[Aussiesnapps]

Monty Roberts is a great horseman. Just like many others he has made a life out of training horses using pressure and release methods based off of a horses natural learning patterns (predator/prey and herd social hierarchy/dynamics). Most Natural Horsemen and women use these basic fundamentals. The trick is finding one you can identify with, stand to listen to, and who wont drive you crazy with arrogance and pricey gadget and products.

As far as your horse getting trained by him, that is a real treat. He has quite the "who's who" of clients...right to the queen of England. However, there is more to Monty Robers than horsemanship, he is quite the good guy and has raised many trouble teens with love and kindness. I believe the trick to him is that he is a good listener and sees subtleties that most people are too much in a hurry to see, thus missing the opportunities to seize the actual moments of progress/learning. He seems to have the patience and demeanor that lets learning and development take place and grasps the moment for reward/release at the proper time. Still, he is not a man without controversy, but who is?

As for trainers in general I take what sticks in my head and use it when I can. No one is the best at everything, but they are all good or they wouldn't be so well known and so regularly referenced. I think we can really thank RFD-TV for bringing us such a great line up of trainers and clinicians. Up until a few years ago all I knew was John Lyons and Monty Roberts thanks to PBS and a friend who had some copied tapes she let me borrow. Now they're all out there on the internet and television too so we can get our trainer fixes.

[Sonnenblume]

Last year i was on a clinic based on Montys theory. It was amazing how to see my horse was trying to unterstand me and worked with me. At the past we´ve had many problems with our communication. Years ago i had seen monty on a show and after this i bought his book. I guess it´s like all trainers: I´ll take the things i need and which apply to me but i never agree with all things they say.

[men of passos]

A horse doesn't come with a manual . you cant follow a step by step instruction that will fix all the problems, in every case,very time.Monty Roberts is the grandfather of natural horsemanship and teaches communication witch is the ground work for training a horse .I use Monty's teachings as my outline then add a dash of Clint Anderson and then my own experance.
I believe that every horseman has to figer out what works for them .BUT it is dangerous to start with out a good foundation thats why I believe so much in Monty's teachings.

[calvo]

I do like Monty as he has great tips but he is like any other NH trainer so some methods I like and some not (some equipments etc)

I do believe he is amazing horseman still

[cooltimeranger]

I think Monty Roberts has some very good training techniques, and I have found them very helpful in dealing with behavioral issues in my own horses. I own his book "From My Hands To Yours" and "The Man Who Listens To Horses" and I have read "Shy Boy". They are all very good but I would recommend "FMHTY" as a training book, the other 2 are more like biographies than training manuals. His approach seems to me, to be a very humane and affective approach to training. I'm not completely sold on all his ideas, but I believe we can use many of his methods in conjunction with others and have very satisfactory results. I am sure many disagree with that but from my own personal experience that is what I think.

[Lou3]

All the controversy and the stuff he says he' did as a kid but actually didnt aside, his techniques WORK and he is a fabulous horseman. If Jackson was started by him then he was started right.
join up is an excellent tool and is brilliant for breaking babies, although I prefer to do it over a few days in many small steps rather than just jump right in there and do the whole lot in one go from bridle to rider on an unprepared horse as he does in his clinics. I dont think even Monty himself normally recommends that approach - he likes them to have been bitted and seen a saddle etc when he's not working within the constraints of a clinic.