The further they get from home, the less secure they feel, and spooking on the trail is a great example of how a prey animal acts when he feels in danger.
You’ve been there…you can’t hold your horse back any more. He’s prancing, he’s pushing like a freight train against the bit, and he’s lunging and plunging. But you hold on with incredible determination because you know if you let go …
There is really no way to make this uneventful unless you have pair-bonded the new horse first and you have a large area for all the horses to run in.
Natural horsemanship methods are not necessarily harmful when applied with the timing, experience and skill of an experienced trainer.
Remember, the Seven Games are progressive and you need to have the other six in place before being able to successfully play the Squeeze Game.
Backwards and sideways have everything to do with your horse’s impulsion and emotional fitness - which influences almost everything else your horse does.
The Circling Game in Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship (PNH) is used to help your horse understand that it is his job to maintain gait, maintain direction, watch where he is going and all the while stay tuned into you as his …
The Yo-Yo Game is the fourth of the Seven Games. Games #1 (Friendly), #2 (Porcupine) and #3 (Driving) are called the “principle games”.
The Driving Game teaches your horse how to yield from a “suggestion” with no physical touching involved. In the beginning, driving is done at a reasonably close range, but as you progress, you can actually drive (or suggest) from quite …
Horses naturally push into steady pressure. Moving against it or barging through it is how they escape predators in the wild.
The Friendly Game is number one of Seven Games because nothing beats a good first impression. When you want to meet someone, how would you approach them?
Anyone at the competitive edge, English or Western, is seeking that feel of the horse being an extension of their mind. The truth, though, is that very, very few achieve it. When you see dressage at its finest, or reining, …
On the whole, people have little control over their horses when they are not on the end of a lead rope - and even then there are no guarantees.
True horsemen are admired for their ability to ride by the seat of their pants. Pat Parelli explains how this can be achieved through freestyle riding.
In traditional horsemanship it’s normal to look at horses very subjectively: he’s a good one, or, he’s got vices; he’s a bucker, a puller, a rearer, etc.
