Pat Parelli - Horse Won't Float

Pat Parelli's theory of horsemanship is based on the prey-predator concept. Horses evolved as prey animals and their best defence against predators was to run, or in other words, the flight response. Pat says that if you can try to understand why horses act the way they do, you're on the way to knowing how they think, and gaining their trust.

Metal caves on wheels

When Pat was asked for help with the common problem of a horse refusing to go into a float, the first thing he did was to look at the situation from the horse's point of view. To a horse, a float is just like a metal cave on wheels. A horse is designed by nature not to follow what a predator wants it to do; not to go into a small cave. To convince the horse to cooperate, Pat used three things: love, language and respect.

The four basic yields

He spent some time teaching the horse a simple language consisting of four basic yields. He taught the animal to yield its hindquarters, first on one side and then on the other. He did this by flicking a long horse whip until the horse moved its hindquarters in an arc well away from Pat. In the process the horse had to turn its head around until it was looking at Pat with the opposite eye. Next he made sure the horse understood how to back up on a lead rope, and how to come forward.

The squeeze game

The next step was to use the new language that the horse had just learned to play a game. Pat worked the horse in circles around him, slowly moving closer and closer to the float ramp. Eventually the horse had no option but to walk over the ramp, and almost into the float. Instead of increasing the pressure Pat gave the horse a rub. The horse began to think that the float was not such a bad place to be, and walked straight in.

Comfort v discomfort

Horses have a simple psychology. Unlike humans, they're not interested in praise, recognition or material things. Horses are creatures of comfort, and Pat says that all you really need to do to motivate a horse is use comfort and discomfort. The horse happily walked into the float because it was convinced that it was a safe haven.

Further information

Pat Parelli's courses are run Australia-wide under local approved instructors. For details contact: Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship,
PO Box 2232, Gosford, NSW, 2250
Phone: 1800 627 404

You can see Pat Parelli in person at: 'Equitana'
Melbourne 18-21 November
Adelaide 24 November
Perth 27 November
For more information and bookings phone 1800 627 404

Copyright CTC Productions 1999