October 2007 E-Newsletter
Contents:
• Dear Friends: Six Basic Steps to be Reasonable to Ride
• Ask Monty: He Won’t Stand to Mount
• Monty's Principles for People: A Quiet Voice Only I Could Hear
• Monty’s Challenge: Does the size of the pen matter?
• Monty Rides Again Tour: See Monty on tour and on TV in the UK
• Whitelist Monty’s E-Newsletter to ensure its arrival!
• Where in the world is Monty on tour next? Click here!
Dear Friends
Six Basic Steps That are Imperative Procedures Necessary for any Horse to be Reasonable to Ride: Monty describes what actually constitutes a trained horse.
Recently while watching horses being ridden, thoughts came to my mind regarding what actually constitutes a trained horse reasonable to ride. It was pointed out to me that one of the horses in question was a state champion here in California (gymkhana division). I began to ask myself what factors I would consider absolutely essential before qualifying a horse as trained, safe and a reasonable mount.
Obviously we are talking about a horse that has completed the starting phase and would be looked to for riding simply for pleasure or even in competition. In no way do I consider these essential basic requirements to be the sole property of championship competition horses. I regard them as prerequisites to qualify the horse as safe and reasonable.
SIX BASIC STEPS THAT ARE IMPERATIVE PROCEDURES
NECESSARY FOR ANY HORSE TO BE REASONABLE TO RIDE
1. Go Forward
This element should be achieved by a barely visible cue from the rider. There should be forward motion that is controlled, but generous. That forward motion should be executed with a smooth, consistent pace unless there are modifications requested by the rider.
2. Stop
While each of the six elements are critical to a safe ride, the stop probably is the most important where safety is concerned. It should be smooth and agreed to without hesitation. While there are styles of stopping appropriate for the various disciplines, no rider should ever be concerned that the horse might fail to willingly stop with very little demand.
3. Stand Still
Horses that refuse to stand in a relaxed and calm manner are plentiful throughout the horse industry. There are champions in competition who fail this test with regularity. I feel it is a very important factor, not so difficult to train and one, which has far too little attention paid to it. Horses should agree to stand without moving a foot for at least one to two minutes, no matter what the discipline.
4. Turn Left
Once more we must come to realize that there are styles of turning appropriate to the various disciplines. Whatever the style is, riders should expect to achieve an immediate response to a left turn with a slight cue. The left turn should be continuous without undue forward motion until further instructions from the rider.
5. Turn Right
The right turn is a mirror image of the left turn when the appropriate request is made.
6. Back Up
Within my concepts, it is essential to achieve agreement with the horse that backing up (reversing) will be executed generously on a straight line and with minimal cues to achieve it. Reining back is essential to creating a healthy psychological outlook toward receiving directions of any sort from the rider.
-Monty
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October 17, 2007 Question and Answer
Question: My horse lives out in a very large camp (+-50Ha) with 5 other horses. They are very easy to "catch" and ride because of practising "Join-Up". I do most of my riding in the veld, alone for about 2 hours 3 times a week.
I DO have a problem though, when trying to mount from a mounting block SUCH AS AN ANTHILL in the veld. He won't stand whilst trying to mount from a mounting block, but rather swings his behind away from me, THEN stands.
I thought of placing a long rein on the off side, around his body, length-wise around and behind his tail and holding that rein securely, then try and mount but he is too "cute" for that. Nothing seems to work. I have tried "patience"...but haven't wanted to get him UPSET from my persistence, but rather lengthen my stirrup leather on the near side and mount like that. Can you advise please?
Norma, Eastern Cape in South Africa called Grahamstown
Monty's Answer:
Your horse should stand for you to mount without moving one foot. He should remain standing until you are comfortably in the saddle and then he should rein back for the first two steps, stand again and then walk when asked. This can be done and it can be done rather easily once you know the technique. I have a DVD called Fix-Up and it will give you “standing to mount” along with several other remedial problems. You should be aware that failing to stand for mounting is the #1 producer of serious injury worldwide.
The Dually Halter is the piece of equipment that I recommend to execute the lesson on the DVD. Your horse should stand whether it’s for a mounting block or to mount from the ground. One should be sure that you have a correct fit on the saddle and that your horse is getting no pain from the mounting process. Fully schooled to the Dually Halter one should discipline the horse with the Dually anytime there is the slightest movement. If you follow the procedures that I have outlined your problems are over.
-Monty
Monty's Principles for People
A Quiet Voice Only I Could Hear
Jane Smith
Special Education Teacher
Lower Lake Elementary School
September 5, 2007 was the day Monty Roberts took a group of Konocti Unified School District teachers to a local ranch to experience Join-Up. It was interesting to watch each person’s experience with Join-Up and the impact it had on them. One person was crying from the awesomeness of the experience. Others had huge smiles and you could feel their excitement of this unbelievable experience. My experience was just okay.
I was sharing my experience with another teacher and she responded, “It was just okay? But you were with Monty Roberts and you had the Join-Up experience.”
As I have reflected back and shared this experience, I realized two things. First, Mr. Roberts was my teacher who is not going to allow his students (horse or human) to fail. He had spent hours instructing, modeling, reviewing and modeling Join-Up with us. So, went I entered the ring, I knew I would be successful even though I had never been around a horse before. In the ring, Monty provided guided practice. When he saw I was doing it correctly, he stepped away to allowed me to work the horse alone. When he saw that I was not getting it quiet right, he guided me again and step away. Yes, Join-Up happened. To the observer, Monty patted me on the back and I left the round pen smiling.
What the observer didn’t see was when Monty patted me on the back he spoke to me in a quiet voice that only I could hear. I now realized that those simple words were more important to me than the actual Join-Up with the horse. From this experience, I have taken back into the classroom those quiet words, “Good job, you did it!”
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Monty’s Challenge: Next Week’s Question to Answer
Does the size of the pen matter?
Test yourself!
I want all of my students to learn to be better trainers than me! Test yourself each week as I challenge you to answer the question from below by writing to newsletter@montyroberts.com. I mean this. Sit down and write an answer. Don't wait for my answer next week.
If you have been reading my Weekly Questions and Answers for the last six months, you should be in a position to do this.
Why should you bother? Because it will help you focus. There is probably a comparable question in your life that needs answering – or will be. If you can gain insight into how to go about answering a practical question that is loosely related to your problem, this exercise will help you answer your nagging question.Then read my answer. Then read my other answers at this link: Ask Monty. The closest answer to mine each week will be awarded a DVD but more importantly you will learn! That's good for you! That's good for horses!
-Monty
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Look for these upcoming issues!
• New Class Dates being added for the MRILC (click here)
• Upcoming dates in Europe and the United States
• Next month Monty will continue to address the issue of two year olds in training
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