What do you think of Monty Robert's horse training method?

Question

What do you think of Monty Robert's horse training method?

Answer 1

LOVE it! If you ever get the chance to see the man in person, do it. He truly is amazing. I've read all his books, and it makes perfect sense to me.

If you have to dominate a horse to get cooperation, what have you really accomplished? A horse that is treated in the manner Monty teaches is a total pleasure to be around.

I have seen him and Pony Boy in action, and gentling a horse is the way to go (IMHO).

Answer 2

I really, really like him. If he were working with people, we would be calling him a linguist- that is, a person who studies and is an expert on language structure and syntax. As it is, I have his book ( the original one) and I love watching him work. His method of training horses is by far one of the most humane I have ever seen anywhere, and he has managed to prove that horses do indeed have a language of their own- a non-verbal language that we must learn to read and interpret if we are to understand horses and become partners and friends with them. My only regret where Monty is concerned is that he had to suffer terrible abuse and cruelty himself before the value of what he was doing and is continuing to do was finally recognized. No one deserves to live in an atmosphere of abuse and cruelty- neither horses or people. I actually have tried to use some of the "join up", and "follow up" techinques he has invented- and they really work !!  So my hat is off to Monty- in his own way, he is a hero to a lot of us.

Answer 3

D'ya know, I met Monty Roberts and his wife Pat in the 1970's, long before he became the guru of "horse whispering."  He was, and is, an excellent trainer, particularly good at unravelling horses that have become problems because of poor training or abuse.  Any competent horseman can take a green horse that is a "blank slate" and train it;  but what separates the "wheat from the chaff" is how well a trainer can work with a horse that somebody else screwed up because of incompetence, ignorance or abuse.  Monty Roberts is the "real deal" in terms of what he does with horses.

That said, he is far from the only trainer out there who can unravel and fix a spoiled horse.  I've known other trainers who can do the same thing and do it well;  and I've been fortunate to see a few in action who not only could fix a spoiled horse, but were good enough communicators to explain the basis for what they were doing and explain how to avoid getting to that point with the horse in the first place!

People who really understand how to work horses start with a basic grounding in animal behavior and a large portion of patience, patience, patience.  They understand that the training process does not proceed linearly;  there are regressions and digressions.  They understand that you have to work with the horse's nature, not against it;  and they understand above all else that you cannot use force to achieve training.  And they never mistake abuse for discipline, or discipline for abuse.

Answer 4

My daughter has used his training methods and has had a lot of success with it. The round-penning method that he calls "join-up", causes a horse to see you as the "leader" and to look to you for guidance, but does not suggest any cruelty. It is a humane and successful method to train a horse, using the concept of the dominant mare in a herd. Horses always need someone to be the leader (unless they are the leader - and that isn't very good for a riding horse), and this method helps establish the right relationship in this regard. Additionally, any ground training, including "trick-training", increases the horse's positive response to you.