Grantham man recognised as qualified horse whisperer after receiving Monty Roberts Certificate

A man has become a qualified horse whisperer after receiving Certificate of Horsemanship.

Following a week of practical and theoretical examinations, Stuart Fawcett, of Great Ponton, has been recognised with the Monty Roberts Certificate of Horsemanship diploma in Intelligent Horsemanship.

Stuart has been working towards this qualification over the last 12 months through a range of courses and assessments.

Stuart and his wife, Bridie, own the rare breed of Clydesdale horses at their farm in Great Ponton, in order to prevent the breed from extinction.

He said: "We could learn so much from horses, they don’t take more than they need from their environment but to survive and have no instinct for aggression in their nature being a flight animal, but most importantly they cannot be fooled by bravado and bluster.

"They will know if you are anything but wholly sincere, their survival has depended on it for 52 million years.

"One has to be wholly self-aware of oneself when communicating with them; as their language is non-verbal they pick up on every conscious and sub conscious move we make, especially during join-up when we talk to them in that language in the round-pen.

"It has profoundly influenced my approach to relationships with other people by applying that horse-sense and mindfulness to those I meet."

Monty Roberts' methods focus on training a horse with its own consent and willingness to learn rather than with violence.

For more than 30 years, Monty has been the Queen's primary adviser in the training of her horses.

Stuart is now considering undertaking the advanced exams in California in order to contend for a place on an internship with Monty Roberts and become a Monty Roberts Certified Instructor.

He said: "For me this is about the journey not the end goal, that might change as life dictates, but if the opportunity presents itself, I'd be hard pressed to turn down the chance in a lifetime to learn from this world renown horseman."

However in the meantime, both Stuart and his wife will continue to keep and drive Clydesdales at their smallholding and offer help to those having trouble in their relationships with their own horses.