Tuesday, March 11, 2008

For those of you who don't believe Parelli training ruins horses

This was forwarded to me. Of course the mare is now free to a good home!

I would like a new home for my 7 yr., 14 hh., chestnut Morgan mare. I will simply give her to the right home, preferably a Parelli home. She is always at the gate when I go out to get a horse and is always so sad when I take another horse instead. Owning my business and working with two horses is all I can do and it is not fair to Star. She was started under saddle on a ranch and ridden there-- moving cattle, checking cattle, checking fence, and other ranch chores. However, she came here feeling insecure and worried so I took her back to ground work, starting her journey and mine into Parelli. She does the 7 Games at Level 1, moving into Level 2. For the small amount of time I have been able to give her, she has come a long way but is not yet ready to ride again. Star is a delight, very people orientated, and very smart. She would do best with a Level 2 person who has the time to give her. With time and patience, she will be a good horse for someone. Susan Johnston is the Parelli Professional who has been helping me and can help give insight to Star's new person.

OK let's review.

1. When this woman got Star, she was ranch broke and being used for moving cattle around, checking fence, etc. Sounds like a pretty well broke horse, wouldn't you say?

2. Parelli-ite Mommy decided the mare was "feeling insecure and worried." How, pray tell, did she come to this conclusion? I'm guessing ranch broke mare came off the trailer a little excited to be in her new home. May have whinnied or paced a bit. Oh, the drama! Oh, how unusual! Surely she was traumatized! Of course, being taken off the 100 acres she was probably running on and shipped to SoCal to live in a 10 x 15 pipe corral like every other horse in SoCal didn't have anything to do with that, either.

3. So instead of giving her a week to settle in and then working her through it, the mare has instead had the seven games shoved down her throat. I'm sure Ranch Broke Mare is very confused indeed.

4. And is "not ready to ride yet." Translation: Parelli-ite Mommy is skeered of her. The horse is already broke! It's seven years old! It's apparently not injured in any way. Why on earth is it not ready to ride?

*head explodes*

I wanna pitch a new TV show. You know the Extreme Mustang Makeover? OK, that was fun but this year let's have a show focused on returning Parellitized horses to normal use. You have to start with a horse that is wildly confused, walks twenty feet behind you and backs up all the time, and by the end of the season it has to be competitive in an actual riding event. I'll take one on - who's with me?