It’s time to tell you about Monty

It is with a very heavy heart that I tell you of the loss of the greatest teacher I ever had the privilege of knowing. 

Three weeks ago Monty had a terrible accident in the field and left us to take up a new journey ahead of me and Guinness.

In the 3 weeks since his passing I have thought so much about the past and it is with a very light heart, that I can tell you something of the enigma that is Monty.

Monty was a horse who had spent the first 11 years of his life in the racing industry.  He was a great athlete and won many races.  He eventually ended up in a training yard for race horses until he was no longer useful to them and was sold to a Derbyshire dealer, unceremoniously arriving late at night in a trailer with another dis-guarded stablemate.

The story of what happened next is a little unclear, so fast forward 12 months to when I found him at the auctions in Derby, looking decidedly worse for wear.  He was underweight, injured, with infections and definitely doped.  His eyes were closed and he was resting his chin on the metal barrier that divided one horse from another.  There was no hay or water to be seen anywhere.  To cut a very long story short, a few days later he was mine. 

Two days after arriving at his new home, a visiting farrier was heard saying “what’s that bag of bones over there”.  A very apt description.  He was a mess.  He had no energy, so he appeared like a puppy dog.  He was so broken down that I could administer to his ailments and he would stand and let me do anything at all.  He had an open wound on his back leg, an eye infection, no energy and a big crack up his rear hoof, right to the top of hoof the coronet band. 

After time he healed well.  His hoof was no longer life threatening, he had put on weight, he had his energy back, his wounds healed, his infections disappeared and a stunningly beautiful horse emerged.  Alongside the physique, came the re-emergence of his personality and boy what a personality it was!! 

My abiding memory of his early months was of a crazy, maniac of a horse careering about causing mayhem.  I could tell you many stories of his antics, suffice to say that I had responsibility for a horse that I had no business owning.  He was way too much for my skills at that point. 

So, my training began.  I learned fast and we learned to understand each other.  It was really clear that he hated being confined, he hated stables and he hated saddles, you name it, he hated it.

As much as he hated lots of things, I noticed that there were things that he loved.  He loved food, he loved freedom, he loved being listened to, he loved open spaces, he loved his close friend Dixie (although this was not necessarily reciprocated), he loved playing.  His best friend at the yard was an 18 month old youngster.  They matched each other in their outlook, energy and experience.  Monty had been shut down for so many years that he had not had the opportunity to grow, to find out what being a horse was all about.

Enter stage left, Guinness.  Guinness arrived on a temporary basis (and loved being with us so much that he stayed for ever), whilst Monty got over a recurring injury.  They met each other over a piece of electric tape, they immediately dropped their heads and started to munch grass together, after a few minutes we took the tape down and they walked around the field together, side by side, doing what they both love doing most – munching hay and grass. 

From that day on, they were the best of friends.  They lived alongside each other, got into scrapes, looked after other horses and were the best double act since Morecombe and Wise.

Monty was uncompromising – he absolutely would not respond to anything that was not well communicated, that he didn’t want to do, didn’t understand or felt was unfair.  In the early days, he was unsure about what was required of him.  He didn’t know how to do anything but go very fast in a straight line, or rear - very high. 

As Monty was so challenging, it required new ways of thinking for example, he hated backing up – it was an affront to his sense of self.  He didn’t know how to do it, he didn’t want to do it and therefore, he didn’t do it.  Whenever I asked him to back up it felt ‘metaphorically’ as though I had a brick wall in front of me and it was cemented to the ground.

With the advent of Positive Reinforcement – rewarding and shaping behaviour that we like and want, he began to change.  On one occasion he walked halfway across the field ‘backwards’ without being asked, just to engage with me in a shared communication. 

We had a lot of fun and Monty would be treated for taking the saddle ‘off’ Guinness and Guinness would be treated for ‘gurning’.  Great fun and lots of willingness to engage.

Monty now lived with freedom entering the field shelter when he chose to and leaving in the same way, he made his own decisions about where he went – he had ad lib hay and magically, all the stresses that he reacted against disappeared from his life.

The Monty that emerged was a wise, generous, funny and compassionate leader.  Where in the early days he had promoted himself beyond his level of competence, now he held that leadership role well.  He sorted out issues between herd members and brought calm in tense situations. 

Monty became very important in the work we do here at Simply Changing, becoming a central part of the team on our Coaching with Horses programmes and I know that lots of you met him and learned so much about yourself from him too.

He loved the buzz of having lots of people around.  He relished the contact and the interaction and couldn’t wait to get to know everyone.  If you were fortunate enough to meet him, you might remember that he was always the first to greet everyone.

In recent weeks, one of our very own graduates asked if I would work on her own phobia of horses and within a matter of an hour or so Monty reduced that phobia, from a 10 (on the SUDS scale) to a 2. 

Within our own learning programmes (Coaching with Horses, NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner, Level 5 Diploma in Performance Coaching with NLP), we owe our philosophy of positive reinforcement to Monty, so let’s all raise a glass to Monty in gratitude for the inspiration he gives us daily.

You have deserved your rest Monty.  You lived well.

Louise xx