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The Listening Lounge

comments on the forum!!!

Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed

I have been very concerned about the advice I have seen given on the Uni.
Some advice has been downright dangerous.
Horses are dangerous and many people are injured daily because of bad advice or lack of knowledge.
I am happy that instructors are now involved and I pray that their advice will be firm and fair.
If you are in doubt about a subject, READING about it and posting it can be dangerous to those who are inexperienced and feel, I will try this!
Experience is the greatest teacher as Dennis once said. Pay close attention to this advice it could save you life.
There are many on the UNI who have been through so much and have offered their advice, take it.
You can tell if someone is knowledgeable, it is clear in their advice.
I am saying this becauce I do not want anyone to be injured or worse.

Horse addict (From the good old USA)
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed

good advice!

May - Holland
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed

Hi Ronda,

Funny again.... and you know what I mean.
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As a lot of you know I am working with Renske and now also with Luuk.
Luuk is 2 and a half years old and I am training him to prepare him for the bigger advances.
I have to share Renske and Luuk now with an other lady and I am not very happy with that.
I will tell you why.
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She is 27 years old and doesn't see the danger!!!!
She puts Renske on the ring but let her stand loose.
There are tractors passing the farm and Renske reacts on that and the lady doesn't see how dangereuos it is to leave Renske like that.
Also the broken saddle is still an issue. She says, I don't feel anything and so it doesn't bother me, so I will ride with that saddle.
Also with Luuk, she is training him now as well, but is not experieced.
She is as far as I am.... a beginner and I think I am further in my knowledge about horses then she is. Because of the lessons, the books and the forum and my dually halter.
But what I say it doesn't come through to her and the owner.
I told her that I am training Luuk and doing join-up etc...She didn't know where I am talking about.
She doesn't care and is doing her own things with Luuk.
Well I know Luuk now a little bit and Luuk is a dominant little young fellow. So if he wants to go wrong he will do that, I am sure. She is not training in a field or round pen, just behind the farm with an open space/way to the road!!!
Our training is not the same so I am going to stop training Luuk to save him from different way's what is confusing Luuk.
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I am concerend about Renske and Luuk that something is going wrong.I keep an eye on situations and will do my best to save those two beautifull horses for danger when I am working with them.
The owner said yesterday as well o you don't have to put Renske on the ring. I see stranger things here with Renske when the other lady is working with Renske, he said.
I told him; 1. Renske is not my horse so I am responsible, 2. I can never see and know what the situation will be, something can fall out of the air, or a mouse is passing, 3. Renske will flight, that's for sure if something is dangerous for her, 4 I treat Renske if it was my own horse, with care and love and attention.
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Hope you understand what I will say with this.
Unexperienced and I think also age and feeling no danger/fear can make very dangerous situations.
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What I experienced from the forum is positive information and I discuss it also with my trainer, who is teaching me to ride and do groundwork. And I use a lot of your good information and support to read and watch the lessons again.
And if it doesn't give me a good feeling that I can handle your good advice I DON'T DO IT.
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I understand you Ronda....
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Be carefull doing new things yourself... think about it, if you are capable/experienced to try it out.
If you have somebody who can help or support you, I think that's a good option.
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Do I miss the nail with this commend?
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Have a nice day, May

nelliebell
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed

Hi Ronda
I totally agree with your post :-) It is a really nice thing that you have concern for others abilities and have expressed your concern in a kind and diplomatic way :-)

I too agree that horses can be very unpredictable and dangerous. On all my Monty dvd's it has in large writing that only experienced horse people should deal with problem or unbroken/unhandled horses.

I recently had a situation with a friend of mine who had to move her two thouroughbred horses to a new property an hours drive away. One of whom is a problem floater. She did a very safe thing by putting the float in the paddock with gates closed so if there was an issue the horses could not be in any danger from cars passing by. well her first horse went in no problems, but the second one sniffed the bottom of the first and this frightened him so he went crazy and broke the bum chain as he fled the float! We had a rest then she expressed concerns as they had never been transported together before this so i suggested we do two trips if she felt safer that way. We did it that way and even though it took twice as long, it was safe...that is the key isn't it! Well the drama did not end there!! The property she is now on has a herd of horses belonging to a neighbour, one of which is a stallion. When we arrived with the second horse we realised a gate between her first horse and the neighbours herd had been left open so her two horses ended up with the stallion and he was not at all happy to share his girls with them. The stallion was screaming and lunging out with his fromt feet...so what does my friend do?? she charges on in to save her horses! I do not have any experience with stallions and neither does she so i was not feeling in my comfort zone at all. She obviously did not realise that stallions will protect their girls fiercely, even where humans are concerned! I did advise her not to try and come between her horses and the stallion but to wait for him to back off and let us in. My friend did listen and eventually the stallion backed off and let us in to get her horses but it just showed me that sometimes you just have to STOP, think, assess the situation and then make a decision. Doing anything with horses without fore thought is dangerous and even though i only 30 i never rush anything and i never do anything i don't feel 100 percent capable of doing. None of us want an injury! I always wear a Safety vest and a helmet when i am riding, some people think vests and helmets sre for competition riders only but it is my opinion that they are for everyone!

May, i do wish you the best of luck with your situation with Renske and Luuk! You have done a very selfless and honourable thing by stepping back with Luuk...that must have been a hard decision to make. I hope someday you have a horse of your very own to love and care for :-)

Ronda, Thank you for bringing up the subject of safety, and safe advice giving :-)

Janelle

Certified Instructor Ann Lindberg/Sweden
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed

Dear All!
As an Certified Instructor I hope I can fullfill your needs in writing here at the FORUM. As you have seen, many of us, the CI´s of Monty Roberts are now helping out and commenting many of the discussions on the FORUM. Please keep us posted - we are trained to detect the problems and symtoms in horse and human behavoir and are proffessional in our approach in the Join-Up(r) tecnique and horsemanship.
Warmest MRCI Ann Lindberg/Sweden

nelliebell
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed

Hi Ann, It is wonderful to see more of the instructors being involved on the forum! Some of us are unable to access hands on help from a trained professional in Monty's methods so it is really nice to have your input :-) Lynn Mitchell has given me some advice on here that helped me heaps so i am very thankful!
Janelle

star
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed

Thank you each one of you.
For me this shows you are responsible people.
Thank you Ann for your response as well.
My point was and is, if you do not know, do not speculate.
We all need safe and experienced advice.
Now this does not mean we shouldn't share our experiences, all can learn from others but when asked a specific question, let the experience of our old timers teach us.
I have learned so much from some of you, experiences I have not encountered but have now been warned about I can use so that I can know what to do if I am ever in that situation.
Be safe!!!
Ronda

MaggieF, Melbourne - Australia
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed

Thanks Ronda for raising this. Thanks also to Certified Instructors who are now helping us out on Forum. It is fantastic to see your input and I am sure we all appreciate it immensely. In general I think most cotributors to forum think carefully about the advice they give. I find all the comments interesting and worthwhile - if I do not agree with something then I find it is still worthwhile having it out there for consideration as I can reflect on it and hence consolidate my own thinking. If some advice given is dangerous then I think other forum readers will quickly pick this up and challenge it. Variety is important and that is what makes forum so interesting.

emlaw
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Ronda, you make an excellent point. You cannot be too careful or safety conscious around horses. If there is any doubt or concern, it is imperative for people to do their research and if necessary ask a professional for help. There is no shame in this and I think perhaps too many people try to muddle along, worrying that people will think less of them if they ask for help. Sometimes there is more than one way to deal with a problem, but either way safety for horse and handler/rider is paramount. The forum is a great vehicle for learning from others, and long may it continue.