Opinions on Monty Roberts?

[wench]

Just wondered what people think of him? I bought a DVD on how to long rein and it was quite informative and useful, although possibly some bits I possibly wouldn't do!

I haven't been to see his demos, but more the dvd's!

I have seen Kelly marks on the tv and cannot stand her!

 

[be positive]

I think he is a very good businessman who markets himself extremely well, I think he does have welfare of the horse at heart unlike some others that are in a similar business.

 

[TPO]

Sticky marketed much like Pat P.

Personally do not like him at all; the Shy Boy escapade was the final straw.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Put all the experts methods together and then pick out any relevant hints and tips that will help you. There is no need to slavishly follow any of their methods, all horses are different. There is a lot to be learnt, apart from Parelli methods, from all of them.

The body language that Kelly and Monty Roberts teach proved to be very relevant with my feral cart horse. The dually and the Maxwell halter also came into their own with the rude barge horse. Both items are collecting dust now having done their job.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I have seen Kelly marks on the tv and cannot stand her!

I've met Kelly Marks and she's lovely! Kind and genuine, with no 'side' to her. MR is undoubtedly a good businessman, but I reckon that he is also a genuine horseman. Completely different from the tainted Parelli brand.

The late chesnut git was one of the original demo horses at Stoneleigh when Horse and Hound brought MR over in the late 80s. He was 3yo and genuinely had never worn a saddle, but MR had him ridden and cantering calmly in 30 minutes.

We were quite disappointed, as the horse had attitude and we had expected fireworks! However, he was putty in MR's hands .

Agree with AA, the best approach is to pick out which techniques are sensible and useful for your own case. I've used the dreaded Parelli approach to get my claustrophobic mare to load, but was taught by a friend who followed the techniques, but with compassion and patience.

 

[TrasaM]

I like both MR and KM.. Of course they market their system.. It's how they earn a living. Should they be doing it for free? They and others like them have done a lot for peoples understanding of how horses think Nd how to train without fear or pain. I recently found a video on youtube of when MR did a clinic in Germany ( I think) One of the horses was an Arab mare who was extremely jumpy and reacted to fear by lashing out. He narrowly avoided being kicked by her a few times. By the end she was allowing him to pick up her feet and was following him quietly. I think he went ahead and got a rider on her because once he got her trust she changed dramatically.
As ADorable Alice says.. Pick and chose which bits you use from various trainers.and.find the method which best suits your horse's way of learning.

 

[TarrSteps]

The thing is, none of these people have reinvented the wheel, they are simply marketing quite established techniques. There are even British horsemen of the same ilk - Henry Blake comes to mind - but they've just not caught the public imagination like the cowboys.

I think the real catch is they are all very good horsemen, regardless of what you may think of them personally or professionally. 'Following' their teachings is a bit like following Carl Hester's or Mark Todd's or George Morris' - there is a lot to take away but don't kid yourself you're going to get the same results in a week. Also, I think a lot of those guys underestimate that gulf and the role their techniques play in their success, vs their experience and ability.

 

[Nicnac]

I like a lot of what he does and of course he's got good marketing - he needs to earn money like the rest of us. Take what works for you and keep the rest in the back of your mind for if/when you need it.

I also found his work with teenagers with challenging behaviours very interesting. He has taken a lot of difficult kids in and worked with them. Something that he doesn't brag about nor does he get paid for it. I find him a pretty genuine guy.

Have also seen a demo with him and KM but it was when she was relatively new in MR's world and it showed but found her very approachable.

 

[applecart14]

I took my horse to a loading demo with Monty and Kelly last year at Solihull Riding Club and we 'performed' in front of 850 people. I was so proud of my horse, God bless him, his manners were impeccable and he didn't seemed at all phased by what was going on. He found the join up incredibly easy, as I have done loads of this kind of stuff with him in the past. He joins up with me in about 30 seconds! And I have done loads of walking over tarpaulin, under things, etc too. But I was dissapointed as I didn't really have the process explained to me. I got the 'take up to ramp, rein back using the dually and do it enough the horse will get so pi**ed off it will load' bit. BUt I didn't understand why you had to go through this process, and how this would really work 'in the real world'.

I didn't really get any tuition which I thought I would get. To be fair I did do a 'write up' of the day on this forum and Kelly Marks came on and we exchanged some messages and also some PM's. I explained how I felt frustrated by what I believed was a bit of a let down in teaching and she explained to me that that wasn't really the idea of the demonstration, which I did understand in the end.

Monty was a nice bloke. I was totally amazed with my confidence, I didn't feel in the slightest bit phased by meeting him. He didn't feel that the reason I said my horse wouldn't load was real and I felt that he didn't get the reasoning behind what I felt was a justified reason for Bailey not loading.

I love watching Kelly on her 'Top Marks' programme on Horse and Country TV and seeing her beautiful horse Harry and their relationship and I would love, JUST LOVE to spend the day at her place and learn from her. Watching her Harry learning to jump was wonderful. She is an amazing rider, very talented and a lovely person, kind of heart I think. I just wished she'd have spent some time watching me load into MY trailer, and see what the problem was, what I was doing wrong and why he was not doing what he should be doing!

I felt very let down by the diagnosis of why my horse wouldn't load, as they said it was because the trailer was too low for him. The same horse had been practically knocking me off the ramp to get into the blooming trailer for 7 and a half years prior to him overnight not loading after being terrified whilst at a show venue when he saw some pigs in a paddock and stood there pratically trembling with fear. He hadn't suddenly grown a hand at the age of 15.

 

[Alec Swan]

Since time immemorial there have been individuals who have gone beyond the average-horseman bit and have been considered as horse whisperers. Would Monty Roberts have been the first, or one of them, to turn his abilities in to a show and to commercialise it?

Whilst many who work with horses on a similar level, and I know two who are internationally well known, may wear hats of professional jealousy, and their methods my be refined versions of Roberts, I suspect that without the early influence, of Roberts himself, giving our modern day wonder workers the confidence that they could also manipulate and direct the equine psyche to their own ends, then they would probably be as the rest of us.

I agree his commercial slant is irritating, but his abilities are probably still as valid today as they've always been.

We should really concentrate on the results, rather than the delivery, I'd suggest.

Alec.

 

[dogatemysalad]

He's a good horseman and is able to demonstrate methods that are user friendly for novices and the experienced alike.
He does have an American sales pitch which is a bit alien to us in the UK.

Can't stand the Parelli's though. Awful people.

 

[applecart14]

Can't stand the Parelli's though. Awful people.

I personally hate the hat that Linda wears. With her hair all sticking out the top. How weird

Here is the hat! http://www.parelli.com/linda-parelli.html

 

[hobo]

I watched H & C yesterday and was upset how he handled the Arab I thought he was rough. Also he said that at least 95% of other people backing horses the horse bucks with the first rider where he only has 5% what crap. I have backed 4 and none of them have bucked with first ride so that must make my strike rate 0%.
I feel he is a bully. This is just my view but I feel quite strongly about it.

 

[TarrSteps]

The business about "harsh" backing methods and horses bucking is a well known point of contention and a reason why many good horsemen roll their eyes at Monty. He has been heavily invested in painting "everyone else" as practicing very crude starting methods but this is simply not true and most people laughs about it. It's too bad he has felt the need to promote his own methods by running down other people, especially without any basis and evoking a bygone age that, in many ways, never even existed. This has been an issue for the people who have spoken out against his writings, too - he has, by many accounts, exaggerated quite a lot to promote himself as breaking away from a cruel tradition. It's too bad as it denies the good people who have gone before.

 

[maccachic]

Take the bits you like and find that work and develop your own style. Most people have some insight which can be valuable, you just need to identify what will work with you / your situation / horse. Trying to blindly follow someone else is not a good style in my opinion.

 

[madmav]

He is undoubtedly a brilliant, instinctive horseman. Seen his demo and I've read a few of his books, including his autobiography, which appears to include some real whoppers. James Dean was driving to his house the night he died?? Why would he say something like that when it can be so obviously proved to be untrue? That worries me.

 

[rachyblue]

I like Warwick Schiller. Very blunt and seems to hate warmbloods, but he seems to get good results without too much flannel in between.

Think this was the first one I saw - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n0ag4qmG5g