When I was in Santa Inez, California recently I drove past Monty Roberts ranch and thought about his influence on the early days of the natural horsemanship movement. His career and ideas certainly have been controversial. I’ve never met him or had an interest in his training methods – but he was one of the first people to engage the public’s attention with the message that horses learned better from calmness than from fear.
From Wikipedia:
“Marvin Earl “Monty” Roberts (born May 14, 1935) is an American horse trainer who promotes his techniques of natural horsemanship through his Join-Up International organization, named after the core concept of his training method. Roberts believes that horses use a non-verbal language, which he terms “Equus,” and that humans can use this language to communicate with horses. In order to promulgate his methods, Roberts has authored a number of books including his original best-seller, The Man Who Listens to Horses, and regularly tours with a live demonstration. He runs an Equestrian Academy in Solvang, California and an “online university” to promote his ideas.
“Roberts’ first book, The Man Who Listens to Horses was published in 1996 and is autobiographical. It spent 58 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers list, and was subsequently translated into more than 15 languages, selling more than five million copies worldwide.
“In 1966 he assisted in the founding of Flag Is Up Farms, of which he is now the full owner. From 1973 to 1986, he was a leading consignor to the Hollywood Park Two-Year-Old Thoroughbreds in Training Sale. In 2004, Roberts’ German-bred horse Sabiango won major races throughout the US.
“In 2002 Roberts again visited Windsor Castle as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Roberts was appointed an Honorary Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in the 2011 Birthday Honours.”
You can get more information at his website by clicking HERE.
But you might also want to check out another website by clicking HERE.