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Ask Monty, June'08
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06/04/08: I attended your demonstration at Equine Affair in Columbus, Ohio with my mustang Cherokee. We were your Spooky Horse demo. And he really gave you a run for your money. But you helped me to see that a plastic bag really could come within 10 feet of him. In fact you were able to touch him with it!! Cherokee and I have been working together and he is now catching me regularly and he will allow me to rub him down with a white towel. Plastic is still REALLY scary but we are working on it. He has also become calmer in all situations.
My question for you is.... How do I help him over come fears in the saddle? I am at a new boarding facility in Kentucky were we have rough trails. We don't have a lot of room for error. He is fine when I have another horse to ride with. But when it comes to just him and I in a new part of the trail, he is not sure that I am going the right direction! I don't want to force him to go any where, so I have been riding to a scary spot, getting him to at least come up to the hill or obstacle then get off and walk him across. Then I get back on and go for a bit more. I worry that I am babying him too much by doing this. But on the other hand I don't want to get him all upset. Am I doing the right thing? Thank you for all of your help!!
Jennifer Kent
06/11/08: Dear Monty, Thanks for coming to Equine Affair in Springfield, Mass. It was great to watch your demonstrations. I have owned and worked with horses for many years and have seen how the confidence, kindness and "horse sense" of the handler consistently is rewarded by our horses' response. I would love to have you address the differences in the responses with geldings, mares and stallions in interactions. I have found that working with mares to be the most interesting (and sometimes challenging) with their keen sensitivity toward change in environment and their seemingly changeable "moods".
Thanks, Beth B.
06/18/08: I remember someone I knew said that if a horse doesn't want to back up in hand on a lead rope the way to encourage them is to use an 18 to 24 inch riding crop and whip their legs. I also observed this technique in a "horse training" video. I don't remember who the "trainer" was though. I have always had great admiration for your work and mission to make the world a better place for horses than you found it. Thank you, Janai
06/25/08: I remember someone I knew said that if a horse doesn't want to back up in hand on a lead rope the way to encourage them is to use an 18 to 24 inch riding crop and whip their legs. I also observed this technique in a "horse training" video. I don't remember who the "trainer" was though. I have always had great admiration for your work and mission to make the world a better place for horses than you found it. Thank you, Janai
Monty's Answers to June 2008 Questions
Question
I attended your demonstration at Equine Affair in Columbus, Ohio with my mustang Cherokee. We were your Spooky Horse demo. And he really gave you a run for your money. But you helped me to see that a plastic bag really could come within 10 feet of him. In fact you were able to touch him with it!! Cherokee and I have been working together and he is now catching me regularly and he will allow me to rub him down with a white towel. Plastic is still REALLY scary but we are working on it. He has also become calmer in all situations.
My question for you is.... How do I help him over come fears in the saddle? I am at a new boarding facility in Kentucky were we have rough trails. We don't have a lot of room for error. He is fine when I have another horse to ride with. But when it comes to just him and I in a new part of the trail, he is not sure that I am going the right direction! I don't want to force him to go any where, so I have been riding to a scary spot, getting him to at least come up to the hill or obstacle then get off and walk him across. Then I get back on and go for a bit more. I worry that I am babying him too much by doing this. But on the other hand I don't want to get him all upset. Am I doing the right thing? Thank you for all of your help!!
Jennifer Kent
Monty's Answer
When dealing with a horse such as you describe it is of paramount importance to be safe. If you feel that it is necessary for you to make these compromises with him in order to remain safe, then do it. I would however recommend that you set up some challenging environments where you can stretch his performance a little bit at a time. It is not easy to answer without seeing the facility you have described in your question, but I would ask you to be innovative with things like plastic bags on a fence, objects you can drag from a rope and even CDs that you can utilize to depict scary sounds with. We have audio CDs available at our office that provide a variety of sounds to help de-sensitize. Please call +1-805-688-6288 to order. Hanging things from the ceiling of his stable can be helpful and the lesson can be improved greatly by strategically placing an oscillating fan so that the objects are in constant motion.
- Monty
Question
Dear Monty,
Thanks for coming to Equine Affair in Springfield, Mass. It was great to watch your demonstrations. I have owned and worked with horses for many years and have seen how the confidence, kindness and "horse sense" of the handler consistently is rewarded by our horses' response. I would love to have you address the differences in the responses with geldings, mares and stallions in interactions. I have found that working with mares to be the most interesting (and sometimes challenging) with their keen sensitivity toward change in environment and their seemingly changeable "moods".
Monty's Answer
Congratulations! It seems you have a keen sense of observation. When first I went public with my principles, it seemed that the whole world believed that the male was the difficult individual of the three sexes we deal with in the horse industry. I was surprised by the depth of this misunderstanding.
Fury, Thunderhead and many other Hollywood movies, I suppose, imprinted a belief that stallions were dangerous, aggressive and difficult to deal with while mares were loving and tender mothers. Hollywood didn't take into consideration the fact that these sensitive mothers must also be tyrannical defenders of their offspring to lions, bears and even human beings.
I often say, to mislead human individuals, that the female is the most difficult of the three sexes recognizing that I am using a sweeping generality and speaking to the average. In no way are these factors 100% the case. A gelding, typically the easiest of the three sexes, sits in the middle.
Continuing I point out that the females are in fact more sensitive. Their nerves seem to be closer to the surface. They are ticklish and quick to say "Enough for today. Check with me tomorrow and I might be in a better mood." I have only been kicked a few times in my life but I can only remember it being mares.
The stallion might be distractible but generally is more trainable in a sustained session than the female and the gelding will just go on and on willing to accept training communication over much longer periods of time than the female would ever consider.
- Monty
Question:
I remember someone I knew said that if a horse doesn't want to back up in hand on a lead rope the way to encourage them is to use an 18 to 24 inch riding crop and whip their legs. I also observed this technique in a "horse training" video. I don't remember who the "trainer" was though. I have always had great admiration for your work and mission to make the world a better place for horses than you found it. Thank you, Janai
Monty’s Answer:
What you have sent through to me regarding recommendations for teaching a horse to back up is absolutely the opposite of my concepts. When a horse is whipped across the legs to get it to back up, it will usually work, but when the horse does move back, it is angry. And wouldn't you be. Whipping the horse and producing pain in order to achieve ANY given goal is wrong when you deal in the concepts of Monty Roberts.
The method you have described also takes longer than my method, and produces a horse that will receive lower marks in competition for exhibiting anger while backing up. One will generally encourage tail switching and certainly backing the ears with the use of a whip. Please do not accept this recommendation. It is not only unfair and brutal, but it is not very effective when attempting to achieve acceptable performance.
The first day that I work with a horse I ask for a step or two in reverse. When I get it, I release the lines and congratulate the horse with a rub. They will learn very quickly that backing up is a good thing to do, and there is no whip required. If I inherit a horse that has already developed a resistance to backing up, then I use a narrow hallway to ride the horse into, ask them to back and watch them learn as they back out of the hallway.
From My Hands to Yours, my textbook, has a chapter on backing up. It is about 1000 words and is complete with drawings to illustrate my recommendations. I recommend that you read that chapter if you want to achieve acceptable backing up from your horse. The next time anyone suggests that you whip a horse in order to achieve any goal whatsoever, please just tell them that that procedure is not necessary and that you have better ways to deal with your equine partner.
-Monty
Question:
I remember someone I knew said that if a horse doesn't want to back up in hand on a lead rope the way to encourage them is to use an 18 to 24 inch riding crop and whip their legs. I also observed this technique in a "horse training" video. I don't remember who the "trainer" was though. I have always had great admiration for your work and mission to make the world a better place for horses than you found it. Thank you, Janai
Monty’s Answer:
What you have sent through to me regarding recommendations for teaching a horse to back up is absolutely the opposite of my concepts. When a horse is whipped across the legs to get it to back up, it will usually work, but when the horse does move back, it is angry. And wouldn't you be. Whipping the horse and producing pain in order to achieve ANY given goal is wrong when you deal in the concepts of Monty Roberts.
The method you have described also takes longer than my method, and produces a horse that will receive lower marks in competition for exhibiting anger while backing up. One will generally encourage tail switching and certainly backing the ears with the use of a whip. Please do not accept this recommendation. It is not only unfair and brutal, but it is not very effective when attempting to achieve acceptable performance.
The first day that I work with a horse I ask for a step or two in reverse. When I get it, I release the lines and congratulate the horse with a rub. They will learn very quickly that backing up is a good thing to do, and there is no whip required. If I inherit a horse that has already developed a resistance to backing up, then I use a narrow hallway to ride the horse into, ask them to back and watch them learn as they back out of the hallway.
From My Hands to Yours, my textbook, has a chapter on backing up. It is about 1000 words and is complete with drawings to illustrate my recommendations. I recommend that you read that chapter if you want to achieve acceptable backing up from your horse. The next time anyone suggests that you whip a horse in order to achieve any goal whatsoever, please just tell them that that procedure is not necessary and that you have better ways to deal with your equine partner.
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