Parelli is not just a way with horses for me, it is an attitude to life. Growing up with the philosophies, core values and teaching of Pat and Linda Parelli and the Australian instructor team has shaped the way I value my own life, interact with others, enhance my relationships with fellow human beings, set goals and problem solve.
It has taught me to think laterally, not be so direct line, value the relationship above all else. I have been challenged with the ideas to be natural, positive but also continually progressive. The last concept in particular meant being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and facing one of my greatest causes of unease...change! Parelli has helped me become more mentally, emotionally and physically fit. I am able to see the larger concept of an idea but be able to break it apart, isolate elements and learn in chunks that can be pieced together later.I have a greater understanding of who I am, my boundaries, and responsibilities within relationships. I know more about how to read horses than ever before and am both dedicated and addicted to learning more! Being able to assess what kind of leader you need to be for your horse to feel safe, calm, willing and motivated is such a vital skill and I regularly transfer that to university, family and workplace interactions.
The most recent and greatest lesson I have learnt is not to underestimate my abilities and honour my own life by seeing my dream to become a Parelli instructor as an accomplishable one. Not accomplishable in the sense one day I will wake up and tick it off my life's to-do list, but more just an internal permission I gave myself to let myself grow continually, and not deny myself any oppurtunities that may stem from that. Being able to motivate myself even on the days where everything seems a little difficult is kept alive by the dream. I am slowly realising that I cannot do this by myself, I need to ask the support network around me to help me live my dream, no one can do it alone!
Most of all Parelli is part of my identity. There are other parts of my life, sure. I am family orientated, study at university, have a fantastic boyfriend and a healthy friendship network. I love hiking, yoga, cups of tea, the beach and camping. But there is a part of me also that says, this is who I am, and what I stand for. No one can take away the feeling that my soul is on fire with passion for what I do, and my heart so at ease with joy when I am with horses.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
The Beginning: How I found the program.
I have been a student in the program since I was ten years old. I began my journey with horses at age four at a 'pony playgroup' but I got my first horse Penny when I was nine. It was a dream come true. As with a lot of people I have met through the program, I found Parelli Natural Horsemanship because I was seeking not only answers for a difficult horse but a generally more fulfilling way to spend my time with my horse.
I started the home study program after my first riding teacher introduced me to 'natural horsemanship'. For a while, I continued to do both traditional and natural methods, but it was clear to me that my horse felt more stimulated, safe and was definitely a lot calmer! There was no debating she even looked happier when I walked into the paddock.This was a horse who had a lot of emotional baggage, a new addition to the family after I handed down my first pony (who possessed saintly tolerance to the mistakes of learning humans) to my Mum. My new horse Rhani was a standard bred who kicked in fear and at other horses, spooked dramatically, bucked, was hard to catch, anxious, ran off with you, shook her head violently and frothed at the mouth while ridden and occasionally self mutilated by biting her sides. With the patience of Mother Teresa, I believed I could 'heal' this horse. I gave up traditional methods after a disastrous period of competing and dressage lessons where Rhani would literally aim a massive double barrelled kick toward my instructor while I rode. There is something definitely a little odd when the teacher has to stand behind a fence to teach you. I watched this horse, who I knew was just treated badly, fall victim to many conventional experts ideas and actions of 'sorting her out' all of which left you with a bit of a sick feeling in the gut. The eighteen months of Parelli courses I had with Rhani were amazing, she was easier to catch, friendly, calmer and more obliging. People used to ask me at Pony Club "where did you get that horse?" My time out in the paddock was fun; sure this program was a little bit strange but I felt safe knowing I could just play on the ground. There was nothing that wasn't logical and practical. We swam in the dam together and she quickly became the learning curve of a lifetime and a best friend.We finally filmed our first level to be sent off to the United States for assessment.
There was a huge summer storm the night I filmed my Level One (partnership level). As I ran outside from my bed in the lightening and blinding sheets of rain (I had left a pony locked up in a small unsheltered yard) I felt a body of a horse run past me, bumping me with her shoulder. All four of our horses at the time were galloping around the paddock.
I awoke the next morning to find Rhani with a bowed tendon. Already in a panic I called the vet. Later prognosis showed a giant swelling of her shoulder where she had broken her upper leg. They were the hardest twenty four hours of my life and her final hours (feeding her willow leaves to ease the pain) until she was put down the next day only served to accentuate our bond. I sat with her and sang to her, and she put her muzzle on my shoulder. Saying goodbye to your best friend is something I will never forget.
I passed my Level One nearly a year later when I had the courage to submit it. By then I had another partner, Ace, a Thoroughbred mare only slightly less challenging than Rhani.In hindsight, I believe everything happens for a reason, and perhaps Rhani knew she was too challenging for me and had taught me just enough for me to go on with my journey.
I have been lucky to have a family so supportive of my dreams with horses, and I would like to take the time to thank my my parents for their financial support, Mum for being a study buddy and my Dad for being a designated driver, horse float and all to various courses all over Victoria.
And my very first pony, Penny? She is still with us, even today at the ripe old age of 27. What a horse!
I started the home study program after my first riding teacher introduced me to 'natural horsemanship'. For a while, I continued to do both traditional and natural methods, but it was clear to me that my horse felt more stimulated, safe and was definitely a lot calmer! There was no debating she even looked happier when I walked into the paddock.This was a horse who had a lot of emotional baggage, a new addition to the family after I handed down my first pony (who possessed saintly tolerance to the mistakes of learning humans) to my Mum. My new horse Rhani was a standard bred who kicked in fear and at other horses, spooked dramatically, bucked, was hard to catch, anxious, ran off with you, shook her head violently and frothed at the mouth while ridden and occasionally self mutilated by biting her sides. With the patience of Mother Teresa, I believed I could 'heal' this horse. I gave up traditional methods after a disastrous period of competing and dressage lessons where Rhani would literally aim a massive double barrelled kick toward my instructor while I rode. There is something definitely a little odd when the teacher has to stand behind a fence to teach you. I watched this horse, who I knew was just treated badly, fall victim to many conventional experts ideas and actions of 'sorting her out' all of which left you with a bit of a sick feeling in the gut. The eighteen months of Parelli courses I had with Rhani were amazing, she was easier to catch, friendly, calmer and more obliging. People used to ask me at Pony Club "where did you get that horse?" My time out in the paddock was fun; sure this program was a little bit strange but I felt safe knowing I could just play on the ground. There was nothing that wasn't logical and practical. We swam in the dam together and she quickly became the learning curve of a lifetime and a best friend.We finally filmed our first level to be sent off to the United States for assessment.
There was a huge summer storm the night I filmed my Level One (partnership level). As I ran outside from my bed in the lightening and blinding sheets of rain (I had left a pony locked up in a small unsheltered yard) I felt a body of a horse run past me, bumping me with her shoulder. All four of our horses at the time were galloping around the paddock.
I awoke the next morning to find Rhani with a bowed tendon. Already in a panic I called the vet. Later prognosis showed a giant swelling of her shoulder where she had broken her upper leg. They were the hardest twenty four hours of my life and her final hours (feeding her willow leaves to ease the pain) until she was put down the next day only served to accentuate our bond. I sat with her and sang to her, and she put her muzzle on my shoulder. Saying goodbye to your best friend is something I will never forget.
I passed my Level One nearly a year later when I had the courage to submit it. By then I had another partner, Ace, a Thoroughbred mare only slightly less challenging than Rhani.In hindsight, I believe everything happens for a reason, and perhaps Rhani knew she was too challenging for me and had taught me just enough for me to go on with my journey.
I have been lucky to have a family so supportive of my dreams with horses, and I would like to take the time to thank my my parents for their financial support, Mum for being a study buddy and my Dad for being a designated driver, horse float and all to various courses all over Victoria.
And my very first pony, Penny? She is still with us, even today at the ripe old age of 27. What a horse!
What is Parelli?
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is a relationship based training program that aims to develop the horse and human in four "savvys." It is also a meaningful, potentially lifelong commitment to continuing self improvement. The four savvys are Online, Liberty, Freestyle and Finesse. To paint a bit of a mental picture for anyone not in the program or involved with horses, Online is playing with the horse on the ground (as opposed to riding) and through a connection of various lengths of line and a carrot stick which acts as an extension of your body. Liberty is communication no strings attached, and the strength of bond can be tested in open spaces. Freestyle is the first of the riding savvys, and is a more casual riding savvy that focuses mainly on the horse and riders responsibilities and independence and sets the communication foundations for the second riding savvy of Finesse. Finesse can simply be described as riding with refined communication, the horse and rider look as though they are just dancing together in harmony.
Students learn to play a variety of games and patterns with their horses from all positions (zones) around the horses body. These games reflect the way horses naturally communicate with each other in a herd and prey animal psychology is used with love, language and leadership in mind.
The founder of the program, Pat Parelli has dedicated his life to sharing information that has been passed on from other amazing horseman to himself, such as Troy Henry, Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt and with his wife Linda, are dedicated to making the world a better place for horses and humans. It's about relationships for life, a true understanding of prey animal psychology so we can banish quick fixes, artificial aids and win-lose situations that make people and horses feel afraid, intimidated, diminished, frustrated or failures. 'Savvy' is developing an understanding and bringing professionalism back into the horse industry, where preserving the dignity of these beautiful animals and becoming a personal of knowledge and influence is a priority.
The Parelli program is about trust, unconditional love, language, leadership, communication, respect, fun, empowerment. Its a journey of a lifetime, and a journey I am happy to spend my lifetime dedicating to helping the program spread the word about a world class horse education program changing the world one partnership at a time.
Students learn to play a variety of games and patterns with their horses from all positions (zones) around the horses body. These games reflect the way horses naturally communicate with each other in a herd and prey animal psychology is used with love, language and leadership in mind.
The founder of the program, Pat Parelli has dedicated his life to sharing information that has been passed on from other amazing horseman to himself, such as Troy Henry, Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt and with his wife Linda, are dedicated to making the world a better place for horses and humans. It's about relationships for life, a true understanding of prey animal psychology so we can banish quick fixes, artificial aids and win-lose situations that make people and horses feel afraid, intimidated, diminished, frustrated or failures. 'Savvy' is developing an understanding and bringing professionalism back into the horse industry, where preserving the dignity of these beautiful animals and becoming a personal of knowledge and influence is a priority.
The Parelli program is about trust, unconditional love, language, leadership, communication, respect, fun, empowerment. Its a journey of a lifetime, and a journey I am happy to spend my lifetime dedicating to helping the program spread the word about a world class horse education program changing the world one partnership at a time.
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