Monty Roberts - real life Horse Whisperer

Now, we're ALL horse fanatics over here. Anything to do with Horses and Ponies, we're all over like a fine Winter Coat. But there are some special people in the world whose love for the Equine transcends a simple pat on the back or a casual ride through your favourite glamour spots.

And what better example of the unique bond between man and horse, and the mutual benefits of this deep human/animal connection than Marvin Earl "Monty" Roberts?! 

You may have already heard of him, but if you haven't, real-life 'Horse Whisperer', Monty Roberts, 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. 

Somewhat controversially, Roberts believes that horses use a non-verbal language, which he has dubbed "Equus". His core belief in his unique take on Horsemanship and training is that humans can use this 'language' to communicate with horses. 

Roberts has authored a number of books including his original best-seller, The Man Who Listens to Horses, and as well as running his own Equestrian Academy in California and operating a unique online study programme to promote his ideas, Roberts is also know to regularly tour his native U.S. performing live demonstrations of his techniques. 

According to the official Join-Up website: "Monty first developed Join-Up to stop the cycle of violence typically accepted in traditional horse breaking. Convinced there must be a more effective and gentle method, Monty created these consistent set of principles using the horse’s inherent methods of communication and herd behaviour. 

The result is a willing partnership in which the horse’s performance can flourish to its full potential, rather than exist within the boundaries of obedience. These principles are valuable tools to understanding what motivates horse behaviour and increasing effectiveness in any application. 

Traditional methods aim to teach the horse to ‘DO AS I SAY’ and involve the use of pain and intimidation, but Monty focuses on communion with the horse, rather than domination. “For centuries, humans have said to horses, ‘You do what I tell you or I’ll hurt you,’ I’m saying that no one has the right to say, ‘you must’ to an animal or to another human,” Monty said."

Monty's methods are certainly a site to behold, as seen below!