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11/29/06: Why do you do your Join-Up demonstrations using an English saddle and never a Western? Is that why lots of cowboys think Join-Up® is for Dressage queens?

11/22/06: I’ve accomplished “joining up” with all of my horses except one. I have a 5-year old, 16 hand Thoroughbred mare that shows signs of aggression and alpha mare behavior. I’m assuming she is showing dominance and she has succeeded. I know this may sound strange, but can horses have an unnatural attraction to certain individuals?

11/15/06: I attended a 4 day clinic at Flag is Up Farms to become familiar with your techniques and have been starting all of our babies successfully now for 6 years. Recently, we have been breeding Irish Sport Horses (ISH) in addition to our Thoroughbreds and I have discovered that the ISH does not have a particularly strong flight instinct.The problem that I now encounter is that these babies will exhibit all 4 signals within a couple of laps around the pen, and usually without even cantering. I can startle them to initially move away but it can be difficult to keep them moving without chasing them which then makes them leery to Join-Up. If I don't chase them, they will Join-Up and follow but not well because they have exhausted the flight instinct. I have experimented with moving on to saddle, rider, etc., more quickly but have found that mentally, they are not really ready for this either. Again I think, because the Join-Up is false. I wondered what you would suggest. I think the ISH is similar to the warmblood in this regard.

As I said, your method has worked really well and we have produced many lovely riding horses as a result, so hopefully, we can transfer this process to our ISH babies with as much success.
Thank you so much. Jineen, Virginia

11/8/06: I just bought a Tennessee Walking Horse that was used by Monty years ago to teach a clinic. I have had no training and feel I need to "catch-up" to my new baby. Where would you suggest I start? Carol in New Mexico

11/1/06: I have a 9 year old Missouri Fox Trotter who seems to stumble quite a bit while being ridden in the pasture or on a road, yet is very sure-footed on trails, etc. I read that this could be caused by having the cinch too tight? Is it possible that he is bored and just not paying attention?

Answers to November 2006 Ask Monty Questions

Question: Why do you do your Join-Up demonstrations using an English saddle and never a Western? Is that why lots of cowboys think Join-Up® is for Dressage queens?

Answer: There are many reasons why the saddle that I choose to use for my demonstration has evolved to its present state. It is not an English saddle. It is not a military saddle. It is not a Western saddle. It is a modified exercise saddle used on most Thoroughbred racehorses for morning workouts.

The saddle I have chosen has practically no tree at all. As you might imagine, while I travel the world doing my demonstrations, I deal with horses of all sizes and shapes. If I had a full tree in a saddle, it would be virtually impossible to cause it to fit the wide array of horses that I work with. I buy these exercise saddles from a company which provides them to the racing industry.

Once the saddle is in my possession I then place it with saddlers who have been trained to make the modifications that I have designed. The first thing they do is replace the billet straps (those straps that the girth connects to on each side of the saddle). They attach billets about three times the length of the original ones. This allows me to use a very short girth, which will fit a tiny horse or a pony when it's taken up to the top on both sides.

If the girth is allowed to be attached to longest notches, then it will fit even a big draft horse. I use a soft girth with elastic on the offside connection. While the saddler is replacing the billets, he builds into the front of the saddle a special hand hold similar to the one you might see on a bareback bronc rigging. This allows my riders to remain in the saddle even through sessions of bucking.

D-rings are attached in three strategic locations. One is at the extreme rear portion of the saddle. Two more are placed in the front of the saddle about eight inches or so from the pommel. The rear one is part of the attachment for the mannequin rider that I use for horses that want to buck. The two in front will allow me to attach a breast collar so that the saddle can't slide back.

It is true that my riders can feel the horse and use leg aids that are more difficult to achieve with a Western saddle, but the primary reason for the type of saddle that I use is that it is so light in weight. If I traveled the world with a Western saddle, there would be thousands of dollars of overweight to spend. The inconvenience of the size of it would also be a factor. As you can see, fitting all the horses that I deal with would be virtually impossible.

To answer the question in full, please let me assure you that the Dressage people of the world ask me why I don't use a Dressage saddle, while the Western people inquire as to why I don't have my riders in that sort of equipment. It has nothing to do with Dressage, Western or English. It is a saddle that has been especially adapted to dealing with the horses being started or remedial horses across the spectrum of size, breed and discipline.

- Monty

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Question: I’ve accomplished “joining up” with all of my horses except one. I have a 5-year old, 16 hand Thoroughbred mare that shows signs of aggression and alpha mare behavior. I’m assuming she is showing dominance and she has succeeded. I know this may sound strange, but can horses have an unnatural attraction to certain individuals?

Monty's Answer: It is my belief that whatever attraction or in fact repulsion that any horse would express for another individual of any specie is in fact, natural. I do not believe that horses can have unnatural behavioral patterns. Horses have no ability to plan or contrive. Equus is reactive and I believe that they recognize human beings more from the actions of those individuals than they do from the appearance of them.

Horses may in fact be more sensitive to smell in terms of recognizing other individuals than they are through sight. The equine olfactory system is extremely well developed and very effective as a security system for the individuals involved. This question has an unacceptable component to it through the word unnatural. We as human beings have no right, in my opinion, to dictate what is natural for the horse or what is unnatural. The scientific evidence is that since the horse cannot lie, deceive or contrive then in fact they can only act out of instinct.

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Question: I attended a 4 day clinic at Flag is Up Farms to become familiar with your techniques and have been starting all of our babies successfully now for 6 years. Recently, we have been breeding Irish Sport Horses (ISH) in addition to our Thoroughbreds and I have discovered that the ISH does not have a particularly strong flight instinct.The problem that I now encounter is that these babies will exhibit all 4 signals within a couple of laps around the pen, and usually without even cantering. I can startle them to initially move away but it can be difficult to keep them moving without chasing them which then makes them leery to Join-Up. If I don't chase them, they will Join-Up and follow but not well because they have exhausted the flight instinct. I have experimented with moving on to saddle, rider, etc., more quickly but have found that mentally, they are not really ready for this either. Again I think, because the Join-Up is false. I wondered what you would suggest. I think the ISH is similar to the warmblood in this regard.

As I said, your method has worked really well and we have produced many lovely riding horses as a result, so hopefully, we can transfer this process to our ISH babies with as much success.
Thank you so much. Jineen, Virginia

Monty's Answer: I am pleased to hear that these methods are working for you and especially that you are producing champions. I suppose it’s possible that you are worrying about things of lesser importance than you need to. I work with many ISH on my tours. And I find them to be quite normal within the realm of Equus. If I have a horse that is exhibiting lower flight tendencies than I am comfortable with, I will often use a plastic shopping bag on a stick to increase the flight response and when I feel I have what I want I simply toss it out over the fence and proceed with out the bag. You might try this but it sounds like you are doing pretty well as it is.

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Question: I just bought a Tennessee Walking Horse that was used by Monty years ago to teach a clinic. I have had no training and feel I need to "catch-up" to my new baby. Where would you suggest I start?

Carol in New Mexico

Monty's Answer: It’s great to hear from old acquaintances. It is likely that I worked with this horse prior to writing my textbook From My Hands To Yours. In my opinion, if you haven’t read this book, it would be a good idea to become familiar with every aspect of that book. I am pleased that the Tennessee Walking Horse is once again OK for people to own and ride. They are wonderful animals and no Tennessee Walking Horse has been to blame for any past indiscretions of the industry. Good luck.

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Question: I have a 9 year old Missouri Fox Trotter who seems to stumble quite a bit while being ridden in the pasture or on a road, yet is very sure-footed on trails, etc. I read that this could be caused by aving the cinch too tight? Is it possible that he is bored and just not paying attention?

Monty's Answer: I don’t think he is bored and I don’t believe that it is due to anything that was done to him in the past or that the cinch is too tight. I think you should take a hard look at the surfaces you are riding on and possibly have the vet check for arthritic potential.

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