Parelli Horsenality Chart

[mustang_hope22]

I was wondering if anyone knew how to use the Parelli Horsenality Chart?? thanks!

[mustang_hope22]

anyone?

[pippy]

I don't follow Parelli stuff, but I still manage to hear about most stuff...but this I've never heard of!~
What is it?

[mustang_hope22]

The chart is supposed to help you understand you horse's personality. Im not into the Parelli thing either but I thought this might be interesting to take a look at but i can't figure it out!

[DappleGrayMyWay]

You're supposed to evaluate your horse's behaviors and mark where they fall on those things on the chart. Where you have the most marks is what you then get to label your horse. Right Brain/Left Brain, Introvert/Extrovert. Then you can "tailor" your interactions with the horse based on their "horsenality."

It's up to you to determine how strong your horse is in the area you mark, there are three circles in different shades of color, strongest to weakest. So like if your horse does something only some of the time, you mark him/her mild/moderate/extreme in that thing.

Playful-smart-charismatic-naughty-mishchievous-tendency to bite/strike-mouthy-willful-exuberant-friendly are the LB-E evaluators. So you mark if your horse is Mild, Moderate or Extreme in these areas.

Hope this helps.

[A J]

I think I'm glad I don't follow Parelli

Not that horses don't have individual personalities, they certainly do, but to label them in human terms....I suppose it helps some people relate, but....

[nrhareiner]

I have to agree. Just anouther way for Perelli to make money off people.

Heidi

[Luvridn]

Actually, the Horsenality chart is free and has been a big help for me in evaluating my horses individual responses to stressors. DPMW explained the chart pretty well. The idea is that at the start of your training you do a chart, mark those areas and watch as your training progresses how much more 'centered' your horse gets. Fewer and fewer "extreme" reactions, more balanced and predictable. And they are not humanized. In fact Parelli strongly recommends against humanizing your horse....the whole point to a NH program is to learn to use your horses natural instincts to your advantage instead of disadvantage.

http://www.parelli.com/content.faces...pe=HORSENALITY

eta:the link goes to the main Horsenality site, you have to click on the Horsenality pdf file on that site to get the true chart.....for those interested

[Soliae]

The problem I see is that this encourages people to think of their horses as having human thoughts and motivations, when this is absolutely not the case, and can cause serious - and dangerous - problems.

Horses aren't people, they do not think like us at all. They have little tiny walnut brains that operate primarily on instinct and habit. Love, jealousy, spite, and hate do not exist for horses, even though it makes us feel warm and fuzzy to think so. Instead, they have herding instincts, a dominance order, and a flight or fight survival instinct.

I think it would serve people far better to simply study equine behavior in a scientific and analytical fashion, using real studies done/sponsored by real universities and independent organizations. Take some time and learn for yourself, and if you simply must spend money, do it with a good local trainer that can help you in a hands-on environment.

[A J]

Originally Posted by Soliae

The problem I see is that this encourages people to think of their horses as having human thoughts and motivations, when this is absolutely not the case, and can cause serious - and dangerous - problems.

Horses aren't people, they do not think like us at all. They have little tiny walnut brains that operate primarily on instinct and habit. Love, jealousy, spite, and hate do not exist for horses, even though it makes us feel warm and fuzzy to think so. Instead, they have herding instincts, a dominance order, and a flight or fight survival instinct.

I think it would serve people far better to simply study equine behavior in a scientific and analytical fashion, using real studies done/sponsored by real universities and independent organizations. Take some time and learn for yourself, and if you simply must spend money, do it with a good local trainer that can help you in a hands-on environment.

Exactly!

[snwflk]

I've read it and it "kinda" makes sense but I tried to do parelli, and LORD did I screw it up.. I wasnt strong enough to do some of the things he wanted us to do. I didnt have enough strength in my fingers to push the horse back with it.? the horse was just stubborn, but I about broke 3 fingers trying to get this stupid horse to move- I gave up and sold all my stuff on ebay- I think CLinton anderson's methods made more sense to me..

JMO- I agree w/ Soliae- Its a prey animal- and it doesnt have "human thoughts" and same with all animals- while I love all critters- that is what they still are ANIMALS- and treating them differently or trying to train them other then as a animal can be possibly dangerous and not fair to the animal-

Unless you have a SUPER SMART- PIG< BORDER COLLIE< OR a AFRICAN GREY PARROT- they are just super pets

[Spyder]

Chart is useless to me as my horse has a normal brain.

[nico_me19]

I can see both points here. I tend to not type myself as one of those warm and fuzzy people who think that horses feel human emotions, But I can see how normal instinct and reaction can be misconstrued as emotion. Parelli would label my horse as a Left brain Introvert, and some of the 'horsenality' traits that I see in my horse just lead me to believe that he is the dominant horse that is lazy, and wants the attention instead of the other horses because I'm "his mare". Now I think (and goodness knows I could be soo wrong) that Parelli tries to help the average person understand why some of their horses react to certain stimuli and some may not. Among other things. I agree that to study equine behavior in a scientific and analytical fashion would teach you the same things that Parelli teaches you, but some people learn with different approaches. As do Horses. Which is the main goal that Parelli is getting to. We all know that horses respond to a pressure give and take process, but some horses respond diff. to diff. levels of pressure. Some horses cannot and will not react to finger poking, whereas some horses feel like swinging a rope near them is too much. I do believe that any one who owns a horse should exlore the different types of training possiblities and use the one that they can understand and the ones their horses respond to best. I can definatly agree that some of Parelli's ways seem way to intricate to the group they are trying to appeal to, but they are fun to try, and if you can do some of their 'games' it can be a blast. (stressful until you can get to that point of success lol) Let's face it, dealing with horses in any training fashion is potentially dangerous. As long as we keep in mind that these are animals with purely instinctual ways, and educate ourselves to the behavior, we can all maintain a level of safety.
All is just my opinion.

[Touche]

Umm, I am not going to bash him. He has done more with a horse/horses than I ever will.

I have trouble following some of his ideas sometimes, but I take most info with a grain of salt. You can take bits and pieces from different people.

As far as the chart, it is more for seeing how your horse responds to stimulus and interacts with you. Not all about human emotions.
Nothing wrong with watching how your horse reacts to certain things and increasing your own horse skills. But then again I am pretty open to things, but my dogs and horses I do not give human emotions to. That is not what the horsenality quiz is about.

And no I am not a parelli lover, personally I like CA.

[PaintsQH]

Originally Posted by Spyder

Chart is useless to me as my horse has a normal brain.

Most horses have a normal brain, but I think the point is if your horse is using the thinking side vs the non thinking side. When a horse isnt paying attention to you he obviously isnt doing what you want. I use some NH methods, but follow nobody. Most horse trainers/handlers use the same methods, its just done in a different fashion. Moving from pressure, moving forward, backward,sideways, etc. All the same principle

[Crookedblaze]

I can see both sides, but I agree, it is giving human qualities to an animal that is not human. I have taken psychology classes for 2 years now, and we take personality tests like what Parelli has. One of them is almost identical to his Horsenality chart.

I agree with PaintsQH, my current trainer uses a little bit of everyone, and I like it better that way then just being a diehard follower of one fellow, JMO. But I am into more eclectic stuff.

[DappleGrayMyWay]

I just wanted to help the OP with the chart, but now I think I'll have to jump back for a minute. I went through the process and got my Level One in January, and I was training for a while with a "Parelli Professional" who taught me a lot about how to understand why horses do what they do. The words on that chart are the human's words because that's the language WE speak. It translates to something totally different to the horse. But if we understand something as coming across as curiosity, then we know how to cope with it...and same goes for smart/pushy/mouthy and all the rest.

The reason I don't train with that person anymore is mostly because I went and saw Pat and Linda Parelli in person back in March, and instead of being inspired by them (which is the purpose) I found myself repelled. There is absolutely no way an ordinary person is ever going to accomplish what they can do with horses, simply because we don't have that kind of time. P & L make millions on this, and they have a lot of time to do nothing but train. We all have jobs and bills and car payments...

But as someone has said, you can take bits and pieces of what all the horsemen are selling and apply it how it works for you. And peace doing it

[pennyrain]

Wow, alot of differing viewpoints of Parelli.
I feel I have to respond. First some people are obviously responding to the Horsenality Chart without really looking at it. The Parellis came up with the charts so that other people could get a handle on a horse's reactions like they do. It is supposed to make it easier for some one who doesn't have as much time(years) to get the kind of information they can. A question often asked on HT is "Is my horse afraid or testing me?" The charts help to answer that question. This can be a great tool for some one willing to make a little effort.

I'm not a follower of Clinton Anderson so maybe he isn't making any money as a master clinician, but I doubt it. If these people weren't in it to make money we wouldn't know who they are. Probably the world's greatest horseman is riding the plains of Mongolia and only speaks to horses, never humans. The horses probably love him but we'll never know about him and he probably won't be rich. So I don't see any point in bashing any of these people for trying to make a buck.

As for being involved with Parelli, in all fairness to them they say flat out that each individual decides what level of horsemanship they want to strive for. They say it is ok to go for Level 1 or 2. Pat says he is a Level 2 guitar player. I think that is a great analogy, he can play well enough to sing with around a campfire but not fill Carnegie Hall. Just because I can't play like Eric Clapton is no reason I should not enjoy listening to his music. Just because I can't train a horse like Pat Parelli or Clinton Anderson is not going to stop me from appreciating what they can do and if they do some thing I can manage to do that's great. Since I have followed the Parelli program I've had fun, I've met some great horse people who enjoy horses the way I do, My horses have had fun and are much easier to do just about everything with, my vet will vouch for that. 9 times out of 10 when I read some one asking about a problem on here I have an idea where the person should go-Parelli could tell them the answer. Is it perfect? No. Is it going to work for you and your horse? that would be up to you. There are a lot of ways to get their information without buying everything. One of the neatest things about Parelli is to be with horsepeople who actually support and encourage one another instead of trying to tear one another down. It is probably because we are testing against a standard instead of each other-it is the most unique thing I found in the horse "world" in my many years. I'm sorry so many of you haven't found the true beauty of what they have built-it isn't their business or style it is a revolutionary attitude toward horses and other horsemen.

[lelo2006]

Alot more trainers other then Parelli have been using charts like this. It's a good way to really understand your horse and to know what your horses personality is really like. Plus you can really connect with them more if you know what will set them off, what to work on, what to watch out for, ect.

[Slim Pikkens]

I think the purpose of the horsenality chart was to help people get a better sense of what motivates a horse, his sense of survival which we may see as spooky but the horse sees as necessary to survive. Some horses need a lot of leadership and become dominant when it's not there. These horses could be miscontrued as mean, ill tempered. Others are followers and may seem to have little motivation. The chart may help one see more clearly what is motivating their own horse and to adjust the training program to better suit the individual.
What's was interesting for me was I tracked two very different horses both with a highly developed sense of survival but the one was seemingly quite spooky while the other was a a cool headed one, meaning two totally different training programs.