Monty Roberts

Who He Was

Monty Roberts was an American horse trainer and author known around the world for training horses without force. He was born in 1935 in Salinas, California, and grew up around horses. His father was also a horse trainer. According to Roberts, at age 13, he was sent to Nevada to help round up wild horses for a rodeo event, and he spent his time there watching how the mustangs communicated through body language. He called that silent language "Equus" and built a training method around it called Join-Up, which uses movement, eye contact, and body position to earn a horse's trust. In 1989, Queen Elizabeth II invited him to demonstrate his methods to her stable staff, and he became a longtime adviser and friend. His 1996 autobiography, The Man Who Listens to Horses, spent 58 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2011, the Queen made him an honorary member of the Royal Victorian Order. He died in August 2026 at age 91.

Why He Matters

Many horse trainers of his era used harsh methods to "break" young horses. Roberts spent decades showing audiences that horses could be "started" gently instead, and he estimated he started more than 11,000 horses during his career. He also believed the same trust-based approach could help people, and he gave demonstrations for young people in juvenile detention centers and worked with schools on a relationship-building program. For young people interested in animal training, his life is a reminder that patience, careful observation, and empathy are some of the most important tools a trainer can carry.