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About Me
I
first saw Monty Roberts work with horses on the T.V. programme Q.E.D
and was intrigued by what he appeared to be able to do. I was, however,
a little sceptical. In 1998 I got the chance to see him in a demonstration,
and realised that I wanted to know more about this way of working
with horses. It was at this demo that I got details of the Intelligent
Horsemanship Association and the courses that are run
by Kelly Marks. In the summer of 1999 I attended the 5 day foundation
course thinking it would simply be 'a nice thing to do'. However,
it changed my life! It really opened my eyes and I realised that
the term 'problem horse' should in fact read 'horse with problems'.
In November 2000, whilst working my way through the remaining modules, I was asked by The Bransby Home of Rest for Horses near Lincoln to work with some of their 'residents'. I now visit the rescue centre twice a week and am grateful for the experience and satisfaction of helping the horses and ponies regain their trust in humans.
After completing all the Intelligent Horsemanship courses, exams and submitting a horse psychology project and several case studies, I gained the Monty Roberts Preliminary Certificate of Horsemanship and became an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate.
Whilst visiting The Bransby Home of Rest for Horses I was filmed, for channel 4's 'Pet Rescue', working with several of the horses.
Intelligent Horsemanship is about being open minded and not dismissing new or different practises, providing they benefit the horse, and do not
involve violence. As horses cannot communicate with us verbally, non verbal communication is their only way of telling us that something is wrong.
Kicking, biting, bucking, moving away etc. are often signs that the horse is either confused or possibly uncomfortable/in pain. Instead of blaming the horse, I will try to see things from his point of view and accept that he is trying to tell me something.
Anyone can work with horses the way I do and get results, if you work in sympathy with their natural instincts, respect their feelings and try to
Understand when they are finding something difficult. In addition to this, our interactions with horses should be carried out in a calm and quiet way
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