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http://www.nwanews.com/brog/News/35161/ |
| Natural horsemanship
offers alternatives to training |
_By
Eleanor Evans
May 28, 2006 |
BENTONVILLE
— The small crowd sighed in awe as Tony Vaught led a horse he’d never
encountered before into a calm state — without any force or harsh
noises.
Vaught and his wife, Jennifer, worked with a number of
horses as part of a difficult and challenging horse demonstration at
local veterinarian Andy Devlin’s horse barn Saturday.
Although
the term has been popularized as "horse whispering" in television and
film, Jennifer Vaught said the preferred term is "natural
horsemanship." "The term ‘horse whisperer’ makes it sound kind of
mystic," Jennifer Vaught said. "This is something anyone can do."
Jennifer
has worked with horses since the age of 8, when her parents gave her a
few weeks of riding lessons. As she grew into her love for horses, she
began searching for new, innovative ways to train horses.
That’s
when she met Pat Parelli, a world-renowned horse trainer who has used
the Kung Fu principles of discipline, body control and mind-body
mastery to turn even the wildest horses into tame ones.
It’s a more effective way than the harsh methods some trainers use to
whip their horses into shape, Jennifer Vaught said.
Meanwhile,
Tony Vaught stood in the arena, cupping his hand and stroking the
horse. "I want him to know how much I like him," Tony Vaught said to
the quiet audience.
He then gently tied a rope around the
horse’s front left leg and led the horse in a circle around the arena.
Wistfully, the horse pranced in the circle until Tony Vaught gave a
gentle tug, quietly stopping the horse in its tracks.
For more information on natural horsemanship, visit the Parelli method
website at www.parelli.com.
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