I'm posting this entry on my blog mainly out of frustration. I'm trying to put some thought into this, and also try to be careful what I say, because I am not in the business of insulting people. Everything I've said here is what I've thought today and refrained from posting on the forum, for fear of being ripped open.
The Parelli Savvy Club was created over 5 years ago as a student body that could study and share information together. People NEED to be able to study together to stay motivated on this journey we call horsemanship, and the Savvy Club Forum is a great place to ask questions and get support...until recently. Obviously when you put 20,000 some odd users on a forum together, there isn't always going to be total agreement on everything said, but in the past month or so, the place has totally erupted into CHAOS. There have always been differing opinions (hoof care, cost of the Parelli program, nutrition/holistic care, just to name a few hot topics), and that's fine when people can carry out mature discussions, and most of all, agree to disagree when opposite points of view can't be seen.
I have frequented the forum for over a year now, enjoying reading a lot of the topics and posts written. It gives me something to think about, and a way to test my own knowledge. Recently though, the atmosphere has been coming up nothing short of poisonous and hostile, and I can't help but think: "Has everyone FORGOTTEN what our goals are here?" There are some people on there that I'm beginning to think pay the $20/month to Parelli JUST so they can complain about it. Some have been threatening to quit Parelli for MONTHS now, and I'm going through a serious attitude shift towards them: Quit already! If you really and truly hate it that much, GET OUT OF HERE! STOP POISONING THE FORUM! STOP LIGHTING FIRES! But that's where we hit a problem: OF COURSE they don't hate it that much! They love PNH, they're just really not happy, positive people, they just are looking for an outlet to complain. Come on guys, go outside, and do something with YOUR horses for once, instead of picking Pat and Linda's.
This statement (^^^) opens up another can of worms. Plenty of people retaliate with "Well we're genuinely concerned about the wellfare of their horses." Sure. Right. That's why you're complaining on a forum, and not writing to THEM. I will give you a little piece of information: faculty@parelli.com. parelli@parelli.com. TELL THEM about it! I certainly have. The information they provide you with might surprise you.
A lot of people think that the reason I don't like these posts is because I follow blindly every word that Pat and Linda say. I'm here to say now, that this is not true. Underlying all the complaining I've heard about hoof care, the representation Pat and Linda have in their company, the welfare of Remmer and Allure etc, I've actually heard a lot of good points brought to the table.
Yes, I'm actually very concerned about Remmer's feet and Allure's right-hand side, and I don't think either one can be solved entirely by putting bigger, thicker, specially designed, shimmed, (you name it) shoes on their feet. I'm a devout barefoot trimmer, and I don't believe for a second that their horses HAVE to be shod. But the Parellis have an underlying reason why they don't advocate barefoot trimming (and no, it's not "we travel a lot"...that's their cover story). Granted they may not be 100% justified (I wish I could point them to Pete Ramey's stuff), but they're certainly not totally ignorant.
Yes, Linda is a representative of her company. Her recent segment on purity of gait with Allure was probably not her best representation of her knowledge on the subject. I think what she was aiming for was more to show how one might START developing purity of gait. Remmer would have done it perfectly, Allure hasn't done it, and so I think the point was to show the development. And maybe it wasn't the best idea. But let's not decapitate the poor girl, and for God sake, to whatever imbecile said "Linda is NOT a student, she is a professional" Have you HEARD THE WOMAN TALK?! EVER?! She is SO on a journey of never-ending self improvement, that it can be a bit intimidating to people who don't have that drive. Self-improvement comes from learning. Any person who learns is a student of some kind. Sure, she's a professional, and she IS professional. She admits that she doesn't know what's going on, and that she's working to fix it (some may not agree with the steps she's taking, but at least she's made an effort!). A non professional person (I actually had a PNH instructor do this once) would get all huffy and defensive, and pretend as if nothing was wrong, and try to make their students feel ignorant.
I guess the bottom line of this rant is that I am TIRED of people using the Parelli Forum (Remember? that Positive-minded student body?) to pick on Pat and Linda's character for not understanding something. They're trying. They really and truly are. As I put it to a friend in conversation today, it'd be like if I screamed at you "YOU CAN'T DO CALCULUS??? YOU ARE SUCH A MONEY-STEALING JERK BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO CALCULUS!" Okay, rediculous, flamboyant, and just downright out of line. Cut them some slack, they're doing the best they can with the resources they have. If you're not fond of their resources, provide them with some that you think they could benefit from! Let's be productive here!
I apologize in advance for the severity of this post. These thoughts have been weighing on my mind all day. I may end up removing it eventually, anyway.
THanks for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos
Showing posts with label Pat Parelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat Parelli. Show all posts
Friday, December 5, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Kansas City or Bust!!!
Oh GOODNESS...
I'm tired. End of story. That's really all I can say about it. This is going to be a relatively direct recap of my adventures in Kansas City, simply because I'm EXAUSTED. I'll tell what HAPPENED...if you want details, email me or post a comment and I'll be happy to elaborate after I've gotten some sleep.
First of all, Kansas City, MO is a little over 7 hours drive from me when traffic conditions are GOOD. However, driving into rush hour on a Friday afternoon could be considered stupid, and that's definitely what I'd call it at this point.
I like to drive with some music on most of the time. It keeps my mind busy when things are dull, and keeps me calm and cool when things are stressful. For those that know me well, you know how important my music is to my ability to drive sanely. Well..getting into Kansas City, I had to TURN MY MUSIC OFF. That's how intense it was. I was lost, and as Linda so correctly pantomimed/immitated for me 20 minutes after arriving, I slammed my music off, gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white, and screamed "WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING?!" Multiple times.
Anyway, believe it or not, I made it safely and with minimal mental damage. We hung out and I chatted with Farrah, Michelle, Pat and Linda a little, then Farrah, Michelle, Carrie (another working student of Farrah's)and I went out to a yummy dinner.
Saturday was a pretty typical Parelli seminar day. Can't say I learned a whole lot new, of course I'm always reminded of little principles that get buried under other things in my brain. The savvy team did a GREAT performance, Farrah and Caesar stole the show in my opinion, with their one time tempis and rearing and leaping the air. Caesar's such a magnificent horse, and so pensive, he's just fascinating.
The most interesting session was the demo horse, a pretty classic RBI, came in literally shaking, but totally unable make himself move physically. Pat did a great job as usual, it was funny because he walked around and told stories for about an hour (stalling for the RBI's sake) It was hilarious, because there was a guy and his girlfriend sitting behind us. They were obviously new to PNH and this was probably their first seminar. Anyway, the guy kept leaning over and arrogantly telling the girlfriend what and why Pat was doing. At first I wanted to smack them (Dammit, I'm trying to LEARN HERE!) but then I realized I might actually be able to learn something from THEM. I know lots of strategies for RBI horses, lets learn what makes these newbies tick :)
So, listening to this conversation, what was hysterical was that 50% of the time, this guy was right about Pat's actions, and he'd get all cocky about it, and what was even MORE funny was then when he was wrong, he'd act genuinely shocked "I have NO IDEA why he just DID THAT!" And that's when I...miss share-a-holic, would turn around, smile, and tell him EXACTLY why Pat Parelli did what he just did. The befuddled looks that would earn were HILARIOUS. And it was helpful to me, too, to reinforce MY understanding of what Pat was trying to teach.
Saturday night ended with some horseplay (I actually played with the dogs, while the other 3 played with the horses) and then we went to bed.
SUNDAY...The day that Linda and I jokingly decided she set up and designed specifically for my learning pleasure :)
The Savvy Team opened, which was amazing, as usual. The highlight for me was definitely Emily Thompson on her little black arab Porsche, and Amy Book on Zeus the Friesian, playing carrot stick tag to "Big Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. You know Linda's running the sound booth when...
Anyway, Pat opened and did some chat-chitting, then he startled Linda, and sent her out to get Allure WAY before she was expecting it.
Allure charged in all adrenalized, and Linda talked very intently about extroverts need to move their feet in order to think (Vs the introvert, who has to think in order to move his/her feet) and how she prepares Allure for a play session before the play session even starts, and the signs she looks for that show he's ready to play/focus/learn. She also talked about the subtle difference between LB adrenalized and RBE behavior--all VERY useful information for a girl such as me, who own's Allure's twin in Crest. She then proceeded to talk about how she plays on the ground to prepare him for riding, and she talked about the little tests and signs she reads in order to tell if he's truly ridable or not. And again, I say, very useful to me with Cresty. She did eventually get on (I WAS ONE PROUD LONG LOST DAUGHTER/STUDENT!!!) and did a lovely riding demo, explaining, again, how she keeps his brain occupied and prevents him from coming up with evil thoughts (One particular thing in this that I took and used with Crest IMMEDIATELY, and WOW, talk about instant difference! More on that tomorrow)and then rode to a song, explaining that the song meant A LOT to her in her journey with Allure. I feel very connected to Linda's journey, ESPECIALLY with Allure, so as the beautiful song started, the flood gates opened, and I blubbered like a baby through the entire thing. I'm going to put the song on here as background music tomorrow, when I have the patience to deal with my computer's antics. SO PERFECT.
Next, Linda did a Q & A session with the audience about what we got out of the session with Allure. She came back to me 3 times. I was flattered, because it wasn't like there was a shortage of questions to be asked. I guess she recognized that the session was doing a lot for me, and she wanted to help me more.
The next session, she coached Amy Book through a Finesse lesson on Remmer. That was another session that I really connected to, mainly because Linda kept talking about how physically inflexible Remmer is, and also how finesse can kill an LBIs motivation and energy if it turns into a drill. Poor Prin. Another session to digest. Got some tips that really put me on a good track with things I can try with the Boo-Boo next finesse session :)
Pat ended the day with a fantastic session with and about young horses. I was given the math award (this involves nothing but Pat Parelli saying "You get the Math award", by the way) for knowing that 555 days is 18 months...But anyway that was a blast to watch.
And then I drove home this morning, and right this very second, I am going to BED. PLEASE feel free to ask for more details. This is BY FAR the best Savvy Club Sunday I've been to. FANTASTIC. Just RIGHT ON. Linda and I joked that she designed the day around what I needed, and that I owed her for it. Love that lady, she knows how to make me feel good about myself and my progress :)
Savvy on and out!
I'm tired. End of story. That's really all I can say about it. This is going to be a relatively direct recap of my adventures in Kansas City, simply because I'm EXAUSTED. I'll tell what HAPPENED...if you want details, email me or post a comment and I'll be happy to elaborate after I've gotten some sleep.
First of all, Kansas City, MO is a little over 7 hours drive from me when traffic conditions are GOOD. However, driving into rush hour on a Friday afternoon could be considered stupid, and that's definitely what I'd call it at this point.
I like to drive with some music on most of the time. It keeps my mind busy when things are dull, and keeps me calm and cool when things are stressful. For those that know me well, you know how important my music is to my ability to drive sanely. Well..getting into Kansas City, I had to TURN MY MUSIC OFF. That's how intense it was. I was lost, and as Linda so correctly pantomimed/immitated for me 20 minutes after arriving, I slammed my music off, gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white, and screamed "WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING?!" Multiple times.
Anyway, believe it or not, I made it safely and with minimal mental damage. We hung out and I chatted with Farrah, Michelle, Pat and Linda a little, then Farrah, Michelle, Carrie (another working student of Farrah's)and I went out to a yummy dinner.
Saturday was a pretty typical Parelli seminar day. Can't say I learned a whole lot new, of course I'm always reminded of little principles that get buried under other things in my brain. The savvy team did a GREAT performance, Farrah and Caesar stole the show in my opinion, with their one time tempis and rearing and leaping the air. Caesar's such a magnificent horse, and so pensive, he's just fascinating.
The most interesting session was the demo horse, a pretty classic RBI, came in literally shaking, but totally unable make himself move physically. Pat did a great job as usual, it was funny because he walked around and told stories for about an hour (stalling for the RBI's sake) It was hilarious, because there was a guy and his girlfriend sitting behind us. They were obviously new to PNH and this was probably their first seminar. Anyway, the guy kept leaning over and arrogantly telling the girlfriend what and why Pat was doing. At first I wanted to smack them (Dammit, I'm trying to LEARN HERE!) but then I realized I might actually be able to learn something from THEM. I know lots of strategies for RBI horses, lets learn what makes these newbies tick :)
So, listening to this conversation, what was hysterical was that 50% of the time, this guy was right about Pat's actions, and he'd get all cocky about it, and what was even MORE funny was then when he was wrong, he'd act genuinely shocked "I have NO IDEA why he just DID THAT!" And that's when I...miss share-a-holic, would turn around, smile, and tell him EXACTLY why Pat Parelli did what he just did. The befuddled looks that would earn were HILARIOUS. And it was helpful to me, too, to reinforce MY understanding of what Pat was trying to teach.
Saturday night ended with some horseplay (I actually played with the dogs, while the other 3 played with the horses) and then we went to bed.
SUNDAY...The day that Linda and I jokingly decided she set up and designed specifically for my learning pleasure :)
The Savvy Team opened, which was amazing, as usual. The highlight for me was definitely Emily Thompson on her little black arab Porsche, and Amy Book on Zeus the Friesian, playing carrot stick tag to "Big Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. You know Linda's running the sound booth when...
Anyway, Pat opened and did some chat-chitting, then he startled Linda, and sent her out to get Allure WAY before she was expecting it.
Allure charged in all adrenalized, and Linda talked very intently about extroverts need to move their feet in order to think (Vs the introvert, who has to think in order to move his/her feet) and how she prepares Allure for a play session before the play session even starts, and the signs she looks for that show he's ready to play/focus/learn. She also talked about the subtle difference between LB adrenalized and RBE behavior--all VERY useful information for a girl such as me, who own's Allure's twin in Crest. She then proceeded to talk about how she plays on the ground to prepare him for riding, and she talked about the little tests and signs she reads in order to tell if he's truly ridable or not. And again, I say, very useful to me with Cresty. She did eventually get on (I WAS ONE PROUD LONG LOST DAUGHTER/STUDENT!!!) and did a lovely riding demo, explaining, again, how she keeps his brain occupied and prevents him from coming up with evil thoughts (One particular thing in this that I took and used with Crest IMMEDIATELY, and WOW, talk about instant difference! More on that tomorrow)and then rode to a song, explaining that the song meant A LOT to her in her journey with Allure. I feel very connected to Linda's journey, ESPECIALLY with Allure, so as the beautiful song started, the flood gates opened, and I blubbered like a baby through the entire thing. I'm going to put the song on here as background music tomorrow, when I have the patience to deal with my computer's antics. SO PERFECT.
Next, Linda did a Q & A session with the audience about what we got out of the session with Allure. She came back to me 3 times. I was flattered, because it wasn't like there was a shortage of questions to be asked. I guess she recognized that the session was doing a lot for me, and she wanted to help me more.
The next session, she coached Amy Book through a Finesse lesson on Remmer. That was another session that I really connected to, mainly because Linda kept talking about how physically inflexible Remmer is, and also how finesse can kill an LBIs motivation and energy if it turns into a drill. Poor Prin. Another session to digest. Got some tips that really put me on a good track with things I can try with the Boo-Boo next finesse session :)
Pat ended the day with a fantastic session with and about young horses. I was given the math award (this involves nothing but Pat Parelli saying "You get the Math award", by the way) for knowing that 555 days is 18 months...But anyway that was a blast to watch.
And then I drove home this morning, and right this very second, I am going to BED. PLEASE feel free to ask for more details. This is BY FAR the best Savvy Club Sunday I've been to. FANTASTIC. Just RIGHT ON. Linda and I joked that she designed the day around what I needed, and that I owed her for it. Love that lady, she knows how to make me feel good about myself and my progress :)
Savvy on and out!
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