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1/31/07: I need a mounting block (I am 74) but when I have my horse in position next to the block, he sees I am about to put my foot in the stirrup and he moves his rear end out a foot or so… just far enough to stop my mounting… a younger, more agile person could stretch and mount but I had a mounting accident with a young, energetic TWH several years ago that put me in hospital so I am super cautious. Your advice would be appreciated. I have seen you work with the large cloth on a pole tapping the off side and keeping horse from moving away but with the fear this horse has from past abuse this would freak him out terribly. Dan

1/24/07: I attended one of your demonstrations recently and was anxious to learn every detail of your work. I sailed boats as a kid, and I heard you mention a few knots that you said were useful. Can you please tell me which ones you use and why?

1/17/07: Mr. Roberts, what do you say is more important to horse training: Trust or leadership?

1/10/07: I have heard you discuss carrying a good pocket knife while working around horses. Can you elaborate on the reasons why it can be helpful?

1/3/07: You mention “extrinsic” and “intrinsic” quite often in your teaching. Please explain for us what is meant by these two words, and how they relate to training horses.

Answers to January 2007 Ask Monty Questions

Question: I need a mounting block (I am 74) but when I have my horse in position next to the block, he sees I am about to put my foot in the stirrup and he moves his rear end out a foot or so…just far enough to stop my mounting…a younger, more agile person could stretch and mount but I had a mounting accident with a young, energetic TWH several years ago that put me in hospital so I am super cautious. Your advice would be appreciated. I have seen you work with the large cloth on a pole tapping the off side and keeping horse from moving away but with the fear this horse has from past abuse this would freak him out terribly. Dan

Monty's Answer: Your last sentence is the most intriguing one in your question. This would freak him out terribly. If indeed this would freak him out, then we need to deal with this before you consider getting on him. I have done a DVD called Gentling Your Spooky Horse, and you should achieve each of the procedures included before progressing to the problems of mounting.

Another DVD called Fix-Up has a part of three hours and 15 minutes actual footage of a horse that wouldn't stand for mounting. You will see that my Dually Halter is most effective in the schooling process for horses that won't stand to mount. I recently worked with a Tennessee Walking Horse that had injured a man in his sixties who was a good rider for decades. It took me about a half an hour to get this horse 'bomb proof' regarding mounting.

It is a good idea to use a mounting block, but imperative that your horse will tend to migrate to it and stop and stand perfectly still until you have fully mounted. I recommend that you take a few steps backwards after each mounting before you proceed with forward motion. Schooling with the Dually Halter is fully addressed on a DVD that comes with the Dually. Each is a critical part of overcoming this dangerous, remedial problem.

Wherever I do demonstrations, I discuss with my audience the fact that this single most dangerous remedial problem on earth is 'refusing to stand while mounting.' There are more serious injuries produced to human beings through this bad behavior than bucking, biting or rearing. Please do not take this problem lightly. You can solve it and have fun while doing it if you follow my directions word for word.

- Monty

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Question: I attended one of your demonstrations recently and was anxious to learn every detail of your work. I sailed boats as a kid, and I heard you mention a few knots that you said were useful. Can you please tell me which ones you use and why?

Monty's Answer: Knots are a subject that I often visit during the course of one of my demonstrations. I believe it is essential that every horseman has a good working knowledge of the essential half dozen, or so, knots that are most often used when working with horses.

The bowline is a knot that, in my opinion, is absolutely essential to understand before anyone can call himself a horseman. It is a knot that can be tied around the horse’s neck, and no matter how hard they pull it won’t allow the rope to get tighter. With this factor in place, it is virtually impossible for a horse to choke himself with the bowline knot.

It is also true that no matter how much pressure is applied to the rope, the bowline will remain in such a state that it is easy to untie it. In other words, it does not pull itself down like a normal knot and get so tight that it becomes impossible to untie. One can put a bowline knot in a rope, tow a truck with it and then just pop it loose very easily.

In the world of tying horse up, there are several slip knots that can be employed. One will tighten up on the post and another won’t. Some are easier to untie if a horse is in trouble and some are more difficult. One should become familiar with two or three of the best slip knots to use when tying a horse to a post, tree or hitch rack.

The clove hitch is a knot that has several forms and applications. It has many uses in the horse industry, and one should become familiar with it. The clove hitch can be used in combination with various slip knots. It is the type of knot that would keep a rope from sliding down a sleek pole that a horse is tied to.

In sailing, one must become familiar with dozens of knots. It doesn’t seem too much to ask that horsemen become familiar with the variations of three knots, which will cause the safety of both people and horses. To be improved dramatically. The knowledge of the bowline, the slip knot and the clove hitch is essential for every horseman.

- Monty

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Question: Mr. Roberts, what do you say is more important to horse training: Trust or leadership?

Monty's Answer: I love this question because it sits at the heart of everything we need to understand before we can be successful in life or with our horses. Leadership is certainly a wonderful quality and, by its very definition, we will find it difficult to rise above mediocrity in the absence of it. Leadership plays an important role in succeeding in our chosen fields, in our relationships with others and as parents if that is a part of our life.

Many important people throughout the centuries would be considered successful because of their leadership qualities. Winston Churchill, Gandhi, and JFK each made their place on the world scene because the masses chose to follow their guidance. So I think by now you would guess that I am going to say that leadership comes first and is more important than trust. Actually, the opposite is true.

One cannot be a leader for his horse or his dog until he first establishes trust with those individuals. As humans, we tend to lie and misinform, creating a form of false trust. It is, however, very hard to lie to a horse or a dog. They can see through us like no human being is able to. Their inherent perception is far greater than that of a human.

TRUST is the most important factor we can generate in our relationship with our horse if we are to be successful in causing him to want to be our partner. Should we choose to BREAK him, we might enjoy the services of a created slave, but we will not get the performance of a willing partner.

- Monty

Question: I have heard you discuss carrying a good pocket knife while working around horses. Can you elaborate on the reasons why it can be helpful?

Monty's Answer: The world of knife makers has recently designed a knife that is perfect for the horseman. They tell me it was designed for professional fishermen. It is made of a type of steel that does not corrode and is equipped with a clip on it so that it sits at the top of your pocket, easily reachable. There are features about it that allow one to open the knife with one hand.

My suggestion is that every horseman should have one, and that they should keep it in the same place all the time. One should practice removing it from the pocket and opening it with one hand. This should become a muscle memory act, which can be done over and over without mishandling.

The knife that I use is only about four inches long, so it easily fits into the pocket of my jeans. The blade has a ring on the back portion of it, which allows me to grip it with my thumb and pointer finger. With a learned flick of the wrist I can open the knife and have it in a position to use within a couple of seconds.

Once the blade is open, one can immediately observe that it is designed with a specific purpose. The blade is only about three inches long and shaped a bit like the head of a shark. The rear portion of the blade has approximately one inch of serration. This ensures a very effective way of cutting ropes, straps and objects such as these.

If a professional fisherman is tangled in the nets and pulled overboard, I am told that he can remove the knife from his pocket, cut the nets away, and surface himself all in a manner of about fifteen seconds. A Norwegian fisherman told me that they actually practice this procedure.

While working with a horse, there are times when certain circumstances occur whereby a line gets caught around a leg or a horse steps through a pair of reins. Saddles can be dislodged and turn under the bellies of horses, whether a mistake was made or not. Many situations can accidentally occur that would cause a horseman to want to cut his horse free from a given object.

The type of knife that I carry allows me to continue to control my horse with my left hand and arm while I cut the piece of equipment that is putting my horse in jeopardy. I have cut lines off legs, and I have cut reins. Several times, I have cut the elastic on the girth of a saddle that had become dangerous by twisting itself to the underside of my horse.

If one will take the time to learn the use of these specialty knives, it is possible to greatly increase the chances of keeping oneself safe, and it certainly improves the odds for the safety of your horse as well.

- Monty

Editorial Note: Since this Q&A was published, we have had many requests for information about the model of knife Monty uses. Monty orders his knife from Nordic Knives, in Solvang, California. The model Monty prefers is called SPIDERCO COMBO BLADE DELICA. Nordic Knives can be contacted at 1-800-992-6574.

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Question: You mention “extrinsic” and “intrinsic” quite often in your teaching. Please explain for us what is meant by these two words, and how they relate to training horses.

Monty's Answer: The definition of “intrinsic” is: “relating to the essential nature of a thing – inward”. “Extrinsic” is defined as: “not essential or inherent – originating from outside”.

In my courses at university, I vividly recall being tested on this subject. I received a very high mark for the paper that I wrote. My professor was impressed with the choice I made to use horses to explain the theory of intrinsic learning versus extrinsic learning. He indicated to me that most of the students had cited human examples but believed that my choice of a flight animal was more effective.

In my paper I stated that, from a behaviorist point of view, there was no such thing as teaching, only learning. I stated that knowledge needed to be voluntarily pulled into the brain by the student and that it was very difficult to push knowledge into an unwilling brain.

Teaching is an admirable profession, and it certainly exists. My point however was to show how much more important it was to produce intrinsic learning rather than extrinsic learning. Intrinsic being that form of learning that emanates from within the student, while extrinsic is something pushed at the student from an outside force.

Giving the horse freedom of choice, causing him to be happy when he achieves the goal, is intrinsic. Taking the whip to the horse, and then stopping the whipping when he does what you want, is extrinsic. It is my opinion that shouting, threatening and intimidating are also extrinsic in nature.

Let’s take, for instance, the number one remedial problem on earth, where horses are concerned. Every horseman has experienced a time when it seemed impossible to get a horse to load on a trailer (float). Wherever I go on the face of this earth, I will find people agonizing over this issue.

More than ninety percent of the horsemen of the world feel that they can pound a horse into submission. They are of the opinion that they can frighten the horse sufficiently so that he chooses the trailer rather than the whip. The fact is, they do. It takes a good deal of time, stresses the relationship the person has with the horse and usually leaves them in an unhappy state.

In demonstrations, I show people that, with the use of their language and an intrinsic approach, requesting instead of demanding that the horse enter the trailer I can usually accomplish this procedure in a matter of a few minutes. When completed, the horse chooses to load himself and is in a contented frame of mind.

- Monty

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