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Wednesday September 16, 2020

Greetings!
Question 

Our horse, Aslan, likes to bite the lead rope and when we school him with a Dually Halter, he tries to move our elbow. How can we correct it?

Jose Mario Briceno

Answer 

Dear Jose,

The best choice that I know of with horses who chew on the lead rope is to spray the rope with a substance that tastes awful. My staff use chili powder and dress the rope with the chili mixed in oil and seem to do quite well at stopping this habit. Cross ties can also answer this question but obviously that is only when the horse is tied. I am not one to do a lot of schooling while holding the horse on a rope. It tends to create aggravation between horse and human. 

My suggestion would also be to study the Dually Halter lessons on my University again, or watch the DVD that came with the halter. They emphasize how timing and schooling keeps your horse alert and in partnership with you, rather than letting his mind wander.

Sincerely,
MONTY ROBERTS' ONLINE UNIVERSITY
THIS WEEK'S EPISODE
COURSE REVIEW
 
What a wonderful learning experience
Learn from the best! Monty and his instructors Rock! I recommend anyone that loves horses or that wants to learn how to work with a horse to take this course. My Wife and I attended the course together and she came from being uncomfortable around horses to want to be more around horses. The instructors were knowledgeable and friendly. It was great to learn how to long line a horse and it was also a lot of fun. Great methods learned. We look forward on learning more by attending more of their courses.
 
Waldo F.


UPCOMING EVENTS   
USA
October 12 to 16, 2020: Monty’s Special Training (English)
USA
Early 2021CHA Equine Facility Manager Certification at Flag Is Up Farms
THE MONTY ROBERTS INTERNATIONAL LEARNING CENTER
September 18 to 20, 2020: Introductory Course Module 01: First Steps to Monty’s Methods
September 21 to 23, 2020: Introductory Course Module 02: Join-Up
October 5 to 9, 2020:  Introductory Exams
October 12 to 16, 2020: Monty’s Special Training (English)
Sarah Maslin Nir is a staff reporter for The New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Sarah wrote ‘Horse Crazy’, the story of a woman and a world in love with an animal because her Manhattan roots couldn’t suppress her love for horses. Francesca Wood was a professional horse person for many years in Europe and the USA, riding show jumpers and competing in 3 Day events, then Francesca fell in love with an American Mustang.


 
MONTY'S CHALLENGE

Test yourself each week as I challenge you to answer the question below. I mean this. Sit down and write an answer. Don't wait for my answer next week. If you have been reading my Weekly Questions and Answers for the last six months, you should be in a position to do this. Send your answer to my team at: askmonty@montyroberts.com 
 
Why should you bother? Because it will help you focus. There is probably a comparable question in your life that needs answering... or will be. If you can gain insight into how to go about answering a practical question that is loosely related to your problem, this exercise will help you answer your nagging question. Then read my answer. I want all of my students to learn to be better trainers than me.That's good for you and good for horses! 
 
~ Monty 
  
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION

Hello! 200 lessons completed, Monty! I was recently watching Monty's videos on flying lead changes and I love the idea of keeping it as simple as possible. I have two OTTBs (Off The Track Thoroughbreds) who are doing flying changes all of the time, but I have one Quarter Horse Paint who I would like to actually spend some time on flying lead changes. 
Going through the videos, Monty has the opposite leg to cue for the flying change, and I like that idea as I've grown up Hunter/Jumper/Eq and it's all about which rein to pull, placement of the legs, and pushing them onto the other lead. However, my concern is with keeping them balanced around the figure 8 and not falling in. Monty's demonstration with his horse who seems to have the training / natural bend and balance keeps repeating of holding the outside leg around the turns for simplification. I suspect he or some people would use that inside leg for preventing the horse from falling it, but I'm curious on when coming back to the straight away and the X for the cue, how to differentiate effectively that leg that was asking for inside bend to now asking for the opposite lead?
I plan to play with this and input some of my experience. I'm really trying to go back to foundational flat work as I will admit it wasn't as big of a priority as it should've been years ago when all of our horses were younger (and I'm now old enough to recognize that at 24). 
But that is my main concern of balancing the act of letting them move forward naturally and keeping it simple with aiding them and reminding them to stay balanced, especially around a turn, so that we do not fall on our faces. This also goes into the fact that I've also done a lot of neck rope work and often ride in a bitless, both of which I love, and making sure all of this training is primarily coming from my seat, leg aids, and voice cues so as to help my horse the best I can and prevent confusion. 
Thoughts or experiences? Thank you!