Equipment

It’s amazing to me what animals will teach a person, if that person is open for new ideas or suggestions. Our miniature donkey Tommy taught me about the equipment I was using. It started with a halter if you can believe that . . . I was trying to get Tommy on a cement slab so I could trim his feet. I could not get him on that slab!

I tried everything for about 20 minutes and nothing worked. Then I sat down on a log and just started to think about what I was doing and I didn’t like it at all. So I thought, well I’ll try another halter.

I had been told that this other type of halter that I owned (but had not been using) would make a big difference in communicating with your horse or mule. I must have believed it at the time I purchased them because I bought a few in different sizes. I even had one to fit my miniature horse Jenny. (That’s another story.)

So I put the Parelli halter on and asked Tommy to walk onto the cement slab, and I could hardly believe it—he walked right onto it! He made a believer out of me. I use the Parelli equipment primarily now. If I use a common nylon halter on my 35-year old mare, she seems to lose her manners; as soon as I put on the Parelli halter, she behaves like a friend again. She doesn’t walk into my space when she has a Parelli halter on. The equipment has a clear feel to it, and the horses can understand distinctly what your communicating.

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Our best teachers are our friends!

Tommy