This week, the horsemanship world lost a great teacher and horseman and I lost a friend

The news struck me fast and furious.  Mark Russell suffered a horse accident at a clinic a week ago and he was being flown to Boston, unconscious with serious neck injuries.  A quick exchange with his wife Hela who was waiting to fly to meet him left little doubt... We had to prepare to say goodbye.

A day later, Hela posted the sad inevitable news.  Mark was gone.  He died doing what he loved, pursuing his life's work - riding a young horse and teaching.  The horsemanship world and I have been mourning since.

You see, there has been a huge outpouring of love and sadness at this news.  Mark was widely appreciated and loved by his students and all who spent time with him.  How could they not love him?  He was wise, patient, incredibly giving, highly intelligent, generous and so knowledgeable.  He was an advocate of the horse.  He smiled and shared his wisdom and understanding with generosity and passion for the horse and the people who love them.

I could go on and on about his career, but they are many people in much better positions than I to do him justice.  I want to speak of the man, the friend that Mark was to me.

He started by being my farrier.  My young Lusitano Menina was quite particular about her front feet, and since my trimming skills were only budding, and no other professional was having much success with her, I happened upon Mark.  He showed up in his truck and trimmed her right in the parking lot without fuss or dust.  I instantly knew he was different.  She loved him.  She did not love everyone, especially when it came to holding her precious feet.  Little did I know that Mark and I would share as much as we did.  I did not know Hela then, they were not married and he had kept her to himself.  Every time he showed up at the Rhode Island farm where I worked, we would talk horses, especially young horses, as I learned to educate my spirited young filly.  He told me to 'get a deep seat and a far away look' as he tickled her right on the loins and she cabrioled on the spot!  I knew I had my hands full with this one. He knew what she was apt to do, and how great she could become, I accepted the lesson and the challenge.

Mark had not yet published his first book, Lessons in Lightness: The Art of Educating the Horse.  That was going to come soon after.  Only a small select group of people had seem him ride, and he was not yet doing much in the way of clinics.  He was self-effacing and never put himself forward, he was easy to miss. Unless you had an eye for horses and how they respond to humans.

Then suddenly, he was married to Hela and they moved to Tennessee!  I am not sure how that happened, it just happened.  I was getting out of Rhode Island and preparing to enter Parelli University hoping to become a Licensed Parelli Instructor.  My only riding horse was diagnosed with DSLD and had to be retired a few months before my move to Florida.  Menina was just a baby.  So Mark offered a horse - Easter - who is featured in his first book!  He said I could have her for however long I needed her to go through my training with the Parellis.  She had some baggage from a previous owner, and he only had a few hours on her, but, as he told me, 'she is tough as nails, very well bred and she is a good horse.  Take care of her and she will take care of you'.  He had liked how I handled and ridden the horses at the farm and thought we would be good together.  What a gift!

I drove to Tennessee with baby Menina in the trailer to pick up Easter, and spent a few days on the new farm.  This is when I got to know Hela.  Mark and I talked horses, Hela was adjusting to life on a farm. Mark gave me his book, signed it and wrote something about 'lightness'.  We talked some more, I helped with chores and I cooked for them.  The farm has an old plank barn on it, there was barbed wire everywhere, and the house was not even heated!  The only riding enclosure was a round pen, which I believe was Mark's playground for several years until he build an arena.  This is where we introduced Easter to Menina, and left them overnight to bond before I headed South.  They have been pair bonded to this day. Easter adopted Menina as a mother adopts a baby and they have been best friends ever since.

Several months later I returned to Tennessee with both horses and left them in Mark and Hela's care for a few weeks while I went home to visit family and sort out my life before returning to the Parelli campus, this time in Colorado for the summer months.  Once again, we shared stories, sat on the porch and I cooked for them.  Hela was adjusting, learning, still doubting, but faithfully doing her best.  She loved Mark and she was going to embrace the lifestyle.  I gathered my horses and I left for Colorado.  Throughout those first months with Parelli, I was learning to get to know Easter.  She had huge confidence issues, especially with riding, at least my riding! It took me a while to recognize it and I had to learn to earn her trust.  But what she did have, and I take no credit for it, was a deep understanding of contact and flexion, and a lightness to the bridle I had never felt before in my life.  She taught me what light could be, and I have since been able to take that feel to my other horses.  She taught me only because Mark taught her!  Her flexion started from way in the hind and carried on through to the hand and rider.  I was left with a big responsibility, and that was to preserve it! That horse was going to return to Mark, and I kept thinking, what if I 'break' her?  I remember a session riding with Karen Rohlf and Karen was explaining connection with the reins.  She took a feel of Easter's bridle on the ground, and with surprise, said 'Wow, that is light'.  It is all Mark's doing, I replied, I am just trying to keep it that way.

At the end of my year at Parelli, I returned Easter to Mark, hugely grateful for this wonderful mare and a fabulous gift of learning.  By then, we were doing most of the higher level tasks in the Parelli program, and Finesse was definitely our best savvy.  Mark liked what I did with her, he saw the bond we had developed, and he told me we had done well together and she had to be my horse... he would keep her until I could come back to give her a home. Six months later, we met in Connecticut and I took her home for good. Now 21, Easter is retired from riding due to old scarring in her legs from the damage done to her earlier in life and resulting arthritis, but I still play with her on the ground. She is a wonderful friend and partner, the lead mare in my small herd and a reminder of all I have accomplished in my journey.  Today she takes on a new aura as she carries Mark's memory and the full meaning of the gifts he left me before moving on.  Did I ever really thank him?

My last visit with Mark was at a clinic in Florida in 2014.  I still remember his smile and warm hug as we finally reconnected, and I spent the weekend watching him teach and ride.  We joked and reminisced about past days and mishaps, and I intently watched and listened as he shared his extensive knowledge.  I told him I thought I had finally learned enough to begin understanding what he was teaching!  He laughed at that.

At one point, he was riding a student's horse and no one was paying any attention to him or to what he was doing, least of all the owner.  The horse carried many physical and emotional scars from years of poor riding and handling, and Mark was softly and patiently working through the tensions to help him relax, find a better posture, soften, while explaining what he felt.  He did that so well, he knew how to restore a horse to health and comfort.

Later in the day, I asked him if it bothered him at all that everyone seemed so uninterested and disrespectful. He smiled and said 'I am here and this is what I do.  Not everyone is here to learn.  But you are here to learn.  So it is all good.'  What a lesson!  As a coach and teacher myself, how could I find that grounding and forgiveness in myself, and be able to be genuinely humble and loving in the presence of less than stellar students?  Knowing that we all have our own journey and that it is not be measured by who is doing what at the time.  Another gift.  I promised I would find a way to see him again.  Then life happened and I could not keep my promise.  Now he is gone.

Mark will remembered fondly and his beautiful spirit lives on. I will cherish Easter girl until she is ready to leave this world as one of the greatest gift I got from Mark. Without him and her I would not be where I am, I would not be the horsewoman I have become. They taught me a lot. I will cherish all my memories of times spent with Mark and Hela, in New England, in Tennessee, in Florida. Farewell Mark, we love you, we hope to make you proud as you watch from the heavens.

Hela is left with a farm full of animals and horses, medical bills, and the grief of losing a husband unexpectedly.  Mark Russell passionately, progressively and uncompromisingly worked to become a remarkable horseman. He was a teacher whose communication skills transcended the horse and made him a respected, sought after clinician worldwide. His work inspired horses and horse lovers, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

The impact of his immediate loss to the horse world is profound, as is the hardship for his family that will be felt far into the future. We are coming together to show our support for a man who has changed the lives of so many of us forever. 

Because of all the generous donations, Hela and her friends will be able to keep producing more of Mark's work. That is a blessing. Thank you for everyone that has contributed so generously, and if you would like to contribute, but have not had a chance to do so, that would be wonderful!

If you would like to donate to this fund, click here.

You don't dance by forcing your partner into movements

Dressage should serve the horse, not the horse serve dressage

Sit on your horse like a champagne bubble

Any retraction of the reins leads to compression, not collection

Mark Russell

Key to Success No. 7 SUPPORT

Right at the beginning of his Natural Horsemanship book, Pat Parelli introduces his Level 1 theory by outlining the six keys to success.  They are:  Attitude, Knowledge, Tools, Techniques, Time and Imagination. Since the original publication of the book years ago, a seventh key has been added:  Support. 

In my earlier posts, we focused on the first six keys:  Attitude, Knowledge, Tools, Techniques, Time and Imagination.  In this post, I will introduce the last key to success, SUPPORT.  This one is truly one of the most important one of all!

Key 7: SUPPORT

As in any long term project that requires motivation, commitment, thoughtful planning and perspiration, the support of like-minded people who are on a similar journey becomes critical in allowing horsemanship students to continue advancing, keep on track, and as needed, to find encouragement and inspiration.

When I started on my natural horsemanship journey in 1999, it was definitely the path less traveled. In fact, only a very small handful of people in my part of the world had heard of this new approach to horses and for the most part, we were ridiculed, shunned and basically considered too different to be part of the ‘in’ crowd. It was a lonely journey and I found myself connecting to other like-minded students mostly through various Internet groups and communities around the world. With no instructors nearby and no access to the technology resources we have today, it was a journey of trial and error and it was often very frustrating. It took grit to stay on track and keep going despite the criticism, the failures and the obstacles. This was a time when showing up at an English barn with a rope halter was a big No-No, and no one really understood why we ever wanted to play with a horse on the ground.

Thankfully, things have evolved in the last ten years and there is a growing interest for natural horsemanship methods and the importance of building a sound partnership with the horse. Natural horsemanship students are still a minority, but we are a growing minority, and with an increasing number of prominent members who are succeeding in competitive circles, the likelihood of being dismissed as ‘only good for people who don’t ride’ is subsiding.

Athletes such as Canadian Lauren Barwick, 4-Star Parelli Senior Instructor and Paralympian, who has been to 3 Paralympic Games, 4 World Championships and a great number of other international competitions; Lauren most recently claimed Silver and Bronze at WEG in Normandy and gives inspiring demonstrations with her dressage horses all over the world.

Click here for a short video of Lauren demonstrating horsemanship savvy with her Paralympic mare Off to Paris.

Luis Lucio is head of the Spanish dressage team and has recently been appointed to the FEI. He has been a long time friend of Linda and Pat Parelli and integrates natural horsemanship methods into his training program; in fact, Luis lists Parelli Natural Horsemanship right at the top of his home page. Click below to watch a video of Luis Lucio riding Grand Prix movements with nothing on his horse’s head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kt-JuqJtZA&feature=youtu.be

Luca Maria Moneta is an international show jumper from Italy and a long time student of the Parelli approach who is making his mark worldwide as a successful competitor. Luca has been dubbed the ‘carrot man’ after he explained in an interview how he won a puissance class at the European Championships by rewarding his horse’s try with a carrot after each successful jump.

In the Western world, one of Pat Parelli’s top students, Elli Pospsichil, just finished in the Top 15 at NCHA Cutting World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.

So what does this have to do with support? Well, these very inspirational people all have something in common: they did not achieve their results alone. They have sought and enlisted a lot of support and when they need help to resolve an issue or find a better way, they don’t hesitate to go to someone who is more masterful than they are to get help. Linda Parelli regularly teaches Luis and Luca, Elli studies full-time with Pat Parelli and Lauren has spent many days and hours with the Parelli’s to hone her skills and figure out her complex horses. They think up, not sideways, in everything they do, including when the time comes to find a mentor.

Nowadays, there is no reason to feel alone in your backyard or at your barn trying to learn. There are Licensed Parelli Professionals available worldwide who have dedicated their lives to helping students reach their goals; most of them offer many different teaching formats, in person or through distance coaching. They can help point you in the right direction, find the resources you need, get unstuck and support you through your journey.

In addition, the Parelli Program is underpinned by a robust subscription based training support system. If you want to achieve measurable and sustained improvement in your horsemanship skills, consider a Parelli Membership Plan a pre-requisite to that progress. The Parelli members club is gathering a vast community of horse lovers and giving them access to a huge Learning Library available on line to support students on their pathway.

Finally, there are play groups and natural horsemanship communities popping up everywhere, even in far away places like Africa and Indonesia. If you reach out, you may find there several more like-minded horsemanship students near you just waiting to find a buddy and have play dates! Or start you own support group, organize a few simple activities and you might be surprised who shows up! We even have communities of students who are spread out in different countries and meet through Skype and video to challenge and support each other. A great example of key no. 6, Imagination, at work.

What are you going to do in 2015 to find or build your support network and reach for your horsemanship goals?

Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and lots of great horse days in 2015! As always, keep it natural!

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For more info on Parelli training, visit www.vifargent.com

Info-Lettre Mars 2014: de retour d'un séjour avec Linda Parelli March 2014 News: Back from Linda Land

Geneviève Benoit, Caton Parelli and Aurélie De Mévius at the Parelli ranch L'info-lettre de mars 2014 est publiée!  Ce mois-ci...

Mon stage avec Linda Parelli Les hauts et les bas des trajets longue distance en hiver Le cours Horsenality/Humanality avec le Dr. Patrick Handley Rencontre avec Christoph Hess et Silke Vallentin Qu'en disent les élèves Opportunité: Coordonnateur d'évènement Le truc savvy du mois Les évènements à venir À Vendre

Click here to read more....

The March 2014 is out!  This month....

Riding with Linda Parelli The ups and downs of long distance hauling in winter The Horsenality/Humanality course with Dr. Patrick Handley Meeting Christoph Hess and Silke Vallentin What the students are saying Opportunity: Event Coordinator This month's savvy tip Upcoming Events For Sale The team at Linda Land - Linda Parelli, Liz Jones, Sean Coleman, Aurélie De Mévius, Iris Kleber, Ryan Pfouts, Sarah Bert - and I am taking the photo! You enjoyed this article?  Let us know by submitting your comments and feel free to share with your friends! For more info on Parelli training, visit www.vifargent.com

Equine Learning - There is Science Behind the Friendly, Porcupine and Driving Games!

I recently came across this wonderful video of a talk by Dr. Andrew McLean at Equitana Australia 2011. It's a long one (over 50 minutes), but if you are passionate about horse training and understanding how they think, feel and learn, you will also be captivated by this clip.

Andrew McLean holds a PhD in equine cognition and learning, has been an accredited horse riding coach for over 30 years and has written 5 books (including an International Best Seller) and authored 35 peer-reviewed journal articles.  

In this presentation, Dr. McLean shows us a glimpse of the scientific evidence which explains why Parelli and other natural horsemanship methods actually work and how they align with the way horses learn.

I could not help but jot down some key points and takeaways as I was viewing this talk.  You might also find them quite interesting and be curious to watch the whole video, which provides several live examples with video clips and pictures.

The differences between the human and equine brain

• Humans have a rather imprecise memories and are wired to extrapolate and revisit a memory without being in the context, and expand or modify the memory.
• Horses have very specific, photographic memories, and they are context specific.  Their recall span is 5 seconds or less, which explains while timing of the release or reward is critical to their learning process.

Herd dynamics and leadership is not set - the social hierarchy is very fluid and mobile, and changes according to the resources being contested and context. Very simply, one horse can be dominant for food, but not so in other areas.  They can be dominant with other horses, not with humans, or vice-versa.  

Negative Reinforcement is not negative, it simply means using the process of applying and releasing pressure to teach a response.  Release of pressure is the most common way to teach all animals.  Every horse has its own profile of NR, based on learned experiences!  

First impressions will tend to stick with a horse for life.  This is why the way you introduce a horse to a new context is critical.  The example of the foal with the umbrella in the arena really demonstrates how easy it may to teach a young horse to be afraid of an object if the process is not done with understanding and control.  Learning in new contexts must be done gradually to help the horse.

The horse is wired for fear.  The amygdala (the fear organ) is largest in horses and it has strong projections to the jaw.  This is why horses often express fear and pain through head and jaw movements and reactions.  Salivating, teeth grinding, head tossing, tongue hanging out... you get the picture.

Operant conditioning is training through Negative Reinforcement (application and release of pressure).  This would be the equivalent of the Porcupine and Driving Games in Parelli, using steady and rhythmic pressure to initiate a response.  Dr McLean explains why RHYTHM, TIMING and phases are important.  

Positive Reinforcement is where you add a positive to reinforce - treat, scratch, clicker - but works best once the behavior is trained with NR.  It makes the response more likely to be repeated and accessed over time.

Classical conditioning is training the horse to respond to a very specific cue - voice, aid - it is identical to a Pavlovian response.

Backup cure biting!  We have all heard Pat Parelli say this one.  Dr. McLean explains why!

Habituation is the process of getting a horse confident to a stimulus (we call this the Friendly Game).  Dr. McLean explains the 5 ways of doing this and how some may be more effective than others.

He also explains how a fear response in context, once learned, will never completely disappear.  It can be suppressed, but it is likely to resurface spontaneously at any time.  This would be why a horse that has learned to pull back may never be 100% rehabilitated.  It can be improved, but that horse may never be completely safe when tied.  He demonstrates why general habituation is not the best way to teach a horse confidence (again, like leaving a horse alone with an object so it gets 'used' to it - the opposite may result).

This is why educating a young horse is such a huge responsability and must be undertaken with a lot of savvy, knowledge and feel.

The importance of teaching a horse to stand still!  This teaches a horse an alternate response to his natural instinct, which is flight.  He shows a nice demonstration with police horses and an inflatable clown.  Go and whoa should be equal, this is what the Yo-Yo Game is all about in Parelli.

The importance of being consistent and not changing the rules!  If reins means stop, they cannot mean something else (like round)... That will only confuse the horse whose brain is very context specific.

Finally, the psychological effects on the horse of inescapable pain and the coping mechanisms:

• Active coping - resisting, physical expression (rear, buck, run, etc.)
• Passive coping - becoming dull, enduring, giving up - this can lead to....
• Learned helplessness - usually a fatal condition, horses may never recover from this state. Unfortunately, we have all seen horses that got to this point  :-(

Dr. Mclean pokes the dressage community a few times, or at least, a certain approach to dressage that he feels is not based on the welfare of the horse.  He also makes a point of explaining why contact should never be heavy.  In the presence of real communication between horse and rider, contact should never exceed the weight of the reins.  In Parelli, we aim at 4 ounces or less :-)

Enjoy, and feel free to post your comments and highlights below!

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For more info on Parelli training, visit www.vifargent.com

Foundation and specialization, and how it might have something to do with the number Zero

A few times a year, I make an incursion into the world of traditional horseback riding to learn from other coaches who are much better at specialization than I am, another way to work on improving my own horsemanship.  After years of putting specialization (in my case jumping) aside to focus on my foundation skills through natural horsemanship and having achieved Parelli Level 4, I find myself much better equipped to focus on performance riding.  Dressage is one of the disciplines that now fascinates me, partly because of the level of horse-rider harmony necessary to achieve brilliance and to turn into into an expression of dance; partly because of the level of precision and lightness required to do it well; and also because it pushes me to acquire a much deeper understanding of proper horse and rider biomechanics.  As a bonus, I get to see some really fancy horses with great breeding, which is always a treat!

A couple of weeks ago, I audited a day of clinic with Hélène Arianoff, a long time student of Nuno Oliveira.  The latter is widely acclaimed as a master of modern day classical dressage and horsemanship.  Nuno Oliveira chose not to compete and practiced dressage as an art form.  He had the reputation of having a phenomenal seat (although you could pick his position apart depending of which school of thought you adhere to); mostly, he had a natural talent for bringing out an extraordinary level of brilliance in the horses he rode in a very short period of time.  Any long term student of his would sure possess a lot of knowledge to pass on to the rest of us!  Along with picking up many nuggets of savvy dust, as a teacher I am always interested in observing the kinds of things riders and horses are struggling with and how another clinician might go about helping them solve their issues.

For this clinician, as is often the case with other masters I have had the opportunity to study with, most of the lessons consisted in bringing the students back to basics, and improving those basics in order to advance. What we saw were a series of holes in the horses' and riders' foundation that were preventing them from getting the results they were looking for.  We all know how tempting it is to want to focus on refinement and specialization... to have a vision of a fancy task or maneuver and to want to have it working here and now... while forgetting there might be a few ingredients that are missing to make it easy for the horse to succeed!

I like to think of it as trying to do calculus when you are still struggling with basic arithmetic and algebra - it can get confusing pretty fast.  Think of what it might be like to try to do math with a missing number. For example, can you imagine counting without the number 0?  It is possible, but definitely not easy.  The number 0 did not always exist, it was actually first invented in India, and initially made scientifically available by the Arabs.  It was a breakthrough in the history of mathematics that made adding and subtracting much easier and led to many other scientific advancements.  Before the number 'zero', there was an undefined gap for the counting of nothing!

Back to horsemanship:  as humans, it is so easy to be direct lined, and by that, don't think I am judging anyone, as I catch myself doing it all the time!  As an observer at the Arianoff clinic, I could clearly see where someone might be struggling and be missing a essential piece of the puzzle, and how putting that piece back in the right order was the key to helping them improve.  This is something I do with my students all the time, and it may sound repetitive or frustrating at times, but it is an integral part of good horsemanship. You will hear Parelli refer to it as foundation before specialization (see footnote *).

For example, a rider who has not yet acquired an independent seat and the ability to isolate the aids will not be able to communicate clearly an advanced maneuver such as half-pass or even something simple like a canter depart.  We saw several examples of riders struggling to let go of the reins or to isolate each leg in order to help their horse find the answer.  As a result, the trainer had to spend quite a bit of time helping them learn to soften their hands, use their seat without clenching with the legs, use their legs without clenching on the reins, hold a dressage whip without interfering with the bit, etc.  All foundational skills of the rider that need to be in place in order to practice good dressage.

The teacher also had to contend with foundational issues in the horses - horses dull to the aids, leaning on the leg or not wanting to go forward or stop, horses who did not understand the cues and many, many horses who had trouble with contact.  She started each session showing the students exercices to improve hindquarter control - a foundation of every natural horsemanship program!  We found out most of these beautiful dressage horses could not easily move their hindquarters independently of the rest of their body, and the riders had to work very hard to get there!  I have to say I was impressed to see how most of the horses in the clinic were fairly calm...  However, few seemed connected... Most of the issues were related to a lack of responsiveness, resulting in the riders having to work very hard (to the point of sweating and getting out of breath) just to get the appropriate amount of response from their horse or to maintain the chosen gait. Before they could ever dream to get that flowing half-pass or sharp flying lead change, they needed to think about how they were using or not using their own bodies, and how prepared their horse was to actually attempt a higher level maneuver.  Hélène had them practice many basic exercices - move the hindquarters, move the shoulders, get in a rhythm at the walk, walk a good circle, leg yields, backing up, give and take the reins, transitions, trot and canter departs, gait control, etc.  I was struck at how similar it was to what you might see in a Parelli clinic, except the horses and riders happened to be dressed up in very fancy outfits and tack!

Blue Moon - Photo A. Macfhay

This brought me back to my first dressage clinic with my new horse Blue Moon this summer at Eddo Hoekstra's farm.   I spent over 2 years developing this horse before testing the quality of our foundation during the three days of the clinic.  There was very little sweating, even though it was quite hot outside.  She showed that she truly understands the basics:  go and whoa, move the various parts of your body in various ways, and respond appropriately to pressure (less than 4 ounces), maintain gait and direction.  With those elements in place, it is actually amazing how easy the more advanced exercises become, and I was the first one surprised when Eddo asked us to attempt some rather advanced dressage movements (collected gaits, counter canter, canter departs from the walk and halt, half-pass, half step!);  no one was expecting perfection, but we did get positive results.  Blue Moon may not have carried the perfect frame all the time, but Eddo never said ANYTHING about her head carriage; we lost forward impulsion at times in some of the exercises; most importantly, she was so calm, connected, and responsive throughout the lessons.  The focus was on refining basics building up to more advanced, and never, never drilling in any of the movements.  Get a try and move on to something else and if it is not working, try a different approach!  It was right in line with what I have learned in Parelli.  Blue Moon put her heart into it and always gave it her best shot.  We were both smiling at the end of the day!

Knowledge and skills come from a unending process of studying, applying, and experimenting.  You can read books and watch videos, and that will feed your mind with knowledge and information.  But then, you need to be able to take this information and translate it into practice, and develop skills, which takes time and dedication.  For most of us, this can be challenging to do without expert help.  As you advance, you may need to get back to more reading and observing to add to the knowledge, and once again, use it until it becomes a part of you.  This is a continuous process.  Many of the riders at the Arianoff clinic possessed a lot of theoretical knowledge; they just had not yet acquired the ability to translate it to their riding and were thus investing in their learning.  They will hopefully be able to carry on by themselves at home and as they make progress, will again look for more information and support to take them to the next level, a never-ending spiral of learning and self-improvement that as horsemen, we all have to learn to love and enjoy.

Below is a clip of Master Nuno Oliveira teaching a horse to move with straightness by doing exactly the opposite of going straight.  He is mobilizing the various parts of the horse and doing a lot of lateral work to dissolve any contractions, helping the horse find the right way of moving - causing his idea to become the horse's idea.

* Examples of what would be considered specialization in horses:  any equestrian discipline or competitive sport such as dressage, jumping, driving, eventing, cow working, cutting, western pleasure, working equitation, hunter, ski joring.  Trail riding and working horses (hauling wood, plowing, transportation, mounted police) are also specialized.
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is a foundational program for horses and riders.

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For more info on Geneviève Benoit, Licensed Parelli 3 Star Instructor, visit www.vifargent.com