Pat parelli natural horsemanship
Born in California’s Bay Area, Pat Parelli was obsessed with horses at an early
age. When Pat was just 13, a horseman and trapper named Freddie Ferrera of
Livermore, California, recognized Pat’s talents with horses and took him under
his wing. During the summers he would teach him valuable lessons about how to be
more natural with horses, dogs, cattle, and nature itself.
Pat’s horse career began with working in stables at age 9. If there were
horses, Pat would be there, enthusiastically helping with whatever he could,
ears open for every drop of information. He even started to develop his own
ideas about raising foals and training horses, an unusual thing for a young
boy.
At the age of 17, Pat Parelli launched himself into rodeos, his favorite
event being the bareback riding. A natural, with a good coach in John Hawkins,
Pat won the Bareback Rookie of the Year title in 1972, his buck-off average just
4%. Watching many rodeo athletes trying to move on, Pat was determined to find
life after rodeo. A career in training horses seemed logical and he started a
business that concentrated on starting colts. However, like many trainers before
him, it wasn’t long before the pattern of equine and financial frustration set
in and Pat found himself on the verge of getting out of horses altogether. He
also resisted the idea that horse training should treat horses like inanimate
objects.
Then three significant events changed his life:
Through Tony Ernst, Pat learned about inner power and the Kung Fu principles
of discipline, body control, and mind-body mastery. Troy Henry opened up a whole
new world to Pat by helping him understand horses’ mental and emotional
processes as prey animals as well as the true dynamics of horsemanship and how
they applied to performance horses. The mules taught Pat the importance of
reverse psychology, the principle of safety and comfort as the only real
incentives, and developed in him more savvy on how to get a prey animal to
“want” to perform. They also taught him about patience! In 1980, Pat founded The American Mule
Association.
Being an intense student of horses and horsemanship, Pat had begun to develop
his own style of teaching and expanding these principles. He also became
interested in showing reined cow horses and was successful in reining and
cutting events with both horses and mules.
One of the greatest frustrations Pat experienced in training horses was
handing them back to their owners who often had a noticeable lack of skill and
understanding. He found that if the rider didn’t have enough savvy, the horses
would regress. After much soul searching he finally decided that he couldn’t go
on just training horses, he had to find a way to help people become more savvy
with horses. Pat Parelli discovered that he had a natural talent in finding the
right words to explain what he understood about horses. So he turned his
attention to helping people instead of horse training. He began to give
“lessons” but had no idea that one day he would be able to help people on a much
larger scale.
In 1983, while performing bridle-less at the California Livestock Symposium,
Pat met three men who significantly contributed to his horsemanship knowledge:
Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Ronnie Willis – all masters who became Pat’s mentors.
A few years later the world’s leading equine behaviorist, Dr R. M. Miller,
observed one of Pat’s bridle-less demonstrations and recognized that Pat’s
concepts aligned strongly with his own philosophies on influencing the horse’s
mind and on foal imprinting. He predicted that by the time Pat Parelli reached
age 40, he would have become one of the best horsemen and teachers the world had
known.
When we look at Pat’s life now – with Parelli Natural Horsemanship centers on
three continents and students the world over – we see that Linda and Pat Parelli
are fulfilling the Parelli goal of changing the world of horse training and
changing the world for horses and the people who love them.
Dreams Do Come True!
age. When Pat was just 13, a horseman and trapper named Freddie Ferrera of
Livermore, California, recognized Pat’s talents with horses and took him under
his wing. During the summers he would teach him valuable lessons about how to be
more natural with horses, dogs, cattle, and nature itself.
Pat’s horse career began with working in stables at age 9. If there were
horses, Pat would be there, enthusiastically helping with whatever he could,
ears open for every drop of information. He even started to develop his own
ideas about raising foals and training horses, an unusual thing for a young
boy.
At the age of 17, Pat Parelli launched himself into rodeos, his favorite
event being the bareback riding. A natural, with a good coach in John Hawkins,
Pat won the Bareback Rookie of the Year title in 1972, his buck-off average just
4%. Watching many rodeo athletes trying to move on, Pat was determined to find
life after rodeo. A career in training horses seemed logical and he started a
business that concentrated on starting colts. However, like many trainers before
him, it wasn’t long before the pattern of equine and financial frustration set
in and Pat found himself on the verge of getting out of horses altogether. He
also resisted the idea that horse training should treat horses like inanimate
objects.
Then three significant events changed his life:
- He met Tony Ernst from Australia, who was a student of the horse, a
disciple of Kung Fu martial arts and a master musician; - He began to work under the tutelage of Troy Henry, a master horseman from
Clovis, California, who specialized in training and developing both horse and
rider for competition using psychology and communication; - He took an interest in developing mules to be able to perform like
horses.
Through Tony Ernst, Pat learned about inner power and the Kung Fu principles
of discipline, body control, and mind-body mastery. Troy Henry opened up a whole
new world to Pat by helping him understand horses’ mental and emotional
processes as prey animals as well as the true dynamics of horsemanship and how
they applied to performance horses. The mules taught Pat the importance of
reverse psychology, the principle of safety and comfort as the only real
incentives, and developed in him more savvy on how to get a prey animal to
“want” to perform. They also taught him about patience! In 1980, Pat founded The American Mule
Association.
Being an intense student of horses and horsemanship, Pat had begun to develop
his own style of teaching and expanding these principles. He also became
interested in showing reined cow horses and was successful in reining and
cutting events with both horses and mules.
One of the greatest frustrations Pat experienced in training horses was
handing them back to their owners who often had a noticeable lack of skill and
understanding. He found that if the rider didn’t have enough savvy, the horses
would regress. After much soul searching he finally decided that he couldn’t go
on just training horses, he had to find a way to help people become more savvy
with horses. Pat Parelli discovered that he had a natural talent in finding the
right words to explain what he understood about horses. So he turned his
attention to helping people instead of horse training. He began to give
“lessons” but had no idea that one day he would be able to help people on a much
larger scale.
In 1983, while performing bridle-less at the California Livestock Symposium,
Pat met three men who significantly contributed to his horsemanship knowledge:
Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Ronnie Willis – all masters who became Pat’s mentors.
A few years later the world’s leading equine behaviorist, Dr R. M. Miller,
observed one of Pat’s bridle-less demonstrations and recognized that Pat’s
concepts aligned strongly with his own philosophies on influencing the horse’s
mind and on foal imprinting. He predicted that by the time Pat Parelli reached
age 40, he would have become one of the best horsemen and teachers the world had
known.
When we look at Pat’s life now – with Parelli Natural Horsemanship centers on
three continents and students the world over – we see that Linda and Pat Parelli
are fulfilling the Parelli goal of changing the world of horse training and
changing the world for horses and the people who love them.
Dreams Do Come True!
Pat parelli Colorado office
Parelli Natural Horsemanship started out with Linda and Pat
Parelli traveling cross country in their small
trailer with horses and dogs in tow. Later, they opened their first office in
Utah with a staff of three people. Parelli onsite horse
training courses are offered in three centers, with a
worldwide staff of 90 people working in offices on three different
continents!
Office Locations
Parelli Natural Horsemanship – World Headquarters
7 Parelli Way
Pagosa Springs, CO, USA 81147
Toll Free: 800-642-3335
Phone: 970-731-9400
Fax: 888-731-9722 or 970-731-9722
Email: Parelli
USA
Hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm MST Monday –
Friday