I don't do Parelli but I have a lot of respect for them...just as I have a lot of respect for anyone who uses natural horsemanship methods.

However, I don't really think it is anything new, and I think that the methods advocated by people like the Parelli's or Monty Roberts are methods used by old fashioned horsemen. Whilst its true that in the past, some pople did use force to try to get better results, the most successful horsemen used 'natural' methods. Basically, they understood horse pyschology and used this in order t ogain trust and establish a bond with any horse they worked with.

I think the 'games' concept used in Parelli is very clever and useful at explaining the methods used in 'natural horsemandship', just as Monty Robert's 'joining up' method is easily understood. Horse pychology is complex and these sorts of methods and the people that teach them are very good and essentialy help us all to manage and handle our horses better.

sarah

i like the idea that horses like following - i find that works sometimes, rather than walking upfront to catch a horse in the field, walk away from it, so it follows.