Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

Crazy Parelli Lady Has Left the Building (or not...)

Off Course
#61

[QUOTE=Sandy M;7748305]
I have to think that Appies are the WORST candidates for the Pepperoni method. I know my first two Appies (heavily Foundation bred), would have ignored the Peps, or schooled THEM. You didn’t mess with my 2nd App who was thoroughly reliable (adjusted his performance to the rider’s abilities), but you did not push him around or make him do piddly, useless things. And my last two Appies - One was racebred (gentlest quietest horse I’ve ever owned) and the present a Foundation App/Arab cross, would probably freak at that nonsense - which may have been what happened with the horse you’re referring to. Still, while I wouldn’t subject my horse to it, it would be morbidly interesting to see what would happen if PP tried his tricks on my 16.2 h.h. half-Arab Appy! It ain’t the same as messing with a nice little QH![/QUOTE]

I KNOW they are the worst candidates!! :slight_smile: Someone way back when put some good training on her but when the seller bought her, he was a believer and his wife doubly so. This is one of those dumb moments when I ignored my gut feeling, when I saw the mare pin her ears and snake her head at the wifey, I should have called it quits right there and not handed over the check. The wifey was a real PITA to me and others and I thought it was a thing between mare and wifey. Not so, mare had had it up to here with any sort of two legged animal on the other end of the lead rope. I truly thought some miles and sensible handling would sort things out in her head. Nope, she had a long memory and wasn’t giving an inch. I was leading her and walked toward her rear end, she’d have to pivot around, and she gave me a F-you cowkick, no reason. I lambasted her for that and she never did it again but you could see the gears turning in her head, behind her eyes. After looking at the vids again, I don’t know why I thought I could have gotten through to her!! I traded her off and took a pretty good financial hit in the process but I thought it evened out that I didn’t have to go to the hospital and pay a big bill.

#62

People seem to always want things to be complicated and have a System when it comes to teaching/training. You certainly see that with dogs where people just completely buy into one way and only one way of doing things rather than having a whole tool box of ideas. The same seems to apply to kids (I recently moved in with housemates who have a kid and managing him honestly is quite similar to dealing with dogs in a lot of ways.)

The big problem is that in order to come up with any kind of system you have to over-simplify some things and over-complicate others, so that you can say your system will work for everything. And then people who don’t know any better or who feel a bit overwhelmed just totally buy in and if something isn’t working it isn’t because they are using the wrong approach, it is because they are somehow doing it wrong.

I am still baffled by people who think that telling any animal/kid “no” at all ever is going to hopelessly ruin them for life. There are some things where the answer is actually NO. No, you can’t run into the street, no you can’t barge into me and knock me over when I am leading you, no. Some things are rude and unacceptable. You do have to also show what the correct thing to do is, and reward for that sometimes to make it clear that is the correct thing, but no is a perfectly valid tool.

(I mean, I am sure as heck not going to let a horse run over me when I am leading him because omg he will be traumatized if I tell him to knock it off.)

#63

I also don’t understand the cult like status of these trainers.

But I have seen PP twice. First in a clinic situation where I found it anything but kind and gentle in how he fried a colts mind in 45 minutes by not touching him at all. This was over 20 years ago. It was not natural nor uncruel no matter what he purported. And I am not above CTJ meetings at all. But this was a unhandled colt who was in a full lather. OK he didn’t hit him but he crawled up in his head and I am not sure how long it would take to undo that.
The second time I saw him was in a lecture situation. He is a very very engaging speaker. The religious comparisons are very apt because he is very much like a charismatic preacher.
I did not pay to see him either time. I was working both events.

#64

He’s going to be at EA this year. A bunch of us are going to watch his problem horse training clinic for the entertainment value. I’ve met a few PP cult members over the years. None of them ride their horses. One is convinced she needs her horse’s permission before she can get on. Her horse then takes one step, plants his feet and refuses to move, she gets back off and calls it a day. Scary. OP, your lady sounds like the poster child for the movement. Hopefully no more stickies show up, but if they do please take pics.

#65

[QUOTE=tbchick84;7748630]
He’s going to be at EA this year. A bunch of us are going to watch his problem horse training clinic for the entertainment value. I’ve met a few PP cult members over the years. None of them ride their horses. One is convinced she needs her horse’s permission before she can get on. Her horse then takes one step, plants his feet and refuses to move, she gets back off and calls it a day. Scary. OP, your lady sounds like the poster child for the movement. Hopefully no more stickies show up, but if they do please take pics.[/QUOTE]

I bet her horse thinks he has a great deal, at least. “Look, I can make her get off, no effort!”

#66

[QUOTE=californianinkansas;7746649]
She sounds like an awesome little mare! Pics please?[/QUOTE]

This is the pony that would have driven a pepperoni type insane and I am 99% certain would have turned dangerous in the process:

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/100_1037.jpg

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/100_1034.jpg

She was 15 in those pictures.

As I said, a competitive driving pony but as I tell people she is a appaloosa (POA), pony mare - take the 3 stereotypes and roll them into a 12H package :lol:.

#67

[QUOTE=kdow;7748459]
People seem to always want things to be complicated and have a System when it comes to teaching/training. You certainly see that with dogs where people just completely buy into one way and only one way of doing things rather than having a whole tool box of ideas. The same seems to apply to kids (I recently moved in with housemates who have a kid and managing him honestly is quite similar to dealing with dogs in a lot of ways.)[/QUOTE]

This also applies to MILs, by the way. We moved in with her to help her out and, now, I can truly say what a mistake. Long story short, I’m going back to driving my big rig for the peace and quiet, hubby can stay home and deal with her. I’ve had to use every tool in my toolbox and see the writing on the wall, calling it a day.

#68

Oh that video is hysterical!!! Thanks for posting it. The horse’s expression. The dog’s behavior(!), the horse snacking as she’s getting down. I love it. Good job!

#69

I recently moved into a Parelli barn (out of sheer necessity). I was pretty terrified at first, but I think I’ve encountered the only non-crazy PP out there. Yeah, there are some odd feeding choices, but over all the horses are all respectful of spaces and well-mannered. I mean, the games and such are weird for sure, but they don’t seem to be hurting anyone.

#70

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7749239]
I recently moved into a Parelli barn (out of sheer necessity). I was pretty terrified at first, but I think I’ve encountered the only non-crazy PP out there. Yeah, there are some odd feeding choices, but over all the horses are all respectful of spaces and well-mannered. I mean, the games and such are weird for sure, but they don’t seem to be hurting anyone.[/QUOTE]

Are you the only person actually riding, then? =)

#71

Ironically, the horse that refused to load on Monday was an Appy! Now, I have an appy mare and I agree whole heartedly that if there is any one breed that should NEVER be “trained” using Parelli is the Appaloosa. My Appy was re-trained (she had ZERO manners when I got her) using good solid, common sense horsemanship (with several CTJ moments mixed in) and she’s a solid citizen now. I think she would have killed someone by now if they came at her with Parelli garbage.

#72

[QUOTE=Snowflake;7749384]
Ironically, the horse that refused to load on Monday was an Appy! Now, I have an appy mare and I agree whole heartedly that if there is any one breed that should NEVER be “trained” using Parelli is the Appaloosa. My Appy was re-trained (she had ZERO manners when I got her) using good solid, common sense horsemanship (with several CTJ moments mixed in) and she’s a solid citizen now. I think she would have killed someone by now if they came at her with Parelli garbage.[/QUOTE]

Yep, yep, yep. My mare had blood in her eye, people would comment on it. She had just had it with round pens and people. Kind of funny/odd. My best horse AND my worst horse of all time, both Appys.

#73

Ah, Appaloosas. They do not suffer fools gladly.

#74

[QUOTE=Snowflake;7749384]
Ironically, the horse that refused to load on Monday was an Appy! Now, I have an appy mare and I agree whole heartedly that if there is any one breed that should NEVER be “trained” using Parelli is the Appaloosa. My Appy was re-trained (she had ZERO manners when I got her) using good solid, common sense horsemanship (with several CTJ moments mixed in) and she’s a solid citizen now. I think she would have killed someone by now if they came at her with Parelli garbage.[/QUOTE]

I could have probably learned a thing or two from you. I tried everything I knew to do with her. Long trail rides, many miles, tying up and letting her soak, a couple of CTJ moments in which she would double down and be worse. If I had gotten any more CTJ with her, it would have bordered on abuse. A friend was watching one day, didn’t believe the mare could be so shut-down, yep, afterward, she believed. Very feed aggressive but I’m not so sure that was from any sort of Pep training but all the tools in my toolbox, nothing worked.

It was almost like she preferred you to whale on her, she’d take it just so you’d leave her the h*ll alone afterwards. She was a Sonny Dee Bar bred, so not exactly a genetically reactive horse, yanno??

While I’m writing a book here, once I had her tied to a post in the barn. All my horses tie whether they like it or not. She had enough and tried to pull the barn down. My friend and I stood there like “Go for it, better horses than you have tried to pull that post down”. She gave up and never a problem after that but the way she was pulling, I’m sure the prev owner had panicked and cut her loose the moment she started acting the fool. I found out later that she had been banned from the local arena, with prev owner, because she was so out of control. Yeah, thanks for telling me all this…

Anyway, I consider her one of my few failures and good riddance.

#75

I’ve tried to read Parelli material just for the heck of it. It lost me at the beginning. Whatever happened to just plain ole’ “thinking like a horse”, and putting yourself in their shoes. In over 50 years of horse riding, ownership, and plain old horse loving, I’ve never had a horse I couldn’t catch; more likely they won’t leave me alone. Nor never had a horse that didn’t respond to firmness, but kindness, and simply my being able to think like a horse. Understandably, training a horse for specific work requires skill and knowledge, but being a real horseman or woman has nothing to do with carrot sticks.
The PP system is a money making machine.

#76

[QUOTE=Christa P;7748854]
This is the pony that would have driven a pepperoni type insane and I am 99% certain would have turned dangerous in the process:

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/100_1037.jpg

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/100_1034.jpg

She was 15 in those pictures.

As I said, a competitive driving pony but as I tell people she is a appaloosa (POA), pony mare - take the 3 stereotypes and roll them into a 12H package :lol:.[/QUOTE]

Your mare is just beautiful! I can tell in the photos that she is listening to you. Your cart (not sure of the correct term) is amazing, and I love your hat!

#77

It’s a meadowbrook cart…I think. :slight_smile:

My friend’s appy mare would eat these people for breakfast. If you’re doing something she enjoys like trail rides (can ask her to work - leg yields, getting her round, transitions etc. - on a trail ride) she’s fine. On the trail she’s a forward, bold, do whatever and go wherever horse.

Ask her to do a schooling ride in an arena or pasture and she gets an FU attitude and would prefer to be sluggish (or if you don’t know how to deal with her, just not move) rather than forward. More than likely you have to have a “discussion” with her at the beginning of the ride. If she’s being ridden regularly it’s not as much of an issue.

#78

[QUOTE=Sonesta;7749507]
Ah, Appaloosas. They do not suffer fools gladly.[/QUOTE]

I recently acquired a yearling apply Molly mule…:slight_smile:

#79

[QUOTE=Antaeus;7750751]
I recently acquired a yearling apply Molly mule…:)[/QUOTE]

Oh Gawd…not pony though?!

:wink:

#80

[QUOTE=Antaeus;7750751]
I recently acquired a yearling apply Molly mule…:)[/QUOTE]

Is she chestnut, too?

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $29.99 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse