Monty Roberts

Dear M,

In my young days I grew up in farming and we had a couple of nags. Both brood mares who occasionally in their younger days had been hunters and point-to-pointers. I never had a pony, but from the age of ten happily rode a full sized thorough bred! The reason this worked is that both the mares were completely my pets! I could do anything with them. When the blacksmith came or the clipping man, they always asked for me to hold the horses, as both would completely relax if I held them. The One mare was so quiet with me that with the blacksmith she would practically go to sleep, which meant that her feet got incredibly heavy for him to hold up as she would lean on him! All I had to do was move her head a little bit and she remembered to help with the job in hand!

It is a mystical talent, but horse understand a quiet and gentle person, and can be totally trusting of them.

A few years later when I was living at my Uncle's place near Ross-on-Wye, he had a four year old gelding, which he had not broken in. He was quite nervous with horses, and horses don't like that much. For all that he had broken this gelding to the bridle and the saddle, but did not have the nerve to get on the horse and "back" it.

He was in the field with the horse on a leading reign, and I was walking past one Saturday morning. He called over and asked me to hold the horse for him...

Then he asked me to get on. I told him I would prefer it if he took the reign off, as I find that a reign round a horse's legs is far more dangerous than no reign at all. He looked doubtful and took it off. I hopped on and away to go, Walk - Trot - Canter... nag as quiet as you like. I had already completely made friends with the horse of course. I see a horse and I have to go and talk to it and mess around with it!

That horse was the perfectly broken by me without even a hint of strain or fight. I did not even realise that I backed it for the first time!

I never met Monty Roberts, but I bet we would have something to talk about! When I talk to a horse I start by letting him come to me, and they do! Then I quietly slip my right hand round his head from underneath and hold onto his nose somewhere half way down all the time gently stroking and speaking softly. Very soon they start to talk back, but their curious method involves a sort of nose-to-nose thing almost like sniffing each other. Once you get passed that, you have a friend for life! They never forget, and honestly horses are the most fantastic noble and loyal creatures!

If I won the Lottery I would have a couple of nags as pets, a few dogs as well. They knock the average human into a cocked hat for loyalty and speaking good sense!

ATB from George

No one else here like horses? George

Nice in a stew I suppose.

Dear Jim,

Arw one who thinks like Oscar Wilde that horses are dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle! He also described Fox-hunting humorously as well: The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible!

ATB from George

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible!

"uneatable" makes it work better.

Oscar Tame.

Dear Adam,

That may well be the correct quotation in any case!

Thirty years and more ago I had a very good friend who was definately an anti [hunting], and he used to tease me with that quote, so my memory may have faded as to precise details. Those were happy days indeed!

ATB from George

I had a lovely dream this week. I had won the Lottery, and was haking out on a nice Welsh Cob of fifteen hands. Grey, nice cresty neck, and not too much finesse about thw bone, but with a kind, sleepy nature!

Who else here dreams of riding a horse without effort, or fear of skittishness! [On the Equine's part]!

ATB from George

quote:

Who else here dreams of riding a horse without effort, or fear of skittishness! [On the Equine's part]!

Two months ago I hit a wall rather hard, writing off my bike and part of my knee courtesy of a skittish horse/rider combination. I forgot to make the assumption that all horses (and riders ) are generally stupid/unreliable. Bah!

Dear Bruce,

Speaking as someone who grew up round horses, dogs, and assorted livestock, I can definately say that most horse owners are clueless! I should even say, "witless," along the lines of my Rome Thread.

Most seem to think their steads need bucketfuls of oats daily! Nonsense. A good sound Cob will gain weight on hay alone if the work is light!

Steamed-up [on oats] is a state that racehorses are found in in the training for racing. Unfortunately most owners feed their horses as if hacking about was similar to preparing for a steeplechase! The result is that the horse become even more unreliable than the rider!

ATB from George

Dear Bruce,

Thinking of those happy care-free days of childhood, I well remember the pall my brother and I produced at Sunday Lunch one day with our shared description of a bull covering a heffer in the yard only minutes earlier! It seemed the most natural thing to describe a new thing for us, seen for the first time, and such was our free-range life as youngsters. Nothing was shocking or stomach churning. Starting young enough, neither of us batted an eyelid at wringing the necks of chickens we would eat later in the week. I even used to quite like the smell of the fine underfeathers being burned off with meths after the plucking was over. I gutted my first fish about the age of five, my first chicken by about eight. I could revert to a natural life very easily!

ATB from George