Madison, WI--Pat and Linda Parelli made their appearance at the Veteran's Coliseum to a crowd of over 2,000 June 30 and July 1, 2007. Their message was one of natural horsemanship.

They provided a wealth of information from how to approach one's horse to how to create a life-long bond with this beautiful creature. Pat showed how he could train a horse that he had never seen nor worked with. His technique focused on reading the horse or its horsenality. As the horse was allowed to run around the arena, he explained the personality of the horse and how he would approach training this horse. Then, in the next several hours he bonded with the horse through different games and strategies to target the horse's natural abilities. By the end of this time, the horse who was labeled as "left-brained with moments of right-brainness" seemed to enjoy the games and relaxed to the point of being able to be ridden, not to mention independently walking into a horse trailer without pulling or pushing!

Linda Parelli took the Saturday afternoon and explained the psychology of horsemanship and worked with a "right-brained" spirited horse. She, too, analyzed the horse's movements and body language to come up with a plan to target this animal's fears and improve its behavior. She haltered it and walked along with it and allowed the horse to do what it did naturally. She added a longer lead line and then the horse began to respond better. Linda again used the Seven Games and worked this horse through a variety of tasks, retreating from the activity when the horse did the correct behavior, but returning later to that same activity for reinforcement. It was amazing to see how effective she was in so little time. At the end of her session, the horse was not as spooky, nor did it shy away from her, but responded with a lot of attention and respect.

At the end of Saturday's session, the audience was treated to seeing 5-6 riders and their horses all using the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Method. Some horses were on liberty (bridless), others were without saddles or a combination of both. It was wonderful to view "everyday" individuals being successful using this method. The horses were happy as were their riders.

Sunday morning included Pat Parelli explaining the psychology of Natural Horsemanship and how it fits into everyday life. He explained that from prior experience with very special people (some of whom have passed from this life) who touched his life, he was able to learn how to read horses and then affect them positively without force--taking into consideration the horses' natural instincts and behaviors.

He explained that following his program will not only assist people who want to understand their horses more but also get closer to them and get positive results without being unsafe. This safety issue is very close to Pat who really strives to provide a program that helps people lose their fears about past events with their horses and replace these negative thoughts with a positive outcome.

Linda's presentation in the afternoon was interesting in that she showed "how" we ride is just as important and "why" we ride. She gave examples of how to ride versus how NOT to ride. She provided exagerated examples of proper positioning on a horse (point of center) and how this affects the performance not only of the horse but also of the rider. Giving other examples, she showed how improper posture and balance can in fact affect one's ability to get the results one wants and then may even hurt the horse, too. She showed how using legs aides over reining can affect a horse's demeanor considerably and that whether one rides bareback or with saddle, making slight adjustments of one's body can greatly alter one's relationship with the horse: from just a pain to a proper passenger.

The end of the weekend provided quite a lot of hands on ideas for improving ones balanced seat and ability to ride properly. Both Pat and Linda stressed that daily work with one's horse will build positive results if one follows their program. Pat and Linda closed their weekend workshop by bring in miniature horses and showed that even the smallest of steeds can reap the benefits of the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Program.

- Deb Melian

At LifeStriders we have the opportunity to see miracles happen every week. We see our dedicated volunteers come together to help others in so many ways; by sidewalking, mentoring and helping us fund raise. In the last few months one young volunteer by the name of Hannah Spear has gone above and beyond the call of duty- not only does she volunteer on the farm, but when she heard that we needed to boost our rider scholarship fund she took it upon herself to help our cause. She set up a booth outside Sentry of Delafield and the Wales Pic'n Save, approached shoppers and handed out information about the work we do here. She inspired people to donate close to $850.00!!

Her efforts will go towards subsidizing the cost of lessons for families in need and will have a lasting impact on the lives of children and adults with special needs in out community. On behalf of all the families and riders, we THANK YOU!!!

Our horses hooves have never looked this good at this tricky time in the Spring, and we would like to give the credit to our wonderful Farrier:

Monica Meer CP, ESMT, NAAC
(Certified Practitioner, Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist, Certified Nutraceutical and Anti Aging Consultant)

Monica's business is called The Natural Hoof and she has a unique and seemingly excellent approach to taking care of horses. She has been a great help to LifeStriders since starting with us this winter and we are very lucky to have her keep our horses feet in top shape for all of our riders. We would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking for professional hoof care, and we thank her for the excellent care she takes of our animals.

Monica maintains a website with a great deal of information on how to take care of horses, and it would behoove (hehee) anyone who enjoys horses to browse through the wealth of information on it. Thanks Monica!