Well, dog agility was based loosely on horse jumping and now, full circle back, we have …horse agility:
http://www.thehorseagilityclub.com/
That is an international club, with an USA affiliate.
Seems that many competitions are of people sending a video of their runs, wherever they are, in riding clubs or their backyard and judges place them.
Interesting what all people do with their horses, is it.
Looks very… parelli
Actually looks kind of fun. Trail class on steriods perhaps. Interesting overall.
P.
[QUOTE=ElisLove;7748519]
Looks very… parelli[/QUOTE]
I was thinking this too a bit. But the lady looked somewhat sensible.
P.
It makes sense, since all the NH “gurus” are creating people who don’t want to actually RIDE their horses.
I think it looks fun.
Never needed Parelli to get my horses to follow me over jumps and tarps (though they might have an opinion about the flaming standards :no:). She’s trying to organize (and capitalize on) what easily-bored people have been doing with groundwork exercises for pretty much ever. Not a bad idea, either. Stuff like this keeps the old horses moving even though I can’t ride them, anymore. I really think people under-value all the fun stuff you can do with horses on the ground - stuff that pays off later when you get in the saddle.
[QUOTE=downen;7748522]
It makes sense, since all the NH “gurus” are creating people who don’t want to actually RIDE their horses.[/QUOTE]
And what is it to anybody if I don’t want to ride my horses? I get a much bigger kick out of them on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I think I cried the first time I rode a proper collected canter, it was that amazing, but I’d cry a lot more if you told me I HAD to ride all the time. It’s not what gets me going in the morning, and my horses are quite happy doing their own 24/7 pasture thing, with stupid pet tricks on the side. What’s that to you?
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Fun and useful. If they become voice trained even better.
Some skills are just lacking in certain disciplines.
I think every horse should have ground tying as a skill.
Whoa/halt verbal cue while horse is loose.
(Bowing is not one of those skills. Groom tried to teach my horse that and trainer had a kiniption fit. Apparently bowing unexpectedly while under saddle is not an accepted thing in the hunter ring. I do think it would be a crowd pleaser at the end of a dressage test though:D
I’ve done it - the barn where I board had a day-long clinic that culminated in doing a judged course. It was actually a blast - not Parelli at all. We did groundwork in the beginning to teach the horses to stay with the leader (you get penalized every time the lead rope tightens), and taught them to ground tie and back via hand and voice commands. Then we learned about navigating each obstacle safely.
I did it with my TB mare, and we both loved it. I was a bit amazed at how well she handled some of the obstacles, like walking through a blowing streamer “gate,” and walking over a big circle of plastic bottles. Excellent for developing better communication and trust with your horse - and yes, I still ride my mare daily, and have never done Parelli with her.
I can see the appeal. Someone already mentioned older horses who were no longer able to be ridden. Horses who are not able for a normal performance career due to an injury, spinal arthritis, etc. might also be good candidates for this sort of unmounted work (I might consider it for my show mare, who has some cervical spine arthritis that may in the near future limit her ability to work hard enough to continue in a normal show career, for instance.)
Adults and teens with minis and smaller ponies that they could not physically ride might enjoy it, as well.
The notion that you can just work quietly at home alone and send in videos of your runs is also very appealing to my antisocial little self, LOL!
[QUOTE=ElisLove;7748519]
Looks very… parelli[/QUOTE]
Lynn Palm has been doing this for years, and by the same name of horse agility. She is so NOT parelli.
Here is more and it seems to be a self standing discipline.
Canada was the World Champion horse agility last year.
http://www.barnmice.com/profiles/blogs/canada-takes-2013-world-championship-title-in-horse-agility
Seems that some Parelli people think that is right up their alley.
I think horse agility is way more than what the Parelli system does, more into regular, traditional horsemanship, fitting so much other we do with horses.
Not to be argumentative, but dog agility is SO much more than just jumping. Check out a video of it. Those dogs are amazing!
I could maybe see the appeal of horse agility for some people and some horses/ponies.
[QUOTE=zipperfoot;7749054]
Not to be argumentative, but dog agility is SO much more than just jumping. Check out a video of it. Those dogs are amazing!
I could maybe see the appeal of horse agility for some people and some horses/ponies.[/QUOTE]
I started training in dog agility decades ago and yes, when it first started, many were asking me about jumps and distances and how horse jumping, that dog agility was at first supposed to be, could help with training dogs.
Sorry, we can’t re-write history, “jumping courses like a horse” is how dog agility started.
Here are some more interesting pictures:
http://jumpagility.com/agility-com-cavalos-conheca-o-horseagility-offtopic/
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?476317-Anyone-tried-horse-agility
I hope those that started this stay the hand and don’t fall for the NH rope twirlers out there and let them take off with this.
While it is fine if NH wants to make horse agility part of what they do, there is no reason sensible, traditional horsemanship should not hold it’s place, as it does in any sensible horse training.
On the other hand, no need to pray to the twirly rope gods before you decide if horse agility is accepted by them or dismissed as another way to lose your way because it involves competition.
Since this discipline is so new, we will have to wait to see where they go with this.
Bluey–I didn’t know that about how dog agility started–interesting. No insult intended…
[QUOTE=downen;7748522]
It makes sense, since all the NH “gurus” are creating people who don’t want to actually RIDE their horses.[/QUOTE]
I agree with oldfuzzyhorses. This sounds like fun whether or not a handler rides.
Frankly, I don’t get the snide and critical comments about people who don’t ride. I don’t actually want to RIDE my horses. Who cares? Are you paying my feed bills?
There are many people who do not ride and there are reasons why. The rider might be unable to ride for health reasons due to disability, age, pain, or temporary health problems, and there are a gazillion health problems which can keep someone from riding; vertigo, arthritis, osteoporosis, hip injuries, knee problems – my imagination fails me but there are more.
The horse might not be rideable. It might not be sound under saddle, it might be too old, too young, or too small for the rider. It might be like one of mine, 21 years old and not broken to ride. Why bother? She’s at retirement age.
The handler might not like to ride. Some people just don’t; they just don’t enjoy it and cannot say why. Others don’t like to ride for concrete reasons including fear, obesity, discomfort or yes, following some training program which does not encourage riding.
Again, who cares?
I have several old mares which I bought just to pet and groom and watch them hang out. They define the term pasture ornament. I don’t ride them for reasons which I don’t think I need to explain or justify. The horses have good lives, I enjoy them, but I don’t get the haters who seem to have a problem with that. I never heard of Parelli before I joined this forum and I couldn’t care less about him or his followers, but I especially have no criticism about whether they ride. I do think there is a place to judge any program which promotes abuse, and I am endlessly entertained by stories on CoTH about wacko extremists, not limited to Parelli, who interfere with and annoy their barnmates with their own fanaticism or their poorly-trained horse’s bad antics. There is an extremely funny thread going on right now about that exact thing. But I don’t get the criticisms about non-riders. It just seems too Mean Girl to me.
[QUOTE=zipperfoot;7749076]
Bluey–I didn’t know that about how dog agility started–interesting. No insult intended…[/QUOTE]
Oh, no, I was just saying that when agility started, which our performance dog club took to heart as it was adding to the obedience work and was so much fun, that is what agility at that time was aiming for, a horse type jumping competition, with adaptations to what dogs could do.
Very soon it was obvious that dog jumping was going to need it’s own techniques and courses, not be based in horse jumping.
Over the years, agility has overshadowed obedience and later rally, is what most competing with dogs seem to prefer.
Will be interesting what comes out of horse agility.
They seem to be getting groups forming all over Europe and other continents.
Google images for horse agility, it is an eyeful.
[QUOTE=PeteyPie;7749090]
I agree with oldfuzzyhorses. This sounds like fun whether or not a handler rides.
Frankly, I don’t get the snide and critical comments about people who don’t ride. I don’t actually want to RIDE my horses. Who cares? Are you paying my feed bills?
There are many people who do not ride and there are reasons why. The rider might be unable to ride for health reasons due to disability, age, pain, or temporary health problems, and there are a gazillion health problems which can keep someone from riding; vertigo, arthritis, osteoporosis, hip injuries, knee problems – my imagination fails me but there are more.
The horse might not be rideable. It might not be sound under saddle, it might be too old, too young, or too small for the rider. It might be like one of mine, 21 years old and not broken to ride. Why bother? She’s at retirement age.
The handler might not like to ride. Some people just don’t; they just don’t enjoy it and cannot say why. Others don’t like to ride for concrete reasons including fear, obesity, discomfort or yes, following some training program which does not encourage riding.
Again, who cares?
I have several old mares which I bought just to pet and groom and watch them hang out. They define the term pasture ornament. I don’t ride them for reasons which I don’t think I need to explain or justify. The horses have good lives, I enjoy them, but I don’t get the haters who seem to have a problem with that. I never heard of Parelli before I joined this forum and I couldn’t care less about him or his followers, but I especially have no criticism about whether they ride. I do think there is a place to judge any program which promotes abuse, and I am endlessly entertained by stories on CoTH about wacko extremists, not limited to Parelli, who interfere with and annoy their barnmates with their own fanaticism or their poorly-trained horse’s bad antics. There is an extremely funny thread going on right now about that exact thing. But I don’t get the criticisms about non-riders. It just seems too Mean Girl to me.[/QUOTE]
There are pictures of people in wheelchairs training in horse agility, scroll down:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?476317-Anyone-tried-horse-agility
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