Ask Monty, August '08

Question
I bought a 14.2hh coloured light weight cob last year from a riding school where she was a working livery. I am an older rider and not very brave and therefore went out of my way to try to find a really laid back easy 'happy hacker'.  Anyway to cut a long and sorry story short, even though I tried to take every precaution the mare will not hack out.  

I have tried using the instructions in your book but I don't seem to be getting anywhere, its one step forward 3 steps back.  I fear that the person that sold her to me lied on several counts and I also now believe she mistreated my mare, as she's very wary of you touching her head (this I have been able to improve - now she will let me do pretty much anything to her face and ears as long as I do it slowly) and she has thin scars around the base of both ears which would suggest she has been ear twitched at some point.  I bought her from an alleged reputable seller, she was a British Horse Society level II and her yard was a BHS approved yard.

I have become very fond of this mare during the year I have owned her, even though it has been very difficult as she has bolted with me, kicked me, crushed me and generally been nasty.  I have resolved lots of her issues, just by being quiet, slow and always showing her kindness, but this issue of the napping just won't go away. 

I don't want to take her to loads of shows; I just want to be able take her out on quiet hacks around my home, which is very rural and quiet.  What can I do - I don't have masses of money to throw at this problem.
I hope you can help.

Geraldine L

Monty's Answer
This question is so classic that I believe many readers will think that its contrived. I simply won’t answer this question without the opportunity to tell the story I often repeat about the well meaning but victimized horse owner. The story has to do with what several horse owners each year will relate to me at one of my demonstrations.

“I have had this horse for three years or so and I think that I was deceived at the time of purchase. I brought her to you because she kicks me from time to time, barges over the top of me when I take her from the stable to the pasture and will bite me if I am not extremely careful. When I ride her she bucks with me on occasion, kicks at my friends’ horses and absolutely refuses to leave our property. She will rear up on occasion and has fallen with me while rearing. She has attacked me several times as I attempt to clean her stable and won’t allow the farrier anywhere near her.”

“In spite of all of these problems I love my horse like she was my own child. Can you help me please?”

Typically I respond by saying that we could send all of the rest of the horses home and do the entire demo with the one mare. I then normally ask the question “Whatever possessed you to buy this horse in the first place and the typical owner will tell you something about her color or the way she looked at the perspective buyer when first she met her on the dealer’s yard.

If I am to be a responsible professional horseman I must admonish this owner that when they decide to seek out another horse please reach out to someone like my self to gather a list of do’s and don’ts pertaining to the purchase of a horse. I recommend the use of a disinterested pro and advise people to use their good judgment in testing the animal on several different levels. Training, confirmation and character facets should all be critically analyzed before a purchase is made.

An equine veterinarian should do a pre-purchase exam and your pro should be allowed to ride the horse and advise you as to suitability relative to your ability to ride and the purpose or purposes for which you are buying the horse. I have done a comprehensive DVD on this very subject and I believe it would have been extremely helpful to you at the time you made this acquisition. I know you are about to say this doesn’t help me out of my current predicament and I agree.

The problem for me is that I can’t see your horse do the things that you describe in this question and if I could I very well might have some helpful hints to assist you. Hearing your explanation however leads me to believe that there is a strong possibility that this is the wrong horse utilized for the wrong activities. I do not want you to make the assumption that I am saying get rid of your horse. I am only telling you that based on a lifetime experience I analyze your description in such a way as to lead me to this conclusion.

I have read your question carefully and I have not forgotten that you stated that you don’t have a lot of money to throw at the situation. I suggest however that you have already thrown a lot of money at the situation and that you have very little to show for it. There is no easy answer here but when you consider that you have fed and cared for this individual for a sustained period of time and that you have grown fond of her that suggests to me that you are probably gong to throw a lot more money at the situation than you have already.

We have associates in England that could pick up where my answer leads off and assist you on several levels should you chose to request that. If you go to www.montyroberts.co.uk you can become familiar with our organized effort there to make life better for horses and for horse people too.

-Monty

Question
I recently attended one of your tour events with a friend who is not a horse person. I was pleased to hear her tell her husband how it impacted her life – wow! Why do non-horse people love to watch your demonstrations?

Monty's Answer
I believe that non-horse people enjoy my demonstrations because they understand the psychology of the human specie. Children are flight animals, and they respond to the same techniques that I use with horses. It is my opinion that the world has far too much violence between people, and I think that many of them are looking for an option to violence. Horses can lead us to a better understanding of our own species.

-Monty

 

Question
Would you do Join-Up® with every horse?

Monty's Answer
No. I do Join-Up with almost every horse, but there are times when I work with horses without doing Join-Up. I have never observed Join-Up hurt a horse or do it harm in any way. It is my opinion that Join-Up is effective on nearly 99 percent of the horses I deal with. An orphan is an exception; they generally do not know their own language and Join-Up is difficult and not very effective. I do not recommend Join-Up with an aggressive stallion or horses that are in a state of extreme nervousness, like a recently weaned mare or foal. If I am required to load a horse to go to the veterinarian and it is lame, then I would not require it to do Join-Up. I would like to conclude this answer that I use Join-Up on virtually every horse I work with, but not 100 percent.

- Monty