Monty Roberts

Roberts grew up on his parents’ farm. At the age of one, he was already riding a horse with his mother. As a four-year-old he won the “Salinas Stockhouse Tournament”. He later worked as a stunt boy in Hollywood film production, including for stars such as Charlton Heston, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Roddy McDowell and James Coburn. Roberts became involved in equestrian sports early on and won national and international titles in various disciplines, including at world championships, such as the 1950 World Championship in Equitation. Four years later he won the National Championship in Western Equitation. The young horse lover already thought about training methods and quickly distanced himself from his father’s work. His breaking-in and training methods, common at the time and known as breaking horses, were too brutal to make the animals compliant.

These experiences shaped his ideas about dealing with horses throughout his life. Thirteen-year-old Monty Roberts spent a few weeks observing the lives of wild horses in the Nevada desert, concentrating on how the animals communicate with each other. After these experiences, he tried horse communication when dealing with the animals. He called the horse language he discovered and researched “Equus”. When working with horses, Monty Roberts wanted to treat horses with respect, with the aim of breaking the animals in without violence. In his work he paid particular attention to body language. He called his new non-violent method “Join up”, which is based on the psyche of animals and which he continued to develop over the course of his professional life. His “follow-up” method was added later. With them he manages to get wild horses used to saddles, bridles and riders within 30 minutes – completely without the use of spurs or whips.

He combines his way of working with the message: “…leaving the world a better place for horses and for people, too.” Monty Roberts acquired his own farm where he worked with racing and western horses using his methods. From 1984 to 1998 he headed the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (CTBA), a non-profit purebred horse breeding organization. During this time he founded the “California Thoroughbred Sales”, a branch of the CTBA. Monty Robert’s know-how about horses also became known at the English royal court and in 1989 he accepted an invitation from the British Queen Elizabeth II. He became an official advisor to the queen and the entire royal family. In 1996 his autobiography “The man who listens to horses” was published, in which he describes the beginnings and successes of his non-violent work with horses as well as his special methods. Other books followed, such as “Horse Sense for People” (2002) and “The Horses in My Life” (2004). Robert’s horse books became international bestsellers.

There were also international TV reports, appearances on talk shows and the BBC documentary “Shy Boy”, which became one of the most successful TV documentaries in recent years. Roberts has also been involved in therapy with problematic young people for many years. Monty Roberts developed workshops for managers who can learn from horses how to interact with other people in a non-violent manner. He is in demand as a speaker about his insights and experiences at international institutions and large companies such as General Electric, Pfizer, JP Morgan, Minolta, VW, BMW, Toyota, Astra Zenica and International Red Cross. Monty Roberts has received many awards for his contributions to the non-violent treatment of horses, including the British Horse Society Appreciation Award in 1998, an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich in 2002, the Family Care Network’s “Circle of Serving” Award in 2010, and the Family Care Network in 2011 with the Special Consideration Award from the California Air Force Association (CAFA) or in the same year as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order from Queen Elizabeth II.

He lives with his wife Pat at the Flag is Up Farms training center in California’s Santa Ynez Valley and is still successful as a trainer and breeder.