I am familiar with most all of the current trainers, and my preference is Monty. My reason is that Monty explains what he is doing and why, while he is doing it. Pat Parelli has a habit of rambling with stories and jokes while he is doing something, but not explaining what he is doing and why when he is doing it. The main thing is to be consistant and non-violent. Gain your horse's trust and you'll both be rewarded.

Kansas Jack

I think there are "raisins" to be picked from every "cake". Look at all teachings you can find, but be critical and try to take a step back so you don't get "starstruck" from a quick glimpse. Get the whole picture and don't judge from one session - be it bad or good!
Then you can pick out the parts you like, and - as Kansas Jack so wisely says; "The main thing is to be consistant and non-violent. Gain your horse's trust and you'll both be rewarded."

Thanksa Kansas Jack and Kicki!
You are a real help

Rewarding a horse by realeasing all pressure when he moves off it...and the continued refining of that basic requirement is the foundation stone of all good horsemanship..Equitation has been written about for hundreds of years,by men,as if it were extremely complex...when really it is very simple,as demonstrated,by Mr.Roberts.

thanks Rachel!

Remember,
Not all "Natural Horsemanship" is "Non-Violent Horsemanship".
Natural Horsemanship means working with the horse in his natural language, many natural horsemanship clinicians never claim to be non voilent.
There are only a few actual non-violent natural horsemanship clinicians.

I am currently studying an equine science degree that specialises in natural horsemanship and complementary therapies. we study both monthy roberts and parelli. this semester we are looking at parelli. i have always liked the way monty works so was perhaps a little less open minded to the parelli way of doing things. However, many of the horses have built up a lot of confidence using the parelli methods and it has made me realise, at least, that every horse is different and in turn respond differently. some may prefer monty and vice versa. I have decided that by studying various ways to do things with an open mind, not only do you broaden your knowledge but you can also choose which parts you like and think could be effective with your horse eg. the parelli games, for example, and combine that with the join up technique. it all comes down to what suits you and your horse =)

Parelli got me out of a big hole with a thoroughbred I used to own, it helped me understand more why he behaved how he did and what I was doing to cause that behaviour. for example I'd worry he'd spook, so I'd be nervy around him.. so he'd spook which then lead to not being able to catch him etc...
I definitely think like kicki said there are parts of nearly any method that could prove useful and parelli definitely has it's place, it's made me 1000% more confident with horses on the ground.
hope that helps
chaz

I think Parelli has got some good methods and i certainly don't think he is violent with his horses. However, he does do a lot of games, for example getting his horse to kick a ball, bow, stand on a block. I don't really see the practicality in these tricks. All of Monty's lessons and teachings are for things that the horse will encounter in real life and are things that will improve the horse in some way, so i think it is a lot more beneficial. It just seems to me that Parelli's tricks are crowd pleasers and circus acts.

I believe there is merit in all the methods. I use different things for different horses. Watch and learn from all the masters and then work out what works for you in a given situation. thats my 2 penth worth.

I can count on one finger how many non-violent, natural horsemanship trainers have won 9 Worlds Championships across disciplines. And Monty has taught many young persons who have gone on to win Championships themselves. That is a Master :D

Not that I am an expert, but to me lately it seems that many are making training a horse more difficult than necessary, I like the simple, straight-forward approach Monty uses.
I also like the idea of doing as much training as I can myself. My horse and I get to know each other better and that develops trust, I learn so much myself by training my horse, and it is fun! I will hire a trainer if the need arises, but I really love doing things besides riding, brushing and cleaning feet with my horse. My horse and dog are every bit family to me and the more I can do with them the better!

Not that I am an expert, but to me lately it seems that many are making training a horse more difficult than necessary, I like the simple, straight-forward approach Monty uses.
I also like the idea of doing as much training as I can myself. My horse and I get to know each other better and that develops trust, I learn so much myself by training my horse, and it is fun! I will hire a trainer if the need arises, but I really love doing things besides riding, brushing and cleaning feet with my horse. My horse and dog are every bit family to me and the more I can do with them the better!

Monty will always be my hero. I attended a Perfect Manners Course with Kelly Marks and my husband said that he had not seen such a big smile on my face for such a long time. So one of the first things I did with my Friesian was join-up.............Since then I have been using Monty methods but I have also been following the Parelli programme with great results. I think that as every person is an individual, every horse is an individual so you learn to adapt. The main thing for me is that the horse learns to do things willingly without any harsh methods. I have also been reading about Carolyn Resnick methods, as she does all her training at liberty! All these horse trainers wish to make the world a better place for horses.

Dear Roisin,
I am not doing the Parelli method myself but someone at the stables who is doing it with success on a quite dominant stallion once told me that with Parelli the horse first has to learn the language Parelli uses before one can approach to trailer loading etc. Thus, I think that Monty's approach is more natural. But, I think one really must be able to imitate Monty in all his movements to be albe to convey the same message to the horse. Maybe in this respect Parelli's method is easier, because once the horse has learned the cues and reacts accordingly it will do what you want. I just do not want to learn the cues myself but I'd rather be spontaneous and watch Monty and the horses when they work out their own hirarchy and discipline amongst each other. Sometimes I step in and assure my horse a higher place in the hirarchy, because Felton is a very social and clever type that does never ask for trouble. Nevertheless, he steps willingly in the higher position if offered by me. He even once helped me like a guard dog to discipline another horse. The situation was the following: I wanted to fetch Felton first from the pasture before I fetched the mare. However the mare was of the opinion that she had the higher rank in the hirarchy and was supposed to leave first. I stood inside the gate with Felton close to me when she tried to overtake him. I pointed at her with all my assertive energy against her and said "back". Felton looked at me as if h'd say let me do this. He swung around his face changed into a frown (ears back, teeth showing, head down) and the mare turned away. Immediately Felton turned back to me with a very friendly face as if nothing had happened. Yet the mare came back. One angrw look of me in her direction made my "watch horse" turn agound and charge at her again. This procedure repeated itself maybe 3 times till the mare gave up and I could calmely lead my tender giant from the pasture. It is so much fun to communicate spontaneously with animals especially when you see that they understand you. I believe that Monty helps me a lot with this understanding.
In the end you have to do what works best for you and your horse.
Beate

Hi. I've done both. I've done the Horse Behaviour & You course at the Parelli centre in Kenilworth, UK which was 2 weeks, and I've done the Introductory Level at Monty's ranch in California. You can easily mix the two. I prefer the Dually to the hackamore so use that. I hate the carrot stick for my boys but play the games with them without it. I never hit my boys (geldings!) ie levels 1 through 4 in Parelli tapping and hitting with the carrot stick, and prefer to work using energy and pictures and the Dually. I love the liberty work which I do with mine too so, basically, you can study any natural horseman you wish and take what feels right and discard what feels wrong. Monty's assistant Maya, at the end of our course, told us to do exactly that. That Monty doesn't believe there's only one way as people are always progressing and thinking up new things. We were encouraged to go out and explore, learn and try. As long as the premise is never to use agression or violence or anger or hit the horse, then watch, listen and learn, and try what feels right to you and for your horse. Fi

Hi Fi, hi everyone ! All these comments and specially yours, Fi, are very helpful and interesting for me. I started working with my colt (18 month) with the Dually as I am following and studying Monty's methods (intro class 2008). It turned out that the training environment and my horse's answer to my questions which mostly is biting me quickly like a crocodile braught me to a dead end street. If I ask him to back up with the Dually he is really difficult to move and the more I put presure on the more he hangs on - yields - yes, but next time I ask with some pressure again he bites my arm or strikes out with his foreleg. I sent him back the hard way and really ment it. He rears. It is ice cold at the moment with tons of snow. No covered round pen no arena. The former owner is on the Parelli side and showed me how she would work him on that long line - lounging him. She did the 'friendly games' and sent him back just by waving the finger and shaking the line. We did all that trainin in knee deep snow in an enclosed area which actually is a pasture. I appreciated her giving him the possibility to move and stretch his legs as I could not offer him any of that training as he is neither ready forn the long lines nor is there a round pen covered and save I could use. All I could do was walking and intorduce him to the area and do Dually work. I even think the Dually created a sensitivity on the part where it closes down on the nose as he does not accept to be touched on theses two points with some pressure and be pushed very softly backwards by hand. He shakes his head like mad as if he would have been really mistreated. I am wondering if I created this behavior with the Dually ? I am determined to go back from the Parelli Halter to the Dually but think I must have a good plan for the transfer. I want him to move off my body but need to be close to him to train that but can do that only when he stopped biting so badly as otherwise he is always in the advantage to be close enough and we all know - they are most the time quicker. At the moment I just hold the carrot stick against him without hitting or even tipping and that tells him to respect my space. He is a young stallion. Yes, and I guess I just picked the kind of caracter I never dealt with when working with so many other horses before. I tried to distract him bomping his leg in less then a second when him bites but there are so many situations I just cannot be quick enough. Any suggestions, Fi, as you have really studied both methods ? Thank you, looking forward to them ! VioBerlin

As many of you have said, what works for you is fine, but the main part of any training is your approach...ie, your body language, what you are REALLY saying. A good idea is to have someone video you while interacting with your horse to see if there is some gesture you are doing to cause a negative (in your opinion) response. Both Monty and Pat are brilliant horsemen and we are lucky they are so generous with their knowledge. Althea