Natural horsemanship methods

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iloveCharlie5

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has anyone had any success stories with natural horsemanship methods such as Monty Roberts's Join Up? If so, please share! Also, please add tips about how to do these methods! Thanks so much :D <3
 
My little girl (9 yrs) and her little pony do join up for fun and its so lovely to watch as where Kirsty go's Poppy follows :D also they have never had or even seen natural horsemanship thay just have a natural bond :D
 
A few rearing when loaded as they had been previously attempted to load by the Monty method. Two who came to us for backing were very nervous of someone sitting on them, it transpired that a dummy had been used to attempt to back them, obviously it hadnt worked as they wouldnt have come to us if it had. It took a while to get over the fears of something on their backs.
My pony also follows me and plays hide and seek! I have never indulged in any form of 'natural horsemanship'.
 
I've had mixed results with join-up, most probably due to my own incapabilities but also due to one or two horses not 'warming' to it. Considering the kind of horses that they were, I think they had for so long been taught never to touch the handler, go anywhere near their space and to stay well out when being lunged, that it took them a long time to realise that I was actially asking them to come in to me and yes, I meant it! Also, people give horses so many mixed messages that horses have to learn which signals to ignore and which to respond to, and some horses can become so dead to their handler's signals because they are contradictory, inconsistent or the horse is reprimanded for reacting to them that they are very difficult to re-sensitise to the subtle messages given by the handler. This isn't only regarding some handlers either, because we can't all 'speak' in horse language all the time when around them, but some people are 'louder' with their signals, i.e. highly emotional/rushing/stressed people which the horse has to self learn to ignore to protect their own mental state! I find that this particularly applies to join-up, as the exercise is primarily horse-led, and thus the horse's responsibility to 'speak' to the handler when s/he is ready. Other groundwork exercises are far more handler-led and so it is easier to manipulate change in the horse.
I absolutely LOVE groundwork! It is so fun and interesting and the sky really is the limit! There is far more scope than in the typical disciplines to do what you want to do and tailor what & how you teach your horse. From teaching the horses to lead well (walking, trotting and halting when I do without having to be asked) teaching the horse to yield his quarters and forehand, lower his head, stretches, and - most of all :D - tackle labyrinths and assault courses ;) made from poles, jumps and any kind of ostacles I can find - from walking through narrow spaces made my jump blocks, walking over raised poles, jumping strange objects at liberty, through flags, over tarpaulin and under bunting ... above all I love watching the horse think and learn and enjoy well-deserved praise. It's fun, mentally and physically stimulating, and helps to create an awesome bond. :)
 
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IH worked for me with loading issues - most of it is common sense but if you aren't brought up on horses, not always obvious. But like anything, methods are only as good as the handler but it made sense to me, he seemed to react better, I have a much better understanding of his personality and we've never had a loading issue since (crosses fingers and toes)...
 
Bernster said:
IH worked for me with loading issues - most of it is common sense but if you aren't brought up on horses, not always obvious. But like anything, methods are only as good as the handler but it made sense to me, he seemed to react better, I have a much better understanding of his personality and we've never had a loading issue since (crosses fingers and toes)...
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Yes, it is people without a clue, learning from a DVD, that do it badly...
 
I am a big fan of NH or whatever you want to call it for the simple reason it keeps the rules clear between horse and human and ultimately your safety. I use all sorts of tips from different trainers but the message is the same, if you can direct a horses feet then by nature they should see you as leader. A lot of people dont like Clinton Anderson but I think he is great. His methods may seem a little harsh but you can refine them to suit your horses level of sensitivity.
 
Paris1 said:
A few rearing when loaded as they had been previously attempted to load by the Monty method. Two who came to us for backing were very nervous of someone sitting on them, it transpired that a dummy had been used to attempt to back them, obviously it hadnt worked as they wouldnt have come to us if it had. It took a while to get over the fears of something on their backs.
My pony also follows me and plays hide and seek! I have never indulged in any form of 'natural horsemanship'.
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Oh no! That sounds pretty bad :/
awww i bet that's cute! :)
Kath
 
Puzzles said:
I've had mixed results with join-up, most probably due to my own incapabilities but also due to one or two horses not 'warming' to it. Considering the kind of horses that they were, I think they had for so long been taught never to touch the handler, go anywhere near their space and to stay well out when being lunged, that it took them a long time to realise that I was actially asking them to come in to me and yes, I meant it! Also, people give horses so many mixed messages that horses have to learn which signals to ignore and which to respond to, and some horses can become so dead to their handler's signals because they are contradictory, inconsistent or the horse is reprimanded for reacting to them that they are very difficult to re-sensitise to the subtle messages given by the handler. This isn't only regarding some handlers either, because we can't all 'speak' in horse language all the time when around them, but some people are 'louder' with their signals, i.e. highly emotional/rushing/stressed people which the horse has to self learn to ignore to protect their own mental state! I find that this particularly applies to join-up, as the exercise is primarily horse-led, and thus the horse's responsibility to 'speak' to the handler when s/he is ready. Other groundwork exercises are far more handler-led and so it is easier to manipulate change in the horse.
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Could you recommend any groundwork exercises that would help the horse respect me and stop being bargy and pushy? Thanks so much!
Kath
 
Since there have been some mixed feelings about Natural Horsemanship methods such as Join Up, can anyone recommend any simple groundwork exercises that would help horses to respect you, your space, and not be so pushy and bargy?
Thank you all for your quick responses!
:D
 
Puzzles said:
I've had mixed results with join-up, most probably due to my own incapabilities but also due to one or two horses not 'warming' to it. Considering the kind of horses that they were, I think they had for so long been taught never to touch the handler, go anywhere near their space and to stay well out when being lunged, that it took them a long time to realise that I was actially asking them to come in to me and yes, I meant it! Also, people give horses so many mixed messages that horses have to learn which signals to ignore and which to respond to, and some horses can become so dead to their handler's signals because they are contradictory, inconsistent or the horse is reprimanded for reacting to them that they are very difficult to re-sensitise to the subtle messages given by the handler. This isn't only regarding some handlers either, because we can't all 'speak' in horse language all the time when around them, but some people are 'louder' with their signals, i.e. highly emotional/rushing/stressed people which the horse has to self learn to ignore to protect their own mental state! I find that this particularly applies to join-up, as the exercise is primarily horse-led, and thus the horse's responsibility to 'speak' to the handler when s/he is ready. Other groundwork exercises are far more handler-led and so it is easier to manipulate change in the horse.
I absolutely LOVE groundwork! It is so fun and interesting and the sky really is the limit! There is far more scope than in the typical disciplines to do what you want to do and tailor what & how you teach your horse. From teaching the horses to lead well (walking, trotting and halting when I do without having to be asked) teaching the horse to yield his quarters and forehand, lower his head, stretches, and - most of all :D - tackle labyrinths and assault courses ;) made from poles, jumps and any kind of ostacles I can find - from walking through narrow spaces made my jump blocks, walking over raised poles, jumping strange objects at liberty, through flags, over tarpaulin and under bunting ... above all I love watching the horse think and learn and enjoy well-deserved praise. It's fun, mentally and physically stimulating, and helps to create an awesome bond. :)
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I LOVE the groundwork ideas you said! I will definitely use those! I don't do much groundwork, but I think I will start doing more of it now, and use some of your ideas! They are brilliant!!!!
:D
 
Paris1 said:
I've seen a few horses traumatised by some of these methods though.
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When done properly and following the methods shown by such as Monty Roberts, it does not traumatise horses, it does exactly the opposite and calms and relaxes them.
If a horse is becoming stressed or anywhere near traumatised, then you should stop immediately and leave it to someone who knows what they are doing.
 
iloveCharlie5 said:
I LOVE the groundwork ideas you said! I will definitely use those! I don't do much groundwork, but I think I will start doing more of it now, and use some of your ideas! They are brilliant!!!!
:D
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I'm no expert but will do my best! Will PM you do as not to hijack thread :)
(I have a 25 minute presentation to write for tomorrow but this is so much more interesting:D)
 
I have a pony who wad very bargy and would run you over I have halter training him has made a huge difference and he has learnt to respect my space more, I worked out of Richard Maxwells book I find most of his methods work are easy to follow and no unnecessary gumph. I haven't gone through join up with him but he follows me and my daughter around in fact she can't putty his head collar on because she can't reach but her just follows her up the field anyway!
 
*wanders in with warm popcorn*

OP.. go on to you tube, and search pat parelli and monty roberts.. lots of vids there you can watch.
 
Puzzles said:
I'm no expert but will do my best! Will PM you do as not to hijack thread :)
(I have a 25 minute presentation to write for tomorrow but this is so much more interesting:D)
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Oh i'm really sorry to be keeping you from your work, but I agree that it is much more interesting, I am always like that; I ban myself from the laptop when im doing work!! Thank you so much!! I am trying to make a groundwork plan to work on with my pony, and I will add your ideas in! I will read the PM now :)
 
Cupcakes and Horses said:
I have a pony who wad very bargy and would run you over I have halter training him has made a huge difference and he has learnt to respect my space more, I worked out of Richard Maxwells book I find most of his methods work are easy to follow and no unnecessary gumph. I haven't gone through join up with him but he follows me and my daughter around in fact she can't putty his head collar on because she can't reach but her just follows her up the field anyway!
Click to expand...
Do you think that you could put on some exercises that you found most helpful? Thanks :)
 
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