Kelly Marks vs Richard Maxwell

Taffyhorse

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Ok,well not quite Kelly Marks vs Richard Maxwell but I just wondered if anyone had any experience in their methods and which one they got more out of?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm quite interested in learning a bit more about 'intelligent horsemanship' and their methods in particular (not interested in Parelli!!) as I've never really explored it before and would like to know more about it so was considering doing one of their courses. I come from the 'common sense or traditional' school - that's not to diss any of the work they do (or natural horsemanship in particular though i don't like the phrase which sort of indicates that any other way is artificial), I've just never had a particular reason or interest to study it further but now I do (have an interest that is) and you can never have too many tools in the armoury as people say.

I know they both trained with Monty Roberts but Kelly Marks seems to have stayed more closely allied with his principles (and he's all over her website) whilst Richard Maxwell seems to use some of the techniques promoted by Monty but also uses a more traditional approach too and appears to have distanced himself from Monty but I don't know why.

So any thoughts or experiences you have would be gratefully received :)

PS: I know NH can be a bit of a sensitive issue but I'd really appreciate it if this thread didn't turn into a traditional vs NH one - if I get any replies that is :)
 

Archie07

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Personally I'm a big Kelly/ Monty fan. I have a few Richard Maxwell books but I get on much better with IH and it works for me and my pony. I've attended all of the IH courses she runs and they are fab! I really really really enjoyed every single one, even the classroom based ones. Everything from the hands on training, the lectures, the people on the courses themselves, the tutors and the horses really were great, I came back from every course buzzing and completely knackered, they really are good value for money. If this is your first course or venture into IH I'd recommend the Perfect Manners weekend course first as it's an allrounder type overview to the techniques and thoughts of IH, that's the one I did first and it got me hooked ever since!

Enjoy!
 

saddlesore

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I have read both of their books (all of!!) and find the Richard MAxwell ones much more accessible and easy to follow. I have done a lot of his work with my last horse and current one and have really enjoyed doing so, his dvds are also excellent and the forum is good too, not at all fluffy lol.

What I like about both of them however is that they retain traditional prinicples and both work well with English style riding. :D
 

Vetwrap

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I think that they are both very good teachers and they both work under the ethos of "do no harm".
I would look at both - use both websites, read both's books (sorry - not good English there!)
That way, you will have a lot of different ways to look at situation and deal with them accordingly. The one thing that all horsepeople agree on is that there is no one way to accomplish something. Different ways work for different people and different horses.
 

Bertthefrog

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I have had dealings with Richard Maxwell in the past - he seemed a genuinely talented horseman.

Kelly Marks I can't stand - she makes me see red as soon as she opens her mouth!
 

abbieandfiona

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Have met Kelly Marks at a demo she used my mare in, wasnt over-impressed with her but i did like her approach. Not had anything to do with Richard Maxwell however his pressure headcollar i love and use on my mare.
 

kikiD

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Not had dealings with them personally but have attended both of their demos and read their books. I prefer Richard Maxwell, his demo's were much more accessible, explaining everything he was doing and seemed very down to earth whereas Kelly Marks seemed to be about the showmanship of the demo, expecting applause after certain things which irritated me slightly.
 

Taffyhorse

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Thanks all. So it seems the general preference is for Richard Maxwell. I will have a look at both though.

Do you know if he does certified courses in the same way that KM does? And does anyone know why he has pulled back from such a close association with Monty Roberts?

Not after gossip (but never turn it down!) but I am curious as to the reasoning behind this.

Cheers :)
 

Bertthefrog

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Thanks all. So it seems the general preference is for Richard Maxwell. I will have a look at both though.

Do you know if he does certified courses in the same way that KM does? And does anyone know why he has pulled back from such a close association with Monty Roberts?

Not after gossip (but never turn it down!) but I am curious as to the reasoning behind this.

Cheers :)

Not sure - but I know he has a website !
 

ISHmad

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I like both of them. Richard Maxwell is very refreshing as he isn't all about selling you things which does get a bit irritating at IH Demos and is plain speaking. I also like that he has taken bits and pieces from all areas of horsemanship to find what works best for him. He's not stuck in any one approach and is willing to experiment with different techniques.

Kelly Marks comes across as very knowledgeable, definitely more comfortable with horses than people (not a bad thing in my book) and has helped lots of horses and people.

I'd stay open minded about both, have a look at some of their books etc and maybe go and see them both at Demos to see who you prefer before parting with too much cash. You'll enjoy seeing how they both work I reckon anyway.
 

htobago

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Thanks all. So it seems the general preference is for Richard Maxwell. I will have a look at both though.



Cheers :)

Actually I think the preferences seem fairly evenly split between the two - with quite a few people saying that both are good.

I'm afraid I don't know Richard Maxwell, although I like his books. I do know Kelly, and can vouch for the fact that she is very open-minded and not at all dogmatic about her methods. She got on extremely well with my YO, who is very traditional (BHSI, BE accredited trainer, trains pupils for BHS exams, etc).

What I especially like about Kelly is that she is very much a 'horses for courses' trainer - having met my stallion, for example, she told me straight away that he would not be a suitable candidate for 'join-up', even though this technique is one of the cornerstones of her approach.

She is genuinely intelligent. And although I haven't been on her courses, I know many people who have, and have learnt a lot from her.

(Richard Maxwell may well be equally good, of course!):)
 
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