Monty Roberts

[RobinsPride]

Anyone going to see Monty Roberts tonight at the Hand Stadium ???

Take plenty of warm clothes, went to see Jennie Loriston Clarke on Thursday and it was quite chilly. Should be good though.

[Yann]

Not me, but saw him at Arena UK a couple of weeks ago, and it was very good indeed.

Agree about wrapping up, I had about 63 layers on and was still cold:eek:

[Bay Mare]

Originally posted by Yann
Agree about wrapping up, I had about 63 layers on and was still cold:eek:

So THAT'S why we took up a whole row ;)

I agree, the demo we saw at Grantham was fantastic. I'd like to go again if he's ever around in the future :)

[RobinsPride]

Just got back from Monty Robert's demo, it was brilliant and well worth going. And what a lovely man he is, I have great admiration for him.

I cannot wait to see my horse tomorrow and try join up on her.

[Yann]

Just a word of caution, it's not as simple a process as he makes it look. However I suspect the worst you'll do is cause confusion if you get it wrong, especially if you and your horse already get on OK.

[RobinsPride]

I totally agree with you, I reckon that a lot of people think he has that magic touch and all problems will be resolved in that one session, but my thoughts last night were that one horse in particular would still cause problems for the owners. Its not as easy as it looks, as he quite rightly pointed out he has 60 years of experience.

I have got a diploma in horse psychology and hoping to progress further so I do have a far better understanding in how to deal with minor problems.

Thanks for your reply.

[RobinsPride]

Thats a far better understanding than I had before, that last sentence didnt sound right !!! sorry !!!!

[Yann]

That's one thing he did emphasise a few times at the demo we went to, was that a lot of follow up work would be required with some of the cases. It is only a start and not a magic wand as you say.

I think I got your gist, and it sounds like you know what you're on about anyway:D Unless it's with a particularly troubled or nervous horse I daresay botching a join up won't be any worse for your relationship than lunging or free schooling anyway.

Did you try a join up? How did it go?

[RobinsPride]

Not tried it yet. But my mare was a bit of a sod to catch, well basically she walks off when she sees you coming and its a habit she's got into since being 5 months old, she's now 8, so I started going in the field and talking to the other 2 horses and ignoring her and after a couple of days its worked and she's fine now. So I suppose its a sort of join up !!!

I dont mean I sat in the field for 2 days !!! My patience dosent stretch that far....................

[Emarmite]

Hi,

Went to see Monty a couple of years ago and I was not really impressed with him. He seemed to be there mainly to sell his then new dually headcollar, and just went on and on about it, if you have to put pressure on a horses nose to do something, Maybe I am a bit naive, but that is not what I would class as join up.

Some of the other things he did was very good though.

[Bebe]

I daresay botching a join up won't be any worse for your relationship than lunging or free schooling anyway.

I know the reasoning behind why MR dislikes lunging, but why free schooling? When I freeschool I walk around with Bebe & use my body language to shape the direction she's going in, not a million miles away from join-up really at a basic level.

[Yann]

Wasn't suggesting either were necessarily bad for the relationship with your horse, just that they both involve putting pressure on a horse to make it move away or round you which is all you'd be doing if you didn't get a join up right.

Speaking of field join ups such a thing does exist, it is a reliable method of getting a horse to allow itself to be caught. You just need to be patient and fit and get your body language right. It's covered in Kelly Mark's Catching Horses Made Easy booklet, and has been mentioned on here a few times in different guises.

[Bebe]

I just wondered if MR had said something specific at the demo that I hadn't heard of. As long as the person attempting the join-up is sensible about it and doesn't become frustrated and relay that back to the horse, then no, I don't see how it can be much different.

[ZAULTAG]

I went to see Monty Roberts last month at Braintree Towerlands he was brilliant to watch. I didnt have enough money to buy a Dolly Halter so when i was searching through robinsons i finally found they sold them.

[Zimbah]

I saw Monty a couple of weeks ago (in Tonbridge) and came away with the same feeling as Emarmite. Now I've had a closer look at a Dually headcollar and can see how it tightens around the nose, I'm even less sure of his methods. He did seem to have a good result with the unbacked horse he was starting. But with some of the others, he spent a lot of time pulling the headcollar hard and repeatedly - it's no wonder they led nicely after that. The bit I was most worried about was where he had a little Connemara that bucked when the rider tried to get on. He used a dummy person on it and the pony was really frightened. At one point, when Monty threw the dummy over his back, the pony spooked and knocked over the helper holding the leadrope. Once they'd got him back under control Monty said something like "now this time school him good with the headcollar" ie pull harder on his nose :mad: . The pony looked extremely tense, really tucked up and frightened. I admit he did later go nicely with a rider, but I think it might have just been relief that the dummy had gone away! I'm sure there are good things about him but this really put me off :( . Did anyone else go to that demo and if so, what did you think?

[Bay Mare]

Originally posted by Zimbah
Now I've had a closer look at a Dually headcollar and can see how it tightens around the nose, I'm even less sure of his methods

I have a Dually headcollar and it's not about 'tightening' around the nose as it doesn't go all the way around. It applies pressure and then when the horse reacts well the pressure is released (you must be aware to let the pressure off straight away .... something that I found difficult at first). It made a big difference when I led my horse to the field (previously she'd been pulling and prancing about). Once she realised that it was easier NOT to pull her head up and 'get big' she settled down. She wasn't in pain and she wasn't hurting (I can assure you that she would let me know about it if she was).

Originally posted by Emarmite
Went to see Monty a couple of years ago and I was not really impressed with him. He seemed to be there mainly to sell his then new dually headcollar, and just went on and on about it, if you have to put pressure on a horses nose to do something, Maybe I am a bit naive, but that is not what I would class as join up.


But that isn't the join up bit is it? I thought (and correct me if I'm wrong) that the sending away etc was the 'join up'.

He did market his books when I saw him but I didn't think that it was over the top particularly. I can't see a problem with it, after all we see 'celebrities' on the tv all the time pushing their autobiographies, diet plans, fitness videos etc and most of them aren't exactly enriching anyone's life!!!!

[shirley]

I went to the MR demo at Tonbridge on 30th October and this is the first time I have actually seen him in action. I have read several of his books. It appears to me that join up is about getting your horse to accept you as herd leader and that being near you and accepted by you is his place of safety. As for the dually halter again this is about being dominent over him and getting him to respect you space and not invade it. This nothing less than the dominent mare or more dominent herd members do to the lower ranking ones in the herd. It made me really stop and think about the methods we use to train horses now. it also seems that all horse trainers have 'their' method, done the book, got the video, do the tour etc. Essentially we all have to live with our own horses and to do the best with them as we feel is correct and right for them, if done for the correct and right reasons and no cruelty involved then all methods are valid.
I would love to join up with my three horses, but do not have the facility of a round pen at our livery yard and personally would also prefer to do this away from any prying eyes!!! Since we do have an enclosed outdoor school, we would still have too many on lookers and we cannot loose school in there anyway. So if anyone does know of somewhere I could try this with my horses in Essex area I would love to hear from you.

[Zimbah]

I don't think the Dually is cruel, but I wasn't impressed with the way it was being used. I think things like that are good in the short term e.g. to get control of a horse that otherwise might behave dangerously - and I occasionally wrap the leadrope around a horse's nose (using a normal headcollar) if I have to to make it safe. But I don't think it's the best method for long-term, kind results. As I said, the bit I most objected to in the demo was where the headcollar was repeatedly yanked hard to stop a pony who was very frightened (imo) from moving away.