connection, responsiveness and looking
out of the corral, while the second DVD teaches
and improves maneuvers such as spins, canter/
walk transitions, circling close, and
Stick-to-Me at the canter.
education I
BY L I N D A PA R E L L I
Improve Your
Rising Trot
Do you suffer at the trot? Find out why things can
feel awful… and learn how to make them better!
I
remember Pat telling the story about coaching
Tom Selleck for his role in Quigley Down
Under. He told Tom that the trot is what
makes – and proves – a good rider, so he
trotted him for three days straight! If you saw
him in that movie, you probably noticed that
he looked pretty darn good! So let’s follow in Tom’s
footsteps and master that trot!
First of all, which problems do you have?
Your horse’s trot feels rough and choppy
It’s too fast
It’s too slow
You feel unbalanced
You rise (or post) too high
You “double bounce” in the saddle
Your lower legs fly out
Your heels come up
Believe it or not, you can improve all of this with a
few simple tips and a lot of dedicated practice! Riding
is a skill that needs to be developed; the better you
want to ride, the more you have to practice. Here are
some tips to improve each of these issues.
ROUGH, CHOPPY TROT
A horse’s trot can be rough for a couple of reasons.
First of all, when the stride is too short, the hind foot
will hit the ground right under your seat – that’s what
bounces you into the air! Secondly, if the horse is stiff
in his back, there is no elasticity or shock absorption,
and that’s uncomfortable for both you and the horse.
It’s important to teach your horse to move ‘freely’
forward, which is as much a mental/emotional state
as it is a physical one. Get into the habit of asking
your horse to move actively, rhythmically, and energetically forward at the walk, trot, and canter, both
on the ground and riding. As your horse learns to
swing his body more, the stride will lengthen, he’ll
start using his back, a lot of the stiffness will disappear, he’ll stretch and loosen his topline, and he’ll get
a lot more relaxed.
Note: If you are not confident enough to ride your
horse actively forward, make sure you are at least
doing this on the ground. Horses need to move, and
going actively forward helps them become more
calm and confident, whereas holding them back
creates more tension.
THE TROT IS TOO FAST
When a horse is tense and he rushes, his back is
tight and he’s braced in the neck. Teach your horse
to find the right trot by trotting him as fast as he can
go until he starts to stretch his neck down and blows
out through his nostrils. You’ll feel the stride getting
longer and slower, smoother and more balanced.
The horse will learn to balance himself. Do this every
day you ride, for seven days, until your horse figures
out how to trot in rhythm and balance – not because
you’re controlling it, but because he’s improved the
way he moves, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
A lot of horses do not have a naturally good trot, and
a lot of riders avoid it. After about seven sessions,
you’ll start to notice your horse trotting differently (and better!), and he’ll have more control over
his speed.
It’s usually extroverted Horsenalities that trot too
fast, mostly because they are impulsive, emotional,
and tense, so holding the horse back with the reins
will only worsen the problem. Doing it the way I’ve
mentioned above uses psychology to cause it to be
the horse’s idea.
Stick is perfect for this because it doesn’t have a whip
effect.)
Make sure you tap the fleshy part of the shoulder,
and it’s especially important to repeat this every three
seconds. If you get faster, it will make your horse
emotional, so the predictable rhythm is key. The only
reason you would increase the intensity is if your
horse completely ignores the first five taps. In that
case, increase it a little bit until your horse notices it
and tries to respond. Keep the taps the same; don’t
keep raising it every tap. You need to find the intensity that is effective for your horse. Remember, this
approach is not meant to scare or force the horse,
but to motivate him to find a solution. As soon as the
horse puts in the required effort, stop tapping, but
the moment he drops back, tap again. It needs to be
your horse’s responsibility to maintain gait without
you pushing him the whole time. If you are consistent, your horse will learn this.
YOU FEEL UNBALANCED
There can be a few reasons for losing your balance:
THE TROT IS TOO SLOW
You wouldn’t let your car go slower than you want,
so why would you allow your horse to do that?!
A slow or reluctant trot usually results in a short
and choppy stride. It also means that your horse is
not really going forward, not really trotting, therefore
your goal and outcome is to encourage your horse to
move freely forward in mind and body.
There are a lot of ‘lengthening’ patterns that we
teach you in the Four Savvys, but what you also need
to learn is how to encourage your horse to put in
more effort without stirring up negative or defiant
emotions. The more introverted Horsenalities aren’t
very forward, and the worst thing you can do is
PUSH them. There’s a big difference between “push”
and “encourage,” so here’s how to do it: Start at the
walk and ask your horse to put a little more effort
in. Don’t use your legs, just tighten your “cheeks” a
little, and have a bit more energy in your intention; if
your horse doesn’t respond, lightly tap him with your
stick on the shoulder once. Repeat this every three
seconds until he responds. (By the way, the Kidz
A HORSE TROTTING FREELY FORWARD WILL
STRETCH ITS NECK AND TOPLINE, AND HAVE A
LONGER, MORE ELASTIC STRIDE.
education
HOLDING THE POMMEL HELPS
YOU KEEP A STRONG, CENTERED
CORE AND DRIVES YOUR
KNEES DEEPLY DOWN.
• Your stirrups are too long.
◦◦ To get the right length, sit up, stretch your legs
straight down, and ensure that the base of your
stirrup touches just under your ankle bone –
that it’s not below your foot. There needs to be
an angle in your knee, rather than too straight
a leg position.
• Your stirrups are uneven or your saddle goes
crooked.
◦◦ This tends to happen when you have more
weight in one stirrup than the other.
• Your hands are too high.
◦◦ The higher your hands, and the more they move
around, the less stable your upper body will be.
You want your hands resting downwards, not
lifted up or jammed down.
• You are “behind” the horse’s movement, which
usually means you are not riding with enough
energy in your body.
◦◦ You need to match your horse’s energy in order
to have harmony.
IN THIS PHOTO, I’M RISING STRAIGHT UP
INSTEAD OF FORWARD. NOTICE THAT MY KNEE
IS HIGHER IN THE SADDLE AS WELL, WHEN IT
NEEDS TO STAY IN THE SAME SPOT.
Good riding means continuously improving your
position and balance. I recommend holding your
saddle horn or pommel to help you find a deeper
position for your knees and a stronger center for
your core. If you do this every time you trot, you’ll
start to learn what the position feels like, and one
day you’ll be able to do it without holding on. I still
train myself like this every day in my warm-up.
Something I think about all the time for my horses
is: “What does it feel like to have me as your rider?”
Therefore I’m on a path of constant and never-ending
self-improvement!
We have a lot of resources for you here. For an
effective, straightforward and fun start, check out
Colleen Kelly’s great Rider Biomechanics DVDs.
YOU RISE TOO HIGH
Rising too high out of the saddle is a common
problem and it happens when you stand on your toes
and straighten your leg when rising. What you need
to do is stay low, and the best way to do this is to
think about moving your body forward while your
knee and lower leg stay in the same place. This way,
your hips open but your knees stay bent. Your horse
gives you the “up;” you just need to move “forward.”
Imagine having a bolt through your knee that keeps
it in place. This also helps you avoid chafing!
YOU “DOUBLE BOUNCE” IN THE SADDLE
When you feel a double bounce or extra beat as
you touch the saddle, this usually means you are not
matching the rhythm and energy of your horse. You
are most likely rising too slowly, landing too heavily,
and staying too long in the saddle. What you need
to do is touch and go! The quicker you get out of
the saddle, the better, so you keep the engagement
in your seat. When rising, try to stay up as long as
possible. Not only does this create more lightness
and a slow-mo look to your rising, it will help your
horse move more freely as well.
YOUR LOWER LEGS FLY OUT
This is from putting too much weight in your
stirrups when you rise and allowing your legs to
come away from your horse. To keep your lower legs
more steady, here are two tips: First, keep your calves
softly resting against your horse’s sides instead of
allowing them to spread outwards each time you rise.
The goal is to keep the pressure exactly the same.
And secondly, try to keep the same weight in your
stirrups, whether you are rising or sitting. Not easy,
but a BIG help!
YOUR HEELS COME UP
When your heels are up, this means you’ve got too
much weight in your seat and not enough in your
feet. I imagine standing on the ground, keeping my
heels stable, and lifting my toes. And as mentioned
earlier, try to keep the same weight in your stirrups
the whole time. This works better than trying to keep
your “heels down,” which sometimes can make you
push the stirrup forward and land more heavily in
the saddle. ST
education I
BY CEZ ANNE DECRISTOFORO
Build a Stronger
Relationship in Just 15
Minutes a Day, Part 2
I
hope Part 1 of this article (from the February
2015 issue of this magazine) inspired, educated,
and motivated everyone to invest time into
their horsemanship. Here are the next four of
13 things Pat says everyone should be good at
with their horses.
BRIDLING
When you think about how well your horse bridles,
what part of it could use work? Is it the bit going in
the mouth or coming out? Is it the part where you
slide the bridle over the ears? Is it getting your horse
to bring his head down or bring his nose over? If your
horse is great at bridling, try something new, such as
bridling from his back. There are lots of ways to help
your horse become better at bridling. You just need
to start by isolating the weak spots, then determining if your horse needs confidence or just motivation
to progress.
For example, I started a few wild horses a few
years ago. Once they were catchable and I was able
to halter them easily, I then moved on to using a
nose bag to feed them their grain. This helped them
learn that things that go over their ears and to their
mouths tasted good, long before I tried to put a bit
in. This did two things: it built confidence in Zones
One and Two (and the Delicate Zone), and the grain
motivated them to look for a place to put their nose.
Molasses on the bit or a cookie in your hand with
the bit will also motivate; however, this is not the
best strategy for a horse that is fearful. These horses
need approach and retreat, consistency, and time.
Focus on the Friendly and Porcupine Games. Keep
building, 15 minutes at a time, and the next thing you
know, your horse will be bridling himself.
MOUNTING & DISMOUNTING
Think about it as a Friendly Game with your body.
If your horse has trouble with you getting on or off,
maybe he doesn’t see it as a Friendly Game. One
thing you can do is play approach and retreat with
other things going on above him. Then, try sitting
on a rail and playing the Friendly Game over him. If
mounting and dismounting is easy, the next step is
advancing. This is where you want to get your horse
participating. Can he come to you or side pass over to
be mounted? Can he lower his head and pick you up
with his neck? Get creative and have some fun with
it. Spend 15 minutes building a relationship, to the
point where your horse is inviting you to get on.
NEUTRAL LATERAL FLEXION
Can your horse bend his neck without moving his
feet? Can he do it and relax? Start on the ground,
and ask your horse to flex to the right and left. Then
try standing further back, so you are standing closer
to the hip. To be excellent at neutral lateral flexion,
think about how it can be done in different zones.
Neutral lateral flexion can also be done while riding
at the walk, trot, and even canter. Think of it like this:
Standing still and relaxed is maintenance of gait and
direction, then you add in the flexion. So why not ask
them to maintain gait and direction at the walk, trot,
or canter, then add in the flexion? Can your horse flex
his neck and stay relaxed, regardless of the speed?
Now you’re winning the game!
the hindquarters without the reins? Do you depend
on the stick? How well does your horse understand
that, when you slide your leg back, it means “yield
the hind end”? This is a building block for simple
things like partial disengagement, all the way up to
flying lead changes.
I’m challenging everyone to recognize where they
are, and to get their better best. It doesn’t matter if
you are a Level 1 student or a graduate of Level 4.
There is always room to advance these core horsemanship skills. The better you can do these four
things, the deeper your relationship will be with your
horse. Utilize the Learning Library for details on how
to advance. Just remember, you don’t need a lot of
time in the day, just a focused plan. Work on these for
15 minutes a day, and stay tuned for the last
few things Pat says everyone should be good at with
their horses. ST
INDIRECT REIN
Once you have neutral lateral flexion, can you take
it and turn it into an indirect rein? How well does
your horse give to the rein, and does he plant his front
end? Drifting with the front end is common, and there
are a few reasons why horses may do it. Some horses
might not understand what the rein is asking them
to do. Some don’t want to give to the rein because
they are afraid of being bent. Some would just rather
move both ends at the same time, because usually
we do the direct rein next, and to the horse it’s more
efficient to do it all at once. Whatever the reason, it
is important that your horse understands that the
indirect rein is for moving the back end. Now, you
might wonder, “How do I advance?” Can you move
education I
BY CHRIS CORBIDGE
The Unconfident
Left-Brain Extrovert
A
little over a year ago, I was thinking
about what I’ve learned from Parelli’s Horsenality and Humanality
models, and suddenly realized that
although I’ve played with many
horses of all four Horsenalities, I’d
never personally owned a horse of the same Horsenality as me. In fact, I was surrounded by my opposites: four of our personal horses (including my
own number one horse) were Right-Brain Introverts,
another was a Right-Brain Extrovert, and the remainder were Left-Brain Introverts. I mean, I even
married a Right-Brain Introvert! I mentioned this to
Linda Parelli during her visit to Sydney in 2013, and
she replied with a smile and said, “Get ready, then!”
As I laughed, I thought “I have no intentions of acquiring any more horses for a long time, so that’s
not going to happen in a hurry.” But apparently the
universe had other ideas!
Over the course of the last year, my now 5-year-old
QH gelding, Durango, reached early adulthood, and
I realized that my supposedly innately Left-Brain Introvert horse was actually showing more and more of
a Left-Brain Extrovert nature, which was emerging
as he began to have more and more “mature”
impulses. His herding instinct was showing itself,
his mouthiness was increasing, and his behavior –
particularly in the herd – was becoming more and
more dominant, challenging, and hierarchal. Uh oh.
Ready or not, the horse that was turning up each
morning in my play sessions was actually much more
like, well… ME! These days, he still has some introverted tendencies, he has a ‘lazy streak,’ and he is calm by nature
and pretty consistent – but boy, that mind and mouth
are BUSY and getting BUSIER! He is a mild-spirited
horse, so his extroverted nature was not so obvious
at first; plus, he was always so close to the center on
the Left-Brain Extrovert/Introvert side of the Horsenality chart. So, what is it like to have a “like-minded” horse?
First, let’s describe me. I am a Left-Brain Extrovert, reasonably close to the Right-Brain Extrovert
quadrant. I understand what it is like to want to
move my feet and/or my mouth to settle myself
emotionally, how frustrating it can be when others
don’t think or move fast enough for my liking, and
how a playful mind can either be directed in a productive way OR turn to “naughty” behavior. What
horses show as “mouthiness” is mirrored in humans
as being outspoken, interrupting others, being loud
and/or using blunt language, inappropriate humor,
and pranks. Yes, I have been accused of being a “big
mouth” (mostly by those who have had to live with
me 24/7)! I also find it difficult to see something
being done inefficiently and not interfere; I hate to
waste time by doing a task more than once because
it was done badly. I’m more likely to do a job myself
Ready or not, the horse that
“
was turning up each morning
in my play sessions was
actually much more
like, well… me!
”
than trust someone else to do it. I take over a lot. I’m
a BULLDOZER, and proud of it!
Ouch… enough beating up on my own Humanality.
What are my strengths?
• I see the big picture, and I don’t get “lost in the
detail.”
• I can manage and direct a lot of energy. I LOVE
managing groups of people; bigger events (rather
than one-on-one scenarios) really motivate and
excite me, and I LOVE speaking in public when
I’m in my element.
• I am good in a crisis. If there’s an emergency or
accident, it’s often the Left-Brain Extroverts who
step in and take over the situation, prioritize what
needs to be done immediately, and get everyone
safe and secure again. • I can see what needs to happen in order to create
an end result quickly and efficiently.
• I am a natural leader, and I am not afraid to challenge, to ask questions, to defy the status quo, and
make breakthroughs. I can be a bulldozer if I feel
something is not right and needs to be changed!
• I love everyone (regardless of whether they love
me)! I also forgive easily.
• I am realistic and I tell it like it is! I don’t hide my
feelings, but I will happily hand over leadership
to someone who demonstrates that they are a
better leader than me or better suited to the task.
education
• I get results – quite quickly, more often than not
– because I have a very strong focus and energy.
• I don’t waste time or energy.
Hmm… Some of this sounds like a certain buckskin
friend of mine!
So that sounds like a confident person, right? But
what happens when a Left-Brain Extrovert gets
unconfident? What does that look like, and more
importantly, what does it feel like? Well, let me
share with you my personal experience as an unconfident Left-Brain Extrovert. Maybe it will help you
with your Left-Brain Extrovert horse, much as it has
for me!
Some of my students are
“surprised
when I talk about
my experiences with lacking
confidence, because they don’t
know the unconfident me.
”
Some of my students are surprised when I talk about
my experiences with lacking confidence, because
they don’t know the unconfident me. Of course not that part of me does not turn up when I am teaching.
I have already planned, prepared, strategized, and
thought out every possible scenario before the clinic
even begins, and I am confident when I am in charge!
However, I realized some time ago that it is easy for
others to assume that I am always confident, assertive, and in charge. They are surprised when I can
relate so well to their fear! This ability has been a
great asset for my teaching career, however. Playing with many Left-Brain Extrovert horses
(particularly at clinics) has made me realize that
most people assume the same thing about these
horses. They don’t know how to handle a Left-Brain
Extrovert who’s lacking confidence, and they get
confused when their normally mouthy, pushy, confident, dominant horse gets scared. It is common for
ANY horse to lack confidence in a new environment
like a clinic (which, of course, is typically where I
meet these horses), but it is often a new experience
for the human too. They’ve been playing at home,
where their horses are running rings around them,
confidently and not showing any fear! They hear me
talking about how right-brained their horses are,
how there are confidence issues (in the moment), and
they immediately think they’ve gotten it all wrong
– their horse must not be an Left-Brain Extrovert!
Maybe the chart was wrong! They don’t know how to
handle an unconfident Left-Brain Extrovert, but I do,
because I have to handle it regularly in myself! So what causes a Left-Brain Extrovert to lack confidence, what does it feel like, and how does it present
itself? Allow me to share my own experiences as an
unconfident Left-Brain Extrovert.
For me, the biggest contributor to losing my confidence is losing control of a situation or someone
in my care. Handing over control to someone else,
or turning loose in general, is where I really begin
to have trouble. Being in the passenger seat (sometimes literally) is not a comfortable position for me,
unless I KNOW the other person is as good or better
at ‘driving’ than me. Sound familiar?
Here are two examples of events that I have
trouble with:
FLYING: I’m not afraid of flying; I’m afraid of
CRASHING! I have to have a very good reason to fly.
I don’t do it for fun – I do it to get to my students
or to the Parelli ranch in the USA! I am choosy over
airlines, and I want to know their safety record. I
check out the pilots when I board. How young are
they? Not too young, I hope, but not too old either,
because I’m hoping they have good reflexes, spatial
awareness, and eyesight! I choose aisle seats (closer
to the exit) and I prefer larger airplanes to small
ones, so I feel less motion. Sound silly? Believe me,
it’s no joke!
HEIGHTS: I’m working on this, because I want to
advance my horsemanship and this is my personal
emotional fitness training. I began by climbing a
ladder until I felt that tingle in my lower extremities,
and used “move closer, stay longer” strategies until I
could climb on our house roof and clean the gutters
without having vertigo. I had the opportunity to test
my progress by visiting a gondola ride in Tasmania
– a very big step for me! The first time I rode that
gondola a year ago, I could not look around, and I
was clinging to the pole like a limpet, swearing under
my breath the whole ride whilst dangling a hundred
feet above a rocky river. I chose to walk 5k over a very
steep hiking track to return to town that visit, rather
than ride the gondola back across the river again. The
second visit this year, I was able to look around and
even wave to people coming the other way and enjoy
the scenery. I even bought a ‘return ticket’ and took
some photos on the way. I was clutching my iPad
pretty tightly though, and I was glad for the walk
back to town afterwards; I really needed to MOVE in
order to drop my adrenaline levels back to normal.
I overtook about a dozen people half my age on the
way back!
When I am unconfident and challenged, my
default emotion is frustration, followed by anger. I
get annoyed and mouthy, I snap at my loved ones,
and I get a lot of housework done! If I am around
people I don’t know, I’m intimidated by, or I feel
submissive to, I either get angry at myself or shut
down and start putting up a big mental wall (with a
moat and a hedge to go along with it). If anyone tries
to cross that wall, swim the moat, or cut down the
thorny hedge, I get out my flamethrower and declare
So, what does a Left-Brain
“
Extrovert need when they feel
unconfident? In my case, I need
room to express myself safely.
”
war! An unconfident Left-Brain Extrovert goes on
the offensive when they feel threatened! This is often
misunderstood as aggression, but when a Left-Brain
Extrovert is afraid of something, they FIGHT it. So, what does a Left-Brain Extrovert need when
they feel unconfident?
In my case, I need room to express myself safely.
This means I sometimes need to stomp around, muttering and even swearing, whilst I do a job – without
the “interference” of anyone who may be intimidated or offended by my behavior. I need to know that
the people around me don’t take my expressions of
frustration personally, or even seriously! I’m just
venting! And please, don’t try to use logic, reason
with me, or calm me down! The very best thing you
can do is make a joke and walk away laughing; even
squirting me with the hose is better than trying to
reason with me!
(My eldest son once walked into the kitchen and
dumped a bucket of water over me during a fight.
We started laughing immediately and forgot what
we were fighting about! Guess what Humanality he
is! My husband has the best strategy for changing
my emotional state when I’m like this. He waits
until I look at him, then pokes his tongue out at
me. I just have to laugh! He’s a very smart RightBrain Introvert.) Durango has moments of lacking confidence. In
those moments, I see myself in him. I see how he
reacts to my pressure, how much he needs me to
understand that his opposition to me taking control
of him and his “situation” is because I haven’t yet
proven to him that I am a more worthy leader,
someone he can safely hand over the control to. Just
like me, his trust must be earned; it comes from me
not judging his natural dominance and opposition,
education
but appreciating it, and not assuming that he will
always be confident. I need to remember how I feel
and what I need from my leaders, in order to feel
really safe and confident about handing them my
‘reins,’ so to speak. So what do I respect and trust in my leaders? How
do they get it right? These are the qualities that a
Left-Brain Extrovert like me values most:
• Firmness with fairness.
• Someone with integrity; they keep their promises.
• A sense of HUMOR; someone who won’t take my
‘passionate outbursts’ personally!
• Forgiveness without weakness. They stand their
ground without judgment and acknowledge their
own mistakes honestly and completely.
• Certainty. They don’t hesitate when directing me
to do something, because if they do, I will naturally take over!
• Clarity. They give directions clearly and succinctly!
• Their actions speak louder than their words. They
walk the talk!
• They make room for me to express myself, and
they DON’T repress me.
• They give me reasonable boundaries, rather than
rigid, uncompromising rules.
• They listen to my ideas – I have good ones! Lots
of them! What do I do if someone loses my respect and/or
trust? I will either push them out of my way, verbally lash
out at them, turn away and withdraw my support, or
take back control and go my own way. If I am really
hurt or feel I have been dishonored badly enough, I
will amputate the relationship. Left-Brain Extroverts
are “all or nothing” with relationships where trust
and respect are concerned. What do I do if my leader proves to me they are
worthy of following?
I will fight for them. I will help them achieve their
goals and be a loyal, supportive teammate for life. I
will defend them passionately and go to bat for them.
I will put in every effort to follow them, and offer all
that I have. I will willingly and whole-heartedly help
them achieve their mission. I will show them the best
of myself. I will also ENTERTAIN them! Wow – I wonder what that will be like when
Durango feels this for me?! ST
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education I
BY DON JESSOP
Inadvertently
Rewarding Bad
Behavior
A
re you guilty of inadvertently rewarding the wrong thing with your horse?
I’m sure you are – and that’s okay! I
know I have been. It’s certainly easy
to do.
When we play with horses, we
can often have an objective view towards what they
need, and how to prepare them for the potential
perceived threats in our human world. However,
when we “own” that horse, we can forget that we’re
supposed to prepare them. Instead, we find ourselves protecting them. When it comes to things that
challenge us or our horses, we can sometimes
become avoid-aholics!
Let’s see if the following story applies to you:
“What a beautiful horse,” the young woman exclaimed to my student as she sat down next to her to
watch me play with the horse.
I’d realized quickly that my words weren’t penetrating my student’s understanding, so I asked her
to sit down while I took over the situation with her
horse, hoping she could absorb more by watching
first and performing later.
“Is she an Arabian?” asked the young woman.
“He, not she, is an Arabian, and thank you! I think
he’s beautiful too,” replied the older woman, who
owned the horse.
“How long have you owned him?”
“For nearly seven years. I practically raised him. He’s
my baby,” replied the older woman again. “What’s he
working on?” asked the young woman, about the horse
and me.
“Don’s trying to get him to stand on the plastic
tarp. He says I’m a little too protective of my horse.
He says I’ve been avoiding tough things like the tarp
because he gets reactive. I know I am! But he is my
baby, you know.”
I was close enough to hear the whole conversation.
After noticing her use the word “baby” for the second
time, I stopped, smiled at my audience, and asked
for permission to speak. Both women were kind and
sweet-natured – the kind of people who wouldn’t
hurt anything on purpose. They both gave me an approving nod and I began.
“We’re asking him to stand on the tarp, which is obviously scary to him. So let me ask you this question.
What do you think this horse needs most? Safety?
Comfort? Play? Or food?”
There was a pause... then the owner spoke out courageously with her response: “I think he needs safety
and comfort right now!”
“Right,” I said. “When a horse is fearful, and
needs some comfort, should we offer the safety
and comfort?”
“Well, I think so,” she said. “After all, I am the herd
leader and I want him to trust me.”
“OK, let’s go with this thought for a moment,”
I prompted. “If I offer him safety, how would I
do that?”
“Well,” she said, “it seems like what he needs is to
retreat from the tarp and regain his confidence.”
“Okay,” I prompted again. “If I re-approach the
tarp, will he be more confident the next time, less
confident, or the same?”
“I think he’ll be more confident,” she exclaimed. I
then tested her theory out.
I spent the next several minutes doing exactly what
she’d suggested we do, based on the horse’s reaction.
Every time he got nervous and flighty around the
tarp, I retreated to a safe zone. Finally, after many
attempts to approach the plastic devilish tarp, it
became clear the horse was not making progress and
in fact was getting worse, even trying to rip the rope
from my hands. I stopped.
“I’ve tried this approach,” I said. “Retreating from
the challenge when the horse was unconfident and
reactive, then waiting for calmness and re-approaching. What sort of progress did we make, in terms of
his confidence?”
My student was silent for a moment, then she spoke
in a confused manner.
“I see he’s getting worse,” she said. “But why?
Maybe he’s never going to get this. Maybe it’s going
to take a long time for him to trust me enough.
We’re using the approach and retreat techniques
like I learned years ago. Why is he getting worse? He
always does this! I must be a horrible leader. I don’t
think he trusts me!”
I smiled, and asked her to stop and breathe for a
moment. “It’s not you,” I said. “It’s your timing.”
“It can’t help but get worse when you retreat at the
wrong time,” I said. “Let me show you the same game
once again, only this time I want you to notice how I
retreat from the obstacle at a different time – a time
when the horse attempts to breathe, and relax. Or
a time when he reaches out in an effort to explore,
but never in a time when he needs comfort. That’s
the worst time to give him comfort! I will give him
comfort when he tries to be brave. It will be a reward.
“I will not give him comfort when he gets scared.
This is the kind of leadership every horse needs,
and you can do it too. All I need you to do is stop
‘protecting’ his emotions and start preparing him for
these things he will encounter in our human world. I
know he’s your baby and you want the best for him.
Just be careful not to reward the wrong thing. You
were inadvertently rewarding his ill behavior – his
anxiety, his pulling on the rope, his fear. It was all
rewarded when you retreated to a safe zone. All I’m
asking you to do is wait a little longer. Persist past the
fear, past the pulling back. When he relaxes a little,
then retreat! He’ll learn to be brave.”
education
Finally, I asked, “Do you want a brave horse or a
big chicken?”
“A brave horse, of course!”
For the next five minutes, I led him near the tarp.
He snorted, he pulled, and he bolted sideways. Then,
finally, he paused for a moment, not more than two
inches from the tarp. He stuck his nose out as if he
might consider jumping it, then settled back in a quiet
stance. I smoothly but immediately led him away,
retreating from the obstacle to give him comfort as a
reward for his bravery. For the next 20 minutes, we
worked in this manner, and after jumping it several
times with very little provocation from me, he finally
stood directly on the tarp. Every time he tried to be
braver, I rewarded his bravery with comfort. By the
end of our short session, the beautiful Arabian was
standing confidently and exploring his new tarp-encrusted footing inch by inch with his nose and feet.
My student sat in silence once again. Then she
stood up from her seat and approached me.
“I see it now,” she said. “I was so caught up in his
emotion, I tried to make him feel safe.”
“That’s right!” I said. “But it’s not your job to make
him feel safe. It’s your job to make him feel brave!
His self-confidence grows as a result of this, and he
begins to feel safe all the time.”
“I see that now,” she said again confidently, with a
true air of new understanding. I handed her the rope.
“I want you to take him away, then bring him back
here and let’s just test him. I want to make sure we
didn’t accidently end up on this tarp. Let’s make
sure he actually is gaining that self-confidence we’re
talking about.”
She happily complied, and as she approached the
tarp, I could sense hesitation in her and in her horse.
I coached her to not give into the horse’s hesitation,
but patiently persist beyond it with just a little bit of
Don’t walk on eggshells
“around
your horses. Don’t
protect them from feeling
fear. Instead, prepare them for
tough situations.
”
positive pressure on the rope. Within a few minutes,
her perfect little “baby” grew up and became a noble
steed! And guess who was grinning ear to ear? My
student, proud as can be!
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
Don’t walk on eggshells around your horses. Don’t
protect them from feeling fear. Instead, prepare them
for tough situations, such as noisy cars, plastic bags,
balls, water, cows, umbrellas, tarps, fast-moving
hands or fast-moving objects like dogs or children.
Anything you can think of. This will give them the
confidence you always wanted.
I’m not saying, “Don’t protect them physically!” I
want you both to be safe and kept from harm. But
don’t confuse feeling safe with being safe! Pick a safe
environment to work in and get to work preparing
your horse for tough situations. Remember, your
timing is important. Don’t inadvertently reward bad
behavior. You want to reward positive emotions, not
stressed emotions! And believe it or not, every time
you take pressure off a horse, it’s the emotions they
remember first, not necessarily the task. That’s why
it’s so important to reward at the right time.
TIPS TO REMEMBER
1.When you think the horse wants comfort,
remember that what he actually needs is bravery.
When you see a reaction of any kind, don’t retreat
away from it. Instead, dive into the process of
eliminating it. Think “leader first, friend second.”
2.When you think he is relaxed, it’s time to retreat
and reward with comfort. It’s time to be his
friend. The secret is to reward the behavior you
want at the right time. Don’t try to distract him
from the challenges by inadvertently rewarding
him with treats or comforts.
3.Persist beyond the scary stuff. If you don’t feel
qualified to do this, it may be time to get a professional to help you. Remember, that’s what we’re
here for!
4.Prepare yourself for a long session or series of
sessions. It might be two or three sessions in a
row before you make the big “breakthrough” for
your horse. Don’t get impatient or disheartened.
Bravery can sometimes take a while to develop.
Just don’t get caught up in the idea that it
could take “months” and skirt around the issue
all the time.
5.All bad behaviors – bucking, rearing, pulling,
biting, striking, laziness, impulsiveness, etc. –
can be trained out with correct timing. Reward
the right thing at the right time in the right way,
and persist past the wrong thing in a patient and
safe way. Don’t be an “avoidaholic!”
I wish you success in everything you do!
ST
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time studying Parelli Natural Horsemanship as a student, have been licensed to teach
and/or provide horse development training in
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Visit professionals.parelli.com to find a
licensed Parelli Professional in your area!
education I
BY JAKE BIERNBAUM
The Journey
to Mastery
I
n the horse world, as well as in the Parelli community, there are all types of people from all
walks of life. Some want to just be safe, others
just want to have fun, and there are those that
want to get handy. Then there is a fourth group
that just must become masters of this thing
we call horsemanship. But how do we get there?!
Do we have to join the old man sitting on top of the
mountain, making a sound like a carrot? Do we have
to give up all worldly possessions and run away to a
swamp somewhere to study with a Master to learn
the ways of the Force? Well, you could do those
things, but what I want to offer you is a formula, or a
skeleton, that has helped me along the way as I strive
to become a master of my craft.
Pat Parelli shared this with us long ago. He told us
that first we are unconsciously incompetent. After
that, we become consciously incompetent, meaning
we don’t know what we don’t know until we know
that we don’t know. After that, we get consciously
competent, before we reach the final stage of unconscious competence. But how about we try these
words instead? First, you must become aware. Then
you must understand what you became aware of.
After that, you need to do what you are aware of
and understand. Once you can do something, the
question becomes, “Well, can you reproduce it?”
Finally, what if you could teach it? And these, my
friends, are the Stages of Mastery.
1.Awareness
2.Understanding
3.Doing
4.Reproducing
5.Teaching
So let’s go to the barn and become Masters! Isn’t
that how it works? We have the skeleton, now we
should just be able to go flesh it out – shouldn’t we?
I wish, my friends… I wish. Just because we have an
awareness of the skeleton doesn’t mean we understand it or can even do anything about it. So what are
we waiting for?! Let’s break it down and talk about
some ways to put this into action, so you can master
what you want: having fun, being safe, or working
towards that black belt in horsemanship.
Now we know what we need to start with: awareness. But if we don’t know what we don’t know, how
do we become aware? Well, when was the last lesson
you took? When was the last time you watched a
horse training video? When was the last time you
read a book or article on getting you or your horse
better? When was the last time you went and watched
a horse show and said to yourself, “How the heck did
they get their horse to do that?!” How fine of a detail
can you see as you observe something? The question,
“What is it that I am not aware of yet,” keeps me
education
up late at night. Usually I’m watching some horse
video or reading a horse book, magazine, or internet
article as I fall asleep. If we want to be better at something, we must start with stretching our awareness
on the subject.
Awareness doesn’t need to take very long to
develop. Being conscious and present in the moment
is a big part of it. To help yourself be more aware, the
best thing to do is ask the Sacred Question: “What
does this mean?” (“This” being anything and everything.) It could be a piece of trash on the ground, a
horse with its head in the air, or a bird chirping a
certain call. By asking this question, you have begun
searching for deeper meaning in something that you
have put in your awareness. You have begun searching for understanding.
Understanding is a continuation of awareness, and
for me, it is asking more and more questions. How
deep is your understanding of an idea? How well
can you break it down, and to what level of detail?
Utilizing the support systems that you have is a big
part of growing your understanding. I love collaborating with my friends on ideas and thoughts about
horsemanship and horse development. We share
ideas and thoughts to help each other grow. And
just like awareness, taking time to watch videos or
read books and articles is a helpful way to expand
our understanding.
Yay for us! We now have an awareness and understanding! But we don’t want to be an armchair
quarterback, do we? It’s time to DO something! As
we begin to move through these stages on our way to
mastery, we will find that we sometimes cycle back to
the earlier stages before moving ahead. To do something once is good. Maybe just mediocre. To be able
to move past the “one-hit wonder” stage, we might
need more awareness or a deeper understanding.
The true definition of a professional is “someone who
does something until they can’t do it wrong.” Reproducing results is an invigorating experience. As we
play with horses and improve as horsemen, it is such
a rush to get to where a horse can do something for
us, again and again.
As a teacher and a mentor of horses and humans,
I get the most enjoyment in seeing that fire ignite
in a student’s eye. That moment when you see that
they’ve got it! After all, give someone a fish, you
will feed them for a day; teach them to fish and you
will feed them for a lifetime. As Pat says, to teach
people to teach other people to fish – this changes
the world. Before I began my journey with horses,
I worked in day care. I cared for toddlers ages
1-2½, and some of the children were learning to
use the bathroom instead of a diaper. Some of you
may have children, and others may be children.
Trying to figure out for the first time how to teach
a small person to pee standing up was a very interesting experience. Teaching something that you
do unconsciously, for the first time, really expands
your awareness and understanding of something
you can do.
I have been riding with many amazing professionals for years now, and to see as they too learn, grow,
and explain things better and better, and in many
different ways, depending on the person that they are
sharing an idea with, has helped me to understand
the stages we must go through if we strive to become
masters. This concept and skeleton is meant to help
encourage you to see the importance of sequence.
Sequence is a big part of what helps results happen
in a very timely manner. It is like baking a cake. If
you get all the ingredients to make the batter and
you start trying to mix them together, but you missed
the part where it says mix them in a bowl versus just
randomly in the universe somewhere, it is going to
set you back, having to try and get that mess cleaned
up to where you can bake that cake. So let’s get out
there and expand our awareness – because that is
where it starts. ST
Jake Biernbaum is a licensed 3-Star Instructor and
Horse Development Specialist. Jake operates his
Pear Tree Ranch in Marshall, Virginia, and travels
to help horses and their owners across the country
using his unique perspective that comes from his experience as a Horse Developer. You can follow Jake
on Parelli Connect, Facebook, and Twitter and enjoy
his “Savvy Moments” on YouTube. If you have any
questions or comments about this article or want to
have an event at your facility, Jake would love to
hear from you! You can contact him by email, jake@
jakespeartreeranch.com, or phone, 517-282-4295.
education I
B Y K AT H Y B A A R
Prepping a Horse
for Humansville
W
hen I look ahead to Maserati’s future, I get excited about
all the things I can and want
to teach her. She is so young
and has so much potential
ahead of her, with this being
her yearling year. However, in reality, I often have
limited time with her and I want to focus on things
that will set her up for success in the future. Most of
the things she needs to learn from me at this stage
have to do with surviving and thriving in “Humansville.” As we prepared to head out for our summer
teaching circuit, I wanted to leave Maserati with the
best possible preparation for the “Possible, Probable,
and Inevitable.” I decided that while I was away,
there were five things it would be useful for her to be
skilled in. I put them in order of importance:
1.Catching
2.Veterinary Prep
3.Trailer Loading
4.Overcoming Separation Anxiety
5.Tying
Most of these things are important in the event
that something unplanned happens. In general,
Maserati will be outside in a large pasture with hills,
creeks, ponds, trees, and a herd of mixed horses to
help teach her the ins and outs of being a horse. If
everything works perfectly, she will get to stay in the
pasture, being a horse, and she’ll be waiting for me
when I come back. However, there is the possibility
that something could happen to her while I am away.
It’s probable that at some point she will need to be
caught to move pastures or check an injury, and it is
inevitable that at this stage I’ll be hundreds of miles
away and someone else will need to care for her. With
this in mind, I have played my way through these five
things to help prepare her for that time.
CATCHING
when I run my hand down her neck and simulate a
needle with pinching or a toothpick, her job was to
relax. While teaching her, each time she relaxed, the
“needle” would go away. The goal being that when
the vet did need to draw blood, she would revert to
the pattern I had created and relax, and in no time
the vet would have the needed blood or have given a
shot if necessary. By teaching her to relax in settings
like these, it sets her up to have a good experience on
the day the vet MUST take her blood.
TRAILER LOADING
In the unfortunate event that something serious
enough to warrant a visit to the vet hospital were to
happen, I need to know that she understands how
to load, feels confident while loaded, and even likes
loading. If I can accomplish these things in a relaxed
If the unthinkable were to happen, the first thing
Maserati would need to know is a positive pattern of
coming to humans when they show up. Basically, she
needs to have a positive perception of humans so that
she wants to be near them, versus trying to flee. This
is a theme that I have focused on influencing since
she first arrived at our farm. By setting up situations
where I can provide things she likes (food, scratches, water, fresh grass, etc.), I have started a positive
pattern of her view towards humans. I followed this
up with a session or two in the round pen to help her
find the comfort and release with me. Each day that
I interact with her, I focus on doing something that
reinforces this pattern, and attempt to leave her each
day with a positive feel from me.
VETERINARY PREP
Again, in the event that the unthinkable happens, it
is possible that Maserati would need to see the vet. I
would like to set this situation up for as much success
as possible, so that she can have as positive an experience as possible (not to mention creating an easier
and smoother experience for my vet, whom I would
like to keep as my vet!). One of the big things I incorporated into helping her get ready for this situation was
needle prep. I used a program of confidence-building
with veterinary simulations to help her understand
the process and what her job was during the process.
For example, it was important that she realize that
education
setting, then when the moment arises where she
MUST load, she will be set up for success. As I was
developing this pattern, I used several things to make
the trailer a good place for her, including playing the
Seven Games in and around the trailer, offering her
rest, molasses water, and feed in the trailer, and
starting by including one of her buddies in the trailer.
In the beginning, I wanted to make the trailer as good
as it possibly could be! As her confidence progressed
in the trailer, I also started loading her from both
sides, just to keep things equal and to prepare for an
emergency situation. Also, I know that she will need
to load on her own and be comfortable by herself in
the trailer without experiencing separation anxiety.
This is something I built separately, away from the
trailer, and then recombined so that she was able to
stand confidently by herself in the trailer.
OVERCOMING SEPARATION ANXIETY
In the event Maserati were to be injured, she would
need to be treated away from her herd. With any
horse, leaving the herd can be traumatic, particularly
a young horse without much experience. To help set
her up for success in this situation, I made a program
of providing her needs away from the herd. Basically,
I needed to give her safety, comfort, play, and food
away from her buddies. By doing this, I created draw
to myself and humans, and built her self-confidence
away from the herd.
TYING
This is a great skill for Maserati to understand for
her future; she could get away with not knowing how
to tie, but it is such a useful skill for a horse! The best
way to prepare her for tying is to help her understand
the Porcupine Game: yielding from pressure. After
she understood how to yield from pressure, my next
goal was to get her to like the hitching rail, as food
and rest are great motivators in this situation.
As I leave to travel and teach over the next few
months, I not only feel confident that my horse is in
good hands, but that if anything happens to her or
the property, she is set up to handle the situation in
the best way possible. Not only will these skills serve
her in an emergency, but they will also come in handy
for the rest of her life!
Of all the things I could and want to do with my
young and talented horse, the most important thing I
can do is set her up for success. As you think of all the
things you could do with your horse, sometimes the
most beneficial can be helping him understand how
to thrive in Humansville. Many of the things that
serve our horses in nature are the opposite responses
they need to have in order to survive in our world.
By helping them understand how to respond appropriately, not only will you make your vet, farrier, and
caregiver happier, but you will help your horses have
a better experience. ST
A note from Kathy: Please excuse the rather excessive, scruffy hair in these photos of Maserati. They
were taken in the middle of winter, when our herd
resembles Woolly Mammoths. I assure you, they’re
happy and healthy (and sleek).
With three levels of membership, there’s one that’s just right for you, and your friends!
For each friend you invite who signs up for their own Savvy Club membership,
you will receive a $10 digital gift card (worth 10 in all currencies)
toward your future Parelli purchases! Visit ParelliConnect.com for more info!
education I
BY MARGIT DEERMAN
Saddling with Savvy
I
heard Pat say years ago, “I can tell a good
horseman by the way he saddles his horse.” As
I thought about this statement in my earlier
years while beginning Parelli, it helped me
realize that everything we do with our horses
should be done as a partnership. The horse
has to be willing to accept the saddle. If you cannot
saddle your horse at Liberty, then there is something
missing in your relationship with your horse.
First of all, make sure your horse is ready to be
saddled. If you cannot saddle without your horse
being tied, then your horse is not ready to be saddled
or does not want to be saddled. Some horses need
you to play with them first before saddling so they
can then stand still. Saddling should be a friendly
1
gesture, and we should always listen to what our
horses are telling us.
For the purposes of this article, I will focus on the
Western saddle. Most good Western saddles can
weigh up to 45lbs, so proper lifting is important to
keep us from hurting ourselves. When lifting your
saddle, use your core and your knees, keeping the
saddle close to your body. You want to place the
underside of the saddle against your body and the
saddle sideways (Pic 1). Put one hand on the lower
side of the cantle and the other hand on the front
of the saddle. Rest it on your hip. This will help you
swing your saddle up and over. Use the momentum
of your body to swing the saddle back and forth with
rhythmic motion (the Friendly Game).
2
One excellent exercise to do is saddling a fence.
Stand parallel to the fence and practice pivoting and
turning the other way. You want to swing the saddle
onto the fence without the stirrups clanking or the
saddle hitting hard. Have a good strong focus on
where you want that stirrup to go, up and over the
horse’s back. Start with a short fence, but then start
saddling something higher than you (Pic 2).
Years ago, I did a colt start class with Pat, and
he had us saddling the fence. He had some people
saddle the fence for a couple days, until they could do
it quietly, before their colt got their first saddling. Pat
talks about how you put your hat on. You would not
plop your hat on your head, but rather set it politely
on your head. Also, we’ve all seen Pat demonstrate
the “predator approach,” where you have the saddle
in front of you and come at the horse looking like a
grizzly bear. Obviously, avoid this method.
If you are saddling from the right side, keep your
lead rope over the arm closest to the horse (right
arm), and face the hindquarters. Keep your front foot
close to your horse’s right front foot (Pic 3).
First, allow the horse to sniff the saddle pad (this
is asking permission to place it on his back), swing
three times, and then pivot and hug it on. Do the
same with your saddle. Focus up and over the horse’s
back while swinging. You are focusing on getting
your stirrup to the other side (Pic 4). Swing it on
and place it like a hug. You should now be facing
forward (Pic 5).
Drop your cinches on that side and make sure they
are at the right length for your horse. Facing forward,
place your hand under the horse’s jaw and lift up,
asking the horse to move the front so you can get the
left side without moving your feet (Pic 6).
Once you are in position, facing the hindquarters,
put the front cinch on first, the back cinch second,
and the breast collar on last (if you have one). Do
the opposite order when unsaddling. When reaching
under the horse’s belly to get the cinch, be sure that
you are facing the hindquarters. Run the backside of
your hand under the belly of the horse to grab the
cinch (Pic 7). This will prepare him for something
against his belly.
Do your tightening of the cinch in three stages.
Get in time with your horse’s breathing, and time
3
4
5
If you cannot saddle without
“
your horse being tied, then your
horse is not ready to be saddled,
or does not want to be saddled.
”
education
6
7
8
it to your tightening. Your first cinching should be
just tight enough to not come off. When tightening,
place your left hand in front of the withers and push
down while your right hand pulls up on the latigos to
tighten (Pic 8). This spot is a place where horses chew
on each other, and they usually like to be touched
there. After your first cinch, move your horse around
a little and tighten, then again before you get on.
If you’re on your horse and you need to tighten the
cinch, get off and do it! Some horses will hold their
breath when you tighten and could explode, so don’t
take that chance.
Saddling is an important task in horsemanship,
and should be done politely and willingly. Our horses
are constantly giving us feedback, so listen when
your horse tells you to slow down (with tail-swishing,
moving, teeth-grinding, etc.) Remember, everything
is about the relationship! ST
Horseware Ireland Celebrates
30 Years and Pat’s Birthday
T
o celebrate Horseware Ireland’s 30th
anniversary, we partnered with Parelli
to bring Pat Parelli to Ireland to share
his horsemanship vision with over
1000 attendees at the Emerald International Equestrian Centre on March
13! Horseware is the world’s largest manufacturer of
horse rugs (blankets), and we share Parelli’s dedication to improving the livelihood of horses all around
the world.
This once-in-a-lifetime free event featured worldclass education on horse behavior, psychology,
and communication, with Pat demonstrating how
to apply these techniques for better connection,
responsiveness, and performance.
The audience was also in for an incredible additional bonus treat, with five unique prizes given out. The
first prize was a trip to Colorado (including flights
and accommodations) to attend the 2015 Parelli
Savvy Summit! Plus, we awarded lots of other Horseware goodies, including a Limited Edition anniversary special Rambo Duo turnout, Ice-Vibe boots, and
much more! –Emma Ferguson, Horseware Ireland ST
education I
B Y P AT P A R E L L I
Taming and Desensitization,
A
horse needs three things in order to
be highly functional: confidence, responsiveness, and an understanding
of his purpose. Over the last 50 years,
I’ve ridden thousands of horses –
many of whom were not confident
enough, or were only confident in certain areas. I’ve
ridden plenty of horses who were very confident, but
not responsive. And I’ve also ridden plenty of horses
who didn’t understand their purposes; they were
arena-trained horses who could ride around in a
circle, stop, back, and turn adequately, but you could
sense the horses simply thinking, “What am I doing
this for?”
In this article, I’d like to really get us to understand
that, from a horse’s prey-animal perspective, there’s
a significant difference between taming and desensitization. I’ve seen and heard a lot of folks talk about
desensitization, but I hear very few of them talk
about confidence.
From a horse’s prey-animal
“perspective,
there’s a
significant difference between
taming and desensitization.
”
TAMING VS. DESENSITIZATION
Of course, you and I – and a horse – can become
desensitized to certain things. For example, if
you live in a house with a grandfather clock,
after some time, you probably won’t even notice
it anymore. However, if you’re a guest in that
house, you might wake up every time the thing
clangs on the hour. You’ll wake up in the morning,
bleary-eyed, and ask the owners how they can
sleep with that dang clock. Their answer, of course:
“What clock?”
We need to remember that, in order to keep the
horse “real,” we have to build his confidence – in
himself, in his environment, as a learner, and especially in you as his leader. Horses are precocial
species; they learn first from their mothers, then
from the herd. In other words, if the herd is settled
and relaxed, then the young horse will be settled and
relaxed. But if all of a sudden, the herd leader picks
her head up and snorts and decides she needs to be
on alert, the herd will be on alert, which means that
the young horse learns to be on alert.
It’s a chain reaction. This is why, on trail rides, all it
takes is one nervous horse (or a nervous rider causing
his or her horse to become nervous) and pretty soon
the entire group is nervous and anxious. All the
horses are prancing and dancing around when they
wouldn’t have been otherwise.
education
To me, the word “tame” means “the ultimate confidence.” Any animal that is totally tame is absolutely
certain that you aren’t going to eat them. In many
instances, nomadic herders – who own horses, cows,
sheep, etc. – have animals that can be patted at any
time, caught at any time, and so on. The goal of
the drover is to get the animals totally confident.
Totally tame.
I’ve ridden a lot of horses, many into their 20s,
who were not totally tame. They may have been 90%
tame, but they weren’t totally there. More often than
not, taming an animal is easier at an early age. Is it
possible to tame a 7-year-old horse, let’s say? It is,
but you might have to be Tom Dorrance to do it.
The gap between “technique” and “technician” can
be huge. Here’s what I mean by that: yes, the Parelli
system and techniques work, because it’s a natural
thing (Horse-Man-Ship). But that doesn’t mean that
everyone in the world is at a skill or patience level
that will allow the program to work for them immediately with every horse.
Let’s say you’re in a colt starting situation and the
horse isn’t tame. Well, before you can start that colt,
you need to tame that colt! This has happened quite
a bit at colt starts I’ve been a part of; around 80%
of the colts were tame enough that they could begin
being started, and the remaining 20% weren’t. This
meant that those horses – and the starters – weren’t
able to go at the same pace as the rest of the group.
We had to work with those horses, so they were confident in the humans.
So, the next question is this: How do we get a
horse tame? Well, when we talk about the Friendly
Game, it’s not a desensitization process. It’s a “can
you trust me, with everything else going on around
us?” process. We need principle before purpose. We
need to be able to swing the Carrot Stick and string,
balance the ball, and so on, but we need to keep the
principle intact. If we do it until the horse is just dull,
If we do something until the
“horse
understands, and then
we move on to something else,
that’s confidence-building.
”
then that’s desensitization. But if we do something
until the horse understands, and then we move on to
something else, that’s confidence-building.
I’ve had horses that were 80%-90% tame, and they
could get more confidence with, say, the green ball
bouncing alongside while riding. But it’s hard for
them. They could learn it, and they’d be confident
with that exercise, but when you try something else,
you realize that there’s a new area where the horse
isn’t confident. That’s the remaining 10%-20%
between you and total confidence.
No matter what you’re doing, if you want to gain
a horse’s confidence, you need three things: rhythm,
relaxation, and retreat. Those three R’s are huge. As
horsemen, we need to understand what to do when
our horses need us, and when they’re lacking confidence: we need to provide rhythm, relaxation, and
retreat. There are lots of ways to do that.
We understand that, the younger a horse is, the
easier the taming process will likely be. With that
understanding, it’s easy to see why foal imprinting
makes such sense. One of the goals of foal imprinting – immediately followed by early training – is
getting the horse prepared for the rest of his life.
This is where many highly bred horses are taken care
of from a horse husbandry perspective, but when
their minds are malleable, they oftentimes aren’t
adequately prepared for the rest of their lives. I like
to call this section of a horse’s young life the “confidence training” section.
When my great mare Scamp was in this life stage,
I would ride Smart Seven with Scamp alongside,
walking through cattle, swinging the rope around,
just building her confidence with lots of different
things. I’d rope a cow, and the little foal would essentially respond with “Oh, I get it.”
I learned this from watching great driving
horsemen. They’d have a foal walk alongside the
wagon as the mare was pulling it. It was a part of life
for that foal’s first six months. We can make a science
out of taming.
So, if we understand that desensitization is just
the overdoing of stimulus, to the point that the
horse simply doesn’t give a dang anymore, then I
would definitely rather have a confident horse than a
desensitized horse.
THE ART OF DROVING
You may be wondering why I’ve included “The Art
of Droving” in the title of this article. If you recall, I
said that a horse needs confidence, responsiveness,
and an understanding of his purpose. The old drovers
of the past – the ones who would take cattle on big
cattle drives – understood that, with a large herd, it’s
much easier to drive them than lead them. Imagine
having a thousand head of cattle and needing to put a
halter on each one just to get them to where you need
to go! Compare that to having three or four cowboys
behind the herd, driving them in the right direction.
It’s our job to cause a horse to understand how
to respond to pressure appropriately. Horses are
born, by nature, to be driven around – first by their
mothers, then by the herd. It’s not a natural thing
for a horse to learn to yield to a halter. That’s why
we need to go through that process slowly, softly,
and methodically. This is where people can get in
trouble with young horses; they throw a halter onto
the foal, and the foal becomes quickly desensitized,
so it seems like no problem. But then they attach
a lead rope, and the horse doesn’t understand
how to respond.
There are two kinds of pressure: steady and
rhythmic. This is why we have the Porcupine Game
(steady) and the Driving Game (rhythmic). The art
of droving relies on an understanding of the balance
point of the herd. We need to treat the herd like an
individual: there’s a front, a middle, and a back. Like
we talk about in the Parelli Program, there are zones.
I bring this up because I want you to understand
that the more you learn about driving a herd, the
more you’ll understand about how to influence your
horse as an individual, whether on the ground or
in the saddle.
If we’re driving a herd and we want them to turn
right, we need to get off to the left. Think of the whole
herd as one unit, and the unit has a bubble around it.
To get it to turn right, we have to swing off to the left
and then slowly tip in, so the bubble starts heading to
the right. The question becomes, “How do I influence
the unit?” Folks who do this for a living, they learn
this very well.
Now, here’s the third part of the equation.
Remember, they need confidence, responsiveness,
and an understanding of the purpose. Horses can
learn to relate to situations very well; it’s one of the
great things about them. But we need understanding – how to move the horse’s body through time and
space. When I ride a horse, I think about my driving
influence more than my pulling influence. In other
words, if I want my horse to side pass to the left, I get
a little over to the right side and push his body to the
left. If I want my horse to go forward, I influence him
from behind, rather than settling more forward and
“pulling” him forward.
I hope that this article has offered a different perspective on what you’ve already been doing, and also,
that you now understand the key difference between
confidence and desensitization. Put your horse in
lots of different situations; keep it interesting, and
don’t let him become dull. Additionally, I hope you
now understand the importance of driving – it’s why
we emphasize Carrot Stick riding so much – and you
put yourself in situations that have real purposes. It
can be as simple as opening the gate from the saddle.
Keep it natural, and may the horse be with you.
ST
saddle savvy I
BY LETITIA GLENN
Veterinarians Request
and Welcome Our Input
It seemed difficult to imagine that some veterinarians were not routinely educated about investigation
of saddle fit as part of the diagnostic process when
examining their equine patients. But during our
15-year-long process of investigating it ourselves,
this truth has been repeatedly brought to our attention by veterinarians themselves. Many were openly
fascinated to hear of our discoveries.
I was invited to be a presenter at the 2015 NAVC
(North American Veterinary Community) conference, which was reported to be the largest vet conference in the world. They asked that I frame my talk on
the subject of “Wounds as related to saddle fit.” With
their permission, I expanded the concept of wounds
to include the mental and emotional damage that
can be imposed by ill-constructed or poorly fitting
saddles.
I was asked to present our basic material for their
review in manuscript form in advance, and was
subsequently welcomed warmly as a presenter in
Orlando, Florida in January. Apparently, many
members of the audience took extensive notes, and
I’ve been invited back next year to expand on this
topic. Wonderful news for horses, and thrilling validation for our work, which remains ongoing.
Being introduced as a respected researcher and offering insight that will further benefit all sorts of breeds of riding horses in the future was a moving experience. It also gave me an
opportunity to reinforce that what we have discovered was
possible because of the depth, breadth, and passion of the
Parelli worldwide community’s participation in this. Thank
you, Linda Parelli, for sparking it all in me.
Looking at a riding horse’s posture and the way he is muscled
can tell you a great deal about what he can and cannot use
properly in his body when ridden. A veterinarian’s visual and
manual assessment should always include visual and manual
examination of saddle equipment. Further, it should include
comparative observation of the horse in motion with and
without saddle, whenever possible.
Our discoveries have clearly indicated that locking saddle
pressure directly behind the horse’s scapula will result in damage and pain.
If you see physical evidence of these sorts of things
on a riding horse…
• Muscle wastage along withers and spine.
• Protrusions of the vertebrae just behind where
the saddle sits.
• Hip bones that seem sharp and angular on top
without well-rounded muscle on the rump.
• Hind legs that appear strung out behind where
they should be centered under the HQ.
…you can suspect that the horse has experienced
discomfort and pain when carrying a rider.
The supportive connective tissue that holds the
skeleton together has likely over-compensated (in
multiple areas) for restriction in the shoulder region
and/or carrying a rider who may not understand
how to avoid putting with too much weight on the
forehand. The horse’s body has literally been forced
to “rearrange” skeletal structure to maintain a “way
of going” under such conditions.
We’re always extremely proud to notice that the horses ridden by Linda Parelli,
her protégés, and her expanding team of mastery students have backs that
look sensational when the saddles come off. Even after they perform strenuous dressage maneuvers, we don’t see evidence that their back muscles have
been uncomfortably pressed or squashed underneath the saddle panels.
They are well-muscled and healthy-looking.
It was fun to highlight that in my NAVC presentation, wherein I showed a
picture of Hot Jazz and we compared a variety of photos of less fortunate
ridden horses.
The above scars on this horse’s wither area are from saddle
damage due to a restrictive tree and not enough protection
via pad and shims. Sometimes the evidence remains more
subtle and can lead to severe consequences over time.
More about what to look for on parellisaddles.com/education
Parelli Saddles are designed to enhance your partnership with your horse so that BOTH of you can enjoy
the equine sport of your choice. Provided by NATURAL
HORSEMAN SADDLES, Inc. exclusively.
“ Cruiser ”
Hybrid English
and Western available
“ Pro Dressage”
Mono flap styles with stationary
or moveable thigh blocks.
“ Roper ” styles
“Jumper” monoflap styless
“n Halfbreed”
include Wade and Ranch Versatility “ Cutters” and “Reiners”
“ Western Dressage”
are also available.
Ask about our complimentary test ride program. We’re here to guide you if you need us. Free layaway programs. www.ParelliSaddles.com
“ Fluidity General
Purpose” and “Dressage”
dual flap styles
and all other saddles on
this page can be custom
ordered with choice of
color and dimensions.
Official
Graduates
Congratulations to the new Levels Pathway Graduates!
December 16, 2014 – March 15, 2015
Level 4 Graduates
Level 4 Graduates
Ann Bowman, UK
On Line + FreeStyle +
Liberty + Finesse
FreeStyle
Anna Chilese, Italy
Stefanie Barth, Germany
Jane Cook, New Zealand
Gigi Iacovelli, USA
Jane Cook, New Zealand
Jessica Coyle, Australia
Rebecca Jeyaseelan, Australia
Linda de Leeuw, Netherlands
Silvia Donzelli, Italy
Lynetta Schionning, Australia
Julie Deportemont, Belgium
Anthony Greenleaves, UK
Lavinia Scrymgeour, UK
Barbara Gegenschatz, Austria
Katarzyna Jasinska, Poland
Wendy Goodburn, Australia
Kristina Mahler, Switzerland
Sarah Jensen, USA
Helen Grace O’ Hanlon, Ireland
Paisley Walker, Australia
Level 4 Graduates
Fran Latane, USA
On Line
Kristina Mahler, Switzerland
Gloria Mei Beaupré, Canada
Jodi Hartman, USA
Amy Jackson, UK
Jolene McDowell, USA
Nadine Meissner, Germany
Elisa Mocellini, Italy
Elisa Mocellini, Italy
Michele Pagliaro, Italy
Lorri Roy, USA
Anna Sell, Switzerland
Craig Smith, USA
Stacie Wadsworth, USA
Tiberio Zingoni, Italy
Anna Sell, Switzerland
Level 4 Graduates
Adency Start, USA
Finesse
Samantha Thorning, USA
Elisabeth Weiss, Luxembourg
Ethan Zimmerman, USA
Rosa Robinson, USA
Niki Hardwick, UK
Michele Pagliaro, Italy
Catherine Scott, UK
Level 4 Graduates
Josette Planer, UK
Svantje Suel, Germany
Liberty
Catherine Scott, UK
Pam Wiselogel, USA
Ashley Boswell, USA
Adency Start, USA
Level 3 Graduates
Bonnie Lee, USA
Felicia Koon, USA
Jude Lynock, UK
Bonnie Lee, USA
Kate Mackie, USA
Kate Mackie, USA
Kathy McBride, USA
Rachel McWhirter, Canada
Rachel McWhirter, Canada
Jill Roth, USA
Ina Meissner, Germany
Bridget Sheeran, Ireland
Rachel Orupold, Australia
Nadia Soleymanjo Golestani, Spain
Adelaide Rodgers, Canada
Nicole Steiner, Austria
Kim Schmidt, Germany
Kristi Sweney, USA
Linda de Leeuw, Netherlands
Beverly Simmons, USA
Sharon Worona, USA
Susan Durjan, USA
Rebecca Starr, Australia
Becki Ensell, UK
Sally Suk, USA
Cathy Falconer, USA
Kristi Sweney, USA
Terry Galen, USA
Sharon Worona, USA
On Line + FreeStyle +
Liberty
Matteo Bartalini, Italy
Martha Burkett, USA
Judi Burns, USA
Anna Chapman, UK
Julie Cousinou Macheret,
Switzerland
Kimberley Hess, Netherlands
Kaylie Jerman, USA
Siegfried Mittermair, Italy
Level 2 Graduates
On Line + FreeStyle
Dione Aitken-Ashley, Australia
Danielle Ayan, USA
Level 3 Graduates
Chiara Boccardo, Italy
FreeStyle
Jane Brehany, USA
Lindsey Partridge, Canada
Liz Andrews, UK
Barbara Brown, USA
Suzanne Pratt, Australia
Tina Bon, Switzerland
Melissa Cantacuzene, USA
Karen Bovee, USA
Lyn Coleman, Australia
Simona Bruderer, Switzerland
Rosemary Copley, UK
Patri Janyk, Canada
Terry Davidson, Canada
Carol Ålmo-Lengweiler, Norway
Sara Montagna, Italy
Veronica Dickerson, USA
Garth Barnard, South Africa
Noa Olivet, Switzerland
Shayla Forker, USA
Karen Bovee, USA
Salomé Olivet, Switzerland
Nicole Glanzmann, Switzerland
Maria Grazia Cerone, Italy
Nori Shaw, USA
Shellagh Gutke, USA
Brenda Engelen, Belgium
Fiona Stiller, Germany
Karen Gwaltney, USA
Nancy Enslin, USA
Joan Van Den Ende, Australia
Ruth Sølvi Helland, Norway
Level 3 Graduates
On Line
Stina Ernstsson, Sweden
Angela Heinrich, Switzerland
Level 3 Graduates
Susanne Humbel, Switzerland
Liberty
Deborah Jendro, France
Felicia Koon, USA
Emma Laurijssen, Belgium
Patri Janyk, Canada
Andrea Adams, USA
Caitlin Mazoudier, Australia
Felicia Koon, USA
Garth Barnard, South Africa
Mallory McCullouch, USA
Wilfried Köster, Germany
Jessica Busbroek, Netherlands
Marie McCullouch, USA
Katarzyna Kuczynska, Poland
Loraine Davis, UK
Matthia Pontoni, India
Dianne Laney, USA
Sandra De Mooij, Netherlands
Jill Roth, USA
Pebble Lazott, USA
Frida Einarsson, Sweden
Kim Schulz, Germany
Mary Sindlinger, USA
Susan Rodgers, USA
Katja Huger, Germany
Vivienne Rose Sisco, USA
Lauren Sims, Australia
Ingeborg Marie Jensen, Norway
Marcella Spadafora, Germany
Holly Stewart, New Zealand
Jessie Kalelkar, USA
Marlene Spencer, USA
Linda Tremblay, Canada
Luke Katekar, Australia
Cynthia Sprague, USA
Erika Ver Berne, Switzerland
Martina Kostkova, UK
Margi Stauver, USA
Shawna Viscuso, USA
Eva Lack, Australia
Michelle Temme, Australia
Emily Walker, USA
Sarah Laehle, USA
Delia Tredinnick, Australia
Nadine Williner, Switzerland
Hartmut Leitermann, Germany
Christina Woods, UK
Claire Longsworth, USA
Level 2 Graduates
On Line
Evelyne Arnold, New Zealand
Level 2 Graduates
FreeStyle
Karla Markayze, USA
Antonio Mecca, Italy
Sarina Münch, Switzerland
Victoria Arnold, New Zealand
Delia Balzer, Switzerland
Barry Orie, Netherlands
Lianne Barker, Australia
Pat Barker, Canada
Mary Beth Patten, USA
Jeanmarie Bassett, USA
Eileen Driscoll, USA
Camille Paupe, Switzerland
Karyn Bell, Australia
Ingeborg Marie Jensen, Norway
Stephanie J Peterson, USA
Edoardo Biamino, Italy
Carla Joana Leitch, Germany
Holley Pickin, Australia
Charlene Casserley, USA
Marike Sobry, Belgium
Kathryn Morgan Reetz, USA
Beth Chamberlin, UK
Maurice De Grâce, Canada
Michele Doxey, USA
Level 1 Graduates
On Line
Emma Roth, USA
Noelle Russell, Australia
Marina Shill, USA
Crystal Graboyes, USA
Arnold W. Abt, Switzerland
Diane Greenwood, UK
Gabriella Alas, USA
Lisa Hagland, Norway
Cooper Brown, USA
Margaret Hamblin, UK
Maria Callava, USA
Samantha Hart, New Zealand
Sienna Colson, Belgium
Tanja Konz, Germany
Tia Colson, Belgium
Robert Lanning, Canada
Dana Cowles, USA
Eveline Lanz, Switzerland
Rachel Cowles, USA
Katie Lindsay, Australia
Patricia Davidson, Canada
we have missed your name, or
Abby Macko, USA
Nicolas de Quatrebarbes, Germany
misspelled it, please let us know
Heather McCormack, Australia
Eileen Driscoll, USA
right away by emailing auditions@
Jasmine McKenna, Canada
Carole Dulworth, USA
parelli.com.
Danielle Puffer, USA
Rita Ferri, Italy
Nicole Rawleigh, USA
Maria Greenwood, UK
Steve Revell, UK
Kaitlyn Hildebrand, USA
Carin Robinson, New Zealand
Sophie Hopson, Australia
Samantha Streit, Ireland
Sarah Streit, Ireland
Louise Van Parys, Belgium
Heike Waschik, Germany
Celia Wright, USA
Elizabeth Wuori, USA
Every effort is made to ensure this
list is accurate. If for any reason
Want To Read More?
Check Out the Parelli Blog!
W
e hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of
the Savvy Times. If you’d like to read
even more great stories from Parelli
students, staff, and Professionals, head on over to the
Parelli Blog!
The Parelli Blog is our online hub for the latest
news, musings, educational articles, and fun one-off
articles. As you’ve clearly learned over the course
of the past 140-odd pages, there are some deeply
talented writers out there in the Parelli community,
and we want to make sure we can showcase their
abilities, their thoughts, and their teachings in more
ways than a quarterly magazine!
The Parelli Blog offers a wide array of possibilities
for submissions. Did you just attend an awesome
clinic with a Parelli Professional? Take out your
phone, shoot a quick video of yourself recapping
what you learned, and send it to us! Have you taken
a series of beautiful photos of your horse playing in
front of a stunning sunset? Send those too!
If you like what you see and you want to submit
your own articles, photos, or videos for the Parelli
Blog, simply email them to parelliblog@gmail.com!
In the meantime, check out all the fantastic articles
on the blog, with topics spanning from halters to Halloween, from helmets to how-to videos, from horse
health to… well, I’m running out of words that start
with H. You get the idea.
Go to www.ParelliNews.com.
Enjoy!
- Scott Teigen, Lead Editor
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
Parelli Natural
Horsemanship
7 Parelli Way, PO Box 3729
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
1-855-PARELLI • www.parelli.com
Can you feel it?
PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO
SEPTEMBER 11-13
Summit will be here before
you know it!

education - Parelli Savvy Club

Transcription

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