Natural Horsemanship with Carole Gallegos - Part 1

Carole Gallegos of Glendale loves to practice and teach the natural horsemanship methods she has learned by watching Pat Parelli and Clinton Anderson. She demonstrated Parelli’s Seven Games this week with one of her horses, Durango.

These games are designed to build trust between you and your horse, and most importantly to get his attention on you while you’re on the ground, so that he will give you his attention when you're in the saddle.

The first game is called the Friendly Game. Gallegos demonstrated by touching her horse with her hands all over his body to find his “friendly” spots and to find the spots, if any, where he does not like to be touched.

“Clinton Anderson will call these spots ‘Oh No!’ spots,” says Gallegos. “That is the place you want to touch because if your horse is head shy he is always going to be head shy if you don’t work on touching his head.”

She recommends using rhythmic motion and consistent pressure, avoiding “sneaky” or predator-like movements. If you move too slowly towards your horse he might perceive that as predatory behavior and you’ll freak him out.

Most importantly, take your time. If you have a horse with an area in which he is particularly shy, don’t expect to fix the problem overnight. Consistency and patience are important here.

For a more in depth and hands on lesson in this groundwork, you can contact Carole Gallegos on (818) 434-1782 or email her at cowgirlcarole@gmail.com.

The next installment of Natural Horsemanship with Carole Gallegos will be Parelli’s second game called the Porcupine Game.

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