Pat Parelli - Equine Behavior Lecture at Colorado State University (Part 3) 

Parelli is such a vast program . Lets not judge it by one video .

I'm confused You told your class to applaud the horse... You also said horses don't like Applause.....

Parelli's use of leadership, confidence, trust, respect, bonding, exuberance, and obedience are terms that describe human characteristics rather than animal or equine characteristics. Such terms are known as anthropomorphisms and are speculative, not observable ergo not scientific. Anthropomorphism hinders rather than helps our understanding of equine behavior because it is not based upon observable science but on folklore and psychobabble. Parelli's teaching on left brain/right brain as well as his teaching on equine behavior has no basis in equine science or learning theory. If you want to understand equine behavior read "Equine Behavior" and "Equitation Science" by Paul McGreevy and Ian McClean. Those books are based upon science rather than Parelli's folklore and psychobabble.

Happy to disagree with you Bill. As neuroscience learns more and more about the working of the brain, all mammal brains seem to be built to the same pattern, feel the same emotions, indeed, need all the things mentioned in your first 2 sentences if their survival depends on living in a group, as do horses and humans. Having worked as a zookeeper with many species, as well as teaching science and biology in high schools, I would submit there is very little difference indeed.