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    Of course I would not be where I am now without my wonderful partners! These animals are my future, I have devoted hours every day to these creatures and have developed an amazing relationship with them. I have learned so much from them and along with the Parelli Program they have changed who I am and the way I act for the better. I am not the same, and never will be. I will only continue improving myself and form an even stronger bond with them...

 

 

 

Reprinted with permission of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc.

    Sundance A.K.A. "Fabio" is a 2000 sorrel tobiano paint gelding, and is an amazing horse, he has amazing things to offer. I bought him here in Monroe when he was about 6 years old, he was what we call a "crazy paint". He was green and had a bad habit of running off, bucking and rearing when anything at all went wrong or didn't go his way. After a couple years of playing in the Parelli Program he has turned into a magnificent partner and all around horse. We are now playing and progressing in Level 4, learning and loving it. We have both come a long way, and have a wonderful journey ahead of us. Sundance is still somewhat a challenge because of his introversion, BORED! BORED! BORED! He is a very dominant horse but I thoroughly enjoy learning with and from this horse. I give each of my partners a job after they complete the foundation levels, Sundance will be a reining or cutting horse and is getting the right foundation for the job.

 


 

Reprinted with permission of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc.

    "Bebe" is a bay 2003 quarter horse gelding, a very loving and talented horse, and has proved to be an amazing teacher for me. My father purchased Bebe at 2 years of age from a very close friend that originally taught me how to ride horses, and now runs his own therapeutic center. I was going to train Bebe for the man, but he ended up staying here. When I first started working with him he was a scared unconfident right brained colt, scared of most of everything and not confident of himself like most 2 and 3 year olds. He was a blank slate, no baggage and a great start on life. I was ready to make my own horse! Now Bebe has matured beautifully and is learning more about life and himself every day, he is rarely unconfident and gives 110% in everything he does. He is now playing in Level 3 and becoming a better horse after every session. Bebe has a very bright future and will be a star no doubt!

 

    The Goal of the Parelli Program is to help horse owners understand their horse's individual HorsenalityTM, and to be able to teach them more effectively to become a Confident and Balanced partner (centered).

 

 

    Characteristics of a "Right Brained" (RB) Extrovert include being frantic, fearful, and may have a tendency to bolt and rear. RB Extroverts are usually held back and tied down when they are panicky (martingales, nosebands, gag bits, twisted wire, etc).

    RB horses act instinctively, without thinking, just like they operate in the wild. There is no time to think, the moment they perceive danger they react in fear and take flight. At the minimum, RB horses are unconfident. At worst, they are often described as crazy! What is certain is that they are dangerous... dangerous to ride, dangerous when they are in unfamiliar situations. They are fearful, spooky, claustrophobic, over-reactive, hypersensitive, can't think, emotional and have difficulty with anything that changes. Horses operating in the RB mode are not safe. They don't have self-control and they have a lot of trouble learning.

    RB horses need you to build their confidence. They need lots of 'approach and retreat' instead of being pushed past their confidence thresholds. They also need lots of repetition when learning, because changes scare them. Once they are confident they become better learners because their brain doesn't shut down with fear.

    Extroverted horses tend to be energetic, excitable and quick and need quick action from their riders and handlers. They need their frantic patterns to be effectively interrupted and their energy to be constructively directed. This makes them calmer and focuses their attention.

 

As many of you know, our journeys can get very hard. Things can take a full 360 degree turn for the worst just when something turns out right, sometimes you feel like you have gone back to square one or a session just doesn't go well. I have written a short essay about how I feel about success and failure, and it has really inspired me when something goes wrong. It makes me think, Was that success? Or was that failure?

    What is success? The proper definition of success is ‘The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors’. What is the opposite of success? Failure. Failure is ‘An act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful, a lack of success’.  

    Now that we know the correct definitions of these two perplexing terms, we have to decide whether we agree or disagree with them. I agree to a certain extent, because I have personally lived and experienced these two concepts. But, is success all it’s cut out to be? Is failure really something we want to avoid? Because, just like life, it is all in how you view it.

    Success is something we all want with our horses and our journey in general: we all want to be that perfect partner. We all want to know ‘where to be, when to be, why to be and what to do when you get there’, at any given moment and in any situation with a horse. We all want to have the ultimate horsemanship: we all want to ride into the sunset bareback and bridle-less in perfect harmony, just like Pat Parelli. We also want it right now, and want it to stay like that forever. Never mind that Pat Parelli took 25 years to get where he is now with horses—we all still want it instantly.

    Where does that feeling come from? Your inner predatory self. ‘I want it and I want it now!’ What direct-line thinkers we are! Horses are not direct-line thinkers, but all predators are. Direct-line thinking leads to perfectionism and goal orientation, which we all know often leads to disharmony in your partnership and contempt on your horse’s part.

    Goals cannot be reached without willingness on both parts: we all have to swallow our pride in order to embark on this journey so we can succeed. On this journey we will all face success and failure, both necessary factors but not necessarily something negative. We all know success is something we want, but do we want failure? We cannot avoid it, it is inevitably impossible to avoid failure at some time in our journey. Thomas Edison once said, ‘I have not failed. I've just found 300 ways how to not make a light bulb.’ And yet, there was success.

    In our journeys, we will learn, and have learned, ‘how to not make a light bulb’ in many different ways and situations, and that is how we learn. You can call it the process of elimination—our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. I personally have learned so much in my failures, and do not regret one instance of failure on my part. So it all goes back to the original questions: What is success? What is Failure? And how will you allow them to affect you in your journey?

 

 

 

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