We have finally decided that the time has come to leave Manor Farm, Henton. To be honest we have been ready for quite some time but have bitten our tongues and stuck it out for the sake of Filly. Now it is clear that I can no longer help her, for the sake of our own horse, Bonitao, we have to leave.
Manor Farm is a very traditional yard, and whilst they have allowed us to use Parelli techniques there to play with horses it has always been done with an undercurrent of disapproval. I was instructed to not even discuss the principles with the staff and that several other people had complained about our activities. No one had ever complained directly to us however so I take that fact with a pinch of salt.
The end came the other day when Bonitao was turned out, against our wishes, by Rick the yard owner. We have had a lot of trouble with Bonitao turn out in the past as he tends to pull away from the handler and bolt. This made us worried about the possible consequences for him and the handler. We had not been informed about the extent of the problem until last Autumn. Once aware we sought help and it was suggested that temporarily we sent him sideways or backwards to the field to keep him mentally in contact with us. This solved the immediate problem and we could get him to the field safely. I then spend many mornings refining this using techniques such as making him work hard in the field and rest by the gate (and get a carrot) to make the gate a place of safety and comfort. This has worked very well and soon we could lead him out normally. We then did a few turn outs with Amy (the head girl) which went very well so could leave it to her and stay in bed ourselves !
The problem came on Amy's' days off when there was no one trained to turn him out. As a result we tried to make sure one of us was home on those days so that we could do it. Back at the end of January Rick decided that he should try as Bonitao was now so good and we thought it was worth a try. However the result was another escape by Bonitao and he bolted again. We then made a decision that Rick should not try this again for everyone's safety. However 2 days ago he decided to give it another go. Ritchie arrived at the yard and was surprised to see Bonitao out of his stable. Enquiring of the yard girls it appeared Rick had turned him out, but "it had gone well". Fearing the worst Ritchie found Rick and asked him how it had gone. Bonitao had bolted again. We were furious that all our hard work had been jeopardised again.
After an agonising sleepless night we decided we had to leave Manor Farm, leave Filly and Billy and move to a more Savvy yard. As a result we are moving to Shana where we have many friends who also use Parelli methods and we will feel at home.
On handing in our notice poor Ritchie had to endure a session of being talked at by Rick and Sue. Sue said she had never seen such a nervy horse as Bonitao and it was all our fault, which was a bit rich. Around us and other savvy folks he is very very solid. At present I am riding him with a halter and single lead rope, scarcely an activity I would indulge in on a nervy horse !
One of our Parelli friends made a very good point. Using natural horsemanship we strive to make the horse connect to our energy and emotions so that when riding we can use those to guide them rather than mechanical bits and spurs. A traditionally trained horse is to a greater or lesser extent made insensitive to such feelings. As a result when a traditional horseman who is not in control of his energy state interacts with a Parelli horse the horse responds to all sorts of commands and aids the horseman does not even know he is giving out.
There are at least 5 or 6 horses on the yard that they can barely control to and from the fields and hence lead in a chifney all the time. She said that a chifney is what Bonitao needs. In my view such a device, except for a brief retraining period for an extreme horse, is just an excuse for poor horsemanship. I certainly would not want to ride a horse that needed to be lead in a chifney, because if you cannot control it while you are safely on the ground what chance do you have on its' back ?
This is just one example of the problems we faced and is indicative of the general atmosphere on the yard from the point of view of a natural horseman. I could not say all this before as we needed to stay on the yard for the sake of Filly but now feel free to let everyone know our feelings about the place.
Manor Farm is a very traditional yard, and whilst they have allowed us to use Parelli techniques there to play with horses it has always been done with an undercurrent of disapproval. I was instructed to not even discuss the principles with the staff and that several other people had complained about our activities. No one had ever complained directly to us however so I take that fact with a pinch of salt.
The end came the other day when Bonitao was turned out, against our wishes, by Rick the yard owner. We have had a lot of trouble with Bonitao turn out in the past as he tends to pull away from the handler and bolt. This made us worried about the possible consequences for him and the handler. We had not been informed about the extent of the problem until last Autumn. Once aware we sought help and it was suggested that temporarily we sent him sideways or backwards to the field to keep him mentally in contact with us. This solved the immediate problem and we could get him to the field safely. I then spend many mornings refining this using techniques such as making him work hard in the field and rest by the gate (and get a carrot) to make the gate a place of safety and comfort. This has worked very well and soon we could lead him out normally. We then did a few turn outs with Amy (the head girl) which went very well so could leave it to her and stay in bed ourselves !
The problem came on Amy's' days off when there was no one trained to turn him out. As a result we tried to make sure one of us was home on those days so that we could do it. Back at the end of January Rick decided that he should try as Bonitao was now so good and we thought it was worth a try. However the result was another escape by Bonitao and he bolted again. We then made a decision that Rick should not try this again for everyone's safety. However 2 days ago he decided to give it another go. Ritchie arrived at the yard and was surprised to see Bonitao out of his stable. Enquiring of the yard girls it appeared Rick had turned him out, but "it had gone well". Fearing the worst Ritchie found Rick and asked him how it had gone. Bonitao had bolted again. We were furious that all our hard work had been jeopardised again.
After an agonising sleepless night we decided we had to leave Manor Farm, leave Filly and Billy and move to a more Savvy yard. As a result we are moving to Shana where we have many friends who also use Parelli methods and we will feel at home.
On handing in our notice poor Ritchie had to endure a session of being talked at by Rick and Sue. Sue said she had never seen such a nervy horse as Bonitao and it was all our fault, which was a bit rich. Around us and other savvy folks he is very very solid. At present I am riding him with a halter and single lead rope, scarcely an activity I would indulge in on a nervy horse !
One of our Parelli friends made a very good point. Using natural horsemanship we strive to make the horse connect to our energy and emotions so that when riding we can use those to guide them rather than mechanical bits and spurs. A traditionally trained horse is to a greater or lesser extent made insensitive to such feelings. As a result when a traditional horseman who is not in control of his energy state interacts with a Parelli horse the horse responds to all sorts of commands and aids the horseman does not even know he is giving out.
There are at least 5 or 6 horses on the yard that they can barely control to and from the fields and hence lead in a chifney all the time. She said that a chifney is what Bonitao needs. In my view such a device, except for a brief retraining period for an extreme horse, is just an excuse for poor horsemanship. I certainly would not want to ride a horse that needed to be lead in a chifney, because if you cannot control it while you are safely on the ground what chance do you have on its' back ?
This is just one example of the problems we faced and is indicative of the general atmosphere on the yard from the point of view of a natural horseman. I could not say all this before as we needed to stay on the yard for the sake of Filly but now feel free to let everyone know our feelings about the place.
2 comments:
Having read your comments I feel that it is only right to leave my own comment! Whilst it maybe your wish to use parelli this does not always work in a full yard of up to 40 horses - you could not expect all staff to endure your patience and time with so many horses to handle on a daily basis. Thus, you could not expect that the managers of the yard could give all their staff this time consuming training. Horses are naturally heard and flight animals and often run away and it is dangerous not to have them in a controlled position/environment. Although your views and horsemanship is admirable you have to accept that it is not to everyone's taste. I think you were unkind in your comments.
I totally disagree with this comment. It is possible to train staff relatively quickly to handle horses like Bonitao well. In fact such training would actually make it safer and quicker for the staff to work on the yard. So after an initial short investment in training time the whole yard would become a safer and easier environment to work in.
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