Introduction

My name is Karen. I've had horses all of my life, and up until two years ago I thought I knew a lot about horses. I was attending a horse festival in Jacksonville and stopped in on a session given by Linda Parelli about riding with "fluidity". I was amazed as I watched her ride her horse, Remmer. They were so in sync and looked like they were having such fun together. A man next to me noticed my excitement and mentioned that I needed to see the demonstration her husband, Pat Parelli, was doing to get the big picture of what natural horsemanship was all about.
As I watched Pat with his stallion, Casper, I was sure that what he was doing must be magic. I had never seen such a bond between horse and man. Another Parelli devotee sitting next to me suggested that I stay to watch the Parelli Team in action. I went outside and watched 8 ordinary men and women doing many incredible things with horses of all sizes and breeds. They also had the Parelli "magic". I wanted some magic of my own to take home and use on my spooky, supercharged, difficult to ride Arabian (Fire). I gathered my courage and invested in the Level 1 Home Study Kit and all of the equipment. I have been on the most marvelous adventure in horse*man*ship ever since. I was humbled to discover that after all of the years I had spent with horses, I really knew so little about them. I feel that at the age of 53, I am just now beginning to understand how incredible a relationship with your horse can be once you learn to communicate!