Wednesday July 8, 2020

Greetings!
Question  

Hi Monty. I'm attempting to separate my gelding from stable mate. He has severe separation anxiety. What do you suggest? 

Roxanne Houk-Pease


Answer 

Dear Roxanne,

Don’t leave him alone! My best advice is to take him to a neighbor’s place where they have a safe holding facility and leave him near other horses to begin the process of separation. If it is absolutely necessary to leave him alone, he must be left in the safest possible stable, and do that only if there is no other alternative.
Separation anxiety is rapidly becoming one of the most important remedial problems of our time. I suppose with properties becoming smaller, and horses being kept in close proximity, this bonding process is becoming more and more pervasive. Horses are herd animals. They rely upon the presence of other familiar animals to feel safe. It might be a goat, or a sheep, it might even be a dog or a cat.
People can even be a calming influence if the horse regards the person as a friend. There is a lesson in this somewhere. Read my textbook, From My Hands to Yours, as it will expand on many details that I am not able to include in this Question and Answer format. Please read chapter 10, page 178 containing details on separation anxiety.

Sincerely,
MONTY'S EQUUS ONLINE UNIVERSITY
THIS WEEK'S EPISODE
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ONLINE PRODUCT REVIEW

Dually Training Halter
This is everything and more I expected in a training halter. The DVD that came with it helped me so very much. Thank you for shipping it to me so quickly. I can not wait to work with my mare using this halter. I have one with knots on it but I love your product because there is no pain in training. This will increase the bond I have with my girl. With your product there will be nothing but love in her training.
USA
September 11 to 13 , 2020:  CHA Equine Facility Manager Certification  at Flag Is Up Farms
THE MONTY ROBERTS INTERNATIONAL LEARNING CENTER
July 11, 2020: Kids' Course
July 18, 2020: Horsemanship 101
July 24 to 26, 2020: Horse Sense and Healing moved to November 13-14-15
August 8 to 10, 2020: Introductory Course Module 01: First Steps to Monty’s Methods
August 11 to 13, 2020: Introductory Course Module 02: Join-Up
August 14 to 16, 2020: Introductory Course Module 03: Long Lining
August 17 to 28, 2020: Gentling Wild Horses
October 12 to 16, 2020: Monty’s Special Training (English)
PUBLISHED HORSE SENSE & HEALING SCIENCE STUDY
Horse Sense & Healing,  Conclusions of the four-year science trial study published at the conference of the Association for Psychological Science. 

• Given the high level of symptom severity, there is clearly a high unmet need within this population

• Score changes in symptom severity at Days 3 and 85 show a clinically meaningful improvement that is higher than

comparative clinical literature assessing pharmacological interventions
• Quality of Life and Wellbeing also showed meaningful improvement that was sustained over the 3-month follow-up period

• This is the first study of an animal assisted therapy program to report statistical significance

• HSH is an effective complimentary therapy for PTSD

Horse Sense & Healing is uniquely qualified to help veterans and first responders suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.

Read more about Monty's life changing workshops here: https://montyroberts.com/non-profit/horse-sense-and-healing/
REDUCING VIOLENCE THROUGH WORKSHOPS
WITH HORSES GLOBALLY

"The horses bring us back to the present moment, to the here and now. Nothing compares to the moment you Join-Up with a horse, silently, and the rest of the world just disappears and an instant connection is made.”  #leadupguatemala #lead_up_international #leadupinternational

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

I have started to ask my horses to ground tie, often side-by-side for tacking up and just working with them on the ground asking them to be quiet and stand by themselves without fussing against the gate, or a rope or anything. I have also started to take a few minutes before every ride to let them stand tacked up quietly, ground tied, and have noticed them actually dozing off and kind of meditate. It has made a huge difference in how quiet and calm they are on the trail. What do you think of this technique? Is it a good thing to ask horses to stand ground tied while tacking up? 
Kerry Mellin

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