Fugly Shit of the Day: Part II

I just recently quickly perused the comment section of Cathy's post I blogged about the other day concerning Linda Parelli - most was just repetitive BS and whining, and no, I did not read all 550+ comments (I do not wish to garbage quite that much time), however I did pay particular attention to Cathy's comments. See, I was never aware of Cathy's existence until maybe a year ago or so when one of her little sheep snarked at me on a forum and quoted Cathy - if Cathy said it, it must be right!! Since then, I admit I have not really devoted a whole lot of time 'researching' Cathy or her past, so I wanted to read her some of her recent comments to gauge what she really knows about horses. The following are my recent findings and a follow-up of Fugly Shit of the Day. I just think people should realize how little she actually knows in terms of horses so they may make an informed decision. Here are a few of Cathy's comments:

(the first part of the following is Fugly quoting a previous poster)
fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 8:33 pm
"“My gelding spent the first 6 months or so I had him spooking into me and he knocked me over 3 times. The third time (last June) I finally got my nerve up and convinced him I was going to kill him (which consisted of backing him up and screaming at him). You know what? He has spooked in place or away from me since that day.”
Amazing how that works, isn’t it? Someone realized YOU were more scary than the silly thing he was spooking at.
Congratulations. You understand horses better than Linda Parelli, already!"

Honestly? Our solution to a fearful horse spooking is to make it more scared of you and your reaction to its fear, than of the object it is afraid of? To quote John Lyons:
"It's unreasonable to ask a horse not to be afraid. That's like my telling you to go into a bad area of town for a walk at two in the morning, and not be frightened."
So if it is unreasonable to ask a horse to not be afraid, by extension, is it not unreasonable to reprimand a horse for being afraid? Why would you want a relationship in which your horse is afraid of being afraid, because it is afraid of your reaction? A horse cannot help being afraid and some horses are more prone to being alert and reactive than others - some require stronger leadership and stronger trust in their rider to follow said leadership without spooking. The solution is simple: gain your horse's trust (not just in you, but in your leadership), guarantee to your horse that you have it's back, and it will follow you wherever you ask. Do you honestly want a horse who is tense and anxious because it is afraid of you? Excuse me while I vomit. I have seen and ridden those horses, and they are an emotional mess because they're constantly trying to read and anticipate you, because they are afraid of your reaction and of doing something wrong. Horses are not spooking at 'silly things' for the fun of it, they are acting like prey animals. They have very different worries than us and they have very different perceptions, thinking, and even vision, than us. Our job is to teach them to think and to follow our leadership, to act less reactive and more relaxed. Not to scare them into submissiveness.

Cathy, for someone who purports to know so much about horse training and horse behaviour, I am ashamed for you and am dismayed at your lack of actual knowledge. I suppose I should not be overly surprised, when your 'training' looks like this though:



That was no 'surprise jump', any idiot could see that was minutes away from happening, simply by watching the first 5 seconds of the video where the horse was observed to be frantic, anxious, and tense. She was looking for an escape route, and found it. Want to know why Pat and other NH trainers have such low-fenced roundpens? So they remember to never push a horse past its threshold, to encourage themselves to create draw and relaxation in the horse. This was not a wild horse, Cathy, this is a poor QH filly that was pushed too far.

I see Cathy removed the video of her unable to effectively get even a green filly trotting under-saddle. It's not for no reason that she is unable to train the supposedly very quiet VLC stallion of hers. I just wish she would then admit her limitations (because that's ok! we all have them!!) and quit criticizing everyone else and methods she obviously does not understand nor know anything about. Cathy, if you do not know enough about training to train your own docile animals, please refrain from 'educating' the public in regards to how to train. That's all - I'm not asking for much!!!!


Here are some more goodies (*sigh*):
fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 8:31 pm
"I have sung on young OTTB’s to distract them from spooky stuff, particularly during the first rides out in the open. But an Appy is just going to laugh at you and walk your knee into the nearest tree.
And I am a huge devotee of the old fashioned butt rope for recalcitrant trailer-loaders. I’ll be damned if I’m going to screw around for 45 minutes when all it takes is 2 people and a butt rope and the horse is in the trailer in 30 seconds flat."

I just for once want to see Cathy do that to my Thoroughbred Link. When we first purchased him he wasn't the greatest loader and had you just put a butt rope on him and tried to shove him in (btdt - the barn owner bullied his way into doing so), he would have balked HUGE. He not only panicked and flew backwards, fighting, but he also double-barrel kicked at any people behind him. Now, of course, he loads fine, but the point is not to simply shove the horse in in 30s and slam the door shut! The point is for the horse to be comfortable enough with your leadership and have sufficient respect in you to do as you ask, and for the horse to be relaxed in the trailer and want to go in there. Otherwise you get the horse in there by force and have to deal with something throwing a wreck in there. I realise there are exceptions where you just have to get the horse in or there seem to be no other options in very rare cases - but those cases are not hugely common; most of the time you can work with a horse beforehand until they are comfortable loading. However with a horse who is usually ok with loading and whom I have worked with before (though obviously not enough, if he is balking at the trailer), I am going to take that 45min instead of 30s. 1,200lbs is a lot of weight and is not always physically possible to shove in in 30s anyways, not without risk to the horse. Why is Cathy's answer always force and fear?? I am asking honestly.


fugly says: March 9, 2010 at 6:39 pm
"Then the first thing I would have picked up is a longe whip…before I took the lead.
I’ve dealt with chargers. They are not hard to fix. Once or twice, bam, and they realize that on top of you is not a good place to be. You have to watch them like a hawk, because some will wait for a moment of inattention and then take another dive at you. But all in all, I could have fixed this with one or two good whacks with a whip – at the CHEST as he dove at me – NEVER at the face – and the horse would not have been confused, and it would have been over a lot faster.
This is a good example of “picking at” a horse. Instead of making a simple point, once, and making it clear what behavior was not acceptable, it’s a thousand annoying little pinpricks to the horse."

Honestly, I actually was thinking a carrot stick (or similar) would have perhaps helped Linda communicate better with the horse in question as well. However, what she did worked, and I cannot say for certain that a stick would have been more effective anyway. This horse was not a 'charger' per se, he was not doing what he did out of aggressiveness, he was simply bowling over humans in disregard, because he had other concerns on his mind and had very little respect for his handlers. I think what Linda did was much better than hitting the horse in punishment, because judging from the state the horse was in as Linda worked with it, it would have had to have been some pretty hard hits!! What Linda did took a little longer, however it was effective in earning the horse's respect and it was a long-term solution by engaging the horse's mind (she'd never have to hit the horse, as Cathy advises, or work so hard again). I actually did not see Linda hit the horse directly in zone 1 (the nose area), which is a very sensitive area - had she hit the horse there, it probably would have caused an adverse reaction. Instead, she smacked the horse loudly on the sturdy jaw and on the neck (most people I see pat their horses as hard, or harder, than Linda did! In praise!), to get its attention. You don't see the horse panic, jerk its head suddenly, or act fearful towards Linda or headshy afterwards. So obviously she did not traumatize the animal. In addition, she was not 'picking at', or 'nagging', the horse, she was correcting him whenever he made a wrong move (which, at first, was often). You certainly never see an annoyed horse, and you see a very responsive and respectful horse at the end of the session.


fugly says: March 10, 2010 at 1:32 pm
"I agree – there’s nothing NEW about it. 30 years ago, we knew we had to be the alpha or we were gonna have hoofy-prints on our backs.
It’s all marketing, packaging and unfortunately, it’s laced with a seriously deep thread of bullshit.
What it comes down to for me is this: There was absolutely nothing wrong with traditional horsemanship and traditional training. It did not need to be fixed or improved upon. Were there some jerks that needed to stop training? Sure. They still exist. Only now some of them use Natural Horsemanship, as can be seen in this video.
My main problem with NH is this: It has a culture which discourages people from improving their riding skills. You hardly ever (yes, I know, a few people do it – Chris Cox, I think) hear a NH’er say “ma’am, the horse is fine – you need to improve your seat and develop a stronger leg.” Instead, they tell you that playing this game or that game will develop some kind of magical “bond” with your horse. Do you know what an actual bond comes from? RESPECT. Horses, much like women, walk all over you if they perceive you to be a wimp. They do not love you for it. They may love carrots but they don’t go “wow, this person is so nice to me, I won’t run back to the barn with her any more!” That’s just not how the equine mind works and selling that idea is misleading tomfoolery. Your horse needs to think “wow, I’d like to go back to the barn but I know I can’t, ’cause the last time I tried I just got hauled in a circle and made to chase my tail and really, it wasn’t much fun and I didn’t wind up back at the barn any sooner.” And you can’t BE that confident rider who simply pulls the barn sour horse in a circle and sends it on in the direction YOU want to go unless you’re a good, solid competent rider.
Which takes lessons…and work without stirrups…and that hurts…and makes you sweat…and boy, you have to get off the couch and away from the DVD player and maybe, gasp, get a bit more fit to do it.
Lots of people aren’t interested in buying the truth!"

Pat does not claim to have created something new and gives full credit to his teachers, equine and human alike, both at his conferences and in his books. He also says himself that what he teaches is nothing new (and lists off where and how the methods he teach have been used in the past). Plain and simple. He knows what he is doing is not new, but he knows it is not mainstream (and it isn't, I had heard of Dorrance, Hunt, etc prior to Parelli, however I had never actually seen their techniques nor did anyone in my areas ever use them; I had no idea what they were about). Many people I encounter still know nothing about NH (and similar) techniques; probably a good 90 percent of the riders at any of the barns I have boarded at use very traditional techniques - techniques that are usually as bad as and worse than those Cathy advocates for (though I am going to say that some of the techniques are soft and gentle, yet assertive - ones that I greatly admire and respect). You are right, Cathy, that Parelli is perhaps over-marketed, however that does not take away from the method itself. No, one cannot learns solely from DVD's, however they can still learn from them! DVD's and books can lead to experimentation, correction, adaptation, and learning in one's methods and personally, I see nothing wrong with that. Pat and Linda are not advocating that individuals replace hands-on learning and instruction with DVD's, they are simply presenting a method that includes materials to help the rider. While you (Cathy) might feel that there is no reason to ever improve one's method, I stand by Pat's philosophy: "Good, better, best, never let it rest." Strive to be better and constantly improve yourself and your relationship(s) with your horse(s) - and constantly improve your horses! Furthermore, if Cathy honestly knew anything about Parelli, she would realize they do in fact focus on the rider. In fact, it's all about the rider - there are no problem horses, only problem riders. Which is why they do not focus on the horse, but rather upon teaching the human, which includes proper equitation, among other important skills. Lastly, respect is paramount in PNH - the idea is to create a partnership that balances trust and respect and that is based on love, language and leadership...in equal doses. Pat and Linda recognize that one cannot have a partnership that does not include respect and have developed a program that revolves around earning both trust and respect (just take a look at the 7 games!). Even the carrot stick obtained its name for that reason: it is not supposed to be a carrot (a bribe or 'wimp', not assertive enough), but neither is it supposed to be a stick (aggressive and punishing) - the way the person works with the horse is supposed to be a reflection thereof, always assertive yet never aggressive and never bribing yet friendly. I never have to boot my horses in a circle, but they also enjoy being with me and follow my leadership, so I don't have to struggle with them wanting to go back to the barn, either :) And I don't know about you Cathy, but I never walk all over a man, 'wimp' or not. I have more respect and decency than that.

For the record, I am all for good horsemanship, whatever be its name or technique, so long as it is always in the best interests of the horse. I am also not always in agreement with everything Parelli: I have my own concerns and I certainly do not like the intense marketing. On the other hand, it is a method that works and that gets the word out there. Hell, I even admit to have grossly mis-interpreted and mis-used the method for awhile! Yes, I was one of those years ago (lol!). I made a lot of mistakes. But I learnt. We are not born in perfection nor with 100 percent knowledge of anything. I learnt through reading, through watching DVD's, through playing with my horses, and through whatever instruction or clinics I could afford.


LMAO while I do not 100 percent side with what this commenter said, I loved how they said it...particularly at the end:
redroanpony says: March 10, 2010 at 1:51 pm
"I disagree, but I think I’m going to disagree with pretty much everybody here on this one. I mean, there are things the Parellis do that I think are just ineffective and/or stupid, and I don’t think this was a great example of the kind of work they do. I did watch it again, and here’s what I saw: the horse doesn’t respond to pressure. At all. Linda asks him to back, and he ignores the pressure or moves into it. He is nervous and unable to stop moving his feet. Linda asks him to back and stop moving his feet. He doesn’t. When he moves, she tries to put him back again and get him to stop moving. When she’s hitting him on the butt with the rope, she’s trying to get him to yield his hindquarters, not move forward, which is why she’s checking with the lead line. She doesn’t do either very well. She is NOT lunging this horse or in any way asking him to lunge, so I’m not sure why everybody is jumping on her “lunging” technique, but whatever.
Did Linda do a good job with it? No. She should’ve stopped very early on and gotten her hands on a carrot stick, because she needed the stick to be more effective in her communication, and it would’ve led to her being much less emphatic and repetitive with the rope. (Or maybe she should’ve just stopped and called Pat. ) She also needed the stick to be more clear when asking him to yield his head, because she’s not tall enough and he’s too tall for her to properly do what she’s trying to do. When I first watched this, I do recall wondering whether that was her first time working with a half-blind horse, because she didn’t seem entirely certain on how to account for his blindness.
But did she scar the horse for life? No. Did she make him headshy? No. I’ve used that same technique — much more gracefully, mind you — to teach countless horses to yield their forequarters. It’s part of teaching them to lead and to yield to you, and it’s no more than a tap on the cheek… even with the hardest cases, a good bump with the heel of the hand is more than enough. And what I’m seeing here isn’t Linda beating the horse in the face. She’s ineffective, but that doesn’t exactly make her a monster.
At the end of the video, there actually *is* a change: the horse is able to stand. He’s not exhausted, and I wouldn’t say he’s “frozen” at all. He appears less nervous than he began and doesn’t feel the need to constantly move his feet. He actually puts his head down of his own accord. When she asks him to back or yield he’s doing it instead of completely ignoring the pressure. It’s not huge progress, but it is progress.
I’m sure my fellow commenters will now write me off as a moron, but I see nothing worse here than a trainer letting a situation get a bit out of control, which happens to everybody now and again. I can’t really believe the amount of histrionics in these comments; you’d think everybody else just watched a video of Linda gutting a horse and eating its heart. And I thought NH people were hysterical about what *they* consider to constitute “abuse”…"


fugly says: March 9, 2010 at 4:03 pm
"Every single natural horsemanship trained horse I have ever worked with REFUSES to stop on the circle on the longe. They ALL spin toward you, if not dart in and try to run you over. I have never seen an exception to this, and many other people here will tell you they have had the same experience.
And the whole basis of all this NH crap is the idea that you can do it yourself without hiring a trainer – that somehow going to clinics and watching videos will be enough. That is the foundation of the entire Cult of Natural Horsemanship. I don’t NEED a trainer, I’m the only one who can “bond” with my horse, and if my horse “bonds” with me, he won’t do bad things to me.
That spinning sound is my eyes rolling around in my head."

I am not surprised Cathy cannot accurately communicate with a horse enough to tell it to stop on the circle and not turn and face (and what's the problem with the horse turning and facing anyway??). See the above video, though too bad some will miss out on seeing the ones of her riding she had posted on youtube in the past. I will say this: all my horses who are Parelli trained will stop on the circle should you ask. The point of the turning and facing though is this: it is not about facing you, it is about the horse disengaging their hind end, which robs their hindquarters, their engine, of driving power (since their hind legs are crossed as they disengage), and thus forces them to stop. It is also an act of respect and trust (if you cross your legs, you cannot effectively run from a predator, so we are in effect also asking the horse to relax and trust us to ensure their safety, plus we are driving their hind end away, much as a herd leader would do in dominance). Teaching them to stop in such a way makes it easy to then relax the tense or reactive horse on the ground in the future, by having them disengage. The maneuver is also taken into the saddle to either halt or calm a horse. Should you wish the horse to not face you, simply ask the horse to stop. Without asking them to disengage. And if a horse is darting in and trying to run you over, you have not been clear in your direction and/or have not been sufficiently assertive, and/or the horse has not learned to be respectful and thus is lacking in its training, Parelli or not. Pat has never told anyone using his methods to train or re-train a horse using his methods without hands-on education - in fact I have personally heard him say the exact opposite, that training is an advanced skill and requires intense one-on-one learning with a professional. His intent with his program is to help riders improve their communication (and thus partnerships) with their horses, to better themselves and tweak their way of doing things with horses, or to even look at things from another perspective, approach things differently, and change how they do things. His intent is to teach riders better horsemanship and he definitely recommends as much hands-on learning as possible. In the event someone cannot do as much hands-on instruction with a trainer as they would like though, is it not better for them to have the appropriate materials to help them, as opposed to stumbling along blindly by themselves? It's not about bonding with the horse at all, it is much more than that. Cathy, you seriously sound like some of the traditional riders I talk to sometimes, who claim they already have a bond with their horse and thus do not require anything more.

Show me "Parelli-ruined" horses, or "NH'ers mishandling horses", and I'll show the same, or more, "traditionally-trained" ruined horses or "traditional trainers and riders ruining horses". I own several such horses myself and see it every day at some of the barns I ride in. It's about the people using the technique rather than the technique itself, in this case. Piss-poor training, bad techniques, bad riding, bad horsemanship - happens across the board, no matter the method (for the most part) or discipline.


Okay, I can't help it, I thought the following conversation was just absolutely hysterical (video embedded below):
kmathews says: March 10, 2010 at 12:55 am
"Now this is a horse that has been trained well and NOT by any Parelli fanatic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQczRbBHxI
Just goes to show you, you don’t need to be whacking a horse in the face or jerking his halter and whatever else those idiots do to train their horses."
shadowsrider says: March 10, 2010 at 1:49 pm
"I don’t really care about the tricks he does, or how he trained the horse, but I would kill to have his seat!!"
rollkursucks says: March 10, 2010 at 5:58 pm
"OMG that halfpass at 1:15 looks so cool, I really wish the video would have shown it going for more than like two seconds! Passage at the end was cute too. Didn’t like all the laying down and crawling around at the beginning– to me, that’s just begging to get your spine broken, but just my personal opinion. I’ve seen the horse agility videos before and thought they were cute. Not my cup of tea, but something I would respect as long as people train it the right way and the horses enjoy it."



Snicker snicker. Most fellow PNH'ers can understand the reason for the snicker. The sheep failed to notice the carrot stick being used. Honza Blaha's site here. Honza credits Pat Parelli's methods as the reason for the turnaround in his Gaston, who was previously very dangerous. Gaston was Honza's first horse of his own, I believe out of a Czech mustang and by a Czech warmblood stallion. The horse grew increasingly dangerous, to the point where Honza's mother and sister (who were caring for Gaston while Honza was living away at school) could no longer even leave the house for fear of the young stallion. Honza eventually took Gaston to Parelli and spent two years studying under Pat, turning Gaston into a superhorse (after gelding him!). I cannot find the story but recall reading it on the Parelli site and watching Honza on youtube tell the story himself. I love watching those two! And, if you want to see sporthorses and serious competition horses (show jumpers in particular) being raised and trained Parelli, Honza is your man too. My goodness, I just find it amusing that the sheep are admiring the very technique they are criticising. If you want to see similar trainers, check out Jonathan Field (former Parelli instructor with whom I have attended clinics with my boys) and Mike and Red Sun (and his other horses of course), on youtube. Then get back to me and tell me that type of partnership is not useful at the competitive level!


Last point was in regards to the Yo-Yo game specifically: some seem to be misunderstanding its purpose and are criticizing the fact that the horse's head goes up and their back hollows during the game. Yes this occurs when initially teaching the game, however it is not the goal as the game progresses over time. Over time the horse backs with a lowered head, at the lowest phase of 'ask' possible (preferably, an assertive body posture and a glare, with maybe a slightly wiggling finger - no ropes!). Parelli has discussed over and over the importance of the contents of the dressage Training Scale as well as the importance of teaching the horse in such a way that they carry themselves efficiently and develop correctly. Hence programs such as "Hill Therapy" and such - working your horse over hills to develop topline.

Fugly Shit of the Day

Alriiight! Sorry for the absence! Instead of feeding you a long list of excuses for why I have not posted the last two weeks, let's just start with a blog :) I thought I'd start with some juicier, more interesting stuff, by commenting on a few of the latest FHOTD postings (oy!) in a small series of posts. I have been trying to stay away, but I felt the last couple blogs of hers were more ludicrous than normal and wanted to perhaps lend some insight/an alternate perspective to the subject of the last few blogs of Cathy's.

SO! To start! The following is a video titled 'Horse-Man-Shit' that Cathy posted the other day:



The video is of Linda Parelli working with a horse who is blind in one eye (how blind, we do not know) - Barney. Please let me explain what I see, from a Parelli perspective, before I correct some of Cathy and her sheep's crazy assumptions.
As a sidenote, concerning Parelli Natural Horsemanship: It is simply a derivative of successful Natural Horsemanship methods already in existence which Parelli packaged into a program that enables people to learn more in a shorter period of time, sort of like a condensed course. Pat and Linda stake no claims that PNH is NEW nor do they claim it to be the only way.

But back to the subject at hand. At first glance, I see Linda showing the horse's owner/rider how to teach said horse the yo-yo game. In the yo-yo game, the person at the end of the line goes through a particular set of phases of 'ask':
Phase 1: glare at the horse, pick up an assertive body posture
Phase 2: wiggle the finger
Phase 3: wiggle the wrist
Phase 4: wiggle the forearm
Phase 5: wiggle the whole arm
Phase 6: get bigger and bigger in the 'wiggle', including bumping the horse with the lead if necessary (this really does not hurt, obviously, it just involves giving short, sharp 'bumps' to the lead under the horse's chin).
The horse's job is to back up when asked, by releasing to the pressure on the lead/halter - that's the key, we are teaching the horse to release to pressure (rather than push into or through it, as they will naturally tend to do). By posing the request in phases of ask, you allow the horse to respond to a lower phase and thus create a lighter, responsive, and sensitive horse as they start responding to the lower phases. Eventually, you pick up an assertive body posture and glare at your horse, and he backs away until you say otherwise. This is akin to a horse within the herd giving your horse the stink eye, then following it up with escalating body language and finally with action if necessary (bite/kick). The point is to have the horse move its feet more than you (ie. you are supposed to be able to stand still while the horse backs), which creates submissiveness in the horse (in the herd, he who moves his feet the least is the most dominant). Should the horse not respond to lower phases, you obviously move up into higher phases. Should the horse not respond to lower phases of ask and walk forward, then he is immediately met with higher phases of ask that match the intensity of his movement forward. If he continues forward, you hold the highest phase of ask, including bumping, until the horse responds (consistency in the proper position - then you wait for the horse to figure it out and respond appropriately when he responds). In this fashion, the horse suddenly meets a sort of 'wall' of resistance when he ignores your initial cue(s) and hits a higher level of resistance that forces his attention on you. You are essentially making the wrong answer (moving forward through he pressure) hard (by making it suddenly uncomfortable for the horse) and the right answer (stopping, then backing) easy (by stopping and releasing). You do not release (if you can help it) until the horse stops, then you eventually ask more of the horse, not releasing until he backs. By making the start (dramatically increasing to Phase 6 when the horse walks forward, ignoring the pressure, then dramatically stopping all phases and movement/ask when the horse stops or backs), you make it clear to the horse what the 'correct' answer is.

The other side of the yo-yo, which is not shown yet in the video (because they were not yet at that point), is to comb the rope in stages, relax your body posture, and ask the horse to come back in to you. The point is to basically teach the horse its own language...but in 'human words', as per human body language, that is. You send the horse away, and draw it back in to you, creating a relationship of 51/49 percent draw versus drive. You want a lot of drive, because that translates to respect and your space being respected, however you want slightly more draw, because obviously you want the horse to want to be with you.

So, to analyze the video specifically with this in mind, at first you definitely see a horse who has obviously been permitted to not pay attention to people for a long time, and whose respect has never been earned. He belligerently (not maliciously, but purposely) walks through all pressure, ignores all cues, and remains intent on his own purpose - that is, to observe whatever it is that has got his attention across the yard. He doesn't care or give one thought to Linda or his owner and even tries to walk over them both. How would that translate in a herd? You can bet your butt that the dominant horse would be asking in phases too and if he were still walking all over the lead horse (well, he probably would not get that far even), he'd hit Phase 6 - teeth and/or hooves. So Linda does the exact same thing. She increases her phases of ask, then holds it at Phase 6. The horse is not fearful of her - he even responds sluggishly to her, has forward ears not even directed at her, and, well, he's not even looking at her. If he were afraid of Linda, he would be staring her down (at least with his good eye!), stance wide, head up, and nostrils flared. He is pretty disrespectful and generally is not concerned about Linda.

At approx. 1:00 in the video, you can see the horse is simply walking through Linda's Phase 6 even, so Linda decides to get him to yield his hindquarters. In doing so, he would then be facing her and thus set up again for her to re-try the yo-yo game. In addition, having him disengage his hindquarters would be an act of respect out of the horse - as his level of respect increases, so will his willingness to do as she asks (try to 'answer' to the yo-yo game) and to focus on her. However the horse instead continuously moves his hind over just enough to get away from her pressure, but does not fully disengage (cross his hinds, stop, face her and pay attention), because, again, he does not care. He has no need to. He's never had to before, and he is certainly not going to start now. Linda is taking a horse who has been allowed to be disrespectful for a long time (and who, I might add, has not been treated entirely well by humans), and earn its respect. Of course she is not a horse, so it is a bit more difficult, especially since she cannot escalate her phases as powerfully as another horse could! The horse is trying to find the right answer, which is to back up, however he is not trying all that hard because his heart is not in it and he is focused elsewhere - he sees no need to change. He is uncomfortable and therefore moves his feet in an effort to relieve the discomfort, but he is not so uncomfortable (and relaxed in the surroundings) as to honestly pay attention to Linda and what she is asking. When he does finally stop moving his feet, as Linda requests, you can see Linda relieve the pressure (1:06). It was not what she initially wanted, but it was a move in the right direction, so she rewarded it.

Since the horse's front is what continuously moves around without respect (horses dominate through their front end - this horse is running people over with his front end and is ignoring all cues given to his front end, he is literally running through all pressure with his front), Linda sets to moving his front end around and having him yield there (approx. 1:58 and onwards). You then see Linda go back and forth between asking the horse to move his front end around (obviously on his sighted side), where he should be halting all hind movement and crossing his fronts over to move away from her, to correcting him when he yields 'just enough' and tries to walk away from her to remove himself from the pressure. She corrects his forward movement with bumps to his lead, and increases her phases of ask as she drives his front end, by slapping his neck (4:31). Honestly, I think the sound the camera picks up is louder than the actual slap and I think what Linda does is mostly noise. You see the horse react, but not fearfully - it simply gets his attention and he moves around. He is obviously not head-shy from her escalated phase (the slap on the neck/jaw area), else he would be throwing his head violently when she waves her hand at him later. Note how she picks up her body language, then picks up her hands, then waves her hands, and increases the intensity of her hands waving and moves her hands closer and closer to the horse. She does not walk over to the horse and slap him on the neck, she moves through phases. Pretty soon the horse is moving off of her body language and her hand. It is the same concept as waving a leadrope/whip at a horse and increasing the 'commotion', walking closer and allowing the horse to run into it if he does not move.

Some were commenting that Linda never releases the pressure. She does not release the pressure much of the time at the beginning, because the horse does nothing to warrant a release of pressure! He is not trying different answers, he is simply walking forwards, through the pressure. Finally he backs and stands at 3:00, and Linda stops. At 2:43, the horse also backs successfully, though with a few minor corrections, and Linda allows him a release of pressure. At 2:52 the horse is released again, as a reward. HE moves forward, which warrants an immediate increase in pressure from Linda - he stops, Linda releases the pressure and allows him a long rest break (during which he actually stays this time). The horse is finally figuring out what he is supposed to do, because he is finally putting some thought and effort into it. At 3:10, Linda re-asks her original request after the break and is rewarded with a much better yo-yo than at the beginning of the session. Throughout, Linda starts with small phases and increases the pressure as the horse ignores her; when he walks through her pressure, she immediately gets 'big', but when he releases, she releases.

At 2:38 you can see Linda toss the rope at the horse's chest. First time: very little response (horse continues to ignore her). Second time the rope touches the horse's chest lightly and grabs his attention. Once Linda has the horse's attention, she stops and asks the horse what she was originally going to ask.

Re: Linda not being in the proper position, I personally find she is at nearly all times (as much as can be expected). Each time she is in the incorrect position, she corrects herself. Case in point: 1:38 where she gets onto what I assume is the horse's blind side (or rather, he places himself there). She calmly stops and repositions herself.

My thought is that Cathy really does not even understand what is going on here. So how can you criticize a method without understanding it? I understand if it is obvious abuse or such, but when you actually sit down and evaluate this video, you can see that Linda makes great progress with the horse, who is never reactive or fearful. The horse in question jumps a little at 3:32, but because he is tense and not paying complete attention as he gets used to responding to the lower phases; he is obviously not fearfully reactive at all (if that were the case, he would have jumped a lot further and would have moved his feet a lot more!). By the finish, the horse is respectfully paying attention, is backing as requested, and is still relaxed and has his ears forward. So then it is simply an alternate method that yields like results. Cathy however keeps comparing this to longeing. It's not. It is completely different. Linda is not getting the horse to do rollbacks (she is attempting to have him yield his hindquarters as he continuously walks through her pressure), the horse is not pissed off (where are the laid back ears or switching tail?) or confused (where is the reactiveness or fear?), Linda is not turning her back to the horse (who moves so quick he gets behind her once), the 'longe line' is not lying on the ground (maybe we did not watch the same videos Cathy, but I never saw the horse at risk of stepping on the line), and Linda flaps her elbows maybe once or twice to create a commotion to get the horse to move out of her space.

As for those of us doing Parelli who 'duck', it's called body language. The point is to focus on the horse's hind, but to make it obvious to the horse and direct your energy towards the horse. That's the best I can explain it, really. It just feels natural, when I do it, and the horses understand what I want (a disengagement of the hind end). Is it really hurting anyone?

Is it difficult to 're-train' a horse trained to work in such a manner? Hell no. I can have (and have had) any of my horses 'longe properly' (in accordance to Cathy's rules: no turning and facing, halting straight, not coming in, etc) with some simple body language. No re-training necessary, just proper communication with the horse. If I want the horse to slow/halt without turning in to me, I can a) use voice commands (if I have taught them) or b) simply hold the longe whip in front of the horse, who will immediately slow or stop as appropriate. I want them to stay out there on the circle? I add a little pressure from where I am standing (via body posture and/or hand motion) to instruct the horse to keep their front end straight. I want them to move out again? Point in the direction I wish them to go in. It's pretty damn simple and easy.

As far as 'rollbacks' on the 'longe', if you do not understand it, ASK!! I do it when horse is not paying attention and to gain their focus, when I wish to earn more respect from the horse (ie. asking for quick transitions, changes in pace, changes in direction, changes in path, etc), to make the wrong answer hard and the right answer easy (such as maintaining gait), etc. It keeps a horse's mind working and engaged. The point is not to send the horse out on a circle and have them circle around you endlessly. It's 2-4 laps or else you get the horse's mind working. It is certainly not damaging to legs or tendons either when done with care (ie. not endless circling) and over short periods.

Cathy, I am just plain confused as to how this (which is so obviously not longeing) is comparable to your VLC longeing in public. Linda and Pat have accomplished much more than you ('longeing' off of horses' backs, in public, in crowded spaces, a number of horses at once, loose stallions among loose mares, etc) and thus could certainly do the same as you and your little fugly VLC. That is not what was going on here, plus this was a horse 'in training' per se, not a horse further along in its training. And what did you mean by saying that he would not be running her over if she had a proper whip and line? Are you whipping the horse into place??

I did not read all 500+ comments and really do not intend to, but here were a few comments I wanted to respond to that I happened across:

ktibb says: March 9, 2010 at 5:21 pm Did I really hear suggest “jumping-Jacks”??
Yes, the idea is to create commotion that catches the horse's attention and causes it to move out of your space. If that means jumping jacks, then so be it. This allows you to get quite 'loud' in your phases or 'ask' without touching the horse.

newrider says: March 9, 2010 at 3:31 pm The best...this horse is blind in one eye. He has to move his head (almost looking like he’s taking his eyes off her) in order to simply see her.
But he is obviously looking up and over her, and past her. If he were paying attention, he would (surprise!) actually be responding rather than pushing through her pressure.

For those commenting there was no wind and therefore the horse (Barney) could not possibly be spooked? Well listen to the audio and you'll hear the wind. He was not spooked in a reactive way, but he was very distracted (obviously).

Here is Linda's statement and a letter from Barney's owner. I thought the following (anonymous) comment posted under Linda's response was very appropriate:

I don't see a horse who is afraid of humans/people incl Linda, I see a horse who is so distracted and focused on everything else but the one holding the lead rope, all Linda is doing is trying to get the horse to pay attention to her instead of things in the distance and this is to avoid getting run over by the horse.

You can also see even though they have tried to cut it out, several times where Linda does reward the horse by taking off the pressure, standing still and by rewarding him with her voice as well.

Either you didn't watch out for this or you just couldn't read it, maybe try to watch it again with open mind and eyes.

Why don't all of you with such negative views and thoughts, film your own relationship with your horses and post them here? You get your chance to show that your horses let you touch them all over without fear or resistance, not step on your feet or walk into you when you are leading them, that they can trailer load without ropes, whips and force, can stand still when mounted without someone holding them, can be ridden without sharp bits, martingales or other straps and who are confident in you as their owner/s, doesn't run out of their stables as soon as you open the door, comes to you when you go out to catch them.

Looking forward to seeing them.

I posted two. Did you see them? My negative attitude towards many Parelli techniques affects my relationship with my horses how? As a matter of fact, if I jump and shout and wave my arms, my pinto only comes to me faster - he'll break from a walk to a trot. I have no video of that, as it's impossible to film while jumping and shouting and waving my arms.

Another of my horses was extremely difficult to catch when I first got him. While he still doesn't come running to me, the only times he ever even thinks of using avoidance methods is when he sees me worm another horse first.


I am not claiming perfection in anyone, including myself, however I just do not see the 'abuse' and 'ineffectiveness' Cathy is proclaiming in this (old) training video.

Heavy horses

The “heavy” horse is the horse you’re under the impression will never be nimble enough to turn on a dime (I know I have, and clients of mine have been!), or who is constantly leaning on your hands (aaah, we love our OTTB’s, but they can love to lean!). How do you lighten such a horse up?

If you’re under the (typically, false) impression your horse cannot pick up that shoulder and give you a clean, light turn on the haunches – you might want to re-think the situation. It usually is not that the horse can’t physically do it (unless it's a skeletal/muscle issue), it is often that he won’t do it – either (1) due to lack of respect for his rider, (2) due to tension, or (3) because he has never been taught to be light.

1 - If it is a lack of respect that is the issue, the job is yours to earn your horse’s respect – play games on the ground that get your horse moving his feet more than yours: moving his front end around, moving his hind end around, backing up. Use assertive body language and increasing phases of “ask” until you get the response you desire. The Parelli 7 games are one great way to earn respect, roundpenning with plenty of changes in direction can be another. You can also earn respect under-saddle by working on impulsion through transitions, etc.

2 - If the issue is tension in the horse – circles circles circles – work on all sorts of patterns that include bends and circles. Keep your own body relaxed and free of tension. Earn your horse’s trust (not only in you, but in your leadership) and be consistent and fair. Challenge your horse and work on some wet saddle blankets! Use exercises that encourage relaxation and suppleness (Jane Savoie has some fabulous exercises that address such) so your horse does not 'lock up'.

3 - Teach your horse to release to pressure by asking him, first on the ground, to release to various points of pressure you apply on his body. Ask in increasing phases (hair, skin, muscle, bone) and release the instant your horse responds. Have long phases to start, and shorten the phases as your horse understands your request and thus as you ask more of him. Keep yourself light and always allow him the chance to be light!

For the horse who is leaning on your hands – quit giving him something to lean on! It’s as simple as that! A leaning horse is the result of a vicious circle - horse pulls, so your hands brace and harden, horse leans further, your hands toughen up even further...and so it continues. It's a two-way street. If you take away the contact, your horse no longer has anything to lean on. The first thing we did for my mom’s OTTB when we first got him off the track, was to remove all bit contact under-saddle and ride him on a looped rein. It was a little hilarious, because he felt like a fish out of water, floundering about as he tried to figure out what he was now supposed to do. No one was directing his every (leaning) step!! He had to take responsibility for himself, think for himself, and be light – there was no longer anything to lean on! He was a little confused at first, but quickly figured it out. Once he had a solid foundation, we then took it back up to the next level – contact. This is not to be confused with asking the horse to pick up the bit, which comes as a result of progression along the dressage training scale; picking up contact on the horse who is ready for it consists solely of picking up the slack in the reins to the point where you can subtly feel his mouth at the end of your reins - that's it. At that point you start developing the horse to where he eventually picks up the bit of his own accord, as a result of the exercises and patterns you're asking him to perform (using bend and inside leg to outside rein). For the less enthusiastic or established leaner, you can do two things when he goes to lean: close your legs and close your hands. Your legs should gently but abruptly bump him, effectively driving his hind under him a little more and causing him to pick up his front end. Simultaneously, close your hands abruptly as he reaches down to lean, allowing him to "hit the end of the rein". Lateral work and poles on the ground - exercises that require increased engagement, will also prevent your horse from leaning.

Please make sure to not confuse a horse reaching down and stretching over his back with a horse who is leaning - a horse who is leaning is putting a lot of weight in your hands, you will feel your arms and shoulders being dragged downward. The horse who is stretching over his back should be doing so while remaining engaged (at least mostly) and should be light in your hand. If you're not sure what your horse is doing or why, consult a professional.



Many times I feel horses are thrown into contact work without sufficient basics. A horse should be light on a loose rein first, should be responsible for himself (ie, maintain gait, self-carriage to a limited extent, and balance), and should know how to think for himself, first. He should be very responsive to weight shifts, to leg aids, and should be soft, supple, and relaxed. There should be no resistance on a loose rein and there should also be no dependance on that rein for control; it should be an intimate means of communication! Only then should the slack be taken up in the reins and the horse progressed up the training scale. At that point, the rider is solely taking up slack in the reins - not pulling on the horse's mouth or trying to initiate contact by the horse or what.

Another tip for the leaner is: impulsion. Transitions as well as changes in pace within a gait (such as a trot) work to get the horse working more off its hind end. A horse on his hind end is, obviously, not on the forehand and in a position to lean. A little squeeze when your horse goes down to lean forces him to step under himself better for a moment or two, which causes the poll to come up. In dressage, you work to the point where eventually the poll is the highest point in the collected horse - obviously he is not leaning on your hands by that point! You don't have to be a dressage rider to achieve the same lightness and level of collection, but you can do the same or similar exercises. Really effective can be to squeeze and bump gently with your hands simultaneously, as previously mentioned. Don't nag at your horse, but only correct him when he actually makes a mistake. On the note of exercises, I have found the book: Progressive School Exercises for Dressage and Jumping, by Islay Auty, to be extremely beneficial - I use it on a constant basis, whether working my western horses or my dressage and jumping prospects. A specific exercise you can do is to set up 4 pairs of cones, one pair at each "corner" of a 20m circle (creating a "+" or "x"). Space each pair of cones 3-4 feet apart, along the circumference of the 20m circle, with the goal of riding between each pair. Start by riding the circle at a walk, then progress to a trot, then finally a canter - don't progress to the next gait until the former is well-established. Ensure your horse is bent, supple, relaxed, and balanced going around the circle. As you ride between the pair of cones, slow the horse (if you're working on contact, don't pull back, just close your hands and relax your seat). As you leave the pair of cones, open your hands and allow the horse to move out again (you should just have to open your hands, if not, give a light squeeze - if impulsion is a problem, play some Point-2-Point or other such simple exercise). The goal is to teach the horse to sit back on his hindquarters and work off his hind end - by slowing he sits back in the first place, by asking for impulsion afterwards he works off that hind end. With the western horse, your hand and seat cues are essentially the same, even if you are working off a loose rein (if your horse has trouble "hearing" you, use heavier reins or shorten up the rein length).

Keep in mind also that the horse who is leaning is likely doing so due to lack of strength and balance. He is using his rider as a 'fifth leg' so as to balance, as opposed to using his hind end. The ultimate object is to work the horse in such a way where he has to increasingly engage (ie, lateral work, poles, hills) so he develops strength and the habit of carrying himself in a more uphill manner. Horses with a downhill build (ie, top of butt higher than top of wither) or with a low-set neck (ie, below the point of shoulder) will have a stronger tendency to lean and will have more difficulty rocking back onto their haunches - be patient! Such a horse will have limits to his ability to move in a more uphill manner. Horses, just as people, can also be lazy, which means they are not driving from behind and engaging as they should be. Same principles as previously mentioned all apply.

Last but not least, our horses are a reflection of us, so a tense body or hard hands = a hard mouth and/or a heavy horse. Keep your body and hands soft!! There is many a time I have had to consciously remind myself to lighten up my hands or legs – instantly the horse I am riding would lighten up as well. Tension in your own body can also reflect as tension in the horse too. Often, too, we just have to give our horses the chance to be light with leg aids - they sometimes surprise us! Always be as light as possible but as effective as necessary - make your corrections to be effective but always return to being light. On a related note, be sure to maintain correct position, as a leaning rider will also create a leaning horse who is on his forehand.

Don’t think your horse can be light and responsive in his mouth, or that he is physically capable of being light in his body? Think again - he can feel a fly landing on a single hair. It's about the horse's mind and responsiveness to your aids, not about whether or not he can feel you. He feels you - your job is to teach him he can be light.

Training phases

Btw the photo currently being used under the blog title is of the newest addition to our herd, Cody. He's a 6yo Paint gelding with QH influence (looks to be cutting horse) whom we acquired from a prospective client. I love the look in his eyes and wrinkles on his neck in this photo. You can follow the progress of this wonderful horse at Through the Eye of Equus.

I had just started into the Parelli method and was struggling with my Warmblood cross, Koolaid – a 3 year-old at the time. It seemed like every step we took in our training, we took ten steps back! I was at my wits end, I couldn’t understand what was going on.

“It’s alright,” the barn owner reassured me, “for every two steps you take, you will take one back as well.”

It did not make sense to me at the time, but I accepted it – it certainly was an answer to my frustrations! Since then, however, I have learned otherwise.

If you are communicating effectively with a horse, there is no reason to actually take steps back! There are a few situations, however, where your horse might seem to digress in its training. Take note though that your horse is not actually digressing but that you might rather just be working out kinks – working out existing, underlying issues in the foundation. Once the foundation is solid, the training can continue in leaps and bounds again. You are temporarily going back and re-building the foundation, without actually "taking steps back", so that you can then pick up where you left off to continue progress. This is of course assuming that you are communicating with your horse efficiently and training in a successful fashion! So, assuming that the issue is not you, here are a couple of phases I have found some horses to go through:

The fearful
We just recently acquired a 6yo Paint gelding whom we call Cody, who was apparently abused by his original owner (we’re the third owners since the abuser). As a result, he is extremely suspicious of strangers and wary of peoples’ intentions – very fearful at times. Our first ride out, he did everything I threw at him, without question. By our third ride out on the trails now though, while he still does everything I ask, he is starting to question me a little. He might pause outside the gate, “are you sure we should go out on a trail ride?” Or before a creek “are you sure this is the way to go?” Once I assure him that yes, we indeed should be going out on a trail ride or yes, this is where I’d like you to go please, he plunges ahead willingly. But there’s that one moment of question, where he just makes sure.

Why would he do this when before he would just go where I asked without say? Why would he start questioning me now?

Answer: because he is now becoming comfortable enough in my presence to do so.

With the fearful horse who has been abused, they do what you ask without question, for fear of the repercussions that may occur if they don’t. They might not even be all that reactive about it, but they won’t question you – they dare not. However as you work with them and earn their trust, they become more comfortable with you, and so they also feel more comfortable with questioning your leadership because they fear repercussions that used to occur, no longer. As you further develop your partnership with your horse, however, you begin to work more in harmony, in true partnership, to the point where they do not question your leadership (they might pause or flick their ears, but they won't flat-out balk or such).

The disrespectful
The horse who pushed me into Natural Horsemanship is our Warmblood cross gelding, Koolaid. He was three at the time and none of our (light) under-saddle work was resembling…well…under-saddle work. I could count myself lucky if he so much as trotted a couple of steps. A canter? Hah! You could forget that! My 4H leaders at the time had no brilliant ideas and in the mean time, he was becoming worse. He was pushy, he kicked when he pleased, he was nippy, he struck, he reared, he bucked, he resisted – he could be downright dangerous when the mood hit him. When I attended the Parelli tour stop that year, I was awed, and determined to forge a partnership with Koolaid akin to the one I had seen Pat and his stallion Casper share. Someone forgot to tell Koolaid though. Throughout the first three years of his life, I had unwittingly created a monster. All my handling from day three of his life onward had made him comfortable around me, but I had failed to earn his respect (major mistake on my part). Now, all of a sudden, I was challenging his authority with the Parelli NH games. He’d been playing games with me all along, getting me to move my feet, making sure I was below him in this two-beast hierarchy, and when I started knowingly playing the games with him he’d been playing with me all along, he stepped it up a notch to make sure he stayed on top. Suddenly we seemed to digress even further. At least pre-Parelli, he would walk under-saddle, or follow me on the ground! He became even more dangerous* and I felt like all the work I had put into him thus far was falling apart. In reality, we were returning to the foundation, to the roots, and fixing things from the inside out. So, temporarily, it did seem like we were going backwards, when in fact we were simply building a stronger foundation - and addressing the underlying issues to do so - so as to later leap ahead. I have found the same will occur with any horse who has (usually inadvertently) never been taught to respect humans. At first they might rebel (even lightly) against someone asking them to step down from that little pedestal that has been created for them, but if you keep at it diligently, they come around and that foundation of respect that was previously missing is built so that you may continue in all areas of training, in harmony.

* I am not saying that PNH, specifically, might bring out dangerous behaviour in your horse, but that any work that challenges your horse’s authority might cause them to retaliate. The key (as I later learned) is to push your horse to grow but not to retaliate towards you – challenging a horse who thinks he’s top horse can be dangerous and is usually not necessary. However, some retaliation may occur when you start to play with your horse, particularly games that involve dominance (ie, where you ask your horse to move his feet, etc) – this is normal for some horses. Please seek professional help if you are having difficulties with your horse – safety first at all times!

Catching
Another phase that I find some horses go through is a hard-to-catch phase…most often with left-brained horses. Right-brained horses are typically naturally very willing and want to be part of a herd, want the security of a herd – which they soon learn you can offer. Left-brained horses, however, I find are more comfortable being by themselves and are ok with not being caught. Left-brained Introverts especially, I find, don’t really care to work. The first week, everyone is happy to be caught – working with you is new and intriguing. By the second week, however, they’ve got it figured out and don’t really care to be caught. Week three, same deal. In the mean time, you’re working hard on creating a partnership where your horse enjoys being around you. By about week four, however, they’re figuring out that being caught isn’t so bad after all. They enjoy being with you and even playing with you in the arena, and even become keen on being caught.

So while it might seem at first that your work with a horse is moving backwards, in reality your horse’s newfound pleasure in avoiding being caught is simply a reflection of everything else that is going on. Sometimes the timeline is shorter, sometimes it is longer, but it is the timeline I find most typical with some of the horses I work with.

These “backwards” phases (when we are doing things correctly) are simply the result of having to build (or re-build) something that is lacking in the foundation – respect or trust, etc. It’s like a house with a crumbling foundation. You pick up the house, re-build the foundation, then set the house back down on its new, solid foundation and all comes together! If you were actually going backward, you’d have to work your way all the way back up to the top – knock down the house and re-build the house and foundation from scratch, but since it’s simply an issue with the foundation, you can cement the foundation and still have everything at the “top”. Keep in mind that these are just phases – if you keep on working on the path to success, everything will eventually come together. How do you know if you’re on the right path? You don’t always, which is why it can be important to seek help from a professional who can teach you to communicate efficiently and who can tell you what is and what is not normal or to be expected when you’re on the correct path. Keep in mind though that phases such as the above can occur, be normal, and that you just have to have the tenacity to work through them!

The lazy horse

"He's really lazy!" Or stubborn. Or dull. Take your pick, we hear it all the time in regards to horses. Don't get me wrong, there are horses out there, just as people, who just don't naturally have the greatest work ethics or who naturally are not as responsive as we would like. But partnerships with said horses don't have to be frustrating and fraught with conflict.

It is not about the horse. You, as the rider, have the choice of creating either a soft and light horse who is responsive to your aids, or a dull horse who ignores you. What people a lot of times do not realize is that a horse being lazy has more to do with them than the horse. The horse might be more inclined to be lazy or stubborn, but if you are working in partnership with said horse, they're working in partnership with you...which means they're working in harmony with you rather than resisting you.

Lack of impulsion is a lack of respect. The respectful horse says "yes sir, how fast, how far?" rather than "do I have to?". This is not the horse's fault though, because respect cannot be expected until it is earned - by you, the rider. Build a higher level of respect between you and your horse, as well as a higher level of responsibility in your horse, and you get a higher level of impulsion. Build up your partnership and they'll do what you ask of them because they want to and not just because you said so.

So, how do you solve the problem? Under-saddle, here is what I do with all the horses I work with (...from the Parelli website - in blue, with my comments in boring old black italics...):

Most people are told to kick a horse to go, which is ridiculous when you think about it from a horse's point of view. Imagine if you were kicked in the ribs on the way to the dance floor... what would your attitude be towards that dance partner? Would you even want to go?

Kicking a horse to go is one of my pet peeves - it's got to be one of the rudest things you could do to a horse (in my opinion). Kick any of our own horses and you will either have a horse bolting because you just applied a lot of sudden pressure (unnecessarily), or a horse giving you a sharp little warning buck because he's ticked off you "spoke" to him so rudely. I remember John Lyons instructing the rider to spank in lieu of kicking and I could never agree more.

By using four distinct phases of polite assertiveness, the horse can quickly become a willing partner; happy to take our lead to the dance floor.

Phase 1 – Smile with all your cheeks! Take a long focus, stretch your hand out in front of you with the reins, and tighten your cheeks. If the horse has not moved forward from this suggestion, continue through the phases and be ready to release as soon as there's forward movement.

Phase 2 – Squeeze with your legs, starting at the top, then all the way down to your heels (turn your toes outward to make smooth contact). This is not a strong squeeze. If you are straining or getting cramps, it's too strong! Remember, a horse can feel a fly land on him.

Phase 3 – Smooch while holding the squeeze, do not let go with your legs.

Phase 4 – Spank. Start by spanking yourself lightly slap your shoulders from side to side with the end of a rope.

Allow the rope to grow longer and keep up the flapping rhythm until it starts touching your horse on the sides of his hindquarters, letting it get progressively stronger if he has not responded.The moment your horse responds, release your legs, quit spanking, and keep smiling. If he stops or slows, repeat the phases again. Always begin with Phase 1.

At first, release when the horse gives you the slightest try. It's the release that teaches, so it is absolutely crucial to release at the right time so as to teach the right thing and to reward the horse for the effort given. Expect a lot, accept little. Progressively ask for more. Also, when you're first starting, use long phases - as you progress with your horse, you can use shorter/quicker phases as you ask/expect more responsibility of your horse.

Some common mistakes:

- Probably the most common mistake is kicking out of habit, quickly losing whatever respect you just earned, so really keep a watch out for this.

- Another mistake is to keep squeezing and/or spanking after the horse has made the effort to go forward. This feels unfair and confuses the horse because they don't know what the right behavior is.

- Be sure to put slack in the reins. It's a common habit to put contact in the reins when the horse goes forward. This is sometimes enough to confuse a horse trying to do the right thing. This is where the Level 2 Harmony Program techniques can really help.

Begin each time at Phase 1 and be prepared to go to Phase 4. Finally, be sure there's enough 'life' in your body when you ride. Think about how fast you want your horse to go and bring up enough life in your body to stimulate that... then let the squeezing, smooching and spanking support it. Your horse will learn very quickly how to get in tune with you.

I also do a lot of patterns with the unmotivated horse, including one I learned in a Jonathan Field clinic - Point to Point. I start at one point in the arena - Point A - and halt. I turn the horse to another point in the arena - Point B - and go through my phases quickly to get a w/t/c (depending on where the horse is in its training) to Point B. Between Point A and Point B, I only correct - first with leg and seat, then with hand - as necessary, and I don't nag. If the horse is moving at a sluggish pace, I leave him alone unless he changes gait - I don't correct him as he is about to make a mistake, I only correct him once he actually makes the mistake. As soon as we get to Point B, I ask for a woah (relax my body, then use reins if necessary). The horse has to stop on the exact point I picked out - if not, I move her back to that point. The horse knows where that point is (you should have your eyes on it and your rectangle of aids - composed of your hands and legs - should have kept the horse in a straight line toward Point B), so expect them to stop on that exact point. If you don't care, the horse won't care - the lack of precision will reflect in all aspects. We rest a moment (depending on the horse, the really unmotivated horse gets to rest the longest - reverse psychology), I pick out a new Point B, and so we continue. Rest is a huge motivator, particularly to the unmotivated horse - I use it in everything I do; whenever the horse does something to my satisfaction, she earns a rest break. Essentially this game does a number of things:

- it teaches the horse responsibility and earns their respect (ie. do as I say when I say or I go through these particular phases, stop when I ask where I ask, etc)

- teaches snappy, light departs and responsive, light halts (I relax, horse stops) - great transition work (which is a result of respect). The horse soon starts offering more.

- motivates the horse to work for you!

Another thing to keep in mind is to do something the horse enjoys! Mix your patterns and games up in the arena, hack out, send your horse over ground poles and cavelleti, heck, even work on your patterns and exercises outside in a field. The best thing you could do: give your horse a job to do. Everything improves when you do, including respect level, because the horse wants to do what you ask. Pretty soon that carries over to areas they're maybe not so psyched about (like arena work) because you've set the precedence of them wanting to do what you ask and so they do as you suggest anyways, even if the activity is not all that enjoyable to them.

On the ground, you can earn a higher level of respect through playing games horses play out in pasture together. Personally, I use the Parelli 7 games as well as the patterns: I have the horse navigate patterns in increasing levels on the ground, have them move their front and and hind end around, have them circle responsibly (without my micro-managing) around me, etc. Get your horse moving her feet more than you move yours. Be fair but assertive (but never aggressive). And...be your horse's friend and act like a worthy partner they want to work for.

Eating grass

We all have dealt with it, or still deal with it. So, how do we stop it?

I felt Parelli's take on the situation was great, so I am posting it here (in green):

I often hear people say, "I never let my horse eat grass when I'm riding", and guess what...their horse is one of the worst! He takes every opportunity to lunge at the grass, even unseating the rider to get at it. If we think about it from his point of view, he's surrounded by delicious grass and then gets punished for wanting to eat it. This is just like taking a small child into a candy store and expecting him to have enough self-control to ignore all that candy. It's a pretty tough thing to ask, right? By being more considerate, we could give him some time to eat before asking for his full attention, then allow him to eat it now and then, but only when you invite it. Be sure to give permission rather than just letting him plunge his head down. Invite him by using the Porcupine Game... simply lower his head to the ground when you want him to graze. It's a great way to improve Game #2!

I am of the opinion that respect has a great deal to do with a horse plunging its head down to eat without permission. Remember that whatever you have on the ground is always halved in the saddle, so if you have say ok respect on the ground, you will have little to no respect under-saddle. If you've got an absolutely fantastic level of respect on the ground, that will carry into the saddle. The more often you have that fantastic level of respect on the ground and the more you work to further build it, the more respect you will have under-saddle. On that note, respect is not forced, it is earned. You earn it by representing a firm and assertive leader, but never an aggressive one (if you feel angry, get off and walk away). You get it by way of body language and backing up said body language, but you do not get it by simply using the end of a crop or leadrope. If you create a resentful horse, that resentful attitude will follow you in amongst that grass - the horse won't care that you asked it not to, it's going to eat when it wants, what it wants, and however much it wants! Respect is earned also by being persistent and fair.

Another factor that plays a role in whether or not a horse will be constantly insisting on eating grass is rules and boundaries. If he sometimes gets away with snatching a mouthful here or there, with no rhyme or reason, he'll think he can get away with it other times. Why not?

First off, I always ask people who don't want their horses to eat grass: why not? Sometimes it's that they don't want to have to wash off the bit, sometimes it's that they think the horse will somehow get its legs tangled in the reins (not if you're watching!), and other times they think it will create a disrespectful and rude horse. What I always remind them though, is that this is a partnership.

part·ner·ship (pärtnr-shp)
n.
1. The state of being a partner.
2. a. A legal contract entered into by two or more persons in which each agrees to furnish a part of the capital and labor for a business enterprise, and by which each shares a fixed proportion of profits and losses.
b. The persons bound by such a contract.
3. A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specified goal: Neighborhood groups formed a partnership to fight crime.

Mutual cooperation. To me, I read that as both parties cooperating, and combining the interests of both parties. When working with our horses, that means considering what they want to do as well - after all, they're already doing what you want to do!

This is how things work with our horses:

A horse I do not deem to have a very high level of respect for me yet, is usually not allowed to graze (they're often the type of horse that does not get treats, either, until their overall p.o.v. shifts). Once I have earned a fairly high level of respect from them, they can graze to their little heart's content, provided they abide by my rules:

1. If you feel the need to grab that long, tantalizing strand of grass whilst walking, be my guest, but you are not slowing down to get it. This includes in-hand as well as under-saddle. On the ground, my horses have 12' of rope to play with. If they want to eat, they soon figure out to jog a couple steps ahead, grab a bite or two (by that time I have walked past and they are at the end of the 12' rope), then jog back next to me or ahead of me again, without ever hitting the end of the rope and without ever getting in the way of my path. Under-saddle, it means they are not yanking the reins out of my hand to grab a bite - they work with what they have, and the continue at the pace we were. On the ground, they hit the end of the rope and/or lose their grazing privileges if they do not keep up. Under-saddle, they meet a light squeeze and then (if necessary) a spank if they slow overly or if they stop without permission.

2. If I answer "no" to your question of "may I eat grass now?" (ie. if you bump my hands lightly and I don't give you your head), the answer remains "no" until I dictate otherwise. Don't keep asking, or I will have you working hard so that your focus is on the work at hand in lieu of the grass.

3. If I allow you to eat while stopped (this is where I like Pat's method of telling the horse it is now ok to eat grass, via applying pressure to ask them to lower their head), you may continue to do so until I pick up my reins and energy and squeeze you lightly forward.

The best thing I ever learned about getting a horse to quit eating grass was from John Lyons. He said to spank your horse rather than kick it or pull on the reins. Horses don't like to be kicked (I mean, would you?), and who has reefing on the reins ever worked for anyway?? So from then on, when a horse went to dive their nose down into grass, I simply gently spanked them with my rein ends (rhythmically, swinging my reins from one side of the haunches and across my body to the other side). Never had a problem after that.

Earning a high level of respect from your horse is key though, as is working in partnership with them. If you are working in partnership with them, they might gently ask, every once in awhile, if they can eat grass, but they will do so politely and not every stride. Also, if you are working in partnership with them, you are allowing them to eat grass here and there (take your time coming in from their paddock to work, let them eat while opening a gate, etc), out of consideration for their wants and needs, and so your horse will respect you for that as well. Horses respect a leader who is fair, whose rules they can easily understand. The above three rules are pretty easy for a horse to understand, I find. The other key though is prior and proper preparation (respect, etc), as it prevents a lot of mayhem in the first place.

Personally, any horse I ride is permitted to eat - over the last 6 years or so that I have really developed my horsemanship, I have never had a problem with a horse being excessively rude while eating. If they are a little more rude than I'd like, I revoke their grazing privileges. Once I feel they are again respectful (either during that same ride/walk or during another session altogether), then I return their privileges. My horses are always chomping away happily while still complying with everything I ask. If they are still doing what you ask, what more could you want? Why not allow them to do a little of what they want, while still doing what you want as well?

The space invader...no, not ET's...

Continuing on the original problem-solving topic!

We've all had horses like this one, the one that bullies you and runs you over or leaps into your space when he's scared. When I hear an owner say "she's so sweet, she's just such a pocket horse"...that sends red flags up for me. Often it is simply a minor problem, but your "pocket pony" being in your space is not a sign of friendliness but rather a lack of respect for your space. It is not that a horse is not permitted in your space, but it should be on your terms - with you, as the leader, designating when, how, where, and why.

Horses enter our space for one of two reasons. One, they're scared. The safest place for a horse is obviously in the middle of the herd. If you are the only being around your horse, you are that herd. In this case, the horse will run you over in attempt to get himself into an area of safety. Short-term, wave your arms, make yourself big, to prevent the horse from bolting over top of you. A horse in right-brain, reactive mode is not thinking clearly - he's reacting, so you have to be very obvious, even jump in place while waving your arms. As soon as he backs off, stop and relax your body. Long-term, develop a partnership where your horse can trust your leadership, where he does not have to be scared of every little thing because he's following a calm and assertive leader in whom he has full confidence will protect him. Teach your horse games and patterns that develop confidence, that develop a calmer, smarter, braver horse.

The other reason a horse can invade your space is out of dominance. The least dominant horse is the one who moves his feet the most. So if your horse is moving into your space, he is doing so because he gave himself, as self-appointed leader, permission to be in your space. You move your feet to prevent from being run over...you further cement that you're the submissive herd member. Short-term, don't let your horse in your space in the first place!! I find these horses are typically nippers too (another respect issue in this case)...so cut out treats until you've got a high enough level of respect. If you absolutely must give a treat, do not reward the horse until he is showing calm submission rather than dominance. This likely is not going to occur though if you're having an invading-my-space problem or a dominant-nipping problem. Use your arms as "walls" and yo-yo your horse backwards (see the Parelli 7 games) to get your horse out of your space - keep him out there at all times unless you directly invite him in. Be clear, be direct, be consistent, and be assertive (but never aggressive!). Long-term, work on increasing that level of respect. Play games with him that involve his moving his feet whilst yours remain still. Get him to work with snappy, respectful responses. Never confront a dominant horse, but challenge him in such a way that earns his respect.