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3/29/06: I have an almost 11 year old Spotted Saddle Horse/Tennessee Walker gelding. He had been a breeding stallion. He is a slightly high strung horse, yet at home he is the sweetest, mischievous, curious sort of guy. I enjoy showing him but traveling makes him extremely stressed. I am now going to try some herbs as well as some Rescue Remedy. Other than that, do you have any suggestions?

3/22/06: My horse has difficulty taking the bit. It was recommended I use a bitless bridle for her but I don't know how to use one and no one will help me. They will only help with a bit. My horse has never bitten, reared, bucked or been difficult in any way. She just gets very scared of the bit.

3/15/06: How do you really know what these gestures mean?

3/8/06: I love my horse and I think my horse loves me. He follows me around already. Do I still need to do Join-Up?

3/1/06: What is the most important factor in causing a horse to accept his lessons?

Answers to March 2006 Ask Monty Questions

Question: I have an almost 11 year old Spotted Saddle Horse/Tennessee Walker gelding. He had been a breeding stallion. He is a slightly high strung horse, yet at home he is the sweetest, mischievous, curious sort of guy. I enjoy showing him but traveling makes him extremely stressed. I am now going to try some herbs as well as some Rescue Remedy. Other than that, do you have any suggestions?

Answer: I feel very stongly that it should not be the position of any professional horseman to advise anyone to use a stallion for pleasure activities. It is my opinion that this horse is acting on natural craving when he is transported to horse-filled enviroment that is unknown to him. I am a believer in Rescue Remedy and other homeopathics but I do not believe that can guarantee you will overcome the problem you are having. It is not advisable to continue to transport this horse to enviroments you have described. Be safe.

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Question: My horse has difficulty taking the bit. It was recommended I use a bitless bridle for her but I don't know how to use one and no one will help me. They will only help with a bit. My horse has never bitten, reared, bucked or been difficult in any way. She just gets very scared of the bit.

Answer: I sympathise with the problem you are having. Horses often come to me in the same condition you have outlined in your question. I will never understand how professional horsemen can feel that violence and brutality can solve the condition you have described. This behavior is one of the few where I recommend a food substance (see From Hands to Yours, chapter 6). I place honey first on a stick and ask the horse to take the stick in the mouth licking the honey off. I then put honey on a bit with no bridle and repeat the process. Before long, the horse will follow me around and attempt to put the bit on himself. I have had good luck with this process and I think you will to. Please let me know how it goes.

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Question: How do you really know what these gestures mean?

Answer: This is a very legitimate question and I believe that you will be slightly surprised by the answer. It is a translation and one that I am doing of a second language to me. Is my translation absolutely correct? I have no idea!

I know that I came to my conclusions after about eight years of working primarily with mustang horses, backed up by approximately 55 years of experience. My interpretation of their gestures is based on a trial and error system because I knew of no other way to decipher the meaning of their gestures.

I am constantly advised by well meaning people around the world that they have slightly different translations for various gestures. I keep an open mind and I investigate these possibilities with the horses themselves. The translations that I have written about are my best efforts. They will remain in place until someone shows me that there is a more logical translation for an individual gesture in question. Remember that I often say that I want no other student to be as good as I am: I want every student to be much better. With that in mind I encourage continued investigation as to what horses mean by their gestures and what makes their lives better.

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Question: I love my horse and I think my horse loves me. He follows me around already. Do I still need to do Join-Up?

Answer: Join-Up® is a condition that follows a logical line of communication. It is not a symbol of curiosity or an acceptance factor. It is a piece of completed communication which informs the horse that you are aware of their language and that you understand it. It has far less to do with love than with understanding.

I recommend Join-Up as a communications effort with every horse that I work with. It builds the foundation for an understanding of one another which in turn results in trust and the earning of that trust.

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Question: What is the most important factor in causing a horse to accept his lessons?

Answer: If I were to be required to give a one word answer to this question it would be ‘trust’. There is virtually no way forward in education in the absence of trust whether it would be horses or human. One would often hear me say “adrenaline up, learning down” but in fact how do you get adrenaline up; through fear and lack of trust.

It’s a fact that trust is just the overriding word to describe contentment, relaxation and the desire to work in a partnership. Fear will only create performance for a short period of time before resentment and discontent strips the student of the desire to perform. Read From My Hands To Yours chapter 3 on Building Trust and chapter 5 on Forming Partnerships.

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