Anderson Parelli

Anderson Parelli

What is the best way to start Natural Horsemanship?

I have been looking on the internet for books and dvds etc. for natural horsemanship. Are they any you would recommend? So far i've found Parelli looks quite good but it is very expensive and Clinton Anderson.

I've seen Pat Parelli live, and later attended a day long clinic by a Parelli instructor, plus I've seen some of his DVDs and have his book.
I like his 7 games and use them with my horses. And to see him live is so much fun - it's like a cross between a circus and a horse Show!
But when it comes right down to learning and teaching horses, I prefer Clinton Anderson. Clint is very, very clear and easy to understand. His DVDs start at point A and spend a long time on that point, sometimes you almost get tired of having it repeated and repeated and repeated, except that's the way you learn, and it's also the way horses's learn. Repetition. Then he goes to point B and shows how to expand everything. If you use Clinton Anderson properly you will help Your Horse think instead of react, to learn to trust you, and to be respectful and stay out of your space.
Clinton Anderson has DVDs on almost every topic. I would say his focus is - teaching the backyard Horse Owner how to be a better rider and how to work with their horse. I would say Parelli focuses on groundwork to almost exclussion of riding, where Clinton does alot of groundwork, but it is with the focus of stuff you can use when its time to get riding.
I bought two sets of DVDs from Clinton off eBay this winter. One is a set of 6 DVDs on foals/weanlings/yearlings. It starts with a two day old foal and how to catch them, progresses to training your young horses to lead, shows how to handle an older foal that hasn't been caught or trained. By the end of the set he is doing quite advanced excercises with four month old foals and later yearlings, I am using these excercises with both my yearling and my mature mare who has some respect issues and they are making a big difference. On eBay I paid about $70 for this set. I also bought his 4 Dvd Set called "Problem Solving" it isn't a training set so much as a specific problem set, so don't get that one as your first. The cost for this was about $50 on eBay. My friend bought a set of 12 DVDs (In three different packages) called "Riding with Respect and Confidence" (I think) that are a perfect set to use after the groundwork set, showing how to get your horse under saddle handling thoughtfully, calmly and respectfully. I think she paid $160 for this big set.
I wouldn't be scared to buy used DVDs on eBay if the seller has a good reputation. I live several hours away from the nearest trainer, so DVDs are essential to me. I also bought 8 different Cleve Wells DVDs this winter, they are terrific too but basically for someone who wants to train their horse to show, specifically Western Pleasure.
All DVDs are expensive. On the other hand, I spend only about $120 for my Clinton Anderson DVDs and that's alot less than I'd pay for a trainer, and I learned what to do so I can use it on my next horses. And you can keep them and refer back - its amazing how you think you understand a concept until you get out there and try and things act up! Good luck and have fun! Spend some money - that's what its for!