Horse SA

It’s not every day an opportunity comes along to celebrate the contribution that one man, Tom Roberts, made towards the betterment of equestrianism and horse care in Australia.

Discussing Tom’s visionary approach, Dr Andrew McLean of the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre says “He was the first person I have ever known who correctly described negative reinforcement in user-friendly terms of ‘profit’ and ‘profit you not’, as an integral part of his horse training principles.”

During his lifetime, Roberts produced a priceless body of work about horse training that includes four ground breaking books, photographs, films, articles and lecture notes. On the passing of Tom’s wife, Pat, a number of these items were donated to the non-profit organisation Horse SA.

Photo: Dr Andrew McLean and Nicki Stuart working on the book.

The funds will be utilised to prepare the book for publishing e.g. graphic design and a short print run of extra books, not yet covered by sponsorship. Dr McLean and Nicki Stuart have finished writing the book titled ‘Go forward, my dear’, and Portland Jones has kindly volunteered editing services.

“I am so lucky to have had a sneak peek at the Tom Roberts book. I love it! It's going to be a really valuable part of any horse lover's library; you’re in for a treat.” Portland Jones.

This is Horse SA's second crowd-funding drive, with the first raising nearly $5000 towards research, preparation, and writing to the editing stage. We are grateful to many volunteers who have assisted with tasks including editing, cataloging, photography, typing up interview transcripts, scanning and of course, giving up precious time for interviews. We would also like to thank Tom and Pat's family for the loan of additional items, including newspaper clippings, letters, and scrapbooks. 

Photo: Catalogue day at The Old Mill, Hahndorf

The book is being produced by a small non-profit organisation ‘Horse SA’ (The Horse Federation of South Australia). Tom’s family donated a number of items from Tom’s lecture room to Horse SA, including the famous bit collection, so that his educative work may continue to be shared with all horse owners and riders into the future.

“I had many cups of tea with Pat in her twilight years, and it was always her great wish that Tom’s work would be shared with horse owners and riders into the future.” Julie Fiedler, Executive Officer, Horse SA. “This book will shine a light on the importance of Tom’s contribution, something easy to lose sight of in this disruptive technology driven 'instant answer' world.”

And horses will benefit from being trained using a kinder, more thoughtful approach.