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I remember the day I first saw Monty Roberts on the news, it was when he came to England and worked for the queen. I was totally amazed by this man and like many others, I thought it was some sort of gimmick. However I watched his techniques and then tried them out on my own horse. You can imagine my amazement when my horse started showing the signs to me, just like Monty Roberts had said he would. First his head lowered, then his closest ear turned towards me and he started licking. I was thrilled.

Since that day I have been to two Monty Roberts demonstrations. Each one is different and he certainly has a 'way' about him that makes him seem very likable. You can tell that he really cares about horses and wants to improve their lives. This has to be a good thing, no matter what you think of natural horsemen.

I also like the fact that Monty Roberts wanted to share his methods with the world. When he first gained fame it would have been very easy for him to try to keep his methods a secret and try to convince the world that he was the only person capable of doing round pen training, but he did the opposite. He showed us that wild horses, and badly treated horses could be calmed with a non violent and understanding hand.

Since Monty Roberts became a household name in the horse-world many other natural horsemen have popped up. I personally don't like them as much and do feel that they have just copied Monty Roberts but changed the names and style of their training. However, whatever your views, they all teach us to train with care and non violence which can only help the horses.

Anyone old enough to remember the way horses used to be started, or broken will know that any step away from that brutal start in life can only be an improvement. Even the word broken comes from the way they used to break a horses spirit and made them submit to humans rather than work with us.

Most things in the horse world seem to go in fashions, from the bits we use, to treeless saddles. I think it has always been this way, people see someone having success and want to copy it. This is also true with natural horsemanship. Yes it is all the rage but if it benefits horses then I applaud this one phase.

I don't even think the huge amount of merchandise is a con. If you look at any aspect of horsemanship you will find hundreds of books/DVD's on the subject, from eventing to dressage you can buy a book by almost any famous competitor. Most top show jumpers and dressage riders regularly hold clinics where they sell their book and try to convince you that their way is best so why should natural horsemen be any different.

Horse owners are notorious for gossiping.On any yard in the country you will find one owner who thinks they know how to cure every horse problem known to man, and you will also find ten other horse riders with varying views. It's what makes riding so addictive. Each day is different and each horse will teach us something knew. The trick is to keep an open mind and learn as much as we can. I have been riding for nearly forty years and have been teaching riding for over twenty years but I am still learning new things all the time.

I don't think any one should say "this is the only method that works." We can take what we want from many different trainers. Some will work, some won't, but so long as your methods don't hurt or frighten your horse then try as many methods as you need until you find the one that works for you and your horse.

Learn more about this author, Jo.H.
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