Natural Horse-Man-Ship: Six Keys to a Natural Horse-Human Relationship (A Western Horseman Book) [Paperback]

Pat Parelli (Author), Kathy Swan (Author), Karen Parelli (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

The horse- and rider-training handbook of an internationally renowned master horseman.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Internationally known and respected as a horseman and clinician, Pat Parelli has helped thousands of riders understand and communicate with their horses through his Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship program. PNH offers riders achievable goals and measurable standards, no matter the discipline - English or western - or the activity - competitive or recreational. Pat's philosophies and concepts are based on a language of trust, leadership and respect, and a special bond between horse and human.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Western Horseman; Revised edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585747122
• ISBN-13: 978-1585747122
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Horses
  • #45 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Horses > Riding
  • #52 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Horses > Equestrian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

176 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Wise (and Witty), April 15, 2000

By 

Brendan Brammall - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natural Horse-Man-Ship (Paperback)

Pat Parelli's work is an excellent reference guide for equine enthusiasts at any stage of riding. While his writing style bears the signs of a real show-man, beyond the self-hype lie important ideas and techniques which have, repeatedly, proven exceedingly beneficial for all types of horse-people. He carefully (albeit often somewhat pompously) describes his programme, which consists first of ground-work and then of exercises to be performed in saddle. His very noble goal is to help humans to develop a subtle, understanding relationship with their equine partners.

Having read (and re-read) Parelli's work countless times in the past few months and having consistently applied his programme when "playing" (Parelli believes that humans should never "work" a horse) with my young Quarter Horse, I have witnessed enormous improvements in my horse's demeanour and, crucially, in the trust he has for me. By establishing dominance over my horse using the sensible, humane tactics Parelli recommends, I have made major progress en route to transforming this horse from a fearful, unridden colt into a willing, dependable, "true blue" mount.

I highly endorse Parelli's work; if his programme is applied with persistence, patience, and an open mind, the possibilities in the horse-human relationship are limitless.

137 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important book for anyone that truely cares about horses, July 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Natural Horse-Man-Ship (Paperback)

This book should be a required read for anyone who is interested in caring for horses to the best of their ability and look after their mind, as well as their body, whether they be horse owners, horse workers, equestrians, or just an occasional rider. A book full of 'true knowledge' which teaches what is required to gain 'the knack' or 'gift' with horses.

Parelli, who is very experienced and knowledgable in the theory and practice of horse training, psychology and behaviour, gives us an understanding of how horses think and learn, so that we can learn to be more sympathetic, learning to do things with the horse, not to the horse, so that the horse can become a willing, safe, happy partner and enjoy your company too.

Parelli stresses that since 99% of problems with horses are 'problem people' not 'problem horses' his book is really a people-training book. He has developed a step by step program that is easily followed, that enables anyone with a fair attitude and fee! ling towards the horse to acheive outstanding results with any horse.

72 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parelli-Safe way 2 start new relationship, info beyond book, May 14, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Natural Horse-Man-Ship: Six Keys to a Natural Horse-Human Relationship (A Western Horseman Book) (Paperback)

Being a beginner 3 years ago, I bought many books to prepare myself and my new 3 year old for our relationship. I learned alot from the concepts of Lyons and other authors, but they didn't give me enough direction to start actually working with my horse.

I found Parelli's book to be the best help - it started out with more specific exercises and details on how to applied what I'd learned. In one year working with Parelli book techniques a few times a week my horse went from green broke to "too well trained" to be enough of a challenge for me. I have since attended Parelli seminars and bought the "system" to start my new horse. I disagree with the reviewer that said some of Parelli is untrue or unsafe - that some horses cannot be ridden bareback. Parelli has a very detailed system with very specific pre-flight checks that guarentee your horse will be safe before you get on. If the horse is not safe to get on bareback, then he is not really mentally ready to get on with saddle & bridle either! It's all about preparing his mind and starting a relationship - and it does take patience & lots of work (DON'T try to rush it or shortcut). If you are looking for a quick way to make your green broke horse into an old trail horse, this book is not for you. But then again, you probably will get sick of trying to "train" your horse and be like the 80% of new horse owners that quite before the 1st year is up.

In Parelli training with Teri Palmer, I saw some "un-sane" horses with terrible relationships with their owners being ridden by the last day with a lead rope and halter. My new horse was on the other end - terribly confident and walking all over me. It took him a VERY long time to pass the "pre flight checks" (as Pat says to each new lesson & test, "I've never seen it take more than 2 days!"), but once he did, it allowed me to ride with more confidence and way more safely (no one in the program had a single problem, spook, stubborness, or anything on their horse!!!!-and everyone was there because their horses were terrible originally). The book does describe these pre-flight checks, but I recommend getting a video or going through training if you are unsure about any one of them since seeing it is easier to understand than reading it.

I do say though that although the book is a good start, the parelli trainer sessions (level 1) really helped me with some of the confusion and questions I had about certain techniques. It was very expensive, but so interesting that my auditing husband signed up for the last 2 days after the first 2 were so progressive. I would highly recommend that if you are serious about trying parelli, you consider sessions with a 3 or 4 star trainer, even over buying the system. And find a friend interested in working with it also - it's easier to bounce concepts off each other and get some feedback while working your horse. And it helps with motivation - I'm a "common just do it NOW" type person and it took alot of motivation to take a step back and really do things right (as my horse was ready for).

I'm actually out here today looking to buy Linda Parelli's riding video - I feel that I'm not quite communicating what I want to now that I'm up on my youngster bareback and I really like the way Linda communicates her ideas (she helped organize Pat's).

One other nice thing about the book - if you don't like it, you can alway sell it for asking price on ebay. One downside with parelli - although you can make your own tools (and I did), his ropes and carrot stick are really one of a kind and are expensive. His rope is custom made for his company, and is much much heavier than all other ropes - you cant buy this rope at any store that I've found, or already made lead ropes of this sort. I used much lighter rope of the same size & softness, with heavy clasps on the end, and it's much less effective in giving signals (but it does work sort of). The carrot stick can easily be replaced with any 4-5 foot stick with leather taped on the end(and he uses golf club handles on the end) and if you are new at it a lighter stick won't wear you out as fast (this stick is heavy). The savvy string is a must - it's also extra heavy weight, and there are no replacements (trust me I tried). And obviously rope halters are easy to make or buy on ebay.