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12/05/07: Why do you send the horses away from you when you begin to work with them?

12/12/07: Your demonstrations are performed in front of thousands of people. They are informative and entertaining. What do you say to the skeptics that state no real lasting training success was achieved during the evening? And when will you come back to Germany?

12/19/07: I have heard different explanations for the gesture of licking and chewing. Please tell me how you learned this and how you respond to people who question your conclusion.

12/26/07: Will you please tell me how your horse selection process works for demonstrations you do? I am thinking about bringing my horse to Equine Affaire Pomona.

Answers to December 2007 Ask Monty Questions

Question
Will you please tell me how your horse selection process works for demonstrations you do? I am thinking about bringing my horse to Equine Affaire Pomona.

Monty's Answer
I would be happy to explain the process of selecting horses. The first thing I want the reader to realize is that you do need extra horses because the veterinarian often turns down animals that are not sound or appropriate for demonstration. I typically work in four categories: one the raw horse, two, the remedial horse from the ground, three, the remedial horse while riding, and four, the horse that refuses to load. My organization usually relies on the veterinarians in each community to recommend the horses. I do not know the veterinarians. And I do not know the owners. I never touch a horse selected for a demonstration until the audience is there. I have read criticisms saying that the horses are prepared for me and that is absolutely untrue. The owners remain in charge of their horses until they enter the round pen. You will hear them testify to that effect in front of the crowd at my demonstrations.

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Question
I have heard different explanations for the gesture of licking and chewing. Please tell me how you learned this and how you respond to people who question your conclusion.

Monty's Answer
I first came to study the gesture of licking and chewing in 1948. It had to do with mustangs that would use this gesture with other horses in the family group. I have concluded that it is primarily a gesture of contentment and relaxation. At no time, did I ever conclude that it only followed an episode of violence. The people who differ with this conclusion have, in my opinion, misread the horse. I feel more confident with this answer than any other I’ve given. I have worked alongside such outstanding horseman as Leon Harrel, Richard Shrake, Simon Stokes, Brian Neubert, Pat Parelli, Bill and Tom Dorrance, Buck Brannaman, Charles Wilhelm, Pony Boy, Ray Hunt, John Lyons and many others who have stated categorically that they read licking and chewing just as I do. I have read their books and watched their videos with intense interest in expanding my knowledge. I believe that this collection of horsemen would represent more than 300,000 horses in training. I would be more than happy to answer an invitation to observe any qualified scientist who would choose to demonstrate for me their position in this matter.

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Question
Your demonstrations are performed in front of thousands of people. They are informative and entertaining. What do you say to the skeptics that state no real lasting training success was achieved during the evening? And when will you come back to Germany?

Monty's Answer
I say they are absolutely right. My evening is designed to educate. If owners return to their homes and use the same techniques with their horses that they used before, there will be no lasting effect of the training. What I do in my demonstrations is bring to the people an alternative to violent training. I show them that it works, and it works very quickly. It is the responsibility of the horsemen in the audience to learn from my example and then take it back to their horses, if they expect it to be lasting or effective.

I ask German horsemen to remember these names: Lomitas, Quebrada, Risen Raven, Lavirco, Macanal, Spirit of Eagles, Royal Dubai and Silvano. These eight horses won eleven major championships and three Horse of the Year titles in the years that I have been associated with Gestüt Fährhof, Bremen. I influenced each of their lives, and I am very proud of their achievements. No breeder or owner has accomplished exactly what this group has. I suppose the skeptic should ask these horses for the answer to the question, 'do the concepts of Monty Roberts work?'

[Editor’s note: Please watch Monty’s calendar for firm dates. Click here.]

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Question
Why do you send the horses away from you when you begin to work with them?

Monty's Answer
I am dealing in the language of equus. I have learned that they do this within the family group. I have concluded that they do not regard this as an act of violence, but a use of temporary isolation as a form of discipline. There is no hitting and there is no force. The horses do not resent me for this, and they soon come to me as a friend. The horseman who does not understand why I send horses away has not yet learned the language of the horse. It is a part of their natural communication process. If I regarded it as violent, I would stop it at once, but it is not.

If I can help remedial horses with this method, as I do for approximately 500 each year, then why would I ever stop doing it? These horses often come to me with the statement that if I can’t fix them, they will go to the slaughterhouse. I am successful with virtually all of them, and if you read the horses, they will tell you that they appreciate the work I do. Remember, Lomitas was banned from racing worldwide, and the best people of Germany tried to overcome his problem for months before they called me. He raced successfully ten days after I met him and has been a friend of humans since that time. Lomitas is one of the most successful Thoroughbred stallions in the world today; ask him if he agrees with my methods?

[Editor’s note: read Lomitas’ story in The Horses In My Life. Click here.]

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