By Sue Wingate

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to Monty at some length about his work, future plans and goals, so much so that it would not be possible to transcribe the entire discussion. However, there were some salient points which may be of some interest to our readers.... I enquired whether having achieved so much already in opening the eyes of the world and improving our understanding of horses, does Monty have any other major ambitions remaining?

He replied "Well you see, I am a man with a mission and that is to make the world a better place for horses".

It is obvious that despite having already achieved a great deal to this end he is still full of restless energy and conveys a sense of urgency in his commitment. No doubt seeing results based on his principles simply serves to fuel his enthusiasm and in itself is a motivating factor. For example, in the area of horse racing he is crusading for the reduction and eventual elimination of the use of the whip.

Monty explained "In the US Triple Crown for example, it is evident that gradually horses are being whipped less frequently - there are one third of strokes as compared with two or three years ago. There is a creeping awareness among jockeys and trainers, even those opposed to me, that a horse, being a flight animal, goes 'into' pain and that this response "only serves to slow it up".

It is vitally important to match the midline of a jockey and horse 100% that is that they are both centred and therefore can perform in harmony and to maximum effect. In order to whip a horse a jockey moves his midline and the result is to pull the horse off a straight line."

How many times do we see this at the end of races with tired horses wandering around under the whip and causing interference to one another? Monty is insistent that young people find the use of the whip an off-putting factor where racing is concerned. "They definitely don't like to see it but at present, as the rules stand in the US at least, a jockey could be fined for not whipping...." Monty is therefore campaigning for races without whips. (It will be interesting to see how the new look races for conditional jockeys fare in the UK as they will not be allowed to use whips to 'encourage' horses to run faster.)

It is evident when talking to Monty that he still sees plenty of scope for implementing his ideas and in many ways. In his book "Shy Boy, the Horse that came in from the Wild" Monty also tells of an experience he had with a horse called Blushing ET - a horse which had suffered severe abuse when being introduced to the starting stalls and which was deeply traumatised by the experience.

In helping this horse to overcome his phobia Monty came to realise what was necessary to train horses to readily accept the starting stalls. He has designed a new facility consisting of a circular 'hallway' of panels which lead the horse into the stalls which will be completely open at first. Horses will learn to walk through them until quite unconcerned, whereupon they will be encouraged to stand in them then have the doors closed, re-opened and then move on again.

Monty envisages more than one horse using this facility at a time, which will immediately boost their confidence. Ed says "I hope this will become a feature of racetracks all over the world. Horses will learn to use the starting gate in a completely stress free manner"

Let 's hope that the racing industry will embrace this innovation wholeheartedly...

It is evident that people the world over ask Monty the same questions! Quite often I have heard comments regarding the need for a horse to be backed in just half an hour... Well, Monty told me that it isn't necessary but it is more practical for demonstration purposes and in case it can be easily achieved. I also enquired whether it is practical to apply his methods without the aid of a round pen. He replied to the effect that "Well, it isn't absolutely essential. After all I proved this with Shy Boy in the open spaces of the Californian desert but I do strongly recommend it. In fact I think that all horsemen will come to think of a round pen as an indispensable piece of equipment - just as much as a saddle or bridle!"

Monty signing more books..!

Monty was soon called away to sign yet more copies of his books and to prepare for the demonstration which was shortly to take place.

The Demonstrations

The first horse to enter the round pen was a 2 year old Morgan called Woody who had recently been brought over to the UK and who had never had a saddle on him. Monty sent Woody away by using his body language ie., Squaring up to the animal and by looking his straight in the eye, and then kept him moving in both directions until Woody showed signs of wanting to 'negotiate' with Monty by locking his inside ear on to Monty, indicating that he had given him his attention. Gradually Woody's circles got smaller and he began to drop his head.

What was most amazing was the effect Monty had simply by removing his eye contact with Woody and by turning his shoulders and dropping his hand down in front of him... Woody stopped immediately! With his more passive attitude Monty was virtually inviting the horse to join him in the middle of the circle which Woody duly did. Join-up had been achieved and Woody stood quietly while being rubbed all over. He then accepted a saddlepad followed quite promptly by a saddle - without bucking or showing any sign of resistance. All horses have a deep instinct (honed over 50 million years) not to allow anything on their backs since many predators attacked them by jumping onto them. Despite this only 65% even buck when first saddled using this method and only 5% do so when first backed.

Visit the web site of Equine Artist Sue Wingate for wonderful Limited Edition Prints, Greetings and Christmas Cards, Postcards and Collectors' Cards

Woody was sent away under saddle around the ring and when he had accepted it he joined-up with Monty again who schooled the horse in a Doually halter (one of Monty 's own design). The horse calmly followed him left and right and stopped whenever Monty stopped. Monty reversed the horse frequently explaining that this is the antidote to napping - not the cause! Since his methods initiate a partnership between horse and rider he explained how important it is for there to be a 50/50 relationship in the control of all directions, thus the horse does not 'own' reverse and will not resort to it as a form of evasion.

Since it has long been held that the whole process of breaking-in a horse is inevitably a somewhat traumatic process for the horse, it would not be surprising if the horse chose to leave Monty' s presence at the earliest opportunity. To disprove this Monty left Woody on one side of the pen and invited the audience to clap suddenly and loudly, whereupon the horse ran straight to Monty - his safety zone! So much for the traumatic experience... This demonstration took just 22 minutes.

The second horse to enter the pen was Smudge, a lovely big grey mare. She was an 11 year old who has been with her present owners for just a year during which time she had been perfect to handle with one exception -she was impossible to shoe. So much so that the mare had to be tranquillised in order to have her feet trimmed and it took two people to hold her.

'Smudge' allows Ian to rub her hind legs

Monty pointed out that after loading problems, phobias concerning Farriers were the second most common, since there are always some who believe that 'difficult' horses ought to be 'sorted out'.... Join-up was quickly established with Smudge although she was obviously still nervous. Monty said that she was feeling over-controlled and worried, thinking "What is he going to do to me? I have to respond since he speaks my language..."

Monty did a lot of work on Smudge in the Loually halter which works on the facial ganglia, releasing endorphins, thus relaxing the horse. Smudge tried to evade him by continually pushing forward which be explained was a survival technique, but he soon had her moving in all directions including backwards.

Monty stressed the need to congratulate her whenever she did what he asked of her and with the aid of a false arm she was rubbed all over and stood quietly on a loose rope. Gradually he moved his hands all down her legs and although Smudge had planted herself and was visibly quivering, she accepted all of this.. .The audience could sense what a great step this was for the mare and there was a very hushed atmosphere as in came the 'farrier' for the night, Ian, to put her to the test. He also rubbed her legs and she allowed him to pick up all of her feet before finally he picked her hind feet and rasped them. All the time she stood quietly and yet she had been terrified when shown a rasp early in the demonstration. It was an extremely moving moment to see this horse overcome her phobia and finally put her trust in people once more. Her owner was incredulous.

'Harriet' In the saddle...

The next animal came with a reputation of being a bucker and a bolter, a skewbald pony that was said to have been badly treated as a youngster by gypsies and who basically didn't want anything to do with people. He moved off with his head hidden away from Monty but after a while he too responded to join-up. By walking in arcs towards the pony Monty was soon able to get him to follow around the ring. Amazingly there were no 'fireworks' when he was shown a saddle although he was nervous, but before long that was sitting on his back and he didn't buck once. All the time Monty carried on talking to him with a gentle voice and his calmness transmitted to the pony. When the girth was tightened he didn't move and then was sent away around the pen.

....the pony quietly accepts a 'real' rider

Enter Harriet - a 'model' rider in the most literal sense! And one who had never been bucked off... The dummy bounced and flopped on the pony's back before a real rider came in and mounted the pony without difficulty. The pair proceeded to canter around the ring and rein back before being dismounted. Hopefully this pony now has a positive future in front of him.

Finally we were shown 2 horses who refused to load into a horsebox or trailer -a large young black stallion and a bay mare called Star. The latter could not be persuaded to box on the day in question and had therefore been ridden many miles into to attend. With Monty working on Star and his assistant on the stallion, we watched both horses join-up with their handlers. The mare simply would not back up at first and Monty said she was so wooden that it was like pushing on a post! A horsebox had been backed into the edge of the arena and at first neither horse would approach it, in fact the stallion flung himself over rather than do so. Monty said how vital it is to have good footing when loading horses since it gives them confidence and he also recommended using wings on a lorry.

When Star was moved to the trailer, she was backed up ie., away from it. Her puzzlement was obvious because Monty would not let her walk forwards! She was then presented to the horsebox again and was asked to walk up the ramp - which she did without a moment 's hesitation much to her owners complete amazement! Exactly the same response came from the stallion and then the two horses were walking alternately in and out of the box over and over again, totally at ease with themselves and their handlers. It was a remarkable display and one which I am sure will have left a lasting impression with all the members of the audience.

I urge you to take advantage of any opportunity to see a Monty Roberts demonstration live. Just watching a video doesn't quite prepare you for the reality of it which is a revelation. Make sure also that you attend a demonstration either by Monty in person or one of his team, since there are some people who purport to use his methods without having a full grasp of them and following their example might do more harm than good.

Monty' s representative in the UK is Kelly Marks who holds a variety of courses aimed at improving the way in which we both handle and ride horses.

For further details contact Kelly on:
tel 01488 71300
fax 01488 73783
email kelly@montyroberts.co.uk
or Click Here