Pat Parelli - Horse Abuse at Festival of the Horse 2010

Comment

Comment by Jack Enright on June 10, 2011 at 3:15pm

Sorry, I've been out of this loop for a bit, but, just for the record; I'm not, and never have been, a member of PETA - as I strongly disagree with their objectives and their methods.

Secondly, I DID contact the Parellis about this video clip before posting on here, so as to give them a chance to put their side of the story. I received neither a reply nor an acknowledgement.

 

Thirdly, I fail to see how exercising my right to free speech is ruining anyone's life. Whatever the situation in some other countries, free speech in the US is guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Comment by Kasandra Shandler- Hudson on June 9, 2011 at 10:03pm

what the hell..

 

Comment by Kasandra Shandler- Hudson on June 9, 2011 at 10:03pm

what the hell..

 

Comment by Barnmice Media on February 12, 2011 at 10:56am

Hi Amy, I think attacking people online is not called for here or anywhere on the internet. Everybody is entitled to their opinions here on Barnmice (that is part of what makes Barnmice such a great site, we can all learn from each other!), but they in no way have any right to call people names, or insinuate that somebody is association with a certain party just to attack them, and most of all I think it is a little unfair that you have the right to cut somebody down online, but yet tell them that they are ruining lives?

I have the following suggestions:
1. People are allowed to post and share their thoughts and ideas regarding all issues of the horse industry
2. With that said, we must keep this a happy, healthy website, thus we must respect each other
3. You may live in a free country, but this website is founded in a PEACEFUL country, abide by that logic please

PS. If you don't like people who are or who may be involved with PETA, consider taking that up with PETA instead of attacking people online about it.

Thanks!

Comment by Amy Leimer on February 11, 2011 at 8:48pm

First off, I can call anyone I want "dude" because its a free country. Also, I dont care how many horses you've cared for. Secondly, if you have a problem with the way Pat Parelli trains then contact him and tell him so. Don't gripe about it on the internet, and i don't care about any Jayne Lavender. Thirdly, I can't even tell what is going on in this video because its not a good quality. So why don't you and your little peta friends get over it and quit trying to ruin other people's lives and get your own.

Comment by Jack Enright on February 11, 2011 at 8:33pm

Amy Leimer - could I have persuaded catwalk to let me touch his ears and face? I don't know - but I sure as hell wouldn't haul a horse's leg off the ground with a rope, and then say what I was doing was an example of "passive persistence", or an expression of "love, language and leadership".

"Lifting a horse's leg is a type of safety method for both you and the horse. When a horse is on only three legs they can't kick you . . ."

Did you see any sign of Catwalk trying to kick Parelli before he put the rope on Catwalk's leg? I didn't. Even when Catwalk reared, he showed no sign of trying to nail Parelli with his forefeet - only trying to get away from the rope. Are you seriously telling me you cannot see the risk to the horse of serious injury by hanging onto a rope fixed to the foreleg of horse which is rearing? And you have the nerve to call us stupid?

" . . . using the gum line as a twitch, grant it its not the best way, but its better than using a normal twitch, which twist their nose."

Or better still, why not refrain from using a twitch at all, and take as long as it takes to gain the horse's confidence? Other people, such as Jayne Lavender, take that approach - as I've seen her do with a horse which was terrified of trailers, and baulked at going within 20 feet of the ramp. She never came anywhere near getting into a fight with the horse - and it ended up loading like a veteran, with no sign of anxiety at all.

 

"If you want to complain about abuse get a better quality video, so people can actually tell what is going on in the demonstration."

That's a good idea, Amy - so why don't the Parellis release a good quality video of the entire session, so that we can tell exactly what is going on? The original poster did the best she could with what she had available, but nobody is stopping Pat Parelli from releasing a clearer film, are they?

A last point; over the last 43 years, I've ridden, driven, trained, shod, cared for and nursed over 3,000 horses - so don't call me 'dude'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

? I didn't.

Comment by Amy Leimer on February 11, 2011 at 5:28pm

Okay, dude, I'd like to see you get out there and try do all of this. I understand to stupid people that it might look like abuse, but you need to know something. Not everything you do with a horse is abuse. Lifting a horse's leg is a type of safety method for both you and the horse. When a horse is on only three legs they can't kick you, and using the gum line as a twitch, grant it its not the best way, but its better than using a normal twitch, which twist their nose. Also if you want to complain about abuse get a better quality video, so people can actually tell what is going on in the demonstration.

Comment by Karen Graham on December 12, 2010 at 10:53am

Take a horse that hasn't been handled into a strange area with lots of noise and commotion and then try to handle him by a stranger. Even trained horses might object. This is why Mark Rashid a real natural horseman who treats horses as individuals does not do colt starting at his seminars. He doesn't feel you can put a time limit on training and I definitely agree.

 

Comment by Jack Enright on July 17, 2010 at 8:57pm

To Kim Schmittendorf; I'm not sure how many it was, Kim, but people did get up and leave in disgust - but it's worth mentioning that the various people who saw it, and protested, all said that a large percentage of the audience were clearly committed Parelli followers and members of the Savvy Club. Becca, the woman who filmed the clip on her cell phone, and posted it on YouTube, confronted both Pat Parelli and Michael Whittaker afterwards, and told them exactly what she thought. They refunded her money, but certainly offered nothing to explain or justify what had been done to Catwalk. When Becca heard that Parelli was claiming on a Facebook site that what he had done had been 'misunderstood', she set up her own Facebook site to put pressure on Parelli. Becca's site now has over 1400 members; you can view it here;

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136894269668892&v=wall

I think people's comments, and perfectly rational arguments against what Parelli did, can speak for themselves. Certainly, the fact that Parelli are putting so much effort into damage limitation on Facebook, as well as their own website, suggests that the publicity is having an effect. My own view is that Parelli could easily post a video of the entire Friday night session with Catwalk, and let people judge for themselves. By only posting a tiny clip from the very start of Friday's session, he shouldn't be surprised if people assume that what followed on from Becca's clip was even worse. But we do have a remedy.

Parelli.com is a business, and, just like any other business, can be taught the error of its ways by sufficient bad publicity; if they won't listen to reason, hit them in the wallet. And we can, thanks to Facebook, and forums such as this one, spread the word about what was done to Cakewalk - as well as pointing people towards Chris Irwin's response - and do it on a world wide scale.

The point of all this goes much further than Catwalk. There are many riders and owners around now who are starting to question the wisdom of the ways they were taught to handle horses - but know very little about the various alternatives loosely described as 'natural horsemanship'. If they see the video clip, or hear various comments, about Parelli and Catwalk, they may well assume that all 'natural horsemanship' trainers are the same - and turn away from the many good people. So publicly holding Parelli to account, and comparing his methods with those of real horsemen and women, is vitally important. If we don't, a lot of people, and their horses, who could otherwise have been helped, will be left to struggle on their own.

Comment by Jenny Mustoe on July 17, 2010 at 6:02pm

That was one horse that hadn't read the book!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page