June 2005 E-Newsletter
Contents:
Backstage Pass to Monty’s Horse Selection!
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your commitment to learn more about what I have spent a lifetime learning: the language of the horse. I applaud your compassion and curiosity with regard to these amazing animals. Perhaps you believe as I do, that the horse is the most generous animal in the world and we derive as much pleasure from them as they enjoy being with us.
As I write this I am in the UK, heading for Germany to work with a horse before going on to Sacramento, California to participate in the Western States Expo June 10th -12th. I hope to see many friends there.
For this premiere issue, I wanted to describe for you how I select the horses for demonstrations. One major difference between me and most clinicians is the way I chose horses for my demonstrations. I meet these horses for the first time at horse selection right before the trade show. We are assisted by the trade show groups that put on these events. They give us information about vets, farriers and horse organizations where we might ask for potential horses. Rescue farms and the local ASPCA are also helpful. We occasionally run ads in the rural newspapers or circulate flyers.
A typical tradeshow will accumulate about 22 horses for review for us. It isn’t unusual for about 18-19 horses to show up. The vet often will excuse one or two. We usually use 14-15 horses for a three day trade show. So that leaves very few unaccepted. We try to work with 2-3 outside of the demo itself to help the owners. On a relatively few occasions, we’ve used one horse twice if they have two or more issues. The only goal I have in mind when I make my selection is the educational value to the audience from the anticipated topics of demonstrations.
I normally look for four categories of horses:
• A starter or a horse that has not been exposed to saddle, bridle or rider
• A remedial non-ridden horse (biter, kicker, head shy, has been extensively single-line lunged, scared of clippers, spray bottles, plastic bags, etc.)
• A remedial ridden horse (bucker, rearer, or one you can’t mount)
• A horse that doesn’t load onto a trailer
Typically we need to invite at least the following amount of horses: 6 in the starter category, 6 in the remedial non-ridden category, 4 in the remedial ridden category, 4 in the loading category.
The criteria for the selected horses are:
• At least 24 months (2 years) old
• Domesticated
• Sound in wind and limb
• Have no injury or disease
• Have normal vision in both eyes
• Have had their feet maintained (they must not be trimmed less than 6 days prior to the event, and remedial ridden horses should not be wearing shoes)
• Have all necessary health papers and certificates
• Be able to halter and lead safely
The additional criteria for ‘starter’ candidates are:
• At least 14.3 hands high
• Have never experienced a saddle, bridle, or rider
• Must allow all legs to be picked up without kicking
• Because of the small percentage of owners that have animals in the following categories, we don't use orphan or hand-reared horses, mules, donkeys or draft horses keep the educational value broad
• I prefer horses raised in a natural herd environment if possible
We attempt to have a veterinarian present for every horse selection.
At the time of the actual demonstration I begin by handing a microphone to the owner so they can share the story about their horse to the audience. It is interesting for the people in the stands to hear the background of the horse that I am going to be working with. This background can range from a raw untouched horse to a horse that refused to go in a trailer and the owner was so determined to receive my help that they rode the horse for miles to the demonstration! It is exciting to me to bring information to frustrated horse owners in an attempt to find solutions. Examples would be spooky horses whereby I can create for the owner a roadmap so that the spooking characteristics can be eliminated. It is an awesome feeling when I can send an owner home with a horse that can be easily shod. Many times that had been impossible for 3 or 4 years without twitches or heavy tranquilizers.
In an upcoming issue I will write to you about an incredible experience I had in Norway when I met Tyson, a horse that had a phobic aversion to farriers – clearly one of the most frightening remedial horses I’ve seen in the past five years or so. The owner arrived with eyes the size of saucers. She told of a long list of farriers that would no longer attend to Tyson. Then she announced to me that she had brought her current farrier along but she wasn’t sure if he would attempt Tyson again. I’ll be sharing the rest of Tyson’s exciting story in July.
It is a great feeling to leave an owner with the confidence that they will be able to ride their horse without fearing they will be bucked off.
Probably the most frequent feeling of exhilaration occurs when a horse with a reputation of being impossible to load trots into the trailer with no force or coercion at all!
I hope to meet you at my next event!
- Monty
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Weekly Question & Answer: June 10, 2005
Question: Mr. Roberts, I guess my question is, “Why you?” Why do you think you made these discoveries when human beings had 8,000 years to understand horses and suddenly you reverse the methods that preceded you?
Read Monty's answer.
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Look for these upcoming issues!
• Snapshot from Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento
• Melbourne, Australia
• Monty’s Special Training Class at Flag Is Up Farms
• Monty’s new book coming this fall! Monty celebrates his best-loved horses, chosen from the tens of thousands he has worked with over the past 60 years. All 52 of the horses featured (including Shy Boy) have contributed something unique to Monty's understanding of their kind.
• The Story of Tyson from Norway... "He might kill the farrier”
• “The Horse Whisperer Helped Save Our School”
• Look for next week's question posed to Monty: “How do you make the transition from horses to children?”
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