There should be a disclaimer on all Parelli home study products and clinic forms that states, "Warning: becoming a Parelli student will cause you to look at all horses and their handlers differently from this point forward!" Parelli makes you more sensitive to instances of horses that are in distress and in situations where they no longer have their dignity. While there are some horse events that I now consciously avoid simply for my peace of mind, every so often a situation will catch me off guard. This past weekend was one of those times. It bothered me so much, that this afternoon I sent a letter to the event organizers in an effort to invoke change for the future. While a letter may not be a very outspoken way to make the world better for horses, it is a start and more than I would have ever dared to do in my pre-Parelli days. To the buckskin gelding that was in Auditorium 1 on Saturday March 19th at 6pm - this letter is dedicated to you. I hope you find your perfect partner and are never scared again .....
An Open Letter to the Organizers of
Can-Am All Breeds Emporium 2011
March 18 - 20, 2011
London, Ontario, Canada
I have attended Can-Am All Breeds Emporium several times in the last few years and enjoy it immensely. It is a wonderful event with lots of seminars and presentations by a wide variety of presenters from all disciplines. And of course the shopping is always enjoyable!! Having been involved with horses most of my life, I take pride that I actively seek opportunities to continue my learning. Can-Am makes learning easy and I often attend seminars I know little, if anything, about to continue expanding my horse knowledge.
Such was the case on Saturday March 19th at 6:00pm. At the last minute, I decided to attend Rick Wheat – Noavell Headset Bitless Training (Auditorium 1). Having no prior knowledge of this piece of equipment, I was curious and thought the seminar would be interesting. The introduction of Rick Wheat made at the beginning of the session sounded promising as well.
However, once the introduction was finished, the seminar took a bad turn. The horse brought in for the demo was obviously quite stressed about the situation. Rick Wheat claimed that the horse had been pulled out of the field and brought to the event (confirmed by the horse’s muddy and unkempt state) and eluded to the fact that the horse had not been ridden in many years, possibly due to some behavioural issues. Rick and his assistant then proceeded to saddle the horse (right over the mud and dirt). The horse continued to appear stressed and as they asked him to move about the space – he became quite panicked and began hopping. They then proceeded to ask him to put his head down and after standing so for a few minutes – the assistant mounted up! The rider was in a braced position – as one would see in a rodeo – waiting for the horse to explode. The entire situation was quickly becoming dangerous, not only by the horse’s panicked state but by the fact that the auditorium only had rubber matting on a portion of the concrete floor. It was at this point that I left the seminar, unable to watch this horse in his distressed state.
I was very upset by this seminar. I am deeply disturbed that a presenter at Can-Am would a) subject an obviously ill prepared horse to this “training” and b) imply to audience members that it is fun and okay to get on a horse that is so obviously not ready to ride!! Rick and his assistant joked throughout the 25 minutes I watched about the possible harm that may come when riding this particular horse during the session. What message is that sending to attendees??
This seminar presented by Rick Wheat was not of the quality that I have come to expect from Can-Am. I hope by stepping forward and voicing my concerns regarding this seminar, you, the organizers, will reconsider this presenter for future Can-Am events.
Sincerely, Shannon South
