Hi Horse Addict
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Yep, I agree with you. That movie had the potential to be a real light in the dard so to speak about gentling horses, but unfortunately it missed the mark.
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Very sad really how the real art of gently training a horse is not exciting enough for today's movie screens.
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See you later,
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Gen

Hi Gen, glad to here your opinion. :)

I don't think people really realize the difference between the film and real method of Monty. The film is important for public relation. Everybody knows the "Horse whisperer" in a positive way, related to a special education of horses, without details. I think the film has contributed a lot to the popularity of Monty Roberts.

I don't know Rudi. They asked Monty for advice and then would not listen to him. I imagine he was pretty disappointed.
I found it made me feel a lot of different emotions when I watched it years ago, when it came out.
Here I was all excited to see another horse movie and I came away a bundle of nerves.
The book was OK but again very diturbing. I often wondered if the writter ever understood horses at all.
I didn't care for the mother, I found her to be pushy and self-centered and the poor girl was definitly suffering from PTSD.
Robert Redford never quite pulled off the part, for me. He seemed uncomfortable in his role. He didn't know what to do I think, just stood most of the time staring at the horse.
I'm no movie critic, that's for sure, but that's how I saw it.
Ronda

I like your view Mejestic.

Nicholas Evans was writing the novel and researching the fascinating history of Horse Whispering when Monty was touring England as requested by the Queen and brought a lot of attention to his methods in 1990. Comparisons were being made to the American named Rarey back then. See here: http://rarey.com/sites/jsrarey/ It goes way back. And there are many other fascinating, albeit less romantic, professions like it such as Fish Ticklers. The fact that both books were published near each other is obviously the reason, both in England and the US, for the comparisons. But a lot of people don’t know these facts and as history will have it, it has stuck with Monty and other trainers as well.

As you can imagine, we get asked quite often if he was the inspiration for the story. In my opinion, the book and movie are radically different from each other. The book is a romance novel, more about a relationship. The movie was not endorsed by Monty because of the characterized rough treatment of the horse in it called Pilgrim. Some fifteen years after the movie’s release, we get asked if we use those methods and are compelled to say that we believe they are not anything we could support and are even counterproductive. Anyone who has seen Monty work with a horse in the round pen and compares with what happens in the movie, would say his methods are very different from the methods used in the movie.
We would prefer the media evolve the title to Legendary Horseman (instead of Horse Whisperer) Monty Roberts and perhaps they will.

Totally right, Local.
Ronda

In the movie with Robert Redford, in the round pen, he's actually forcing the horse to be with him compared to what Monty does. There is one scene in which he is roping the horse to get Pilgrim to stop running away. Anyone want to comment on that part of the film?

The moviemakers had to produce a film that sells, it is not a documentary film, and it was a big success. Producing an action film, there is no doubt that they did not follow completely Monty's principles. But I remember one part where it is said that "the horse tells his story", as Monty does.

I guess they needed to use violence in the training of the horse in the movie to make money huh?

Horse addict, I think so.

Too bad producers don't see that the real affect of using the horse's own language - Equus - is so much more dramatic for anyone who has seen it or experienced it. Actual inter-species communication is revolutionary in the animal world! When you communicate with a horse in his own language, you are doing something that trainers of other species are not doing. Trainers typically use a neutral language to communicate such as whistles, clickers and food as reward. You use Equus :)

The equine technical advisor for The Horse Whisperer movie? Buck Brannaman.

A review: Some of the techniques used by Tom seemed harsh for a "horse whisperer." At the end of the movie, he ties up one of Pilgrim's legs and runs him around a round pen, bringing him to the ground at one point.

http://www.horsemoviereviews.com/index.php/horse-movie-reviews/details/2/27

Local, I'm gonna watch that documentary about Buck Brannaman soon.

Whispering as opposed to listening implies a great deal!I heard some one ask once ... What exactly does he whisper to the horse ....dhhhhhaaaa :0

Ok, I saw the Buck documentary. There was a part in it where there was a horse that Buck was working with that was deprived of oxygen at birth. The owner did not do early work with him and as a result the horse became aggressive and had to be put down. Buck couldn't work with him, but I know that Monty could have! :(

Greetings
I was not going to put my two cents in, but I could.t resist. Hollywood will twist even the best store line to insert scenes that basically ruin the authenticity of a film. They even do it to documentaries.
I think most non horse people believe that you have to dominate a horse to be able to train it. Hence the word "break a horse" I still use that term and every time I do I have to go back and correct myself.
Horse addict, I think it is great that you have so much confidence in Monty's skills. He does some very remarkable work, but there are horses ii this world that are mentally damaged and dangerous. Usually the mental damage is done by humans but it also can be a birth defect and these horses cannot be safely trained. Maybe one of these days there will be enough followers of Equus that horse will be given a fair shake.

Cheers

I hope so Dennis.

What I like in one scene of the movie is when Pilgrim is out in the field, and the trainer waits for the horse to come to him. Now that's the only place in the film that I see free choice for the horse.

Horse addict
My horse club showed the movie Buck this evening. Buck Brannaman is a trainer of some renown He as a very similar philosophy as Monty's. His early life is similar to Monty's in that his father beat him on a continual basis until he was rescued and place in a foster home. Buck has been around horses all his life and was the youngest card holder in professional rodeo. He was the technical advisor for the Horse Whisperer movie. I paid particular attention to the scene about the horse that was deprive of oxygen at birth. If you have never been around a horse that is so aggressive that they are dangerous you will be taken aback. The horse was unmanageable with a halter so Buck roped his hind foot to control him. In the end he recommended that the horse be put down before he hurts or kills someone. Unfortunately the owner of this horse was a very troubled woman, who has 17 other horses, all studs. My guess is that horse was not put down and is still injuring people that work for her.

Buck is a man of few words but when he told that lady that when you look in the mirror your horse is a reflection of who you are and sometimes you don't like what you see. That really go to me, because I know that people who are kind to animal and fair in their dealings with animal also treat people around them the same way. People that are harsh with animals are harsh with the people around them as well. See the movie it is worth seeing.

Cheers

Dennis, I already have seen the movie, and some of his methods are very rough.

Horse addict
I am not sure what you mean by rough? Unless I missed something. Can you clarify (I am not trying to argue with this, I just want the information) I know that Buck uses the pole with a flag on the end as do so many other trainers. The pole definitely can be misused and cause pain to the horse.

Cheers

Hi Dennis, I just think that Buck's temperament is a bit aggressive when he restrains the horse with a rope on his back leg. He does have a gifting with horses, but the horses don't seem to respond to him like they do with Monty. That's just my opinion.

Hello!
I saw The Horse Whisperer a long time ago, way before I ever thought i would have my lovely Willow.
I have read Local´s comments about the film and after seeing monty´s work on these videos I realise the film and the writer were very wrong about many things in dealing with horses. This noted, I still love the opening scenes on the snow and the scene you meniton when Pilgrim gets scared and runs off and Robert Redford´s character just waits for him to come back by himself... It is a beautiful scene and I dreamed of going into a field and just waiting for a horse to come to me, to say hello.
Now that I have Willow, and I have had her since she was 5 months old and I used that tactic on the first evening she was with me. She was wary and far back in a stable that was then big for her and I crouched at the door with some food in a bowl and just waited for her to come and feed. She did and I lay my forehead against hers..... Only someone who has wished for a horse for 50 years can understand what I felt.
Also, if I want to interest her in soemthing new I turn my back to her and soon enough she comes around to seewhat I have. That´s how I got her first halter on.
Christy

Hi Christy, wow that's cool! I envy you. I don't have a horse yet, but years ago, I had one come up to me as a kid after a trail ride. I was standing in front of an indoor arena and I beckoned one of the horses to come. One walked up to me and let me pet him.

I thought the horse whisperer movie was for non horsey people, ( like most of the fiction books about horses).. The methods used to 'tame' this horse I thought would be counter productive, just another trauma for the horse.

the Buck documentary is a MUST SEE. but the movie Horse Whisperer is a perfect example of the makers not doing there research. Monty or Buck would never use any methods like that.

I just recently saw the Buck documentary and loved it! It is interesting that Buck learnt from Ray Hunt, who learnt from Tom and Bill Dorrance, as Monty credits Bill Dorrance as one of the most influential people in his life, so it is easy to see why Buck is so similar to Monty (different techniques, but same philosophy as I see it) and so good with horses.

I agree... I was really into the film at first and then when I saw how he trained the horse I was appalled :/ Shame that a good movie had such a shocking way of going about it!!!!

I think Monty should be the lead in a horse whisperer type movie.....skip the goofy romance part that didn't contribute to the movie....even skip the little girl giving up on her horse....how many little girls are going to say go ahead shoot the horse....such a disapointment with a stupid ending, forcing a traumatized horse down on the ground isn't going to do anything for the little girl trying to get on the next time....how about Monty showing the little girl how to join up with her horse and they do the little dually dance....at the end they make her a mounting block she can navagate, and the horse side steps right up to her so she can get on her horse and they can ride together as best friends once again.

I've read three books written by Nicolas Evans. He writes his characters into corners, then the only way he can write the ending is to have the characters do out-of-character things. The end of his horse whisperer book has the horse whisperer guy doing something incredibly dangerous and stupid and getting himself killed. There was a book about a wolf hunter who did something similar, who basically killed himself. I think the movie made a little bit more sense than the book but it was still weird. I'm not reading any more books written by this guy, it would be a waste of my time.

I did enjoy the movie 'Buck'. I found his approach to the woman with the crazy stud to be very gentle and straightforward, making his point without being harsh. I dated a man once who had been abused as a child. He said that one third of abused children grow up to be abusers. That means most of them do not! He had the same quiet way about him that Buck has in the movie.

I truly believe, that based on this ridiculous, absurd movie, that every single person on this site has forgotten more than Nicolas Evans ever knew about horses, if he ever knew anything at all. "Horse Whisperer" for a title, sheesh, it should have been called, "How to Abuse Your Horse While Shabbily Trying to Entertain the Unsuspecting Public".
Too long....lol...ok, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.....

pmpleau good point, and karyn & tokia, I like your opinion too!

Note to self: do not waste time watching the Horse Whisperer. Lol

Well Soul - the countryside is beautiful but do yourself a favour and drive through it as I did on my travels in the USA lol....

Hmm. The countryside around here is unfortunetly more populated than I would like to see, but I think that I will have to do that sometime.

Unfortunetly? Lets try unfortunately.

I'll just give a little praise to the horses in that movie, they used 3 different horses for pilgrim, I think from memory it's been a while since I watched. My concern was if it was one horse it went through a lot emotionally with the different weight changes etc. The scared and boxed horse when he was skinny and a mess after the accident seemed to me to be real, the look in the horses eye showed fear which is not something horses will pretend or 'act' , although the credits state no horse was harmed during filming, what they may have considered harm and what we and the horses consider harm are two different things. I wonder what happened to them after the movie. I wonder how many times Pilgrim had to be tied by the foot and put to the ground until the camera men got the right shot.

Yeah that's what I'm wondering Mel!