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Parelli Natural Horsemanship Clinics Offered
- Beginning Level 1 Clinic – Introduction to Parelli Concepts and Strategies
- Advanced Level 1 – Level 2 No Excuses!! Series
- Level 2 – Level 3 No Excuses!! Series – Harmony and Fluidity
- Level 3 Clinic – On-Line, Liberty and Freestyle
- Level 3 – Level 4 No Excuses!! Series – On-Line, Liberty, Freestyle and Finesse
- Level 4 Clinic – Prep for Flying Lead Changes
- Prep For Western Dressage
- Ride Better Freestyle/Finesse Series
- Advancing Horsemanship Clinic
- Liberty and Horseanality
- Parelli Clinic and Women’s Retreat
- Preparation for Trail Challenge – Novice Rider and/or Horse
- Excel at Trail Competition – Confident Rider and Horse
- Game Of Contact Clinic (Contact Christi directly if you would like to host a clinic in your area)
- The Follow Your Dream! Series – Level 3/4 Freestyle & Finesse Clinic
Clinic Fees and Early Bird Pricing Discounts
Important Details for Students
A wide variety of Parelli Natural Horsemanship clinics will be offered, providing individuals at all levels of horsemanship skills with information and hands-on exercises to meet their goals. These natural horsemanship clinics are designed as “prep schools” for students planning to go on to the Pat Parelli Centers in Colorado and Florida.
For students not planning to travel to the Parelli Center, the clinics are a wonderful opportunity to concentrate your undivided attention on developing horsemanship skills and savvy, while spending quality time and developing a relationship with your horse.
Note…class sizes will be kept small (no more than 8 people) in order to provide lots of individual attention.
Parelli Natural Horsemanship Clinics Offered
Beginning Level 1 Clinic – Introduction to Parelli Concepts and Strategies
Feel Safer. Have More Fun With Your Horse. Help Your Horse Become Calmer, Braver, More Respectful and More Responsive. Develop A Closer Bond With Your Horse. We’ll cover:
- Understanding Equine Psychology
- Understanding The Prey/Predator Relationship
- Strategies For Safety Around Horses
- The Seven Games Of Natural Horsemanship
- Developing Your Body Language To Communicate With Your Horse
- Seven Keys To Success
- Desensitizing Your Horse
- Sensitizing Your Horse
Prerequisites: You’ll get more from the clinic if you’ve seen either Parelli’s “Get Started” DVD, the Seven Games DVD from the Success Series, or the Parelli Level 1/2 DVD. These are not required, but suggested. We also suggest that you join the Parelli Savvy Club for invaluable information about your horse.
Advanced Level 1 – Level 2 No Excuses!! Series Clinic
Improve your 7 Games to a higher level of proficiency. We’ll troubleshoot problems with your 7 Games, so they don’t have to be perfect.
We’ll cover:
- Improving Your 7 Games
- Reading Horseanalities Based On Parelli Horseanality Profiles
- Learn Strategies For Dealing With Different Horseanality Issues
- Explore Strategies For Touch-It and Figure 8 Patterns
- Riding Safety
- Emergency One-Rein Stop
- Finding Your Balance Point For A Secure Seat
- Mount and Dismount Safely
- Lateral Flexion
- Indirect/Direct Rein
- YoYo In The Saddle; 9-Step Backup
- Follow The Rail Pattern
Prerequisites: Level 1 Class or basic understanding of the 7 Games.
Level 2 – Level 3 No Excuses!! Series – Harmony and Fluidity
Pat calls Level 2 the Fun Level. Begin developing:
- Positive Reflexes In Your Horse
- Emotional Fitness For The Horse and Human
We’ll cover:
- Reading Horseanalities Based On Parelli Horseanality Profiles
- Learn Strategies For Dealing With Horseanality Issues
- Parelli Patterns On-Line and Freestyle
- Improve Drive/Draw
- Saddle Fit
- Parelli Fluidity Concepts
- Problem-Solving
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 1. If there are some Level 1 tasks with which you are having trouble, we can help you with them during clinic.
Level 3 – On-Line, Liberty and Freestyle
Build an even closer bond with your horse. Develop a higher level of respect and trust, a true mental connection.
We’ll add Liberty to the mix as we continue to develop:
- Positive Reflexes
- Positive Patterns
- Emotional Fitness
- On-Line, Liberty and Freestyle Patterns
- Prep for Bridleless Riding
- Improve Bridleless Riding
- Strategies for dealing with different Horseanalities
- Fluidity
- How to challenge yourself and your horse with Puzzles
- Problem Solving
Do you get stuck in a rut? Take your horsemanship to the next level! Don’t stay forever in Level 2 jail!
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 2. If there are a few problems from Level 2 holding you back, take the Level 3 clinic and we’ll help you solve them.
Level 3 – Level 4 No Excuses!! Series – On-Line, Liberty, Freestyle & Finesse
Build an even closer bond with your horse. Develop a higher level of respect and trust, a true mental connection. The Series is designed to help you take your Savvy to the next level, including Audition coaching and the opportunity to have your Audition filmed.
We’ll develop:
- Positive Reflexes
- Positive Patterns in all four Savvies
- Emotional Fitness
- Zone 5 Driving
- Individual and Group Liberty
- Prep for Bridleless Riding
- Improve Bridleless Riding
- Strategies for dealing with different Horseanalities
- Prep for Game of Contact
- Prep for Flying Lead Changes (can start in Level 2 at the walk)
- How to challenge yourself and your horse with Puzzles
- Problem Solving
Do you get stuck in a rut? Take your horsemanship to the next level! Don’t stay forever in Level 2 or Level 3 jail!
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 2. If there are a few problems from Level 2 holding you back, we’ll do some troubleshooting sessions to help solve them.
Level 4 – Prep for Flying Lead Changes
Preparation for flying lead changes in all four savvies. Don’t be intimidated by this! And don’t wait until Level 4 to begin. You can learn the ingredients for lead changes in early Level 3. It doesn’t require galloping around – start at the walk.
We’ll cover:
- Strategies for Success In Building Flying Lead Changes In All Four Savvies
- Using Positive Patterns To Build Flying Lead Changes
Don’t wait until Level 4 to start this vital (and fun!) preparation.
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 2 graduate.
Prep for Western Dressage
This class will help beginner and advanced riders, English and Western. We’ll do some riding simulations and ground work in the morning, but we will also ride at least one hour in the morning and three each afternoon.
We’ll cover:
- Being able to isolate and control the front feet and the back feet of the horse and be able to move them in the desired direction, which will lead to Shoulder-In, Haunches-In, Leg Yields, Half-Passes, etc.
- Better Backups will lead to better transitions, Piaffe and Passage.
- Better Sideways will help all the lateral movements.
- We will help you get a better seat connection with your horse so that you rely less on the reins and more on your seat for communication.
- We will also help you with your Rider Position and Posture so you can get out of your horse’s way and help him perform to the best of his ability.
- Learn to read your horse better, and develop strategies to deal with his Horsenality to better motivate him.
- Play with Positive Patterns and show you some fun games to play with your horse to make riding more interesting for both of you.
Prerequisites: Students should be comfortable riding their horses at a walk and trot in a group of horses in an arena. It’s not a problem horse or colt starting clinic.
Ride Better Freestyle/Finesse Series
Your posture affects your horse’s ability to perform. In this series, we will help you and your horse perform with better posture. Pat Parelli talks about the Parelli skeleton for horse development: Rapport, Respect, Impulsion, Flexion. A good Freestyle Foundation will set you up for success when you pick up the reins and begin riding with Finesse. Most horses get very stressed, mentally, emotionally and physically when asked to collect. They often feel trapped. We’ll use a kinder, gentler way to teach you and the horse how to ride with Finesse. My students and their horses have made huge strides using the Finesse Training Sequence.
We’ll cover:
- We will set up Patterns and Challenges to see where you are in the elements of this Development Skeleton.
- We will play with One Rein Riding and Carrot stick riding to improve your Seat Connection.
- We will explore Linda Parelli’s brilliant Finesse Training Sequence, which is a step-by-step method to teach the horse to accept contact.
- We will help you get a better seat connection with your horse so that you rely less on the reins and more on your seat for communication.
- We will also help you with your Rider Position and Posture so you can get out of your horse’s way and help him perform to the best of his ability.
Prerequisites: At least Advanced Level 2 Student. Students should be comfortable riding their horses at a walk and trot in a group of horses.
Advancing Horsemanship Clinic
These clinics are designed to help students in Levels 2-4 achieve their Horsemanship goals, whether English or Western. We will play in all four Savvies as they relate to the level the student is at and in a way that will build confidence and achieve positive results. Each student will get lots of individual attention, as classes will consist of both individual and group coaching sessions. Christi has lots of fun exercises planned which will show students how improving the basics are what will make it possible to reach the big goals. Let Christi’s expert and positive guidance help take your Horsemanship to the next Level!
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 1 graduate.
Liberty and Horseanality
Pat Parelli says that Horsenality is not an excuse, it’s a strategy and a starting point. Horsenality can also change drastically very quickly depending on the situation. Linda Parelli says that her extreme LBI, Remmer, turned into an RBE on the trail. At first, she was still using strategies for an LBI horse, and she got bucked off! She had to learn to recognize the first signs of him becoming RBE and deal with it quickly to be able to trail ride safely on him. So we need to learn to recognize ALL the Horsenalities, and strategies to deal with them. The goal would be to get ourselves and our horses more centered, and learn to flex with different situations.
We will play with our horses at Liberty individually in the round pen and in groups in the arena. We will study each horse and see what he is exhibiting in that moment and develop strategies to improve what he is offering as needed. We may also take a ride to the river on Saturday afternoon. The horse like the river, is a dynamic situation ; take advantage of the flow you are given. If you don’t feel comfortable riding with us, you may walk along with us with or without your horse.
Studying Horsenalities is a good way to learn to understand yourself, your family and your friends! Now I don’t blame my husband for being who he is. Horsenality has taught me that:
“The more I learn, the smarter my husband gets!”
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 2 graduate.
Parelli Clinic and Women’s Retreat
In this unique, one-of-a-kind clinic, we’ve brought together multiple natural alternative disciplines to bring you a unique learning experience promoting the health and well-being of you and your horse.
Laura Kinzbach will lead us in yoga each morning to relax us and help us be supple and straight for our horses in the afternoon. Then Lisa Carter will lead a session on Balancing your horse’s body using several methods you can do yourself, including the use to Therapeutic Essential Oils, basic stretches and evaluating your horse critically. An Equine Osteopath will demonstrate bodywork on one of my horses, and if students are interested, she may work on a limited number of horses. She has helped a couple of my horses with back and pelvis problems.
In the afternoon, I will teach you the latest from Pat and Linda Parelli, including an introduction to Linda’s brilliant Finesse Training Sequence.
Prerequisites: Level 2 student. Be able to walk and trot comfortably in a group of horses. We will ride inside and outside the arena.
Preparation for Trail Challenge Course – Unconfident Horse/Rider
Help Build The Confidence Of Horse and Human on The Trail. Starts On The Ground. Feel Safer. Have More Fun With Your Horse. Help Your Horse Become Calmer, Braver, More Responsive and More Respectful On The Trail.
We’ll cover:
- Equine Herd Psychology
- Thresholds
- Using Patterns To Build Higher Levels Of Respect, Trust and Emotional Fitness On The Ground First, Then Riding
- Trail Safety and Etiquette
- Confidence With Simple Trail Challenges
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 1. Must be able to ride in a group of horses at the walk and some trot.
Excel At Trail Competition – Confident Horse/Rider
Improve Your Performance In Trail Competition Classes, Or Just Have More Fun On Trail Rides. Develop A Higher Level Of Respect and Trust. Develop Better Communication In The Saddle.
We’ll cover:
- Harmony and Fluidity In The Saddle
- Use Positive Patterns To Develop Positive Reflexes In The Saddle
- How To Set Up Fun Trail Challenges
- Use Patterns To Build Higher Levels Of Respect, Trust and Emotional Fitness On The Ground and In The Saddle
We’ll go on some fun Trail Rides on the Brazos River and encounter puzzles along the way for you and your horse.
Prerequisites: Official or self-assessed Level 1. Must be able to ride in a group of horses at the walk and trot outside the arena.
Follow Your Dream! Series – Level 3/4 Freestyle & Finesse Clinic
The Follow Your Dream series is geared towards Advanced Level 2, Level 3 & Level 4 students. This series will focus on helping the student identify & address any sticking points that may be holding them back from moving on to the next level. Christi will also cover more advanced riding techniques and preparing your horse for collection, as well as further developing/strengthening the rapport you have with your horse both On-Line and at Liberty.
Clinic Fees
| Description | Fees |
| 2-Day Clinics (pen + sandwiches at lunch provided) | $425 – Regular Price $400 – Clinic paid in full 30 days in advance $375 – Early Bird – Clinic paid in full by 9/30/2020 |
| Out Of Town Clinics (clinics not in Cleburne, TX) | Please contact the Clinic Host listed on the schedule for pricing and location info. as this information will vary by location. |
| Multiple Clinic Discount | $25 off each clinic after the first completed clinic in each clinic season (Spring/Fall) |
| Deposit | $250 – Balance in full is due two weeks before the course starts |
| Cancellation Policy | $150 non-refundable on deposit. Balance transfers to another of Christi’s clinics within 12 months. |
| Auditors Welcome | $25/day or $40/both days |
| Remington Room at Sundowner Krantz | $75/night (meals included) – Call For Availability |
| Electrical Hookups | $25/day |
| Travel | See details below |
Travel Details – A mileage fee of $0.575/mile will be applicable for locations within four hours of Sundowner Krantz, plus overnight accommodations, if applicable. Trips requiring more than four hours travel time will be negotiated individually, with groups paying for airfare and/or overnight accommodations.
Important Details for students planning to attend.
- Current negative Coggins required.
- No stallions or mares with foals.
- 3-day clinics include fifteen hours of lessons and a pen/stall for your horse.
- Sandwiches at lunch will be provided, or dine out in nearby Glen Rose.
- Students should bring tack, horse feed, hay and shavings. For bio security, please also bring your own water bucket and hay net. Students will be responsible for cleaning up their own stalls/pens daily.
- A covered arena is available for inclement weather. Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen in case you do any trail riding.
- As a special service to you, Lisa Carter with Carter Equine Productions will be available to videotape and photograph during the clinics if class size warrants it. DVDs and photos will be available for sale to clinic participants. Lisa is also available by appointment to tape your private lessons or Parelli Auditions. Visit the Carter Equine Productions website using the link provided above for more information about pricing and services offered.
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