Basic Horsemanship

Classic mistakes made by many riders get horses offside before the rider is even mounted. This is according to Pat Parelli, an American horseman whose natural horsemanship philosophy has won admiration worldwide.

He says holding a horse close on a tight rein makes it feel claustrophobic and it will want to get away by pulling or pushing against you.

Being held tightly can create a feeling of panic in the horse and every instinct urges its body to be released. Given room to move on a loose rein, the horse will relax and be more receptive to learning.

Mr Parelli says horses are like people in that they learn best if relaxed and educated in a fun atmosphere. "Tired and stressed horses do not learn easily", he says.

But Mr Parelli says it's possible to ride and turn a horse without leaning into a turn, or keeping a tight rein.

Mr Parelli demonstrated his technique by riding a horse bareback with only a hackamore (a type of rope bridle without a bit) and a single loose rein. He says if more people rode without a saddle they'd discover leaning into the turn is ineffective.

He recommends when turning a horse look up and lift your body in the direction the horse is turning. This guiding pressure should be on the "outer-side" of the turning horse, ie: if you want your horse to move to the left, use pressure on the right side.

Further information

Mr Parelli's courses are now run in Australia under local accredited instructors. He will be touring Australia later this year (1998). For more information contact:

Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship
PO Box 2232
Gosford, NSW, 2250
Phone: 1800 627 404

Copyright CTC Productions 2006