Chaparral Ponies Train At Monty Roberts' Famous Flag Is Up Farm

    /24-7PressRelease/ - SANTA BARBARA, CA, April 27, 2006 - Not your ordinary classroom. Students from around the world travel to Solvang, California to learn the equine training techniques made famous by Monty Roberts'. It's a highly organized program that imparts a great deal of specialized information to future instructors who plan to make a living training horses and ponies.

As with any course of higher learning much of what goes on is like any other classroom situation. Lecture sessions, demonstrations, note taking, studying and test taking. However, unlike normal or even highly specialized training courses, the key educators at Flag Is Up Farm speak no human language and definitely have minds of their own. As stated by Michelle Cure', a Join Up instructor from England here to teach, "Our students pay their tuition, travel to Solvang - many times from countries outside the U.S. - and expect to boost their equestrian careers. Our mission is to insure they leave here after anywhere from one week to three months of intense, varied course work with the skills needed to train any horse or pony. That means we need to expose them to as many different animals as possible."

Mares, stallions, geldings, yearlings, un-trained, partially trained or problem animals is what the program is constantly in need of. Enter Chaparral. With a small herd of about 15 ponies pasturing in the Solvang area, the Santa Barbara based farm was more than happy to provide livestock for the staff and students at Flag Is Up. "We have a bit of everything that Michelle and the other instructors were looking for." Said Diane Isaacson of Chaparral. "We provided ponies ranging in age from about one year up to seventeen that included stallions, mares and geldings. We expect that we'll also provide an abused stallion that we rescued and have been gentling separate from the main herd. He was very wrongly treated while still a nursing colt and it has taken much time and patience to get him to begin trusting humans."

Two bottom lines emerge from this work. The school and instructors are able to provide a great variety of hands-on experience for students while Chaparral's ponies gain extremely valuable training and care. It's really a triple win that ultimately results in expanded knowledge for human and pony alike.

The Join Up program taught at Flag Is Up is a very specialized and extremely humane method of working with an animal's natural instincts and social tendencies. Humans learn to become the lead horse and train through body language and an awareness of what a horse or pony is thinking. "Horses and ponies want to be told what to do. They're very willing once they understand who is in charge." Said Cure'. "Those who believe that harsh treatment and implements such as whips are required to train horses, or any animal for that matter, ought to learn more about our work here. It is truly amazing to see a Thoroughbred or other large equine follow the hand, eye and body commands of a 100-pound female with a soft voice. This sort of thing goes on here on a daily basis and it is truly a revelation for both humans and animals. Both end up as students in the end."

"I agree." Said Isaacson. "On both counts - it's amazing to watch and use these methods and it's been a big boost for our ponies. Always curious, intelligent and interested in humans our Welsh are now even more receptive to the small gestures and signals we make when working with them. It just makes the whole experience of being with your horse or pony so much more rewarding. They know more and we know more which means respect on both side of the relationship equation has increased tremendously. Needless to say we're very pleased with our relationship with the Join Up courses and Flag Is Up Farm."


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More Details

Diane Isaacson
Chaparral Stud Farm
130 Canyon Acres Dr.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
805.729.0888
[email protected]
http://www.chaparralstud.com

Monty Roberts' Flag Is Up Farm
Join Up Program
Email from the web site
http://www.montyroberts.com/index.html
Postal Address:
Monty and Pat Roberts, Inc.,?P. O. Box 1700?Solvang, CA 93464
Administrative Offices:
Phone: (805) 688 - 6288
Fax: (805) 688 - 2242

Chaparral Stud Farm is an equine center with more than 40 years of breeding, showing and training experience. Specializing in Welsh Ponies for children and adults, Chaparral is a vital resource for all equestrian needs no matter what the breed.

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