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Please Reply to: diane Day fourdays@xxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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I am not a Parelli fan, probably see too many "Parelli"trained horses that I 
felt were dangerous and disrespectful..you see people doing things with horses 
willy nilly....standing on their backs (falling off!), jumping bareback, no 
bridles, with NO HELMETS!, standing on horses lying down, bridling from their 
KNEES???  Come on, all very unsafe practices....

I am concerned though when people dismiss these teaching programs with comments 
like the above.
The idea of the Parelli/Lyons/Anderson programs to is teach riders to connect 
with their horses instead of just treating them as mounts, and to learn ways of 
interacting with them which actually makes life much safer.  How many of these 
NASA trained Arabs would benefit with some desentization work - Walmart bags on 
the end of carrot sticks flung aound their heads for a few rounds might go a 
long way to reduce their airflight time.  These programs suggest ways to work 
with your horses that make them safer not more disrespectful.  I have seen a 
lot of obnoxious horses, but none who have had owners who've spent time with 
them on the ground, doing the work taught in these seminars. Which is more safe 
- a horse that throws his head to the sky every time you try to bridle him - 
sometimes taking your arm out of socket doing so - or a horse that drops his 
head - even to the point where you can be on your knees to put one on? Riding 
without a bridle is the ultimate connection with a horse - not to be done 
without prior teaching of course, but why would one criticize this type of 
learning that results in a deeper affinity for your equine friend?   Why would 
anyone need a helmet on to do ground work?  I don't understand these criticisms.

These "celebrities" do have their groupies, of course, Parelli more than most.  
But he is a showman - and spends a lot of time making the system fun and 
entertaining.  His program still works.  Anderson gets to the meat quick with 
much ado- good solid info there, mate.  I have found that the techniques and 
tips I gathered from these 3 gurus (which can be found on RFDTV and in 
magazines, you don't have to pay a lot of money to learn about them) to be 
excellent tools for passing on at 4H meetings and with new or young riders.  It 
is easily learned and pertinent stuff -and it reduces fear immensely when new 
horse people see that a horse will respond to them so well. Anything that 
decreases fear is always worth a look.
Not everything new needs to be dismissed - not every change is bad.  When it 
coms to horse handling, the majority of people out there could benefit from a 
little more understanding and a few more 'techniques" in their library...Just 
loving your horse isn't enough.  We've got to be able to help them learn and 
obey us, for their safety and ours. It is the rare person who knows  how just 
from instinct or because she's "always had horses"  People who 'always had 
horses' tend to do the things they've always done, regardless of whether any of 
what they do was the right thing to do to begin with.

I've been wondering: A lot of people on ridecamp talk of being thrown off their 
spooked horses ( who seem in large part to be Arabs which certainly gives the 
poor breed a bad press!)  It has led me to wonder if putting a bridle with 
blinders on it, like harness horses wear, would make the horse settle down and 
be forced to trust the rider more and wait for the rider's queues - without the 
constant distraction of seeing such predators as potholes, logs, and roadside 
trash around them.  Just a thought.


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